Nasi Lemak

Nasi lemak translates into English as Fatty Rice. Who would want to eat Fatty Rice, right?

Well, "Fatty" denotes the fragrant and richly flavoured rice which is cooked with coconut milk. Nasi lemak, long being touted as Malaysia's national dish, is sold around the clock as it is versatile enough to be eaten for breakfast, brunch, lunch, dinner or even supper! It is also sold everywhere, along the roadside, at the market, fast food outlets, and even at posh restaurants.

Prices, of course, differ depending on where one eats his or her nasi lemak. At swanky air-conditioned cafes, needless to say, a plate of nasi lemak will cost an arm and a leg. But at the markets and roadside stalls, nasi lemak is unbelievably cheap. The prices of a regular packet of nasi lemak range from RM1.00 to RM2.00! How cheap is that!

A typical packet of Nasi Lemak comprises a small bowl (sometimes a big bowl too!) of coconut-flavoured rice, sambal, anchovies and peanuts, a bit of hard-boiled egg and a slice or two of cucumbers. But normally, these Nasi Lemak vendors also sell tempting trays of fried chicken chunks, chicken curry, beef rendang, sambal sotong, and sambal kerang (cockles) .... among other things. Hence, more often than not, one would be enticed include these side dishes in a regular portion of Nasi Lemak. Of course, one would have to pay extra for these add-ons.

During my short stay in KL, I consume nasi lemak almost daily! By the time I was going home, I was actually SICK of Nasi Lemak! Well, why would I eat nasi lemak so often? Lols .... cause it's economical yet so tasty, and I bump into people selling it EVERYWHERE. Plus, I like to try the nasi lemak sold by different vendors cause they all taste invariably different. Some had more coconut milk in the rice resulting in a richer flavour, some had sweeter sambal while others more pungent. In short, different vendors bring to nasi lemak a different variation, though the ingredients are essentially the same.

One particular morning, I was walking along a row of shops when I chanced upon an elderly auntie selling nasi lemak by the roadside. It was about 11.00 a.m. and she had just set up stall. And of course, I just had to buy myself a packet!

Nasi Lemak
Fluffy coconut rice, served with a generous amount of spicy anchovies sambal, a wedge of hard-boiled egg, a portion of deep-fried peanuts and more deep-fried anchovies, a few slices of cucumber. I also opted for a serving of cockles rendang. 

Back home, I tasted this huge packet of Nasi Lemak and was glad to find that all the flavours sat well with me. The rice fragrant of screwpine leaves and coconut milk, the sambal fiery spicy and pungent, the cucumbers clean, crisp and refreshing, the cockles redolent of spices and toasted grated coconut. Complex flavours, they were! And all this for only RM3.00. At this rate, why ever do I need to cook my own lunch?