- Hello, so we are in the
test kitchen, obviously.
It's a very exciting time
to be at Bon Appétit,
because it is October
which means that it is time for
our Best New Restaurants in America issue,
which we do every year.
It is a list of the 10 best
places to eat, right now,
and among them is a
very special restaurant,
that's right here in New York City.
It's number six.
It's called Kopitiam.
It is an all-day Malaysian cafe
that is run by these two amazing women.
Moonlynn Tsai, who is the GM,
and Kyo Pang, who is the chef.
There is one dish that I get,
every time I go there,
which is the Nasi Lemak
that is pictured here.
It is this, just, delicious
bed of coconut rice
topped with crispy fried anchovies
dressed in this, like, spicy sambal sauce,
and because they are right here,
in New York City,
I thought that we might
pay them a visit,
and see how they actually make it.
- [Moonlynn Tsai] Hi!
- [Kyo Pang] Hey!
- Hi!
- Welcome.
- Oh my gosh, congratulations!
- Thank you!
- Okay, so this is
the first time I'm seeing you guys,
I think, since the top ten announcement.
Can you just tell me a little bit
about Kopitiam culture,
and also what the word
Kopitiam comes from?
- Kopitiam means coffee shop.
Kopi stands for coffee,
and tiam mean's shop.
- Like ko-fe?
- [Kyo Pang] Yeah, like ko-fe.
- So I, obviously, want
to talk about food.
That's why I'm here today.
So, of all the amazing
food that I get here,
there is one dish that I come
back to over and over again,
and that is, obviously, the Nasi Lemak.
It is everything that I
ever want to eat in a dish,
and I'm trying to think
of how to describe it.
It is, basically, coconut rice,
or coconut pandan rice,
and then, on top, you have this, like,
beautiful carmalized dome of, like,
crispy fried anchovies and salted peanuts
dressed in this spicy sambal
that you guys make.
Okay, so I'm hoping that
we can go into the kitchen,
and cook this together right now.
- Sounds like fun!
Let's go!
- I forget how tiny this kitchen is!
So, we're starting with the sambal, right?
So, yeah walk me through it.
- Okay, so we have the shallots,
and we have garlic,
and then we have this red chiles,
and also this is the dried chiles,
You need to soak them into the hot water,
and then this is the raw anchovies,
and then this is the peanuts,
and then this is the tamarind juice,
or tamarind sauce,
and then this is the belacan.
This is the optional one.
You can choose to put it or not to.
And then, this is the pandan leaves,
the egg, and also the cucumber.
So first we gonna blend
all this things together.
- Okay, so it's chili
paste that has anchovies,
but that you're gonna use
to dress more anchovies.
- Yes, not, yeah, basically.
- I mean we love anchovies, so.
- So I'm gonna put all the shallots in,
the garlic in.
And then I'll blend it first,
and then I'll add the anchovies after.
[whirring]
Then don't use all of them,
because the rest we're gonna
use for to fry it, later.
So about half of this.
[whirring]
- [Moonlynn Tsai] You're dancing.
[laughter]
- [Kyo Pang] Okay, Here you go,
and then I'm going to
put back into that bowl.
- [Christina] Oh, you're
gonna put it back into here?
- [Kyo Pang] Yes!
- [Christina] Okay.
- The color is not,
really, that attractive.
- So you have anchovy paste.
That's done.
- Mm-hmm.
So, now, the chili.
- Oh, so, like, straight in there.
All the seeds are left in?
- Yes.
- Yes, so these are
chilies, the dried chilies,
that are soaked, and then you've already,
and then you drain them.
So these are the dried
chilies we're using.
I'm just curious, what do you call these?
- For us, we call them "dried chilies."
- Dried chilies, that's
what I call them too,
and then I realized,
it's confusing when people go shopping
for these chilies, like,
what do you look for?
And I always say, ya know,
just go to any Asian market, like,
go to China Town.
Like, there will always
be some kind of chili
that looks, approximately, like this.
It's, like, gonna be about
the size of your thumb.
They're all pretty interchangeable, right?
So whether you're using a
Thai one, or a Chinese one,
the qualities are similar enough, right,
that you can use whatever you can find.
- Yes.
- Okay.
- So this is the Belacan.
[whirring]
- [Kyo Pang] Can you smell it?
- [Christina] Oh yeah!
[laughter]
- And so this chili
paste that we just made,
what are we going to do with it?
How does this all come together?
- [Kyo Pang] So I'm gonna
go over to that stove.
And try to cook everything together.
This one, keeping it...
- [Christina] So this and the shallot,
and anchovy, and garlic.
- [Kyo Pang] Yes.
- So we're basically making a chili paste
with dried anchovies.
- That's correct.
This is the oil.
- And what kind of oil are you using?
- Vegetable oil.
Oh, geez, sorry!
[laughter]
- [Christina] It's so cool
that it's already a paste.
Okay so why do you do this first,
and not just put both of
them in together, at once?
