Don Signature Crab - Singapore Food Guide

Nasi Lemak with Sambal & Ikan Bilis

Singapore-style Nasi Lemak with fragrant pandan coconut rice, spicy-sweet sambal and crispy ikan bilis — a hawker-favourite served family-style or for kopitiam breakfasts.

Nasi Lemak with Sambal & Ikan Bilis

About this dish

Nasi lemak is one of those dishes you find from sleepy kopitiams to buzzing heartland hawker centres and Tiong Bahru cafés — a comforting Singapore staple that works for breakfast, family dinners or supper after a night out. This version keeps to the classic elements: coconut milk rice perfumed with pandan, a glossy sambal chilli, crunchy fried ikan bilis (anchovies) and roasted peanuts, plated simply but packed with texture and umami.

At home in a typical Singapore kitchen — rice cooker, wok and a handful of pantry ingredients from NTUC or the wet market — you can reproduce the familiar hawker flavours without fuss. The sambal here balances spicy, sweet and sour: dried chillies and belacan for depth, gula melaka (or palm sugar) for caramel sweetness, and tamarind for brightness. Fry the ikan bilis until they sing with crispness and toss cucumber and hard-boiled egg on the side for freshness.

The result is a bowl of contrasts: creamy coconut rice, sticky and slightly charred sambal, crunchy ikan bilis and nutty roasted peanuts. It’s perfect for sharing at a weekend makan, packing into lunchboxes for the CBD crowd, or serving alongside fried chicken or ayam goreng for a festive spread at Hari Raya or family potlucks. Small tweaks — more chilli padi for heat or extra gula melaka for sweetness — will make it your own, as many zi char stalls and mamaks do across Singapore.

Ingredients

  • 400 g jasmine rice, rinsed until water runs clear
  • 400 ml coconut milk (approx. 1 can)
  • 200 ml water (adjust depending on rice cooker)
  • 2 pandan leaves, knotted
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 3 tbsp vegetable oil (for frying and sambal)
  • 120 g dried red chillies (deseeded for milder heat) or 20–30 g chilli padi for extra kick
  • 6–8 shallots, peeled
  • 4 cloves garlic
  • 1 tbsp belacan (shrimp paste), toasted if raw
  • 2 tbsp tamarind paste or 1 tbsp tamarind concentrate mixed with 2 tbsp water
  • 2 tbsp gula melaka (palm sugar) or 2 tbsp light brown sugar
  • 1 tsp light soy sauce
  • 200 g ikan bilis (dried anchovies), heads removed and rinsed
  • 100 g roasted peanuts (unsalted or lightly salted)
  • 2–3 cucumbers, thinly sliced
  • 4 large eggs, hard boiled
  • 1 tbsp lime juice (optional, to finish sambal)
  • Salt to taste
  • Optional: 1 small knob ginger (for sambal twist) or 1 tbsp kecap manis for a sweeter note
  • Optional garnish: fried curry leaves or sliced red chilli

Step-by-Step Method

  1. Rinse the jasmine rice until the water runs clear. Drain and transfer to the rice cooker pot.
  2. Add 400 ml coconut milk, 200 ml water, knotted pandan leaves and 1/2 tsp salt to the rice. Stir once, cover and cook on the regular white rice setting. For stovetop, bring to a gentle simmer, cover and cook on low for 15–18 minutes, then rest off heat for 10 minutes.
  3. Prepare sambal: rehydrate dried chillies in hot water for 15 minutes until soft, then drain. Or if using chilli padi, use them fresh. Blend chillies with shallots, garlic and belacan into a smooth paste, adding a little water if needed.
  4. Heat 2–3 tbsp oil in a wok on medium-high heat. Fry the sambal paste, stirring constantly — lower heat to medium once it splutters. Cook until the oil separates and the paste darkens slightly and smells caramelised, about 10–12 minutes; watch for tiny dark bits but avoid burning.
  5. Stir in tamarind paste and gula melaka. Simmer for 2–3 minutes, then season with light soy sauce and a pinch of salt. Taste and adjust: add more gula melaka if you want it sweeter, or more tamarind for brightness. Finish with a squeeze of lime juice if you like a tangy lift.
  6. While sambal cooks, dry the ikan bilis thoroughly with kitchen paper. Heat a thin layer of oil in a small frying pan on medium-high. Fry ikan bilis in batches until golden and crisp, about 2–4 minutes per batch. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels.
  7. Toast or shallow-fry the peanuts until golden and fragrant (1–2 minutes). Halve the hard-boiled eggs and slice cucumbers.
  8. Assemble: scoop pandan coconut rice onto a plate, add a generous spoonful of sambal, arrange crispy ikan bilis, roasted peanuts, cucumber slices and half an egg. Serve immediately with extra sambal on the side. Reheat sambal gently on low; crisp ikan bilis just before serving for best texture.

Tips & Serving Ideas

  • For fragrant rice, use pandan leaves — tie them into a knot and bury in the rice cooker before cooking; available at wet markets and some supermarkets like NTUC or Cold Storage.
  • Adjust sambal heat by deseeding dried chillies or adding fresh chilli padi at the end for a sharper kick; taste as you go like hawkers in a kopitiam.
  • Dry the ikan bilis completely before frying to avoid oil splatter and to ensure maximum crispness; fry in small batches on medium-high until golden.
  • Belacan (shrimp paste) adds umami — toast a small piece in a dry pan first if you find its flavour too pungent raw.
  • Make sambal a day ahead; flavours deepen overnight and it keeps refrigerated for up to a week, great for quick rice bowls or sambal fried rice.
  • Use gula melaka for authentic caramel notes; substitute with light brown sugar if unavailable at your local supermarket.
  • To reheat rice without drying, sprinkle a few tablespoons of water over the rice and microwave covered, or steam gently on the stovetop.
  • If you prefer a less oily sambal, shallow-fry the paste and then spoon out excess oil before adding tamarind and sugar.

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