Rice · National Icon

Nasi Lemak

Photo: You Le / Unsplash · Unsplash License

Malaysia's national dish began as a portable banana-leaf breakfast, not a restaurant meal.

Coconut rice steamed with pandan leaf is served on a banana leaf with crisp fried anchovies, roasted peanuts, boiled egg, cucumber, and a spoonful of fiery sambal. Street vendors wrap it to go, though these days it's eaten at any hour, not just breakfast.

Why it's made this way: Its exact origin is unclear, but it grew up in Malay communities on the peninsula's coasts, where coconuts and dried anchovies were cheap and plentiful, making a compact, energy-dense parcel that farmers and laborers could carry to work wrapped in a leaf.