Nasi Kerabu Terengganu

Simply fresh and delicious Nasi Kerabu

Nasi Kerabu is one of my favorite dishes. Its simple, its fresh and its delicious.  Nasi kerabu is a rice dish usually blue in color served with fresh ulam (fresh vegetables), fried salted fish or salted egg, keropok (fish cracker) and other garnishing. The  blue colored rice comes from natural dye of  bunga telang (clitoria) though the colored rice may vary depending on the dye color used. You can eat it plain or you can it  with fried fish dipped in flour batter, ayam bakar (grilled chicken) or daging bakar (grilled beef).

One place you can get good nasi kerabu is at Kedai Nasi Kerabu located right across the main entrance of Wisma Darul Iman (Terengganu State Government building). Opening hours are from 11 a.m - 3.30p.m. It may be a bit pricey here, however they offer lots of choices and local specialities.



In case you want to cook it yourself, here is the recipe for Nasi Kerabu Terengganu :

NASI KERABU TERENGGANU


The rice

3 cups of rice 
4 cups of water 
1 lemongrassi } pounded
10 clitoria flowers (blended and extracted) or blue coloring


Method:

Clean rice and cook with lemongrass and  extract of clitoria or blue coloring.  

Sambal kelapa/ikan
1/2 shredded coconut 
2-3 grilled fish meat (mackeral/sardines)
4 shallots 
1.5 cm ginger 
1 tsp black pepper 
salt

Method:

Pound shallots, ginger and pepper together with fish meat.  Add shredded coconut which is cooked over fire till its golden brown in color

Sambal Cili Padi 

A few birds eye chillies. 
Add in 1 tsp of salt, 2 tbs sugar dan some vineger or (lime juice).  
Blend till fine. 

Tumis Belacan Sauce 

2 inches belacan, grilled 
5 dry chilli}pounded 
5 shallots}  pounded 
2 piece garlic }pounded
1.5 cm ginger}pounded
1 lemongrasss (pounded)
a bit of brown sugar (gula melaka),
salt to taste
1/2 coconut, about 2 cups of santan (coconut milk) 
2 tbs tamirind juice

Method :

Cook the coconut milk till thick, Add in pounded ingredients, lemongrass, belacan,brown sugar and tamarind juice.   

Ulam-ulam (Fresh vegetables) 


Julienne or thinly shredded mixture of frangrant leaves such as bunga kantan, daun kesum, daun cekur, long beans, daun selasih (basil leaf), cabbage and cucumber
a bowl of bean sprouts (taugeh)

Serve the rice with sambal kelapa, sambal cili padi, budu(anchovy sauce) and some ulam-ulam on top of the rice plus a choice of your favourite side dishes such as grilled chicken beef or fried fish dipped in flour. Some keropok and salted eggs add the extra zing to this dish. Enjoy.