Nasi Lemak with Blue Rice

 

Enjoy Malaysia's national dish - Nasi Lemak. This recipe presents blue rice which is always a hit with my American friends because they have not seen or eaten blue rice. The blue color comes from purple sweet pea flower. My sister Elsie's helper goes and pick these flowers from their garden, dried them and sends them over to me. The blue color hue is used all over Asia, in food coloring for desserts. With the blue rice for Nasi Lemak, it elevates the dish for presentation. I enjoyed making these for my family and friends. 

For the Rice: 

5 cups of Jasmine rice 

1/2 can of coconut milk (check water level using palm measurement of cooking regular rice)

1 tbs salt

3-4 pandan leaves 

1 cup of purple sweet pea flower (dried from Singapore) 

2 cups of water to boil the purple sweet pea flour. 

Method of cooking rice: 

Wash and rinse jasmine rice in rice cooker pot. Drain all water. Add salt. Add coconut milk and adjust water level using the palm method. (Level the rice. place palm gently on top of rice and pour the coconut milk until water level covers the fingers. That's just nice the amount of liquid. Works all the time. So that rice is grainy and not mushy when cooked). Wash pandan leaves and tie into a knot and drop into the pot. Start the rice cooker to cook the rice. Meantime, in a small pot of water, simmer the sweet pea flower until the liquid is dark blue. About a cup of blue liquid. When the rice is almost cooked, i.e. all the liquid are gone, drop the sweet pea flower liquid sparingly on the rice. The result is a mixture of blue and white rice. Very Yummy! 

For the Chicken Curry:

Refer to recipe on this blog for My Dad's Curry. 

For the Sambal: 

Refer to recipe on this blog for Sambal Belachan. (or get the premade packet)

For the Anchovies (Ikan Bilis): 

In a pot of oil, fry the anchovies until crispy. 

For the peanuts: 

In a wok with medium hot oil, fry the peanuts until golden. Drain. 

For the hard boil eggs: 

Boil a few eggs and cut them into half to serve. 

For the Cucumbers: 

Shave the skin off, but not all of them. Leaving some strands for decorations. Slice cucumbers to serve. 

Enjoy!!