Malay Herb Rice Salad
– NASI ULAM –
MALAYSIA / INDONESIA
This rice salad is quite a refreshing change from the heartier dishes in this chapter. A good amount and variety of fresh herbs are chopped and stirred into cooled rice, along with dried shrimps and toasted coconut for extra fragrance. The traditional list of ingredients includes crazy-sounding herbs like wild betel nut leaves and torch ginger flowers – many of which are definitely a challenge to track down even in the most well-stocked of Asian supermarkets. This version uses less obscure herbs; but the combination of citrusy lime, various mints and Thai basil is no less flavourful, and a perfect accompaniment to summer barbecues.
- 40g desiccated coconut
- 3 tablespoons dried shrimps
- 3 shallots
- 1 stalk of lemongrass, white part only
- 6 kaffir lime leaves
- 1 handful of fresh mint
- 1 handful of fresh hot mint (laksa leaves)
- 1 handful of fresh Thai basil leaves
- 4 cups of cold cooked basmati rice
- ½ teaspoon salt, or to taste
- 1 teaspoon unrefined light brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon ground white pepper
- Toast the desiccated coconut in a medium-hot pan, shaking and stirring constantly so it doesn’t burn. Remove from the heat just as it turns a pale gold because it will continue cooking to a golden brown off the heat. Set aside to cool.
- Pound the dried shrimps in a mortar and pestle, or crush them with the back of your knife and finely chop.
- Slice the shallots, lemongrass and all the herbs very finely.
- In a big bowl, combine the cold cooked rice, dried shrimps, toasted coconut, shallots and herbs. Season with the salt, sugar and pepper. Toss well to combine and serve straight away.