Roti King’s Nasi Lemak

This is essentially a collection of the elements that make up Malaysia’s famous nasi lemak.

Start by getting your chicken in the marinade. Add all the marinade ingredients to a blender and blitz to a smooth paste. Mix half of the marinade with the cornflour, rice flour and vegetable oil. Place the chicken pieces in a large mixing bowl and use your hands to work the marinade all over the chicken. Leave to marinate in a sealed container for a minimum of 1 hour and up to 24 hours in the fridge, before frying.

Next make the sambal – this can sit while you prepare the rest of the elements of the nasi lemak. Fry the dried anchovies in the oil over a low heat for 2–3 minutes until golden and crispy, then remove with a slotted spoon and set aside on paper towels, leaving the oil in the pan.

Place a bowl over a set of scales and measure out the basic sambal and the just-boiled water, then mix these together to make a paste.

Add the onions to the pan of oil, turn up the heat to high and fry until browned, which should take about 3 minutes. Turn the heat down to low and add the sambal paste to the pan with the onions, along with another 50ml (1½fl oz) water, the shrimp paste and the tamarind water. Stir through, add the sugar and salt and cook for 10–15 minutes.

Once you’ve made the sambal, you can start the coconut rice. Once you have thoroughly washed the rice, leave it to soak in a bowl with 250ml (9fl oz) of water for 25 minutes.

Drain the rice, add to a rice cooker or large pan with 500ml (17fl oz) of water along with the rest of the ingredients and cook the rice as per the packet instructions.

Now for the fried anchovies and peanuts. Heat the oil in a medium frying pan over a medium–high heat. Once the oil reaches 170C (325F), turn the heat to low, add the peanuts and fry for 4–5 minutes until browned. Remove from the oil with a slotted spoon and place on paper towels in a single layer. Add the sliced chilli to the oil and fry for 30 seconds before removing and placing on paper towels.

Next, add the anchovies to the oil and cook for 3–4 minutes until lightly golden.

Remove from the pan with a slotted spoon and place on fresh paper towels to drain the excess oil. When drained, add the peanuts, chillies, crispy anchovies and some crispy fried shallots into a bowl and stir to combine.

You want to make a start on the fried chicken last as it’s at its best served hot. The soft-boiled egg and cucumber slices can prepared while the chicken is frying, as they only take a couple of minutes to put together.

When you’re ready to cook your chicken, pour enough vegetable oil into a medium saucepan so that it reaches halfway up. Place it over a medium heat and once the oil reaches 165C (330F) fry the chicken in batches for 6–10 minutes, turning carefully with tongs, until golden and crispy. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. Add the curry leaves to the pan for 30 seconds or until crispy, then remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels.

Serve the chicken hot with the crispy curry leaves alongside the other elements prepared above.