Nasi lemak

Step 1: Rinse 14 oz jasmine rice in a bowl of cold water, swirling and pouring off the cloudy water 3 or 4 times, until it runs almost clear. Drain in a sieve for 10 minutes.

Step 2: Put the rice in a heavy pan with 1 cup coconut milk, 1 ¼ cups water, 3 pandan leaves, ½ oz ginger, 1 lemongrass stalk and 1 tsp salt. Stir once and bring to a gentle boil over a medium heat. The usual mistake is boiling it hard and stirring: the coconut milk catches and burns on the bottom. Instead wait until the liquid sinks to the level of the rice and little steam holes appear.

Step 3: Cover tightly, turn the heat to its lowest and cook for 15 minutes without lifting the lid. Take off the heat and leave covered for 10 minutes more, then fish out the aromatics and fluff the rice with a fork; it should be glossy, separate and smell of pandan.

Step 4: Meanwhile drain 15 dried red chillies and blend with 6 shallots, 3 cloves garlic and 3 tbsp water to a smooth red paste.

Step 5: Heat 5 tbsp vegetable oil in a wok over a medium-low heat. Add the paste (it will spit), then fry, stirring every minute, until it darkens to brick red, the raw shallot smell turns sweet and oil pools around the edge.

Step 6: Stir in 1 red onion, 2 tbsp tamarind paste, 1 oz palm sugar (gula Melaka) and ½ tsp salt and cook for 4–5 minutes, until the onions are soft but still hold their shape and the sambal is thick and glossy. Taste: it should be hot, sweet and a little sour all at once.

Step 7: Heat 6 tbsp vegetable oil for frying in a frying pan over a medium-high heat. Fry 7 oz tempeh in one layer for 4–5 minutes, turning, until deep golden; when the loud sizzle quietens, the batons are crisp. Lift onto kitchen paper.

Step 8: Turn the heat down to medium and fry 2 ⅞ oz raw peanuts in the same oil for 2–3 minutes, stirring, until they crackle and the skins darken. Drain; they crisp up as they cool.

Step 9: Pack a cup with rice, turn it out onto each plate and serve with a spoonful of sambal, the tempeh, peanuts and 1 cucumber.