ex reg

Well the Nasi Lemak down yur offers choices and different stalls will have different choices.
Ikan Kuning or otak otak
Sambal ikan bilis plus peanuts
chicken wing or leg
Fried egg boiled egg or omelette
Some will even put vege on the plate
You can have it all or just one.

I reckon the original nasi lemak would be the nasi lemak with maybe ikan kuning plus the sambal.
It was after all a cheap breakfast dish sold from the sidecar of a motor cycle combination.??

When you find a really good stall selling it it can be as good as anything.

Nasi Kandar will use steamed rice usually and more substantial add on dishes.

But these things do vary from town to town, state to state and country to country.

bakedbean

Dunno it was at a hawker centre. Maybe the Nasi Lemak guy was moonlighting. Rice seemed to be steamed rice. I had some kinda chicken curry...fairly spicy...and some long beans also spicey

ajw

Well according to my Penang Heritage Cookbook, coconut rice is the cornerstone of Nasi Lemak and nowhere is there mention of beans... I think this guy is taking liberties with the original concept.

TopHattedCat

Nasi Lemak is all about the quality of the rice & sambal.

The rice should be consistently firm, not too fluffy & definitely not sticky. Most rice cookers result in nice tasting but sticky rice whereas if it follows the proper steaming process with coconut milk & pandan leaf it should result in a consistently good rice with a fantastic taste & aroma.

If you happen to come across 'good' nasi lemak you will know, especially after comparing to the not so average & poor imitations that permeate everywhere.

The sambal should be fairly sweet & hot with a subtle belacan essence to it, but whereas the coconut rice should be consistent the sambal can vary greatly from vendor to vendor. Again, you will know automatically if it is great tasting sambal.

The accompaniments of egg (fried or boiled), peanuts & anchovies are also fairly consistent & add an alternative taste dimension to the overall gustatory sensation, whereas the cucumber has the cooling effect so liked in SE Asian cuisine.

bakedbean

I'm thinking that the stall had changed hands and maybe they forgot to change the signboard Definitely more Nasi Kandar than Nasi Lemak but hey ho it was a plate of food.

ajw

Haha, sounds much more likely!

Strider24

Was it a Malay, Chinese or Indian stall? Something may have gone missing in the interpretation!!

bakedbean

Dunno ....it's the stall in the corner next to the banana leaf Char Kway Teow stall at Viva. Think you know it? Well I think Mrs Strider will know

Strider24

Mrs S seems to remember it is a Chinese stall
which would explain why its was different. I'm told that the name nasi lemak is retained as the nasi (rice) is cooked in lemak (oil)...these days usually coconut cream and then Chinese add usually a larger range of more varied items.....so I'm told by she who will always be obeyed at all time without question!

bakedbean

Ah I see..... thanks to Mrs S

Strider24

Found a terrific blog on Chinese food. Covers Penang, KL/Selangor, but in particular Perak and Ipoh. http://www.j2kfm.com/

I have only scanned so far as its very comprehensive, but I have tried a few of the Ipoh ones and agree with this guys comments.

bakedbean

What about omelettes? They're nothing like a British omelette eh? At Viva I tried the prawn omelette once when I was fancying something plain at the time and worrrr loads of chillis hehe. More like a kinda scrambled egg with tons of prawns, chillis and spring onions. Nice.

A friend always eats Oyster omelette at Viva. Think I may have to give that a try.

ex reg

You mean you've never tried Oyster Omelette.
My ghast is well and truly flabberred.

There're two types, mind.

jonboy

That is a great blog and encourages me to return to SE Asia and enjoy the super food and even the super humidity! Thank you so much for posting it. It is inspirational.

bakedbean

G'wan then...what's the two types? The one I've seen at Viva FC in Penang seems to be like a sort of scrambled egg type omelette with tons of oysters. It looks quite appealing though it's been so long since I tried an oyster, I really cannot remember if I actually like them