Nasi Ulam uses a variety of different herbs. My great grandaunt apparently picked and gathered as many as 16 different types of herbs to make her Nasi Ulam. I use only about 10 different types of herbs available in the market. I believe knowledge of many herbs have been lost with our rapid urbanisation and less frequently used ones have fallen into obscurity. The idea is to use as many herbs as possible and harness all the nutritional and medicinal values of the different herbs. They must be finely sliced and well mixed so that you are arrested with a myriad of different flavours with each mouthful of Nasi Ulam you take.
Health Benefits:
The herbs are believed to expel wind and contain many medicinal benefits. It is also confinement food for women as the different herbs are believed to strengthen and cleanse the woman’s body after childbirth.
Ingredients:
500 grams Grated Coconut
1 large Onion
1 sliced Red Chilli
1 sliced Green Chilli
800 grams Rice
500 grams Ikan Cencaru (Hardtail Scad)
500 grams Prawns
500 grams Crab Meat
100 grams Gerago or Dried Shrimps to garnish
50 grams Bawang Goreng or Fried Shallots to garnish
Herbs
2 stalks Serai (Cymbopogon or Lemon Grass)
1 stalk Bunga Kantan (Etlingera Elatior or Torch Ginger Flower) Daun Kunyit (Zingiberaceae or Tumeric Leaves)
3 Daun Kadok (Piper Sarmentosum)
10 Daun Limau Purut (Citrus Hystrix or Kaffir Lime Leaves) Daun Kesom (Polygonum or Laksa Leaves)
20 Daun Pudina (Mentha or Mint Leaves)
5 stalks Daun Pudina (Mentha or Mint Leaves)
5 stalks Daun Kemangi (Ocimum Basilicum or Basil Leaves) Kacang (Vigna Unguiculata Ssp. Sesquipedalis or Long Beans)
5 stalks Cucumber, remove core and dice
Instructions:
Time needed: 2 days
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