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

Chicken Thighs 1/2 tsp. Curry Powder

Curry Powder 1/4 tsp. Turmeric Powder

Turmeric Powder 1/2 tsp. Lime Juice

Lime Juice 1/8 tsp. Salt

Salt 1/2 tsp. Coconut Oil

Nasi Lemak

3 tbsp. Coconut Milk (from the can)

Coconut Milk (from the can) 3 slices Ginger

Ginger 1/2 small Shallot, sliced

Shallot, sliced 1/4 tsp. Salt (or to taste)

Salt (or to taste) 7 oz. Cauliflower, riced

Cauliflower, riced 4 slices Cucumber

Fried Egg

1 large Egg

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