I grew up eating the most popular Malaysian dishes. So I was so excited to go to Malaysia (Kota Kinabalu, Kuala Lumpur, and Sandakan) for my cousin’s wedding. The food was truly amazing! One of the simplest dishes to make is the rice dish, nasi lemak. It comes with some side dishes with the signature hot sauce, sambal with anchovies.

Sambal and Anchovy Sauce Recipe

adapted from here

1 cup of small dried anchovies rinsed and drained very well plus up to 1 cup more for garnish if desired
Vegetable oil
Deep fry until crispy
3 to 4 tablespoons of sambal (three was spicy enough for me)
1 tablespoon tamarind pulp without seeds in smashed, softened and mixed with half a cup of hot water, and then pushed through a sieved before using
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon granulated white sugar
6 shallots or one onion shredded in food processor along with four cloves of garlic and 1 tsp of belachan

Malaysian Nasi Lemak with Sambal and Anchovy Sauce Recipes

adapted from here

Plate the following prepared ingredients and serve with sambal and anchovy sauce on the side.

cooked rice (2 cups long grain rice cooked with 2.5 cups water)
3 tablespoons plus 1 tsp coconut cream (best brand is savoy)
sliced cucumber
sliced tomato
sliced hard boiled egg
coarsly chopped roasted peanuts