- Because the shallots,
once the shallots and the garlic,
once you heat the heat, you know,
it give you a little bit better fragrance.
- Uh-huh, so it's the same thing as
any, kind of, any recipe
where you're starting
by cooking an onion, or, like, garlic,
or any of that stuff, first.
- [Kyo Pang] Yes.
- What are you looking
for in the shallot mixture
that tells you you're ready to add this?
- [Kyo Pang] You judge by the color.
It gets darker.
It gets darker, and
also the smells tell you
that when it's ready.
Like, it has a stronger smell.
- As you're cooking this out,
the majority of what you are doing is
taking the water out of the mixture,
and you're, like, reducing it down,
basically, until it becomes, like,
super concentrated and jammy,
and ,like, all the flavors really
develop and marry.
- Yes.
And this is the tamarind sauce.
- It's just, totally, it's an acidic note.
- Yes.
- [Christina] So we're gonna let this go
for about forty minutes,
and we'll keep checking back on it,
and stirring it,
but, in the meantime, we're gonna do rice?
- [Kyo Pang] Yes.
- Let's talk about rice.
One thing, obviously,
that we did for the recipe
was that we gave measured quantities
of rice and water, right?
In my house, like, no one
measures water to cook rice.
You use your hand as,
like, a measuring tool.
Like, did you guys do
that, growing up, too?
- Down to the knuckles.
She learned the wrist line?
- [Christina] What I was taught,
is that you, like,
you have it in an even layer, right?
And then you put your, you just put your
palm down on the top of the rice.
And then, I was taught,
that you pour water
right up until it reaches this, like,
the second knuckle.
- [Moonlynn Tsai] The second knuckle.
- Like, right?
- That joint, the bendy.
- Yeah, this, this guy.
- The second knuckle.
- Where it bends.
- Yes.
- Okay.
[laughter]
- [Moonlynn Tsai] So we're making
the coconut pandan rice.
Do you feel it yet?
- [Christina] No.
- [Moonlynn Tsai] All right, tell me when.
- Okay, yes.
It's touching right at
the base of my wrist.
Okay, so.
- [Moonlynn Tsai] So, voilà.
- [Christina] Voilà.
- Get your pandan leaves,
and we're gonna knot them.
- Oh, we're gonna knot them?
- Yeah, so it's easier,
so that later, it's not all just all over.
- Okay, so we're just knotting it,
and then we'll just drop it in there,
and then we'll pluck it right out later.
- A pinch of salt.
- A pinch of salt, okay.
- Okay, and then,
You do the honors.
And then, you just let it go.
Yay, and then later we'll be mixing in
the coconut milk, and fluffing it up.
- So, while the rice is cooking,
let's figure out everything
else we have to do.
So this is our sauce.
And it's, like, cooked out into
this really awesome,
dark, jammy, thick paste.
Now, we have to fry some anchovies, right?
- Yes.
- Okay.
- Okay, so this is, is
this vegetable oil, again?
- Yes, it's vegetable oil.
I usually like to start
with the peanuts, first.
- So we're going to fry the peanuts first,
and then we're gonna take them out,
and then we'll put in the anchovies,
but, eventually, they'll
all be mixed up together.
- Yes, mm-hmm.
- Okay.
- And then, for the
peanuts, just remember,
once you take it out, to let it cool down,
make sure you spread it all,
like, equally flat,
so that they are fine.
- Okay, this is already done.
- It's already done?
- Yeah, the oil is already very hot, so.
- Do you want me to grab this little bowl
- Yes, please.
- Okay, great.
- [Christina] So, I can smell it, yeah.
[sizzling and popping]
- Sorry, to do that.
- This is taking me right
back to my fry cook days.
- [Moonlynn Tsai] So you have to, like,
spread it out, like, yes!
So it's not, give them
some breathing room.
Then, the next thing I'm gonna do,
I'm just gonna continue doing it.
This is the anchovies.
- And you don't need to wait
for the oil to, like, reheat.
It's already hot enough.
- [Moonlynn Tsai] It's already hot enough.
- Okay, so when you're frying these,
how do you know when they're done?
- [Moonlynn Tsai] Well, the color,
and then you can tell
when they are crunchy,
because, sometimes, when you
think that they are cooked,
but they're still soft,
so it's, like, golden darker brown.
- [Christina] Okay.
- So this is part of the
sauce that we cooked earlier.
So you, kinda like, mix it together.
Then, this one, try not
to put too much of that,
so it's enough to, to kinda
like, caramelize everything.
- So you're just looking
to mix in enough sauce
so that the anchovies and
the peanuts cling together,
because, eventually,
what we're gonna do is,
we're gonna pack it into a bowl,
and then put the rice on top,
and then we're gonna
invert the whole thing
so that the anchovy dome is, kinda like,
perfectly circular on the top.
Okay, so we're back to the rice.
So it's like, basically,
almost cooked through?
- Yeah, it's, like, three-fourths done.
- Okay, and now comes the fun part.
- Yes.
