A visit to the Health Promotion Board’s (HPB) website and a check on its Energy & Composition of Food search for Nasi Lemak indicated that with chicken wing it’s 656 kcal, with fried egg only it’s 493 kcal and with rice by itself it’s 379 kcal. This is comparable to other high-calorie dishes like chicken rice which weighs in at 607 kcal and mee goreng at 500 kcal.

One of the reasons Nasi Lemak is so delicious can be attributed to its flavourful rice, made with coconut milk. While coconut water is known to be good for you, coconut milk, made from the grated meat of a brown coconut, is high in saturated fats – not something great for your body.

READ MORE: How To Make Fresh Pandan Extract In The Kitchen At Home

Anything eaten in excess can have an impact on health, so the key to enjoying any food is to take it in moderation. We do not deny the Nasi Lemak is a very yummy dish, and it’s fine as an occasional treat, but do try to avoid taking it as a daily breakfast!

One way to enjoy Nasi Lemak is to portion it. Ask for less of the rice and instead of a fried chicken wing, choose to have it with just an egg omelette and ikan bilis. Sambal chilli, which is often served with the dish, is fine too as nutrition-wise, it has a fair dose of goodness. But do go easy on it as it can have pretty high oil content. You can also learn to make your own version of Nasi Lemak at home, that way you can adjust the amount of coconut milk, oil and salt added to make a healthier version (click to next slide for our healthier recipe!).

READ MORE: Learn How To Make Nasi Lemak And Other Asian Foods Healthier

Here’s our version of a healthier Nasi Lemak, a recipe from The Weekly’s Domestic Diva Cooking Masterclass 2016.

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Shen Tan, a private dining chef, grew up eating plenty of $1 nasi lemak packets and pays tribute to this wonderful dish with this new creation.

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