This is a very popular rice dish that can be found in Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore. In fact, it is Malaysia’s national dish. Usually called Nasi Lemak, it is roughly translated to Rice Fat. When relating to the culture, that usually means coconut rice.
It’s an extremely common dish that’s served pretty much everywhere: street vendors (garai), night markets (pasar malam), restaurants, and made in homes across the countries. Traditionally, it’s wrapped in banana leaves and sometimes held together with a newspaper or brown paper.
My friend Hazim told me that it was his favorite breakfast pre-keto, where he could easily go to a street vendor in his village and grab one for around 70 cents. He also told me that the condiments vary depending on who is making it. Sometimes the rice has no seasoning, other times sambal (we use homemade sambal) and a small fried egg is included. Typically you can also see fried peanuts, dried anchovies, cucumber, and other pickled items included.
If you want to spend more, fried chicken or beef is usually added to the dish. But, we decided to keep it pretty simple and mimic the street food you can get. In Brunei, where Hazim is from, pandan leaves are commonly used. They’re tied together in a knot and boiled in coconut milk. But, this is a pretty hard ingredient to find in the rest of the world, he decided it would be best to skip it.
Yields 2 servings of Keto Nasi Lemak
The Preparation
Fried Chicken
- 2 boneless Chicken Thighs
- 1/2 tsp. Curry Powder
- 1/4 tsp. Turmeric Powder
- 1/2 tsp. Lime Juice
- 1/8 tsp. Salt
- 1/2 tsp. Coconut Oil
Nasi Lemak
- 3 tbsp. Coconut Milk (from the can)
- 3 slices Ginger
- 1/2 small Shallot, sliced
- 1/4 tsp. Salt (or to taste)
- 7 oz. Cauliflower, riced
- 4 slices Cucumber
Fried Egg
- 1 large Egg
- 1/2 tbsp. Unsalted Butter
The Execution
1. Prepare 7 oz. cauliflower rice (by ricing cauliflower) and squeeze water out. Set aside.
2. Marinade 2 boneless Chicken Thighs with 1/2 tsp. Curry Powder, 1/4 tsp. Turmeric Powder, 1/2 tsp. Lime Juice and 1/2 tsp. Salt. Set aside.
3. Prepare Sambal from this recipe on the website.
4. Fry the marinated chicken thighs until brown.
5. To prepare the rice, boil in a saucepan on medium heat: 3 tbsp. Coconut Milk, 3 slices Ginger, 1/2 small Shallot and 1/4 tsp. Salt (or to taste). It should take about a minute or less.
6. Once bubbling, add in the riced Cauliflower and mix well.
7. Serve with 2 slices cucumber and a fried egg, along with 1 tbsp. Sambal and 1 piece Chicken Thigh.
This makes a total 2 servings of Nasi Lemak. Each serving comes out to be 501.7 Calories, 39.9g Fats, 6.9g Net Carbs and 28.1g Protein.
| Sambal | Calories | Fats (g) | Carbs (g) | Fiber (g) | Net Carbs (g) | Protein (g) |
| 1 large Onion, blended | 39 | 0.2 | 9.3 | 1.4 | 7.9 | 1.3 |
| 0.35 oz. Dried Chillies | 32.4 | 0.6 | 7 | 2.9 | 4.1 | 1.1 |
| 3 tbsp. Reduced Sugar Ketchup | 28.8 | 0.045 | 5.4 | 0 | 5.4 | 0.6 |
| 1/2 tsp. Salt (or to taste) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2 tbsp. Coconut Oil | 258.6 | 30 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1-2 drops Liquid Sucralose | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Totals | 358.8 | 30.8 | 21.7 | 4.3 | 17.4 | 3.0 |
| Totals Per Serving (/10 tbsp.) | 35.9 | 3.1 | 2.2 | 0.4 | 1.7 | 0.3 |
| Fried Chicken | Calories | Fats (g) | Carbs (g) | Fiber (g) | Net Carbs (g) | Protein (g) |
| 2 boneless Chicken Thighs | 438 | 34 | 0.4 | 0 | 0.4 | 32 |
| 1/2 tsp. Curry Powder | 1.4 | 0.1 | 0.4 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 0.1 |
| 1/4 tsp. Turmeric Powder | 1.8 | 0.1 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 0.0 |
| 1/2 tsp. Lime | 0.8 | 0.0 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 0.0 |
| 1/8 tsp. Salt | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1/2 tsp. Coconut Oil | 64.65 | 7.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Totals | 506.6 | 41.6 | 1.4 | 0.3 | 1.1 | 32.1 |
| Totals Per Fried Chicken (/2) | 253.3 | 20.8 | 0.7 | 0.2 | 0.5 | 16.1 |
| Nasi Lemak | Calories | Fats (g) | Carbs (g) | Fiber (g) | Net Carbs (g) | Protein (g) |
| 3 tbsp. Coconut Milk | 71.6 | 7.2 | 1.5 | 0.5 | 1.0 | 0.8 |
| 3 slices Ginger | 4.8 | 0.0 | 1.1 | 0.1 | 1.0 | 0.1 |
| 1/2 small Shallot | 1.4 | 0.0 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 0.1 |
| 1/4 tsp. Salt (or to taste) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 7 oz. riced Cauliflower | 68 | 1.8 | 9.4 | 3.6 | 5.8 | 7.2 |
| 4 Slices Cucumber | 2 | 0.0 | 0.4 | 0.12 | 0.3 | 0.1 |
| Totals | 147.8 | 9.1 | 12.7 | 4.4 | 8.3 | 8.3 |
| Totals Per Serving (/2) | 73.9 | 4.5 | 6.3 | 2.2 | 4.1 | 4.2 |
| Fried Egg | Calories | Fats (g) | Carbs (g) | Fiber (g) | Net Carbs (g) | Protein (g) |
| 1 large Egg | 85.8 | 5.7 | 0.4 | 0 | 0.4 | 7.5 |
| 1/2 tbsp. Unsalted Butter | 52.9 | 5.8 | 0.1 | 0 | 0.1 | 0.0 |
| Totals | 138.7 | 11.5 | 0.5 | 0 | 0.5 | 7.6 |
| Totals Per Serving of Nasi Lemak | 501.7 | 39.9 | 9.7 | 2.8 | 6.9 | 28.1 |
Ketogenic Nasi Lemak
Ingredients
Fried Chicken
- 2 boneless Chicken Thighs
- ½ tsp. Curry Powder
- ¼ tsp. Turmeric Powder
- ½ tsp. Lime Juice
- ⅛ tsp. Salt
- ½ tsp. Coconut Oil
Nasi Lemak
- 3 tbsp. Coconut Milk
- 3 slices Ginger
- ½ small Shallot
- ¼ tsp. Salt or to taste
- 7 oz. riced Cauliflower
- 4 Slices Cucumber
Fried Egg
- 1 large Egg
- ½ tbsp. Unsalted Butter
Instructions
- Rice cauliflower and squeeze water out.
- Marinade chicken thighs with curry powder, turmeric powder, lime juice and salt.
- Prepare sambal by following this recipe.
- Fry marinated chicken.
- In a saucepan, boil coconut milk, ginger and shallot. Once bubbling, add the cauliflower rice and mix well.
- Serve with 2 slices cucumber and a fried egg along with sambal and fried chicken.
