Nasi lemak

Rice, cucumber and peanuts come together in this Malaysian seafood — 135 minutes, 21 steps, and the kind of result worth repeating. Below: the ingredients split into pantry staples and a quick shopping list, a built-in serving scaler, and the method in 21 steps.
You'll mainly reach for frying pan / skillet and saucepan. At involved difficulty across 21 steps, it's worth setting aside proper time for. As written, it's pescatarian — fish but no meat.
What you'll need
Shopping list (7)
Pantry staples (you likely have these)
🔁 Unit converter
How to make it
- In a medium saucepan over medium heat, stir together coconut milk, water, ground ginger, ginger root, salt, bay leaf, and rice. Cover, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer for 20 to 30 minutes, or until done.
- Place eggs in a saucepan, and cover with cold water.
- Bring water to a boil, and immediately remove from heat.
- Cover, and let eggs stand in hot water for 10 to 12 minutes.
- Remove eggs from hot water, cool, peel and slice in half.
- Slice cucumber.
- Meanwhile, in a large skillet or wok, heat 1 cup vegetable oil over medium-high heat.
- Stir in peanuts and cook briefly, until lightly browned.
- Remove peanuts with a slotted spoon and place on paper towels to soak up excess grease.
- Return skillet to stove.
- Stir in the contents of one package anchovies; cook briefly, turning, until crisp.
- Remove with a slotted spoon and place on paper towels.
- Discard oil.
- Wipe out skillet.
- Heat 2 tablespoons oil in the skillet.
- Stir in the onion, garlic, and shallots; cook until fragrant, about 1 or 2 minutes.
- Mix in the chile paste, and cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- If the chile paste is too dry, add a small amount of water.
- Stir in remaining anchovies; cook for 5 minutes.
- Stir in salt, sugar, and tamarind juice; simmer until sauce is thick, about 5 minutes.
- Serve the onion and garlic sauce over the warm rice, and top with peanuts, fried anchovies, cucumbers, and eggs.
You'll use: Frying pan / skillet · Saucepan · Pan · Wok
Watch how it's made

Hosted on YouTube — pressing play loads content from YouTube.
Ingredient substitutions
- Milk
- any unsweetened plant milk · ½ cup evaporated milk + ½ cup water
- Eggs
- ¼ cup unsweetened applesauce (baking) · 1 tbsp ground flax + 3 tbsp water per egg
- Shallots
- ½ small onion + a little garlic
What to serve with Nasi lemak
- Apam balik Dessert
- Ayam Percik Chicken
- Roti john Beef
- Beef Rendang Beef
Tips & common questions
How long does Nasi lemak take to make?
About 135 minutes from start to finish — an estimate based on the 21 steps and 18 ingredients. Times vary with your kitchen and how much prep you do ahead.
What can I use instead of milk?
Try any unsweetened plant milk. See the substitutions section above for more swaps.
Can I scale this recipe up or down?
Yes — use the servings control above the ingredients and every quantity rescales automatically (fractions included). Cooking times stay roughly the same; very large batches may need a little longer.
How should I store leftovers?
Cool leftovers quickly, refrigerate in an airtight container, and eat within 3 days. Reheat until piping hot throughout.
Recipe data for Nasi lemak via TheMealDB (open database). ▶ Video. Original source. Consomee adds the scaler, ingredient tools, timing and structure — how we source recipes.







