Nasi lemak

Name: Nasi lemak
Prep time: 11 min
Cook time: 21 min
Total time: 32 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Malaysian
Ingredients: 2 cups Coconut Milk; 2 cups Water; 1/4 tsp Ginger Paste; 1 Ginger; 1 Bay Leaf; 2 cups Rice; 4 Eggs; 1 Cucumber; 1 cup Peanuts; 4 oz Anchovy Fillet; 2 tbs Vegetable Oil; 1 Onion; 3 cloves Garlic; 3 Shallots; 2 tsp Chilli Powder; 4 oz Anchovy Fillet; 3 tbs Sugar; 1/3 cup Tamarind Paste

By The Spice & Simmer Kitchen · Published May 3, 2026

A one-pot Seafood recipe with Malaysian flavors, built for busy weeknights when you want real food without a sink full of dishes. Comes together in roughly 55 minutes, serves about 4, and uses ingredients you can find at any normal grocery store. The technique is simple: build a base in your pot, layer in the main ingredients, simmer until everything has had time to talk to each other, and serve straight from the pan. If you're cooking for picky eaters, this one tends to land — the flavors are recognizable, the texture is comforting, and there's nothing weird hiding in the ingredient list. Perfect for the kind of evening where you want dinner on the table by 7pm and the kitchen empty by 7:30.

Ingredients

Makes 4 servings · 32 min total

2 cups Coconut Milk
2 cups Water
1/4 tsp Ginger Paste
1 Ginger
1 Bay Leaf
2 cups Rice
4 Eggs
1 Cucumber
1 cup Peanuts
4 oz Anchovy Fillet
2 tbs Vegetable Oil
1 Onion
3 cloves Garlic
3 Shallots
2 tsp Chilli Powder
4 oz Anchovy Fillet
3 tbs Sugar
1/3 cup Tamarind Paste

Step-by-step instructions

In a medium saucepan over medium heat, stir together coconut milk, water, ground ginger, ginger root, salt, bay leaf, and rice. Cover, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer for 20 to 30 minutes, or until done.
Place eggs in a saucepan, and cover with cold water. Bring water to a boil, and immediately remove from heat. Cover, and let eggs stand in hot water for 10 to 12 minutes. Remove eggs from hot water, cool, peel and slice in half. Slice cucumber.
Meanwhile, in a large skillet or wok, heat 1 cup vegetable oil over medium-high heat. Stir in peanuts and cook briefly, until lightly browned. Remove peanuts with a slotted spoon and place on paper towels to soak up excess grease. Return skillet to stove. Stir in the contents of one package anchovies; cook briefly, turning, until crisp. Remove with a slotted spoon and place on paper towels. Discard oil. Wipe out skillet.
Heat 2 tablespoons oil in the skillet. Stir in the onion, garlic, and shallots; cook until fragrant, about 1 or 2 minutes. Mix in the chile paste, and cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. If the chile paste is too dry, add a small amount of water. Stir in remaining anchovies; cook for 5 minutes. Stir in salt, sugar, and tamarind juice; simmer until sauce is thick, about 5 minutes.
Serve the onion and garlic sauce over the warm rice, and top with peanuts, fried anchovies, cucumbers, and eggs.

Why this works on a weeknight

Nasi lemak lands at about 32 minutes total — a little longer than our 30-minute target, but most of that time is hands-off simmering, which is why it earned a spot in our Stir-Fry collection. The technique is forgiving, the ingredient list is grocery-store standard, and the active cooking time is short enough that you can answer a text message in the middle without ruining dinner.

Cleanup notes

This is a single-pan recipe, so the cleanup is exactly one pan, one cutting board, and one knife. While the dish rests, fill the pan with hot soapy water — by the time you are done eating, the residue lifts off with a single pass of a sponge. Skip the steel wool on cast iron; a stiff brush and warm water are all you need to keep the seasoning intact.

Make-ahead and leftovers

Leftovers keep covered in the fridge for up to three days. Reheat in a dry pan over medium-low with a splash of water or stock to loosen the sauce. Nasi lemak actually improves overnight as the flavors keep talking to each other, so doubling the recipe and packing tomorrow's lunch is a high-leverage weeknight move.

Filed under 🥢 Stir-Fry Seafood Malaysian