2lbsof small round baby potatoesunpeeled and washed
2– 3 oz long red chilisdepend on how spicy you want it to be, soaked in warm water until soft before blending, if you can’t find long red chilis, use red dried chilis
1red Thai chilifor some heat if you like -optional
1tspof shrimp paste
2clovesgarlicpeeled
3shallotspeeled
½inchginger root1 cm, peeled
1-inchof turmeric root or about 3 tsp ground turmeric powder2.5 cm
1½inchesgalangal root or 4 tsp of galangal powder4 cm, peeled
Pinch of salt to taste
1stalk of fresh lemon grasstrim the stalky ends and cut into two and bruised with heavy objects
Preheat a large skillet or wok with some oil. When hot enough, add in the garlic and saute for 30 seconds, add in the chili sauce and saute for another 30 seconds. Add in 1 cup of water and bring to a boil. Add in the rice noodles and drizzle in the soy sauce. Stir to mix everything and cook until the rice noodles are soft and absorb most of the water. Have a taste and add a pinch of salt to your taste. Cut the bee hoon into shorter strands with kitchen shears. Sprinkle with some green onions and dish out into a serving platter
Preparing the potato rendang:
Place the chili and other ingredients all the way to galangal and blend them into a paste, you may need to add a little bit of the water in there to get it going
Preheat a large heavy-bottomed pot. Add in the cooking oil. Stir fry the ground spices until fragrant, about 5 minutes. Add lemon grass, kaffir lime leaves, turmeric leaf (if using), bay leaves, cardamom, and continue to stir fry until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add in the potatoes, bring to a gentle boil and reduce the heat to let it simmer gently, uncovered until all the liquid is almost gone and the coconut cream has reduced to oil, this may take about 20-30 minutes for the potatoes to be fork tender but not mushy. Have a taste towards the end of boiling to see if you need more salt
When all the liquid is gone and you have nice looking orange-color oil left. Turn off the heat. Discard of the stems and leaves. The rendang tastes even better the day after. So you can definitely prepare one day ahead
Assembling the Nasi Sayur:
Wipe both sides of the banana leaves with damp towel. The shiny side should be facing you. Cut it into a size that will fit on a serving plate (as shown in photo). Scoop about 1 cup of rice on the banana leaves. Take about 1 to 2 potato rendang, 1 to 2 spoonful of stir-fried bee hoon, sprinkle of sambal anchovies with peanuts, fried chicken, ladle some of the veggies from sayur lodeh and some of the broth over the rice. A small/big scoop of spicy sambal on the side and you are ready to tuck in !