Nasi Lemak with Sambal Eggs

Ingredients

• 1½ cups jasmine rice
• 1 cup coconut milk + 1 cup water
• 2 slices ginger + 1 knotted pandan leaf (or a bay leaf, our apologies to Malaysia)
• 4 eggs, boiled 7 minutes
• 3 tbsp sambal (or sriracha simmered with 1 tsp sugar + squeeze of lime)
• ½ cup roasted peanuts
• 1 cucumber, sliced
• Crispy fried shallots

Method

1. Rinse the rice, then cook it in the coconut milk, water, ginger, pandan, and ½ teaspoon salt — the richness IS the dish; 'lemak' literally means the luscious fat.
2. While it steams, boil the eggs to jammy (7 minutes), peel, and halve.
3. Warm the sambal and roll the egg halves through it until coated in red.
4. Fluff the rice — it should smell like a Malaysian morning market.
5. Plate the quadrants properly: coconut rice center, sambal eggs, peanuts, cucumber, fried shallots over everything. Every spoonful should collect one of each. Breakfast of a nation, now yours.