Nasi Lemak- National Treasure

[scroobal]

I am upset with some of the derogatory comments made about Nasi Lemak in the other thread. The humble Nasi Lemak stands beside Chicken Rice and Roti Prata in forming the holy trinity and I am not talking about father, son and the holy Goh.

I was in primary school when a classmate brought along packets of Nasi Lemak and sold it to us. Wrapped in banana leave in the trademark pyramid fold, it had rice, a dab of chilli, small ikan kunning. Those who did not want fish, had a sliver of omelette in place. What a treat. My classmates walloped the lot. Reached home and told my parents who sort of nodded and carried on. Next day, same treat and went back home and repeated the same comments. Mum was curious and suggested I bring back a packet. To cut a long story short, it was a runaway success within the family. The euphoria came to grinding halt a week later when the school authorities stopped it as the school canteen went empty and the vendors complained.

Once in a while, out of the blue, a magic nasi lemak will surface. There are 2 categories now, the Malay version and the Chinese Version. A typical Nasi Lemak of the traditional type has the following key components;

1. The rice - in some cases this is the winning ingredient. ( the Chinese versions to date does not have a killer rice)

2. The Chilli - this will make of break the business. The minimum standard for this is very high.

3. Ikan Kunning or tamban fish - must be ultra crispy and dry.

5. Ikan Bilis - equally crispy , smaller type

6. Peanuts - fresh and crispy ( soft and its a goner)

7. Chicken wing - recent introduction but now key

8. Drumstick - introduced after the fall out with the Chinese family that started Mt Faber Nasi lemak.

The rest such otak otak, sausage, etc are all rubbish and considered cardinal sin.

Best Nasi Lemak - Adam Road, Prince Philip Avenue, Mt Faber, Clementi , Changi Village.

Unfortunately both Punggol and Chong Pang cannot be classified as Nasi Lemak as the Lemak is so thin. The chilli alright. I also don't want to donate money to the guy at Ponggol / Katong to pay off his gambling debts.

 

[Alamaking]

Not foursome meh? What about chilli crabs?

 

[scroobal]

Chilli Crab not bread and butter issue. More a luxury for many. I know of families that I never tasted and it was sad. Could not afford it. Found that out when I was doing some social work and quite curious about those who live on the edge. We tend to take it for granted.

 

[Alamaking]

If you are talking about humble food with long history, then satay should be included inside also... LOL, sorry ahh, tonight i very im chim a bit, LOL

Actually I didnt know Nasi Lemak got this long history, I remember when I was in Primary school, i never eat it before...... hmm...

 

[Leongsam]

I'd suggest adding this to the list.... the vegetable ones... not the curry variety.

The best epok-epok were the ones sold by the Malay kids who used to peddle the stuff in rattan baskets along the beaches of Katong, Siglap and Bedok before the pappies ruined everything. If the kids were carrying two baskets, one would be Nasi Lemak and the other would invariably be epok. The two complemented each other perfectly

As usual, Chilly was the key to success. A "syringe" was used to create a small hole whereby the chilly sauce was injected directly into the vegetable stuffing.

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[Unrepented]

I thought chicken wing and drumstick are the spoilers of the original

Otak was part of the original dish right?

 

[Watchman]

How many farmers in Singapore ? If not not it's over hyped .

 

[eatshitndie]

deep fried ikan kuning....so crispy to the bone that you can devour the whole fish without spitting out bones. can't forget that as that sensation has deep-throated into my inner psyche. especially good with chili sambal on the side.

ikan kunning on the other hand is cunning and is the fish that never get caught.

 

[kingrant]

This is the result of mass commercialisation of a village craft that ultimately corrupted the wonderful product!

Wait till the Chinamen try to copy it.

Unfortunately both Punggol and Chong Pang cannot be classified as Nasi Lemak as the Lemak is so thin. The chilli alright. I also don't want to donate money to the guy at Ponggol / Katong to pay off his gambling debts.

 

[Cruxx]

This is the result of mass commercialisation of a village craft that ultimately corrupted the wonderful product!

Wait till the Chinamen try to copy it.

Nasi Lemak with melamine sounds delicious.

 

[BuiKia]

I remember those, some will come to the house selling their stuff.

Then there are those that cycle around with a paper carton at the back of their bicycle. They would be selling the Indian curry puffs and PoPiah. I love the sweet chiili that they put in a pet bottle. They will cycle the neighbourhood and also along East Coast Road. I alway buy from them after school while walking back home....

Life in the east was so nice then...

