Vegetarian nasi lemak, Malaysia

Name: Vegetarian nasi lemak
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 35 min
Total time: 60 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Malaysia
Ingredients: 350 g jasmine rice; 300 ml coconut milk; 1 pandan leaf, knotted; 1 tsp salt; 4 shallots; 3 garlic cloves; 8 dried red chillies, soaked; 2 tbsp palm sugar; 1 tbsp tamarind paste; 200 g firm tofu, cubed; 80 g unsalted peanuts; 4 eggs; 1 cucumber, sliced; 5 tbsp neutral oil

Method

Rinse the rice, then cook it with the coconut milk, 250 ml water, the salt and the pandan leaf: 12 minutes covered on the lowest heat, then 10 minutes resting.
Blend the shallots, garlic and drained chillies to a smooth paste with a splash of water.
Heat 3 tbsp oil in a pan and fry the paste over medium heat for 12 minutes, until it darkens and the oil separates out.
Add the palm sugar, tamarind and 100 ml water, season, and reduce for 5 minutes to a thick, glossy sambal.
Toast the peanuts in a dry pan for 5 minutes, then brown the tofu cubes on all sides in the remaining oil.
Boil the eggs for 7 minutes, cool them under cold water, peel and halve.
Build each plate with a dome of rice, a spoon of sambal, the peanuts, tofu, cucumber and half an egg.

Nasi lemak is Malaysia’s national breakfast, often wrapped in a banana leaf to eat on the move. For a vegan version, swap the egg for an extra helping of tofu. The sambal combines dried chillies, palm sugar and tamarind; our article on chilli peppers sets it beside other sweet and hot sauces.

The techniques this recipe uses

Drain and rinse
Canning liquid clouds a sauce and salts it blind: rinse until the water runs clear.
Reduce
Uncovered, water leaves and flavour concentrates. It is done when the sauce coats the back of a spoon.

Frequently asked questions

How do I know when the sambal is ready?

The sign is visual: after about twelve minutes over medium heat the paste darkens clearly and oil rises around it. While the mixture is still bright red and wet, the raw shallots and chillies have not yet given up their depth. The palm sugar and tamarind only go in after that point.

The coconut rice sticks or boils over. What now?

Coconut milk foams and catches more than plain water. Use a heavy-based pan, genuinely low heat, and keep the lid on for the full twelve minutes, then rest it off the heat for ten before fluffing. Rinsing the rice first also reduces sticking.

How do I make a vegan version?

Replace the soft-boiled egg with an extra portion of tofu, as the recipe suggests. Just check that your tamarind paste has no animal-derived additives: everything else, the coconut rice, sambal, peanuts and cucumber, is already plant based.

Chilli peppers, from mild to Scotch Bonnet

How Caribbean and African cuisines harness the perfume and heat of Scotch Bonnet, and how others pair chilli with palm sugar, tamarind or pomegranate.

How to cook tofu so it is never bland

Why tofu is not a meat substitute but a carrier of flavour, and traditional Asian techniques to give it real depth and texture.

Cooking rice for the dish you actually want

Four methods cover almost every rice dish. Which grain to pick, whether to rinse, how much water, what heat, and why the resting time matters.

Vegetarian nasi lemak

Method

The techniques this recipe uses

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Nutrition per serving

Frequently asked questions

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