When McDonald announced they are launching Nasi Lemak Burger in conjunction with the Singapore Food Festival 2017, I have no doubt Singaporean will be thrilled that the familiar local favourite will be given a modern twist.

Nasi Lemak is considered one of the most famous dishes for Malay-style breakfast.
Since it can be served in many ways, it is often eaten throughout the day.

The most memorable nasi lemak I had was wrapped in banana leaf where the coconut rice came well mixed with just the sambal ikan bilis.
I was 10 and I remembered licking off the banana leaf.

Yes, I have heard it many times that the sambal for the nasi lemak can break or make the dish and I will share some tips for a good sambal.

• It is always good to de-seed the chillies especially if you can't handle heat or do not like biting into the seed.
• You will need a lot of oil to stir fry the paste
• Always keep the flame on moderate to low fire and fry till fragrant
• Cook the paste till the oil separate from the wok and floats to the top
• The quality of the belacan is very important when making sambal, so always buy the best grade available.
• Coconut cream and tamarind/assam juice are must have for this sambal

In my opinion, a good nasi lemak sambal should have a well balance of sweetness, saltiness, slight tangy from the assam, not overly spicy and aromatic.

I usually make a big batch and freeze the rest.
On lazy days, just need the sambal ikan bilis to be mixed well with the coconut rice.

Warning: licking off the plate may occur!


You will need:
For Crispy Ikan Bilis Sambal:

120gm dried chillies, de-seed
1 clove garlic
120gm shallots
50gm belacan (shrimp paste)
200ml of coconut cream
150 ml of oil
4 tablespoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoon assam, squeezed and strained with 6 tablespoon water
400gm dried anchovies/ikan bilis

Method:
1. Wash and soak the de-seeded chillies till soft
2. Grind the chillies with garlic, shallots and belacan to a fine paste
3. Heat oil in wok and fry the chilli paste,half and over moderate heat till oil floats to the top and fragrant.
4. Stir in the coconut cream. Lower heat and simmer to add in assam juice.Add sugar and salt to taste


Ikan bilis
1. Buy the ikan bilis without head and bones removed.
2. Briefly rinse and drain the ikan bilis.
3. Deep fry the ikan bilis in very hot oil and fry over moderate flame till a light brown and crispy.
4. Towards the end of cooking, lower the flame to avoid a darker colour and being burnt
5. Remove ikan bilis on paper towel. Put in tight container when cool.
3. Mix in sambal when ready to eat