The best epok-epok were the ones sold by the Malay kids who used to peddle the stuff in rattan baskets along the beaches of Katong, Siglap and Bedok before the pappies ruined everything. If the kids were carrying two baskets, one would be Nasi Lemak and the other would invariably be epok. The two complemented each other perfectly

As usual, Chilly was the key to success. A "syringe" was used to create a small hole whereby the chilly sauce was injected directly into the vegetable stuffing.

​

​

 

[Jah_rastafar_I]

curry pok!!

Describes some ppl's hairstyle nicely.

 

[GOD IS MY DOG]

nasi lemak..................waaaaaaay over-rated lah.................



in any case, the best nasi lemak and mee goreng i've ever eaten are cooked by Chinese...............

 

[Leongsam]

curry pok!!

Epok epok is NOT a curry puff!

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[jw5]

Adam road nasi lemak is so good even the sultan of Brunei goes there for his takeaway. :p

The 2 stalls at Market Street Food Centre are not bad also.

 

[Forvendet]

The idea of topping rice with curry gravy is age old. The idea for nasi lemak originated from how to do away with curry and yet retain the coconut milk and spicy flavor. That was because early Malay laborers wanted it to be packaged and portable and also palatable. The solution was found in cooking the rice in the coconut milk instead of using the coconut milk to make curry gravy, then prepare sambal chilli on the side to spice it up.

Notice that the original toppings for nasi lemak are all fried and dried, ikan bilis, ikan kuning, peanut, omelette, all designed to stay dry in the packet so that the packet of rice won't look and taste soggy after a few hours.

 

[fukyuman]

You forgot wrapped in coconut leaves. Not just waxed paper.

Go to Penang or Kelantan. Try their nasi lemak, small sized and conveniently placed on the coffeeshop and settled later with the kopi owner after trying them. Tell us what you think after you have tried them.

All the ingredients you mentioned is to increase profit margins. Including the burnt tamban fish. Since its a poor man's dish, rice need not be Thailand type, any sub-grade from Malaysia will do, broken rice cooked dried so the chilli does not get soaked in.

Of course there are 'gourmet' ones sold at hotels or food chains with fresh peanuts, papadums, rendang. These should be counted as another category altogether.

Although, the ze best, the ones I kept going back to is Toa Payoh Lor 7 market, corner Malay stall. $1.20 per pack. The other one is Punggol Lemak at Tanjong Katong, its more of a revenge with their stuck up service. Order the cheapest, help myself to as many spoonfuls of chilli. The other is Bali Nasi Lemak at GL Lor 15 which is only good because of their petai but ex when you order sotong balls, chicken thighs and other non traditional fare.

I am upset with some of the derogatory comments made about Nasi Lemak in the other thread. The humble Nasi Lemak stands beside Chicken Rice and Roti Prata in forming the holy trinity and I am not talking about father, son and the holy Goh.

I was in primary school when a classmate brought along packets of Nasi Lemak and sold it to us. Wrapped in banana leave in the trademark pyramid fold, it had rice, a dab of chilli, small ikan kunning. Those who did not want fish, had a sliver of omelette in place. What a treat. My classmates walloped the lot. Reached home and told my parents who sort of nodded and carried on. Next day, same treat and went back home and repeated the same comments. Mum was curious and suggested I bring back a packet. To cut a long story short, it was a runaway success within the family. The euphoria came to grinding halt a week later when the school authorities stopped it as the school canteen went empty and the vendors complained.

Once in a while, out of the blue, a magic nasi lemak will surface. There are 2 categories now, the Malay version and the Chinese Version. A typical Nasi Lemak of the traditional type has the following key components;

1. The rice - in some cases this is the winning ingredient. ( the Chinese versions to date does not have a killer rice)

2. The Chilli - this will make of break the business. The minimum standard for this is very high.

3. Ikan Kunning or tamban fish - must be ultra crispy and dry.

5. Ikan Bilis - equally crispy , smaller type

6. Peanuts - fresh and crispy ( soft and its a goner)

7. Chicken wing - recent introduction but now key

8. Drumstick - introduced after the fall out with the Chinese family that started Mt Faber Nasi lemak.

The rest such otak otak, sausage, etc are all rubbish and considered cardinal sin.

Best Nasi Lemak - Adam Road, Prince Philip Avenue, Mt Faber, Clementi , Changi Village.

Unfortunately both Punggol and Chong Pang cannot be classified as Nasi Lemak as the Lemak is so thin. The chilli alright. I also don't want to donate money to the guy at Ponggol / Katong to pay off his gambling debts.