vegetarian nasi lemak

The Significant Eater was late home tonight. I dished up his dinner and slipped into the next room to finish this post. As I type I can hear him groaning. I think it’s the nasi lemak because it’s a pleasant, joyful kind of noise.

Months ago I was groaning myself over the simplicity of this Malaysian national dish. While the rice and vegetable sides are usually accompanied by meat (usually a fiery beef rendang or a chicken curry) I’ve eaten some vegetarian versions that make an equally fine and groan-worthy meal.

While I’ve endeavoured to keep this vegetarian the one hiccough is the shrimp paste in the sambal. Though I’ve read about “vegetarian belacan” I’ve yet to find it. Vegans and vegetarians feel free to improvise but for those who can eat seafood, belacan gives it that illusive umami depth of flavour that makes me swoon at the smell. (Adding that to my list of tofu and durian loving and I have to accept I’m some kind of freak when it comes to food).

While this really is a simple yet stunning dish, it is a bit fiddley preparing all the parts. I’ve had a couple of goes at creating it now and found it’s most enjoyable to prepare in a leisurely manner – roasting the peanuts, boiling the eggs and making the sambal all ahead of time. Once all the grinding, roasting, boiling and chopping is done it’s just a matter of moulding the rice by patting it into a small bowl, upturning it prettily upon the plate and assembling all the vegetarian a compliments.

Almost vegetarian nasi lemak

Coconut rice (I do a light version using 1 part rice, 1 pt water, 1 pt coconut milk cooked by the absorption method)
OR brown rice (if you want a more wholesome meal)

Tempeh, thinly sliced
kecap manis (Indonesian sweet soy sauce)
Roasted peanuts
Eggs, boiled and halved
Sambal (see below)
Kangkung, cut into 3” lengths and boiled for 2 minutes (green beans are a nice substitute if you can’t get it)
Peanuts, roasted and lightly salted
Cucumber, sliced

Tomato sambal
serves 3, double if you need more
(I know it’s my Balinese recipe but it works really well)

1 tsp shrimp paste
2 large red chilies (more if you like it spicy)
3 tomatoes,
1 medium red onion (or 2-3 shallots, or half a brown onion if need be)
3 cloves of garlic
A small handful of nuts (I tend to use cashews)
A tsp or 2 of palm sugar
Sea salt, to taste

Coconut oil (any mild vegetable oil will do)


Prepare the shrimp paste in the usual way. I wrap it in a double layer of aluminum foil and dry roast in a hot fry pan for a few minutes.

Throw all the sambal ingredients (except the oil) in a food processor and blitz.

Heat a fry pan or wok; add enough oil to lightly cover the bottom of the pan. Fry the sambal over a medium to high heat for about 5-8 minutes, stirring frequently, until it is reduced by nearly half.

Reserve 1/2 – 2/3 of the sambal and put aside, to use as a side dish when assembling the meal. Toss the boiled, drained kangkung in the remaining sambal and cook for a further minute or two.

Fry thin slices of tempeh in vegetable oil until crisp. While still on the heat add 2-4 teaspoons of kecap manis and toss through the tempeh until lightly covered. It’s sticky; so don’t bother draining it on kitchen paper.









Now assemble your meal – a nice mound of rice surrounded by boiled egg halves, tempeh, roasted peanuts, kangkung tossed in sambal, cucumber and a nice big dollop of extra sambal on the side.

I can’t promise this is an authentic dish but I can assure you it tastes so good, it’s addictive.

getting my head around summer

At 2.30 in the early hours of Thursday morning the thermometer got stuck on 30c (86F). I’d had a delightful evening, going to a massive exhibition opening, catching up with many people I hadn’t seen for a year and then walking through the balmy streets in search of a cheap dinner with friends. The humidity reminded us of our recent holiday and at the suggestion of a Malaysian friend we wandered off to his favourite student haunt on Swanston St. At Norsiah’s Kitchen we sat outside and ate our nasi lemaks and tahu telurs, enjoying the tasty food and good company. Reluctantly we headed off to our respective homes, relaxed and laughing.

After a sticky sleep I headed off to the market an hour or two earlier than usual. The weather informed my choices. My favourite organic stall seemed to be offering specials on my favourite and usually most expensive fruits. I bought a few punnets of fragrant Victorian strawberries, unblemished mangoes, a big wedge of watermelon and some stinky papaya for the Significant Eater. It was harder to get my head around vegetables but figured wombok (don’t you just love the name) would get turned into an Asian coleslaw or smoked fish salad at some point in the week.

Inspired by watching the carnivores devour their nasi lemak the night before I sought out kangkung and tempeh for a less meaty version of the dish. My not-quite-vegetarian nasi lemak turned out a treat but it’s still a work in progress – coconut rice, crispy fried tempeh with a splash of kecap manis, my favourite kangkung dish with some extra sambal reserved to have on the side with the rice, boiled eggs and cucumber. I ran out of steam before I roasted the peanuts and or contemplated the ikan bilis. But you get the idea. Next time I’ll prepare most of the components in advance, so it’s more about assemblage at dinnertime rather than being driven wild by the aroma of the sambal that caused my brain to send a warning message “must eat now!”

We’re slowly getting into a summer routine. I’m making friends with dawn, not usually my most loved time of day. My inner alarm clock is waking me at 6am and after a couple of weeks of this I’m learning to laugh at the precision of the timing and head outside to the relative cool of the mid-20’s with my journal, a drink and attentive felines. I’ve reacquainted myself with the local pool and remembered the sheer joy of plunging into the water in the morning light.

It’s going to be an interesting summer.