Lemang is a traditional Malaysian food made with glutinous rice and coconut milk roasted inside a bamboo stick. It is popular during holidays and served with different types of curries. Cooking it is a slow process, taking about 3-4 hours.
One of Malaysia’s traditional foods, lemang is a delicacy containing glutinous rice and coconut milk which is roasted inside a hollow bamboo stick. Very popular in Malaysia and parts of Indonesia, it is considered a special food and is widely eaten during holidays such as Hari Raya Aidilfitri and Hari Raya Haji when Muslims break their fast. Numerous roadside lemang stalls spring up during the festivities to sell these bamboo tubes in large quantities. In addition to roadside vendors, this dish can also be found throughout the year in numerous places.
The main ingredients of this dish are hollow bamboo sticks, banana leaves, sticky rice and coconut milk. Preparations involve washing and soaking the rice for a few hours before cooking to soften it. The bamboo stalks used are typically 50 centimeters (19.7 in) long and about 8 centimeters (3.1 in) in diameter. To prevent the rice from sticking to the bamboo, they are lined with pre-washed banana leaves which are rolled up and placed in such a way that they completely cover the insides. They are filled with rice until about three-quarters full and topped with coconut milk.
Cooking lemang is not easy; the bamboo stems should be slow roasted for about 3-4 hours and turned from time to time so that the rice inside cooks evenly. After it is cooked, the bamboo tube is split and the rolled banana leaf containing the mixture is removed. Once it cools, it is cut into regular slices that vary about 2 centimeters (about 1 inch) in thickness. You can find lemang with black rice or even with some corn or beans added to it. The rice has a very strong coconut milk flavor and also carries the more subtle flavors of both the banana leaf and the bamboo.
Lemang normally goes well with different types of curries. While it’s typically eaten with chicken curry, it can also be served with grilled fish or ayam serunding, which is a spicy beef floss. In places like Terengganu, Pahang and Kelantan in Malaysia, this dish can be served with ikan masin or salted fish, while in other places, like Kuala Lipis, it is served with a special type of sambal made from star fruit. The best combination for lemang is to eat it with a type of spicy curry called rendang, which can contain mutton, beef or chicken as the main ingredient.
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