Nasi kerabu is a Malay rice dish, a type of nasi ulam, in which blue-coloured rice is eaten with dried fish or fried chicken, crackers, pickles and other salads. The blue color of the rice comes from the petals of Clitoria Ternatea (butterfly-pea) flowers (kembang telang) used in cooking it. The rice can also be cooked with plain white rice or rice cooked using turmeric. It is often eaten with solok lada and is also eaten with fried keropok
Nasi kerabu is very popular in the east coast states of Peninsular Malaysia such as Kelantan and Terengganu, and now can be found throughout Malaysia as well as in southern Thailand where it is known as khao yam (Thai: ข้าวยำ)
WHAT YOU WILL HAVE IN NASI KERABU
With the basic Nasi Kerabu Prawn Crackers (Keropok) Boiled Salted egg (Telur Masin) Fish stuffed chili (Solok Lada) Turmeric Fried Fish (Ikan Goreng Tepung) Grilled Beef (Daging Bakar) Fried Chicken (Ayam Goreng)
Ingredients for the Rice
420 gm ( 2 1/2 rice cup ) Rice ( I used Basmathi rice )
8 - 10 Butterfly pea flower / blue pea flower / bunga telang, soaked in hot water or a few drops of blue coloring
2 -3 kaffir lime leaves / daun limau purut - optional
1stalk lemongrass, bruised - optional
1 tsp Salt - optional (I did not add )
Wash and drain the rice. Soak the rice with the butterfly pea flower water for 10 minutes (if using) and then put in kaffir lime leaves, lemongrass and salt and cook the rice as usual. If you are just using blue coloring, drop a few drops of the color and cook as usual.
Ingredients for Kerisik Sambal Ikan / Coconut Flaked Fish
2 - 3 Chubbs Mackerel / Indian Mackerel / ikan kembung, grilled and flaked
1 skinned Coconut, grated
1/2 tsp Salt
1 tsp Sugar
Ingredients to be ground: 8 Shallots, peeled 2. 5 cm knob ginger, peeled 1/4 tsp ground White pepper
Dry fry the grated coconut until lightly brown. If the grated coconut you are using is a little bit coarser, just pound it lightly to make it finer. Cool completely. Into a mixing bowl, put flaked fish, ground ingredients and kerisik. Add salt and sugar and mix well. Transfer to a serving dish.
Ingredients Coconut Sauce / Sambal Tumis Kelapa
10 dried chillies, soaked with hot water to soften
8 Shallots, peeled
1 litre coconut milk, squeezed from 1 grated coconut with sufficient water added.
2 pcs dried sour fruit / asam gelugur / asam keping
2 stalks Lemongrass / serai, lightly bruised
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt - optional
2 - 3 tbsp Budu / Salted (fermented) anchovy sauce or to taste - optional
1. Combine dried chilies and shallots by grinding or blending in a blender. Into a pot, put coconut milk, ground chilies and shallots, dried sour fruit slices and lemongrass. Bring to a slow boil. 2. Simmer gently, stirring constantly for 10 minutes or until oil separates. However, if you are using canned coconut, the oil will not separate no matter how long you cook. In this instance, just cook until the gravy thickens. 3. Add sugar and salt or budu (whichever one you prefer), then transfer to a serving bowl.
Ingredients for Turmeric Battered Fried Fish / Ikan Goreng Tepung
small / medium Chubb mackeral / Indian Mackeral / Kembung
1 tsp Salt
1 tsp Tamarind pulp / asam jawa + 2 tbsp Water, strained
Cooking oil
For Batter :
1 cup rice flour / tepung beras
125 ml Water
1/2 tsp Turmeric powder
a pinch of Salt
1. Rub fish with salt and tamarind juice. Leave for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, prepare batter. Combine all ingredients and blend until smooth.
2. Dip seasoned fish into batter and fry in hot oil for 2 - 3 minutes on each side. When cooked through and light golden, drain fish and transfer to a serving dish.
Ingredients for Roasted Turmeric Beef / Daging Bakar
300 gm of any tender cut Beef ( I used Sirlion )
2 tsp salt or to taste ( saltier nicer )
2 tsp Turmeric powder
1 tbsp Oil
1. Coat the beef with salt and turmeric (if you have the time, marinate for a few hours). Preheat oven at 400 degree F (grill function). 2. Line a baking tray with aluminum foil. Rub a wire grid with some oil. Rub beef pieces with oil and place onto the oiled grid. 3. Grill for 40 minutes or until the surface looks dry, turning once every ten minutes. Leave beef to cool down and slice thinly to serve.
Ingredients for Solok Lada
10 – 12 large green / red chilies 180 gm Spanish mackerel / ikan tenggiri, meat only, cut into large cubes (I used Indian Mackerel / kembung) 150 gm grated fresh coconut 6 shallots, peeled 1 tsp sugar 1 tsp salt 190 ml coconut milk, squeezed from 3/4 grated coconut with sufficient water added + a pinch of salt
1. Slit chilies lengthways with a sharp knife for stuffing. Carefully remove seeds and membranes. Soak in water for 15 minutes. 2. Into a blender (processor), put fish cubes, grated coconut and shallots. Blend until fine, and then stir in sugar and salt. Mix well. 3. Stuff each chili with 1 tbsp of fish mixture. Into a pot, put stuffed chilies, slit side up. Then, carefully pour in coconut milk mixed with a pinch of salt. 4. Cover pot and simmer gently for 15 minutes or until cooked and almost dry. 5. Serve with either rice or Nasi kerabu.
Ingredients for Ulam - Ulaman
Beans Sprouts (Taugeh)
Long beans (cut into small pieces)
1 stalk coriander (chopped)
Mix all together and add a pinch of salt
Condiments :
Prawn Crackers
Fish Crackers
Salted Egg
Garnishing (use as many or as few as preferred)
1 cucumber, shredded 3 cabbage leaves, finely sliced (I used this) a handful of bean sprouts / taugeh 6 long beans / snake beans, finely sliced (I used this) 4 - 5 four angle bean / winged bean / kacang botol 5 - 6 sprigs Polygonum leaves / daun kesum, finely sliced (I used this) 3 kaffir lime leaves / daun limau purut, finely sliced 2 stalks lemongrass, finely sliced (I used this) 1 torch ginger buds / bunga kantan, finely sliced (I used this -frozen) 1 onion, finely sliced a handful of daun penna 10 young Cashew nuts leaves / pucuk gajus, finely sliced