Just a simple salad with romaine, red bell pepper, mushrooms, grape tomatoes, and shrimp sauteed in butter. Dressed with cilantro-lime dressing.
I generally don’t like to eat tomatoes out of season, so these tomatoes come from somewhere down south. Can’t wait to have some home grown tomatoes!
Aloha, Nate
The last and most important piece to the Malaysian feast is Nasi Lemak – coconut rice. We use basmati rice, and add coconut milk to the cooking liquid. We also threw in a few pandan leaves for added fragrance.
The center of the dish is the nasi lemak. On the right is the sambal ikan bilis. Then comes the dhal and finally the rendang chicken. Other condiments served on the side include sliced cucumber, pan-fried peanuts, and hard boiled egg.
You can eat it with fork and spoon but some say if you use your hands, it tastes better. You gather up a little of this and a little of that, making a small pile on the plate. Then you scoop it up with your hand and use your thumb to push it into your mouth. It takes some practice, but soon you’ll be eating nasi lemak like a native!
Aloha, Nate
Almost every Malaysian dish comes with some kind of spicy sambal sauce. This sambal ikan bilis recipe starts with 1/2 cup dried anchovies that are rinsed, patted dry, then pan-fried until brown.
Annie is always critical of the rendang that is served at Malaysian restaurants here in the South Bay. She says they’re just not done right, and reasons that only Malay cooks (as opposed to the Chinese cooks working in these restaurants) know how to make rendang. Here is her version: