Nasi Ulam: A Local Forager's Mixed Rice Salad
I finally learned why Buddhists don't eat garlic and onion...
As simple as it sounds, Nasi Ulam is a labour of love and a ceremony in itself. From sourcing the fresh regional herbs and vegetables, to tediously slicing every herb thinly enough to blend in with the rice harmoniously - trust me it's worth the effort because its the rice that makes eating your greens effortless and delicious. It’s highly nourishing, nutritional and delivers a ton of medicinal benefits.
In Singapore, Nasi Ulam is increasingly rare to find in restaurants and hawkers due to the laborious process of slicing all the herbs. Also, the use of fresh raw herbs in Nasi Ulam does not allow it from keeping well, and should be prepared within the same hour of serving.
However, the tradition of making this forgotten dish is still carried out within several Malay and Peranakan households with some recipes using up to 44 different herbs!
There is no one set recipe for Nasi Ulam. In the past, the herbs (ulam) used are dependent on the available vegetation which is foraged that day from the forest floor or in backyards of kampung houses. These days, it is difficult to find tropical herbs native to the region, being sold in Singapore; however, Chef Azfar manages to get a regular supply of them from local vegetable purveyors in Tekka and Geylang Serai wet markets!
Interestingly, traditional Nasi Ulam, despite being a plant-forward dish is NOT vegetarian and utilises either salted fish, dried shrimp (hae bee), flaked fried fish or a combination of all to provide the umami element. However, for this vegetarian version, we introduced dried vegetarian anchovies, mushroom condiment and tempeh as vegetarian friendly substitutes which not only give the dish a punch of savouriness, but also a myriad of textures! The use of turmeric and torch ginger flower replaces the shallots in a traditional Nasi Ulam - this was our offering to Venerable Bao Tong of The Buddhist Union and we had to be mindful to not use onion or garlic as well.
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Vegetarian Nasi Ulam
4 cups cooked rice, cooled to room temperature (we use 50% brown rice & 50% white rice for best taste and texture)
2 tbsp Vegetarian mushroom condiment
1 cup crispy vegetarian anchovies (mushroom-based)
1 cup fresh grated coconut
1 inch turmeric root, peeled and julienned
2 tsp mushroom seasoning
Salt, to taste
Dash of coarse black pepper
tempeh crumble:
300g tempeh, crumbled
1 tbsp light soy sauce
3 tsp oil
herbs and veg:
4 long beans sliced thin
5 winged beans, sliced
2 torch ginger flowers, sliced thin
4 wild betel leaves (daun kadok)
1 bunch laksa leaf
1 bunch mint leaf
5 stalks thai basil leaves
3 stalks ulam raja (cosmos caudatus), use leaves and tender stem
1 bunch pennywort leaves (daun pegaga or gotu kola)
1 turmeric leaf (daun kunyit)
6 lime leaves, slice to needle-like pieces
2 lemongrass, use the core only, halved lengthwise and sliced thin
directions:
For the sautéed tempeh, heat a pan with oil, stir-fry the tempeh crumbs until it changes colour. Drizzle in the soy sauce and combine well. Set aside to cool.
To make the kerisik (toasted coconut), toast the coconut in a dry pan without oil on medium heat while constantly stirring to prevent it from burning. Once the coconut is crisp and evenly browned, lightly pound in a mortar until almost fine.
In a mixing bowl, combine the rice with the mushroom condiment, coconut, turmeri4c, mushroom seasoning, toasted coconut and tempeh. Mix well with your hands for a large spatula, pressing on the rice grains to loosen up any clumps.
Slice the leaves thinly. For easier slicing, arrange the smaller leaves on top of the bigger leaves (turmeric / wild betel) and roll tightly into a cigar before slicing.
Toss all the herbs and half of the vegetarian anchovies into the rice until it is evenly combined. Season with salt and black pepper to taste. Serve with the remaining vegetarian anchovies on top for added crunch.