Nasi Kerabu with Butterfly Pea Rice, Grilled Lemongrass Chicken & Kerisik Salad

⏱ 75 min · Serves 4

Malaysia's most photogenic plate: electric-blue rice stained with butterfly pea flowers, piled with a crunchy raw herb salad, toasted coconut kerisik and smoky lemongrass chicken. It looks like a festival and tastes like one — fragrant, sour, spicy and deeply savoury all at once.

Per serving: 712 kcal · 38.0g protein · 82.0g carbs · 26.0g fat

Ingredients

• 350g jasmine rice, rinsed until water runs clear
• 20 dried butterfly pea flowers (or 1 tsp blue pea powder)
• 500ml water
• 1 stalk lemongrass, bruised
• 3 kaffir lime leaves
• 1 tsp salt
• 4 chicken thighs, boneless and skin-on
• 2 stalks lemongrass, finely chopped
• 4 garlic cloves
• 3cm turmeric root (or 1 tsp ground turmeric)
• 2cm ginger
• 2 tbsp coconut milk
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• 100g fresh grated coconut (or desiccated, rehydrated) for kerisik
• 150g long beans, finely sliced
• 1 small cucumber, julienned
• 1 handful bean sprouts
• 4 shallots, thinly sliced
• 1 large handful Vietnamese mint (daun kesum) or mint, shredded
• 1 handful Thai basil leaves
• 1 kaffir lime leaf, ultra-finely shredded
• 2 tbsp lime juice
• 4 tbsp sambal belacan (or 3 tbsp chilli paste + 1 tsp toasted shrimp paste)
• 4 salted duck eggs or soft-boiled eggs, halved
• Prawn crackers, to serve
• Lime wedges, to serve

Method

1. Steep the butterfly pea flowers in 500ml just-boiled water for 15 minutes until deep blue, then strain.
2. Blend the chopped lemongrass, garlic, turmeric, ginger, coconut milk, oil, sugar and salt to a paste. Rub over the chicken thighs and marinate for at least 20 minutes.
3. Cook the rice with the blue water, bruised lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves and 1 tsp salt — bring to a boil, cover, reduce to lowest heat for 12 minutes, then rest off heat 10 minutes. Fluff and remove aromatics.
4. Make the kerisik: dry-fry the grated coconut in a pan over medium-low heat, stirring constantly for 10–12 minutes until deep golden and fragrant. Pound or blitz briefly until oily and crumbly.
5. Grill or pan-fry the chicken over medium-high heat, 6–7 minutes per side, until charred at the edges and cooked through. Rest 5 minutes, then slice.
6. Toss the long beans, cucumber, bean sprouts, shallots, herbs and shredded lime leaf with the lime juice and half the kerisik.
7. Plate a mound of blue rice, heap the kerabu salad alongside, add sliced chicken, a spoon of sambal belacan, half an egg and a scatter of remaining kerisik.
8. Serve with prawn crackers and lime wedges — mix everything together at the table before eating.