Rice, spice and everything nice!
In the middle of all the media hoo-ha on rice monopoly and food security issues, we are still blessed to be able to enjoy our favourite rice dish anytime, anywhere in Malaysia today, at an affordable price.
So, coinciding with our 61st Merdeka Day this 31st Aug 2018, let’s celebrate our food ‘liberty’, with Malaysia’s Top 10 rice dishes. Which one is your favourite?
-
Nasi Lemak
image: angsarap.net
The fragrant aroma of nasi lemak early in the morning is just irresistible, making this the most famous rice menu in Malaysia. A common breakfast choice, this dish is essentially rice cooked in coconut milk, with pandan leaf and ginger added to the mix.
The best nasi lemak is the original version, packed in banana leaf, pyramid-style, and contains sambal, half-cut of a boiled egg, fried anchovies and ground nuts, with slices of cucumber. Nasi lemak, the perfect way to start your day!
-
Nasi Goreng
image: bakewithpaws.com
In Malaysia, nasi goreng or fried rice, comes in as many varieties as you can imagine. The famous ones include the Cantonese Fried Rice and Nasi Goreng Kampong. Over the years, the likes of Nasi Goreng Kerabu, Nasi Goreng Ikan Masin and Nasi Goreng USA, has included itself as part of the regular menu in most restaurants. Pick your choice, any day, any place.
-
Nasi Campur
image: sambalhijau.my
Nasi Campur or Mix Rice is plain rice with any dish of your choice, and the choices are like, really, really many, up to 30 or more dishes in some restaurants. You will have varieties of fish, chicken and beef dishes; fried, grilled, or cooked in different, mouth-watering gravy selections. To top it off, you can add fried eggs or omelette and other condiments like ikan masin or telur asin (fermented fish or egg), ulam-ulam (choices of salad) and sambal belacan (chilli mix with prawn paste).
Different styles of cooking between the Chinese, Indian or Malay shops adds on to the many choices to the Malaysian nasi campur. My all-time favourite dishes have to be ayam masak lemak cili api and catfish fried in chilli, eaten with steaming hot white rice!
-
Nasi Kandar
image: Malaysian Foodie
Very similar to nasi campur, Nasi Kandar is different only in the type of dishes offered, and is offered in Indian restaurants. ‘Kandar’ means a mixture of the different curry dishes to your rice. Add masala or varuvel chicken, fish head curry, prawn curry, or crispy fried cuttlefish, add a vegetable and papadom crackers, and this spicy rice dish with a cooling glass of ice lemon tea. Heavenly!
-
Nasi Biryani
image: thehoneycombers.com
Nasi biryani has its roots from Persia, brought to India by the Mughals, and popularised by the Indian Muslims here.
It is Basmati rice cooked in blends of ghee and spices, with either chicken, or chunks of beef or mutton added into it. This aromatic rice dish is enjoyed with dhal chutney or kurma, or curry, cooked with potatoes, carrots and long beans.
A good plate of biryani rice is delicious enough to be eaten on its own.
-
Nasi Ayam
image: delishtube.co.id
This is a national favourite! The delicious Hainan chicken rice is cooked with chicken broth, giving it a yellowish, oily texture. It is eaten with either steamed or roasted chicken. On the sides are sliced cucumber, homemade chili sauce and pounded ginger or garlic, and dark soy sauce, and accompanied with a bowl of soup.
Chicken Rice is served as rice balls in Melaka, known as Chicken Rice Balls. Instead of using a bowl of rice, the rice is shaped into a golf ball-sized rice balls and steamed chicken, In Ipoh, the Cantonese version steamed Chicken Rice are served with boiled bean sprout and normal white rice.
-
Nasi Dagang
image: mtiatg.blogspot.com
Nasi Dagang is a popular breakfast menu in the east coast of Malaysia, differing slightly between the type of rice used in Kelantan and Terengganu. In Kelantan, a special, slightly glutinous type of wild rice is used.
After several hours of soaking, the rice is steamed in coconut milk with shallots, lemongrass and fenugreek seed, giving it a unique flavour and fragrance. It is served with a kind of fish curry (usually ikan tongkol, locals call it masak gulai darat), telur asin (fermented egg), and vegetables pickled in rice vinegar, consisting cucumber, chilli and carrot.
-
Nasi Kerabu
image: YouTube
Another local favourite is the fascinating nasi kerabu, bluish in colour as it is cooked with bunga telang (butterfly-pea flower). It is served with finely-chopped salads such as the long beans, bunga kantan (ginger flower) and cabbage.
Side dishes include the must-have solok cili (chilli filled with fish mix) and ayam percik (marinated chicken, flame-grilled to perfection in a special coconut cream mixture), keropok and dry-fried grated coconut.
Eat your nasi kerabu with all the chopped salad and condiments mixed together, and you’ll be craving for more!
-
Nasi Kukus Ayam Berempah
image: Nasi Kukus White House 1Borneo
This is a favourite lunch option for many KL-lites! Gulai (a special curry gravy) is generously poured over a steaming hot rice. On the side, you have the tangy pajeri nenas (pineapple cooked in thick curry gravy), and ayam goreng berempah (a wickedly crispy fried chicken, which have been marinated with spices).
Fuss-free, this is a good choice for a quick and hearty plate of meal.
-
Nasi Air
image: flickr.com
Some people may think that nasi air is the same as bubur nasi or rice porridge, but it is not. Yet another scrumptious menu from Kelantan, the rice is cooked with beef stock and ginger, the liquid portion more than the usual amount used to cook your daily rice, to give it a softer texture, but not up to the level of becoming a porridge!
Once cooked, a scoop of rice is put in a bowl, and beef soup is poured into it. Add whatever you like – my favourite would be to add beef chunks fried in cili padi, fried shallots and a dash of lime. Delicious!
