Nasi Lemak and Rice Rolls

When I saw Jess' Satay Drumsticks and Pandan Rice lately, I just yearned to have some pandan rice. Then it occured to me that it did looked like nasi lemak. I like to eat nasi lemak. It's the only food which I eat that contains rice. Otherwise, I usually will not order any rice dish when I'm dining outside.

So there I was, dreaming up of preparing nasi lemak already. Taking some reference from her post, I went to search for nasi lemak recipe. As I've not prepared this before, I wanted a recipe that will at least guide me on making the chilli, the rice and perhaps, marinate the chicken or kuning fish. Somehow, I didn't manage to find one complete recipe. In the end, I just based on my gut feel (equal to "aga-ra-tion") to come up with my own version of nasi lemak. One thing I like about cooking is, there no hard and fast rule to follow the ingredients closely, quite unlike baking.

These were the different combinations of my homemade nasi lemak. Guess which set is mine?

Here's sharing how I made them, what went wrong and what was nice.

1. Pandan coconut rice - I cooked two cups of rice. Added four tbsp of pandan juice and 100ml of Ayam coconut cream (plus enough water to cook the rice). I also added three pandan leaves tied in a knot into the rice cooker. Overall, the rice wasn't very fragrant. The rice colour was a faint green and the coconut taste was mild.
You can find very useful information from Wendy as she explained how to extract pandan juice. Very informative, thanks Wendy!

My verdict: I will make two cups of rice with 200ml (one packet) of Ayam coconut cream and six tbsp of pandan juice. Then topped up with enough water to cook the rice. I'll add in the knotted pandan leaves also.

2. Ikan bilis (fried anchovies) - A handful of ikan bilis was washed and fried. This consistently has been tasty, and prepared by my helper.

3. French beans and carrot - A packet of french beans and half a carrot was shredded and stir fried. This was also prepared by my helper. It is my favourite.

4. Fried eggs (sunny side-up) - I fried five eggs individually with my egg frying pan. Fast, easy and fun! However, my children said they preferred omelette! *sigh*

5. Spiced drumsticks - I marinated them with 5-spice powder, curry powder and salt for about two hours. Then I baked them in the oven for 45mins at 220C. They liked it very much. My elder son commented that it was very nice. I was glad they liked it. Initially I wanted my helper to fried them, but I realised they were too huge, and also the fish needed to be fried and it would take up a lot of time. So in the end, I decided to bake it instead. Wise decision. :)

6. Spiced kuning (fish) - I marinated them similarly to the drumsticks. My helper fried them. They were very crispy and tasty. My spouse even eat up the fish heads. It was that crispy and good! I simply loved them.

7. Chilli sauce - I got to admit this wasn't well done. I used one packet of dried chilli, two small red onions, one piece of ginger and one clove of garlic to grind my chilli. Then I cooked it in the wok. I didn't add too much oil, so it was quite dry. I had to add more oil in between. The chilli  absorbed the oil very quickly. After I finished cooking, then I realised I have forgotten to add salt!
My mum taught me to add sugar to a small portion to be used for nasi lemak only. So I kept a small portion in the wok, added some sugar and some fried onions to mix them together to be used as my nasi lemak chilli.

My verdict: My chillli was too dry. It is neither smooth nor tasty. Salt should also be added as a form of preservatives too. I also felt that I didn't cook long enough. My mum commented that my chilli was still too raw. For the next round, I would use the same portion of ingredients, poured in more oil, add some salt and cook it longer. For chilli that is not cooked long enough, it will turn bad very quickly. I put the rest of my chilli in the freezer to preserve it.

Overall Verdict: I guess it was a good attempt for a nasi lemak meal, though not perfect and well done. A lot of improvements are required. I hope I can help others to learn from my experience too. As a consolation, all food were finished at that time.

I had the set 3, without the chicken drumstick and with lots of french beans. I try to avoid meats if I have the choice. I'll go for anything fish or seafood. 

