There are many variations of nasi ulam (Malay herb rice) and Nasi Kerabu stands out with its signature blue rice, naturally coloured with dried butterfly pea flowers. This dish originated from the north-eastern states of Kelantan and Terengganu on Peninsular Malaysia, but can now be found all across Malaysia and even in Singapore.
Nasi Kerabu is made up of a few components, each prepared separately and assembled on a plate right before serving. There is the blue rice, a fried fish sambal, a herb salad and assorted accompaniments such as salted egg, fish crackers and winged bean. The fish sambal is made up of deep fried cencaru fish that has been deboned and flaked, crispy Geragau shrimp and toasty grated coconut, all bound together by a spicy sambal mix.
In this recipe, we used laksa leaves, torch ginger flower and lemongrass in our herb salad but traditionally, people preparing it at home would use whichever herbs they had available to them in their gardens. Feel free to play around with different combinations to create your own version.
Once you are ready to get started on your plate of Nasi Kerabu, mix everything together so you can taste the layers of flavours and contrasting textures in each bite.
