Saturday, April 26, 2008

Improved Nasi Lemak?



Last week's baking class was full of "bonuses", not only did we bake 4 cakes, Gina brought some rempah to cook Sayar Lodeh, and even demonsrated her version of nasi lemak. I told her that I would try the nasi lemak when I get pandan leaves to bake the Pandan Chiffon Cake.

I blended the pandan leaves in the morning, and even reserved those used for baking the cake to cook the rice. I remembered how fragrant the nasi was last week and was really excited to make this a success. Then I would have more recipes when the need to entertain arises.

I tried to be a smart alec, and fried some Kee's chicken rice mix with garlic and added to the nasi. I thought there's no harm since my mom would normally add fried garlic, shallots and ginger whenever she cooked nasi lemak. While the rice was cooking, there was a weird smell which I won't classify as fragrant nor aromatic. I'm not sure if the coconut milk has gone rancid or was it that chicken rice mix didn't go with coconut milk? In any case, I had reduced the amount of coconut milk as well, though the rice had a nice tinge of pale green.

The most popular item turned out to be the fried chicken wings! The number complaint was that everything was too dry. Obviously, soup was absent tonight. I may have to learn how to make soto ayam to accompany this nasi lemak. As for the nasi lemak, one important lesson I learnt was that one cannot scrimp on ingredients, namely coconut milk. Another fault was that there wasn't enough liquid to cook the rice. Sometimes, cannot really too much on helpers to estimate water to cook rice. Well, this won't be the last time I'm cooking this anyway. Now I have to of ways to finish the remaining coconut milk.

2 comments:

Gina Choong said...

adeline, the dish is called Coconut rice in English. So it means cannot be stingy on Coconut! A guide to make good nasi lemak is 1 cup of rice to 1 cup of coconut milk, half cup of water and 1 tsp of salt. Salt helps to bring out the flavours of the coconut and making it taste and smell better..no 'rotten' smell.

also, your mom's way of cooking may be a proven trick. so if you want to try hers, go for it. But my recipe was created for busy women who have to juggle life at home, in the office, etc. It was meant to be easy and leave it to the rice cooker to cook. Its not meant to be a cook something else and add it in. ;)

Yuri said...

Hi gina, I've learnt my lesson. I will definitely follow your recipe closely next time :P