Nasi Dagang
Encyclopedia
Coconut milk
Coconut milk is the water that comes from the grated meat of a coconut. The colour and rich taste of the milk can be attributed to the high oil content. In many parts of the world, the term coconut milk is also used to refer to coconut water, the naturally occurring liquid found inside the hollow...
, fish curry
Curry
Curry is a generic description used throughout Western culture to describe a variety of dishes from Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Sri Lankan, Thai or other Southeast Asian cuisines...
and extra ingredients such as fried shaved coconut
Coconut
The coconut palm, Cocos nucifera, is a member of the family Arecaceae . It is the only accepted species in the genus Cocos. The term coconut can refer to the entire coconut palm, the seed, or the fruit, which is not a botanical nut. The spelling cocoanut is an old-fashioned form of the word...
, hard-boiled eggs and vegetable pickle
Pickling
Pickling, also known as brining or corning is the process of preserving food by anaerobic fermentation in brine to produce lactic acid, or marinating and storing it in an acid solution, usually vinegar . The resulting food is called a pickle. This procedure gives the food a salty or sour taste...
s.
Nasi Dagang literally means "Trading Rice". It is a well-known breakfast food in the states on the East Coast of Peninsular Malaysia
Peninsular Malaysia
Peninsular Malaysia , also known as West Malaysia , is the part of Malaysia which lies on the Malay Peninsula. Its area is . It shares a land border with Thailand in the north. To the south is the island of Singapore. Across the Strait of Malacca to the west lies the island of Sumatra...
, such as Terengganu
Terengganu
Terengganu is a sultanate and constitutive state of federal Malaysia. The state is also known by its Arabic honorific, Darul Iman...
and Kelantan
Kelantan
Kelantan is a state of Malaysia. The capital and royal seat is Kota Bharu. The Arabic honorific of the state is Darul Naim, ....
and Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat in Southern Thailand. The most famous Nasi dagang of Terengganu comes from Kampung Ladang, an area within the Kuala Terengganu
Kuala Terengganu
-Transport:The city is connected to other towns via a good network of roads and also some ferries that ply the Terengganu River. The Sultan Mahmud Bridge, a bridge over the Terengganu River, provides a road link to both banks of the river...
district. Nasi Dagang can also be considered as a festive dish in Kelantan and Terengganu because it is prepared at home for the morning of Eid ul-Fitr
Eid ul-Fitr
Eid ul-Fitr, Eid al-Fitr, Id-ul-Fitr, or Id al-Fitr , often abbreviated to Eid, is a Muslim holiday that marks the end of Ramadan, the Islamic holy month of fasting . Eid is an Arabic word meaning "festivity," while Fiṭr means "breaking the fast"...
, a Muslim holiday that marks the end of Ramadan
Ramadan
Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, which lasts 29 or 30 days. It is the Islamic month of fasting, in which participating Muslims refrain from eating, drinking, smoking and sex during daylight hours and is intended to teach Muslims about patience, spirituality, humility and...
, to be eaten as a breakfast before or after the Eid prayer
Eid Prayer
The Eid prayer was prescribed in the first year after the hijra. It is Wajib and Muhammad always performed these prayers.-Procedure:...
s in the mosque.
Components
Apart from the basic combination of rice and curry, Nasi Dagang usually comes with its different components which can be combined to suit the diner's taste.From a simple serving of the steamed rice and tuna curry usually found at roadside stalls, the complete home-made version may include a sliced hard-boiled egg, fried coconut, vegetable pickle and sambal.
Rice
The combination of fenugreek seeds and coconut milk gives Nasi Dagang its unique flavour and fragrance.The rice may first be soaked in water for several hours to soften it. It is then mixed with thick coconut milk
Coconut milk
Coconut milk is the water that comes from the grated meat of a coconut. The colour and rich taste of the milk can be attributed to the high oil content. In many parts of the world, the term coconut milk is also used to refer to coconut water, the naturally occurring liquid found inside the hollow...
, sliced shallot
Shallot
The shallot is the botanical variety of Allium cepa to which the multiplier onion also belongs. It was formerly classified as the species A. ascalonicum, a name now considered a synonym of the correct name...
s, lemon grass and fenugreek seeds
Fenugreek
Fenugreek is a plant in the family Fabaceae. Fenugreek is used both as a herb and as a spice . The leaves and sprouts are also eaten as vegetables...
. The rice is steamed until cooked.
It may also be steamed twice, where more coconut milk is added when it is half-cooked. Then the rice is steamed again until cooked. This method ensures a more creamy finish to the rice.
Fish curry
This accompanying dish is only specially prepared for nasi dagang and is sometimes locally called 'gulai darat'.'Curry' is actually a misnomer as the fish is not cooked using Indian curry powder but in coconut milk mixed with traditional Malay spices such as lemon grass, galangal
Galangal
Galangal is a rhizome of plants of the genus Alpinia or Kaempferia in the ginger family Zingiberaceae, with culinary and medicinal uses originated from Indonesia...
, chilli paste and turmeric.
Tuna is the standard choice of fish but other fish can be used as well, such as tenggiri
Spanish mackerel
Spanish mackerel may refer to:* Chloroscombrus chrysurus* Elagatis bipinnulata* Schedophilus maculatus* Scomber japonicus* Scomberomorus brasiliensis* Scomberomorus cavalla* Scomberomorus commerson* Scomberomorus guttatus...
and salmon
Salmon
Salmon is the common name for several species of fish in the family Salmonidae. Several other fish in the same family are called trout; the difference is often said to be that salmon migrate and trout are resident, but this distinction does not strictly hold true...
.
Prawns are also used sometimes, however the 'gulai' is prepared slightly differently.
Fried coconut
Coconut is freshly shaved, mixed with sliced shallots and fried until golden brown.Vegetable pickle
The vegetable is pickled in rice vinegar and sugar. The vegetables commonly used are cucumber, chilli and carrots.Variants
The Terengganu version uses the normal white rice, while the Kelantan variety uses a type of rice locally called 'beras nasi dagang', which is a type of wild rice that has a light purple colour and a little glutinous. The Terengganu version is also much simpler, eaten only with the fish curry (sometimes with belimbing buluh 'averrhoa bilimbi' added) and pickles.Erroneous claim
Some people from the West Coast of Peninsular MalaysiaPeninsular Malaysia
Peninsular Malaysia , also known as West Malaysia , is the part of Malaysia which lies on the Malay Peninsula. Its area is . It shares a land border with Thailand in the north. To the south is the island of Singapore. Across the Strait of Malacca to the west lies the island of Sumatra...
claim that Nasi Dagang is the 'Nasi Lemak
Nasi lemak
Nasi lemak is a dish sold in Malaysia, Brunei, Singapore, Riau Islands and Southern Thailand. The dish is considered the national dish and a national heritage of Malaysia. It is not to be confused with Nasi Dagang sold on the east coast of Malaysia or Terengganu and Kelantan although both dishes...
' of the East Coast of Peninsular Malaysia, in the states
States of Malaysia
Malaysia is a federation which consists of thirteen states and three federal territories . Eleven states and two federal territories are located on the Malay Peninsula while the remaining two states and one federal territory are on the island of Borneo.-The states and federal territories:Malaysia...
of Terengganu
Terengganu
Terengganu is a sultanate and constitutive state of federal Malaysia. The state is also known by its Arabic honorific, Darul Iman...
and Kelantan
Kelantan
Kelantan is a state of Malaysia. The capital and royal seat is Kota Bharu. The Arabic honorific of the state is Darul Naim, ....
. This claim is actually unheard of in either place as both dishes can commonly be found sold side by side for breakfast.