Looking for a unique dish to serve your guests? Try Chef Mel Dean’s Nasi Ulam Istimewa with its mouth-watering aromatic flavours! This recipe is healthy as it uses brown rice with natural herbs and spices. The taste is definitely... Kapowww!

Serves 4
Prep time: 10 mins
Cooking time: 20 mins   

INGREDIENTS
For Rice
2 cups of brown rice  
3 cups of water
1 tbsp of canola oil
1 tsp of sea salt

For Ulam     
A handful of Thai basil leaves, finely sliced
A handful of mint leaves, finely sliced
A handful of Vietnamese mint (daun kesum), finely sliced
A handful of lemon basil (kemangi), finely sliced
1 wild ginger flower (bunga kantan), finely sliced
3 long beans, sliced

For Sambal Mangga
¾ inch cube shrimp paste (belacan)
5 red chillies
5 red bird’s eye chillies (chilli padi)
1 unripe mango
1 calamansi lime (limau kasturi)
Sea salt to taste
Pinch of brown sugar

METHOD
1. Wash and rinse the 2 cups of brown rice.
2. Put it in the rice cooker. Instead of filling the cooker with water to the "2 cups" mark, fill it to the "3 cups" mark in your rice cooker. This means 3 cups of water for the 2 cups of brown rice.
3. Add in the oil and salt. Turn on the cooker.
Note: As brown rice is higher in fibre than white rice, add more water so that the brown rice will be soft.

For Sambal Mangga
1. Toast the belacan in a small pan until crumbly.                            
2. Cut all the chillies into small pieces.
3. Transfer the chillies to a food processor.
4. Add the toasted belacan, some mango, squeeze in the lime juice, salt and sugar to taste and process until fine.
5. Transfer to a bowl and mix with the rest of the mango (cut into fine strips).


Download the recipe here!

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