Recipe for Nasi Lemak Bun

Courtesy of Tiffany Leong

Ingredients:

Dough

  • 1 cup (200ml) coconut milk
  • 1 egg
  • 2 tsp (6g) instant yeast
  • 3 1/4 cup (405g) all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 cup (50g) sugar
  • 1 tsp (5g) salt
  • 3 tbsp (40g) unsalted butter

 

Filling/Garnish

  • Banana leaves, cleaned
  • 2 tsp peanut or canola oil
  • 1 cup raw peanuts with skin on
  • 2 cups dried anchovies, washed and drained
  • 100g KampongKu Sambal Seafood Paste
  • 2 hard-boiled eggs, cut in quarters

 

Egg-wash

  • 1 egg
  • 2 tbsp coconut milk

 

Instructions:

Prepare the Dough

  1. In a large bowl, mix coconut milk, egg and yeast together. Let it sit for 7-10 minutes until foamy and frothed.
  2. Add flour, sugar and salt to the yeast mixture. Mix and knead until a dough is formed.
  3. Add the butter and continue kneading until dough is smooth, elastic and soft.

*If the dough is too sticky, add 1 tbsp of all-purpose flour at a time until you have a workable dough.

Proof the Dough

  1. Transfer dough into a lightly greased bowl and cover with a damp towel. Let rise at room temperature for 1-2 hours, or doubled in size.
  2. Meanwhile, prepare the garnish and Sambal filling for the buns.


Fry Peanuts and Anchovies

  1. In a pan, heat oil over medium-high heat. When the oil shimmers, stir in peanuts and cook until lightly browned. Transfer peanuts with a slotted spoon and place on paper towels. Sprinkle a pinch of salt to the peanuts.
  2. Stir in the dried anchovies. Move the anchovies back and forth until golden brown and crispy. Transfer it to drain on paper towels. Sprinkle a pinch of salt to the anchovies.
  3. Set aside half of the anchovies to garnish your buns and use the other half for the Sambal.

Cook the Sambal

  1. Heat some oil in a pan and fry the KampongKu Sambal Seafood Paste until fragrant. Add in half of the anchovies from earlier and stir well.
  2. Simmer on low heat until the sambal thickens. Taste the sambal, if it is too spicy, add sugar accordingly to your own liking. Set aside.

Divide the Dough

  1. After proofing for 1-2 hours, punch dough down and transfer onto a lightly floured work surface. Divide it into 8 equal pieces and shape each piece into a ball.
  2. Put the divided dough balls on a greased pan. Cover the dough with damp towel and let it rest for 15 minutes.


Add in Filling

  1. After resting, flatten the dough and put 1 1/2 tbsp (about 30g) of Sambal filling and a quarter of the hard-boiled egg in the middle of the dough.
  2. Pull all sides of the dough around and wrap the filling tightly to seal.
  3. Pinch the seam well and put the dough back into the greased pan, seam side on the bottom.
  4. Cover the buns with a damp towel and allow the buns to rise in a warm place for 30-45 minutes.


Egg-wash

  1. Beat the egg and milk together. Set aside.

Final Steps

  1. Cut 3cm wide strips of banana leaves.
  2. Once your buns are done proofing, gently wrap your buns with the banana leaf and secure it with a toothpick.
  3. Brush the buns with egg-wash. Bake in a preheated oven set to 180C for 20-25 minutes.
  4. Serve buns with the peanuts and fried anchovies just like Nasi Lemak. Enjoy!