After spending the whole morning preparing nasi lemak, I continue with my preparation for chee cheong fun, also known as rice rolls. I had cooked my sauce and chilli the night before, only the batter to be made that day. It took me almost two hours to make about 30 rolls! I used up a packet of 600g rice flour, which explained why there were so much rice rolls to be made!
I added spring onions to some of the rice rolls. The first few rice rolls were rather thick. Subsequent ones were thinner. It also required the skills of unmoulding them and rolling them up. Some were quite well done, others were not. Therefore, those truly up to standard ones, were only about 10 rolls! I just needed more practice on estimating the batter and the unmoulding part. Having said that, I doubt I'll make it again in months to come, as standing in a 'sauna' kitchen for two solid hours is truly not my idea of spending a Saturday afternoon!
Making the rice rolls is perhaps, worth once a quarter's sacrifice. LOL. My poor family had to sacrifice their tummy to taste my unsightly rice rolls. Fortunately, the sauces were good enough to make up for the look of the rice rolls!
These were the sauces I gave to my parent and siblings. Unlucky Lucky them!

24 comments:

Bakericious said...
August 29, 2010 at 10:26 PM

Jane, I love nasi lemak too! This is the only rice and also chicken rice I will order when I eat out :p. I wanted so much to cook nasi lemak but thinking of the tedious process, I back out but now you are tempting me.... looks super yummy, I can have a big plate of it!

Passionate About Baking said...
August 29, 2010 at 10:51 PM

Hi Jess,
Yeah, me too! However, as I'm (always) cutting down on carbo, I usually don't take too much rice, no matter how good they are! Only chillis can convince me to finish up my rice if I get to cover them with good chillis!
Aw, I'm sure it's not too difficult for you. In fact, you have already prepared half of it before! :)
I'm sure yours will turn out good! Do share okay?

Ju (The Little Teochew) said...
August 29, 2010 at 11:24 PM

You can set up shop to sell breakfast food already!! :D

WendyinKK said...
August 30, 2010 at 3:06 AM

Your CCF looks perfect to me, no where near unsightly.

Oh yes, the concentrated pandan juice thing was more suitable for cakes, cos concentrated and minimal water content for cakes, but with this rice, there's no need to go thru the waiting period. I'll just blend the leaves and use the juice like water for the rice. And yes, thanks for the compliment :)
Really appreciate the link :)

Passionate About Baking said...
August 30, 2010 at 8:16 AM

Hi Ju,
No thanks! I don't want to sweat the dawn hours just to serve up breakfast! Hahaha...thanks very much for your complments.

Passionate About Baking said...
August 30, 2010 at 8:18 AM

Hi Wendy,
Thanks. That's because only presentable ones cane be shown! Heehee...
Don't mention about the link. Good information are meant to be shared. I also blend the pandan and put a couple of tablespoon into the rice. The rest of them, I kept in the fridge. Thanks very much for your detailed post on the pandan juice. Very informative. :)

Gina Choong said...
August 30, 2010 at 8:42 AM

Jane, I have the nasi lemak rice recipe at KC forum..complete with step by step pics..! been there since 2007. :) one other thing : a good sambal needs to be cook for at least 1 hour over the wok/stove. And it needs Belachan, dried shrimps. That's the salt content you will need. no need to put salt. For nasi lemak, the sambal is unique because it uses assam water to blend the spices and actually has no ginger..:)

Passionate About Baking said...
August 30, 2010 at 8:49 AM

Thanks Gina! I was hoping someone (hopefully you) will tell me where to find. I searched your blog but don't have. Forgot about KC forum though. Heehee...
Thanks for the tips. I'm sure many other people will gain from your information.
I shall try to cook again after I finished my chilli. Btw, it still needs lots of oil also right? My chilli was just too dry. Thanks.

Kitchen Corner said...
August 30, 2010 at 10:11 AM

Wah Jane! Are you sure this is your first time making nasi lemak! It seems like you're quite pro on making them into one dish! Not only nasi lemak is my favorite food, the rice roll also my favorite! Wish can try them one day!

Happy Homebaker said...
August 30, 2010 at 2:16 PM

Besides pandan leaves, I also add a few cloves of garlic to cook with the rice, I find that it makes the rice more fragrant :)

Passionate About Baking said...
August 30, 2010 at 2:40 PM

Hi Grace,
Oh yes, it's truly my first time. But because I had so many versions, I was able to visualise what I wanted. Heehee...
We have the same taste in our local food too! :)

Hi HHB,
Thanks. I usually add garlics to my chicken rice. But didn't think of adding it to my pandan coconut rice. :p *very straight* I shall try it next time. Thanks for sharing.

