Nasi lemak
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Nasi lemak is a dish that is commonly sold in Malaysia and Singapore. In fact, it has been called the unofficial national dish of Malaysia. There is a similar dish in Indonesia called nasi uduk.
With roots in Malay culture, its name is a Malay word that literally means 'rice in cream'. The name is derived from the cooking process whereby rice is soaked in rich coconut cream and then the mixture steamed. Sometimes knotted screwpine (pandan) leaves are thrown into the rice while steaming to give it more fragrance.
Traditionally, this comes as a platter with cucumber slices, small dried anchovies, roasted peanuts, kangkong, hard boiled egg and hot spicy sauce (sambal). Nasi lemak can also come with any other accompaniments such as chicken, cuttlefish, cockle or beef curry (beef stewed in coconut milk and spices). Traditionally most of these accompaniments are spicy in nature.
Nasi lemak is traditionally a breakfast dish, and it is sold early in the morning at roadside stalls in Malaysia, where it is often sold packed in newspaper, brown paper or banana leaf. However, many more upmarket restaurants now serve it on a plate for the noon or evening meals.