Nasi Dagang [Taste from Kelantan]

Nasi Dagang (literally means Trading Rice) is a rice dish originated from Southern Thailand. It has became a popular Malaysian breakfast dish in states near to Thailand such as Kelantan and Terengganu. Nasi dagang is flavoured with fenugreek and coconut, usually served with toasted grated coconut, curry (local called it gulai - Malay version of curry) and pickled vegetables (acar).

The hotel we stayed had it on their daily breakfast menu instead of Nasi Lemak which I often find at hotels in many other states. It was a new taste for us and we loved it very much. The rice itself was so flavourful I liked it plain without curry but with lots of pickled vegetables. The rice can be prepared with the mixture of long grain rice and Thai glutinous rice but I bought a packet of Nasi Dagang rice on our trip to a local market.

Fenugreek and Rice for Nasi Dagang

Ingredients:2 cups Nasi Dagang rice or 3-part long grain rice and 1-part Thai glutinous rice
2-3 shallot, sliced
1 tsp fenugreek
1 cm ginger, shredded
1 screw pine (pandan) leaf, knotted
100ml coconut milk
1-2 tsp sugar
½ tsp salt
1 tbsp butter (optional)

Methods:

1. Rinse rice and soak for 4-6 hours. Drain.
2. Steam rice for 30 minutes then add in fenugreek,coconut milk, sugar, salt and screw pine leaf. Mix well and continue to steam for another 15 minutes.
3. Add in shallot, ginger and butter (if using).
4. Stir to mix and steam for another 15 minutes. Serve warm.

Cook's Notes:

1. For the first time, I cooked without butter but find it lack of flavour the I tried adding butter subsequently. The aroma and taste were just right like the one we had at the hotel.
2. You may line the steamer with banana leaf if available, otherwise use aluminum foil.
   
   

I cooked Indian curry instead of gulai, my kitchen is loaded with Indian spices recently.

Okay, item below is nothing to do with nasi dagang. It is one type of yam selling at the roadside stalls along paddy field together with few more types of yam and local produces. It looks like ginger but in term of taste and texture are somewhat like baby yam (taro) and tapioca.