When I saw this recipe in the book Indonesian Cooking by Dina Yuen, it reminded me of Com Tam Suon Nuong, a Vietnamese platter with broken rice, sliced cucumbers and tomatoes, a special meatloaf and a pork chop marinated with lemongrass, which is one of our favorite breakfast/brunch meal on the weekend (I even marinate pork chops and keep them in the freezer). (You can see my post about it with a link to Helen's recipe here: http://sunnysdelights.blogspot.ca/2014/04/com-tam-suon-nuong-vietnamese.html) So yeah, this Coconut Rice Platter seems like an Indonesian version of Com Tam Suon Nuong, even though all items except the cucumber are different. The platter comes with a deep-fried dry-rubbed chicken thigh, candied dried anchovies, rice cooked with coconut milk, cucumber, shrimp crackers and sambal oelek. I only had big dried anchovies to make stock, and even though I sometimes cook Korean-style candied dried anchovies as a side for my boyfriend who loves them, I admit I'm not that big of a fan, so I substituted the anchovies for medium-sized shrimps with the shells on (to make it a little crispy like the anchovies), but I included instructions for anchovies AND shrimps for you to try the ones you prefer. So here is my simplified version of Nasi Lemak, Coconut Rice Platter, from the book Indonesian Cooking by Dina Yuen. Since the platter has many different elements, I thought it would be clearer to separate each element into one recipe. Hope this helps!
(serves 4)
THE COCONUT RICE:
Wash 2cups of white, long-grain rice then cook as usual, but replace 3/4cup of the water by 3/4cup of coconut milk and a pinch or two of salt.
THE CHICKEN:
For 4 chicken thighs, with skin and bones on:
-3/4tsp salt
-1/4tsp turmeric powder
-1/2tsp garlic powder (CAN'T be replaced by fresh garlic)
-1/4tsp ground black pepper
Wash and dry really well with paper towels so the spices adhere well and the oil doesn't splash when deep-frying. Rub the spices on the chicken pieces, don't forget to rub some under the skin too. Let marinate while the deep-fryer (or oil in a wok) comes to the right temperate (somewhere between... 320F and 370F if you want to be exact?). Deep-fry on both sides for about 10 minutes, drain on paper towels.
THE DRIED ANCHOVIES (or shrimps):
-1cup of TINY dried anchovies, or substitute with a cup of raw small/medium shrimps, without the head and deveined but keep the tails and shells on
-1tbsp sweet soy sauce/kecap manis
-1tbsp sambal oelek
In a pan, add a little oil and for a couple minutes only, roast the anchovies until lightly golden, or the shrimps until pink. Add the sweet soy sauce and sambal oelek and stir for 30 seconds until well mixed and the sauce gets absorbed a little.
THE SHRIMP CRACKERS:
You can use whatever shrimp crackers you want. In my book, on the picture, it's these colourful ones that are used. If you're not familiar with this product, it's available at all Asian markets in a box for about a dollar. You need to deep-fry them at a REALLY high temperature (380-400F). To know if your oil is ready, throw a translucid tiny cracker in the oil, and in only a couple seconds, it should float and puff up like crazy. If this doesn't work, wait for your oil to get warmer. Drain on paper towels. For this Coconut Rice Platter, right after the chicken is done frying, get the temperature of your oil higher and you can make the crackers really quickly before the chicken cools down.
To assemble, pass a small bowl fast under water and empty it. It prevents the rice from sticking to the bowl (but most of you most likely knew that already!). Fill the bowl with 1/4 of the coconut rice (half a cup), press the rice in the bowl and flip on a plate. Quickly rinse the bowl and repeat for each plate. Also place a piece of chicken and a quarter of the anchovies or shrimps nicely on each plate. Garnish with slices or sticks of cucumber, and serve with sambal oelek and shrimp crackers!
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