Malaysian nasi lemak

• 4 u Egg
  Swaps (2)
• 100 g Peanuts (raw, skin on)
  Swaps (1)
• 1 u Onion (sliced into rings)
• 3 cloves Garlic
• 1 teaspoon Salt (for the rice and the sambal)
• 200 ml Vegetable Oil (for frying the peanuts, shrimp and sambal)
• 1 piece Ginger (about 3 cm, sliced)
• 400 ml Coconut Milk
  Swaps (1)
• 2 tablespoons Tamarind Paste
• 400 g Jasmine Rice
• 1 u Cucumber (sliced)
• 6 u Shallots (peeled)
  Swaps (1)
• 2 tablespoons Palm Sugar (or soft brown sugar)
• 80 g Dried Shrimp (or dried anchovies (ikan bilis): 20 g for the sambal and the rest for frying)
• 2 leaves Pandan Leaves (tied in a knot) (optional)
• 15 u Dried Red Chillies (seeded, fewer for a milder sambal)
• 1 teaspoon Shrimp Paste (belacan) (optional)
• 1 u Lemongrass (the stalk, bruised)
• 300 ml Water (200 ml for the rice and 100 ml for the sambal)

Instructions

1. 1

   Cut the dried chillies into pieces, shake out the seeds and soak them in very hot water. Rinse the dried shrimp, put 20 g to soak with the chillies and spread the rest out on kitchen paper to dry.

   15 min

2. 2

   Wash the rice until the water runs almost clear and put it in a pan with the coconut milk, 200 ml of water, half a teaspoon of salt, the pandan, lemongrass and ginger. Bring to the boil, stir once, cover and cook over the lowest heat until the liquid is absorbed. Turn off the heat and leave to rest, covered, for 10 minutes.

   25 min

3. 3

   Boil the eggs for 9 minutes, cool them in cold water, peel and halve them.

   12 min

4. 4

   Drain the soaked chillies and shrimp and blend them with the shallots, garlic, shrimp paste and a splash of the remaining water into as smooth a paste as possible.

   5 min

5. 5

   Heat the oil in a wok or frying pan over medium-low heat and fry the peanuts, stirring, until golden. Lift them out with a slotted spoon. In the same oil, fry the shrimp you left to dry until crisp and drain them on kitchen paper. Pour off all but about 6 tablespoons of the oil.

   10 min

6. 6

   Fry the chilli paste in that oil over a low heat, stirring often, until it darkens and the oil separates and rises to the surface. Take your time: this is the key to a good sambal.

   20 min

7. 7

   Add the onion rings, tamarind, palm sugar, the rest of the water and half a teaspoon of salt. Cook until the onion is soft and the sambal thick and glossy. Taste: it should be hot, sweet and a little sour.

   8 min

8. 8

   Remove the pandan, lemongrass and ginger from the rice. Serve each plate with a mound of rice (you can shape it in a bowl), a generous spoonful of sambal, the peanuts, the crispy shrimp, an egg cut in half and a few slices of cucumber.