Malaysian Nasi Lemak (Coconut rice) with Chicken Rendang

I went to an awesome Malaysian restaurant today so here are 2 recipes.

Nasi Lemak first

Ingredients

• For the rice:
• 2 cups coconut milk
• 2 cups water
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 (1/2 inch) piece fresh ginger, peeled and thinly sliced
• salt to taste
• 1 whole bay leaf
• 2 cups long grain rice, rinsed and drained
•  
• For the garnish:
• 4 eggs
• 1 cucumber
• 1 cup oil for frying
• 1 cup raw peanuts
• 1 (4 ounce) package white anchovies, washed
•  
• For the sauce:
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 medium onion, sliced
• 3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
• 3 shallots, thinly sliced
• 2 teaspoons chile paste
• 1 (4 ounce) package white anchovies, washed
• salt to taste
• 3 tablespoons white sugar
• 1/4 cup tamarind juice

Directions

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. Serve the onion and garlic sauce over the warm rice, and top with peanuts, fried anchovies, cucumbers, and eggs.   
   
   
   
     Chicken Rendangendang is a curried and stewed meat dish, cooked with coconut milk, galangal, lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves with other spices. The dish is braised for hours, depends on the type of meat used, till the oil and extract of all the ingredients are cooked out, which later acts as natural preservatives. A well-cooked rendang dish can be stored up to days in room temperature, weeks in refrigerator and months in freezer. I did not make this up.This dish is prepared by using almost all spices available to Indonesian cooking.
   Originated in Padang, West Sumatra, this dish has been adapted on other areas in Southeast Asia. Original Rendang Padang is dark brown in color, Rendang Java is yellow in color. The difference is in the base paste used.
   Chicken rendang needs to be cooked for 1-2 hours. Beef rendang can take 2-4 hours. The longer the process, the better it taste. Rendang is at its best on the second and third day after cooking. The spice really settles and enriches the dish.
   The recipe featured here is chicken rendang. Whole chicken is used. The spices are made from scratch. There are many commercially packed rendang spices. They are easy to prepare, but to make the most out of it, add half of the spice ingredients I have here and you will have outstanding instant rendang.
   Ingredients
   For spice paste
   100 grams red chilies
   65 grams (12) shallots
   25 grams (6) cloves garlic
   25 grams (6) candlenut
   10 grams (1/8 cup) coriander seeds
   4 dried chilies, soaked with hot water and pat dried
   1/4 teaspoon cumin
   1/2 teaspoon whole white pepper
   1/4 fresh nutmeg
   Other ingredients
   1,2 litre coconut milk, pressed and strained from 4 freshly grated coconut
   1 turmeric leaf (alternatively, substitute with a pinch of turmeric powder)
   3 kaffir lime leaves
   10 salam leaves
   4 stalks lemongrass, halved and pounded to release juice
   50 grams galangal, pounded to release juice
   2 whole cardamom
   1 star anise
   3 cloves
   2 tablespoons sugar
   2 teaspoons salt
   1 kilogram chicken, cut into medium size pieces
   1 medium size potatoes, peeled and quartered
   Instructions
   
6. Grind spices for paste into medium-to-fine paste
7. In a big heavy stainless steel pot, cook half of coconut milk, spice paste, turmeric, kaffir lime leaves, salam leaf, lemongrass, galangal, cardamom, star anise and cloves over low heat for 10 minutes
8. Add sugar and salt. Increase heat to medium. Cook for 5 more minutes
9. Pour in the rest of coconut milk and potato. Cook over medium heat for 1 hour, stirring constantly to avoid burning till the coconut oil starts to separate from the milk. The dish should be simmering slowly with small bubbles. Cover partly to avoid splatter
10. Toss in pieces of chicken. Cook for another hour. Season with more salt and sugar if desired. If potatoes are used, add potatoes at this stage. Cook for another half an hour
11. Serve warm with steamed rice or country bread
    
    Hope you enjoy
    FruitStripeApe
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