← Nouns Cooking · Malaysian & Singaporean

Ingredients

• 400 g jasmine rice
• 1 l Water
• ½ tsp Salt
• 8 Shallot
• 4 cloves Garlic
• 3 fresh red chillies
• 2 cm piece Galangal
• 3 cm piece fresh turmeric (or 1½ tsp ground)
• 2 sticks lemongrass stalks, sliced
• 3 Candlenuts (buah keras)
• 2 tbsp Dried shrimp, soaked (optional)
• 4 tbsp Vegetable oil
• 400 ml Coconut milk
• 800 ml water
• 300 g Cabbage, cut into pieces
• 200 g Jicama (củ sắn), cut into thick matchsticks
• 150 g long beans, cut into 4 cm lengths
• 1 Carrot, cut into matchsticks
• 200 g Tempeh, cubed and fried golden
• 200 g firm tofu, cubed and fried golden
• 40 g Glass (sweet potato) noodles, soaked 10 minutes
• 1½ tsp salt
• 1 tsp Sugar
• 6 Eggs, hard-boiled
• 6 tbsp Sambal oelek
• 2 tbsp Crispy fried shallots

Method

1. For the rice cakes, simmer the rice in the water with the salt in a covered pot over low heat, stirring now and then, for 30 min until very soft and porridge-thick. Spread it into an oiled tin, press down very firmly with a spoon, cover and leave to cool and set for at least 2 hours. Cut into cubes.
2. Blend the shallots, garlic, chillies, galangal, turmeric, lemongrass, candlenuts and dried shrimp (if using) into a smooth paste.
3. Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat and fry the paste for 6–8 min until fragrant and the oil separates.
4. Add the water and bring to the boil. Add the jicama, carrot and long beans and simmer for 5 min, then the cabbage for 4 min, until the vegetables are just tender.
5. Stir in the coconut milk, tempeh, tofu, glass noodles, salt and sugar and simmer gently for 3 min without boiling hard. Taste for salt.
6. Put the rice cakes in bowls, ladle over the kuah lodeh with plenty of vegetables, and top with a halved egg, sambal and fried shallots.

Tips

• Short on time? Use ready-made nasi impit packs, boiled as the packet says. Rice cakes should be cooled quickly and kept in the fridge if made ahead.
• Dried shrimp is traditional; with it, or with a sambal containing belacan, the dish is not vegetarian. Contains soy and egg; candlenuts are tree nuts.

Sources

Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:

Nomadette The Meatmen What To Cook Today