Angel @ Cook.Bake.Love said...
August 30, 2010 at 4:16 PM

Hi Jane, thanks for sharing in detail. I know it's time-consuming to write everything out but u did that for the sake of us, ur readers. Thumb up!

I like all the 3 sets in fact. Hehe. Though I also tell myself to cut down on meat but I just can't resist fried chicken. :P

Passionate About Baking said...
August 30, 2010 at 5:15 PM

Hi Angel,
You're most welcome. I also want to record my experience so that I can learn too! Ah, I have better disciplined than you in eating chickens or meats. :) Anyway, enjoy while you can right?

ReeseKitchen said...
August 30, 2010 at 9:50 PM

Hey Jane, the nasi lemak look just fine. I like nasi lemak but never try to cook myself..;p There is always a nice stall selling nasi lemak near my house, that's why..heehee..:D
Chee Cheong Fun....yummy! Saw alot blogger doing this but I'm not so keen on that leh...worry I'll be the only one eating...;p Your Chee Cheong Fun were all nicely rolled and looks so yummy.

Shirley @ Kokken69 said...
August 31, 2010 at 6:57 AM

Now you've got me yearning for Nasi Lemak and those spring roll CCF! You made your own sauce? Wow!

Passionate About Baking said...
August 31, 2010 at 4:43 PM

Hi Reese,
Thanks. Actually I made nasi lemak because I feel like eating the chilli. Hahaha... Unfortunately, it wasn't successful. :p There are many famous nasi lemak stalls in Sgp too! But they can be very pricey!

Hi Shirley,
Yes, I learnt how to make the sauce and the chilli. They are truly very good. It makes plain ccf tastes good too! :)

Bakertan said...
September 2, 2010 at 6:00 PM

Hi Jane,

I love set 3 of your nasi lemak. The more ingredients the better, plus a little bit of chili to go along. Agree with you cooking is quite flexible, can agar agar to individual's taste, which i am not used to, haha (baking cannot agar agar sometimes, else will fail)

Nasi lemak chili wise, I like it to be sweet haha, probably due to my sweet-tooth.

It definitely is a very good attempt. Got fish, eggs, ikan bilis, drumsticks and french beans + carrots. What a nice spread lah, yum yum! Kudos to the effort =]

Passionate About Baking said...
September 2, 2010 at 10:01 PM

Thanks Bakertan. I like my nasi lemak chilli spicy and sweet too! Will you be attempting to cook this too? :p

Bakertan said...
September 4, 2010 at 1:36 AM

Hi Jane,

I will KIV this, haha. It will be a good idea for my sunday family gatherings =]

Passionate About Baking said...
May 19, 2011 at 5:56 PM

Hi Reese,
Thanks. Actually I made nasi lemak because I feel like eating the chilli. Hahaha... Unfortunately, it wasn't successful. :p There are many famous nasi lemak stalls in Sgp too! But they can be very pricey!

Hi Shirley,
Yes, I learnt how to make the sauce and the chilli. They are truly very good. It makes plain ccf tastes good too! :)

ReeseKitchen said...
May 19, 2011 at 5:56 PM

Hey Jane, the nasi lemak look just fine. I like nasi lemak but never try to cook myself..;p There is always a nice stall selling nasi lemak near my house, that's why..heehee..:D
Chee Cheong Fun....yummy! Saw alot blogger doing this but I'm not so keen on that leh...worry I'll be the only one eating...;p Your Chee Cheong Fun were all nicely rolled and looks so yummy.

Kitchen Corner said...
May 19, 2011 at 5:56 PM

Wah Jane! Are you sure this is your first time making nasi lemak! It seems like you're quite pro on making them into one dish! Not only nasi lemak is my favorite food, the rice roll also my favorite! Wish can try them one day!

Passionate About Baking said...
May 19, 2011 at 5:56 PM

Hi Ju,
No thanks! I don't want to sweat the dawn hours just to serve up breakfast! Hahaha...thanks very much for your complments.

wendyywy @ Table for 2..... or said...
May 19, 2011 at 5:56 PM

Your CCF looks perfect to me, no where near unsightly.

Oh yes, the concentrated pandan juice thing was more suitable for cakes, cos concentrated and minimal water content for cakes, but with this rice, there's no need to go thru the waiting period. I'll just blend the leaves and use the juice like water for the rice. And yes, thanks for the compliment :)
Really appreciate the link :)

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