- Rice facial!
- Ah, so coconut milk
to go inside the rice,
and we're gonna let it steam out.
You wanna pour it in?
- [Christina] Yes!
- [Kyo Pang] And then you're gonna
fluff the rice afterwards.
- [Christina] Oh, okay.
So I'm leaving the pandan
leaves in here, for now.
- [Kyo Pang] For aromatics, yeah.
- [Christina] And then, just kinda like,
fluffing the milk through the rice.
- [Kyo Pang] It smells so good!
- [Christina] It smells super good!
- So we just close the lid,
and let it steam out a little bit more.
- Okay, great.
So we're, like, almost there!
- Yeah!
- Shall we prep the garnishes?
- Let's do it.
- Okay
- All right!
- Kyo told me something, once,
about the way the cucumbers are arranged.
Because you have the bowl of rice,
and anchovies, and then you have
the cucumbers in this,
like, little fan around.
- Cutting them out, yup.
- Well we believe in, like,
eight is the lucky number.
For our logo, for instance,
there are eight of the ruyi
that represents good energy.
Start from good energy
come back to good energy.
- So, we're gonna do
eight cucumber slices.
- [Moonlynn Tsai] Yes
- [Christina] In a fan.
Good energy that comes back to you.
I love it.
These are a little thick, no?
- Yeah, this is perfect.
That is perfect.
And you got the eggs,
so the half of the hard boiled eggs,
you just wanna cut that in half.
- Here's the banana leaves.
And then you put it on the bottom,
And then you put it, like this.
- [Christina] So you want it to be, like,
half anchovy mixture, half rice.
- Little bit less.
It's like, 40% of the anchovies,
and then 60% of the rice.
- Okay, so we're gonna do the rice now.
Okay, I think I did pretty okay.
- [Kyo Pang] The measurement worked.
- [Christina] The measurement
looks right, to me.
- [Moonlynn Tsai] So you can see,
from the rice itself,
every piece of rice is covered
with the coconut milk.
That's why we call...
- I can see it, individually,
coating the grains.
- Yeah, then you put it here.
- [Christina] Wow!
And you're packing it in
fairly tightly, right?
- Yes, and then you flip it.
And then, ta-da!
[cheers]
- Look at the glisten.
[laughter]
- This is when you start to garnish them.
So it goes that way,
from left to right.
One, two, whoops!
Three, four, five, six, seven, and eight.
And you put the two eggs together.
- [Christina] Here comes the smiley face!
[laughter]
- And then you finish your eggs here
with something, right?
You finish it with your, like,
special mushroom soy sauce?
- Yes, the mushroom soy sauce.
I top it a little bit,
because, when I was a kid,
I liked to eat it with soy sauce.
Ya know, it like, adds a zip in it, right?
We are very specific to our own soy sauce,
like, it has to be that way.
- [Christina] Pang soy sauce.
- [Moonlynn Tsai] Yeah.
- Okay, so banana leaf square,
and then, is this the right bowl?
- [Moonlynn Tsai] Yes!
- Okay
I just want to make sure I'm putting...
- I think you're perfect, you're good.
- Yeah? [laughs]
- Okay, what do you think?
- You really packed that in.
I think that looks good.
- [Christina] Yeah? Okay.
I'm so scared.
[encouraging crosstalk]
- [Kyo Pang] We can catch you.
- All right, I'm gonna do it.
- Don't be scared.
- I'm so scared.
[laughter]
[cheers and clapping]
- And then, my cukes.
So I start from here?
- Yeah, mm-hmm.
Beautiful.
- My little fan,
and then my little egg guys go over here.
And then can I get, is it this guy?
- The soy? Yes.
- Just, like, a little
bit of soy, to finish.
And there we go!
- [Kyo Pang] And the sambal.
- Oh, and the sambal!
Oh, wait, can we talk
about that, really quickly?
So this is, so we made a sambal,
obviously, for the dried anchovies,
but there's another type of sambal
that they have at Kopitiam
that you can, actually, buy.
I highly recommend buying
some of this stuff,
to keep at home,
because it is good on,
literally, everything.
Shall we take our beautiful creations out?
I sort of feel like
you're supposed to use chopsticks,
and I, actually, fundamentally,
I'm opposed to it,
because I want to shovel
as much of it into my mouth, as possible,
and using chopsticks, that prevents me
from doing that.
Can I dig in?
- [Moonlynn Tsai] Yeah, sure.
- You did an awesome job.
- Don't forget your sambal.
- It's hard to get everything in one bite.
[laughter]
- It's perfect!
- You Nasi Lemak whisperer.
- I mean.
- I donno, the rice is really good.
- The rice is, actually,
the rice, actually, turned out perfectly.
Well, thank you, so much,
for letting me come in,
and cook this with you today,
and, if you're watching this at home,
make the recipe at home.
It's on Bon Appétit dot com.
And, if you're in New York, don't make it.
Just come here, and eat it at Kopitiam,
and hang out with us,
and look for us in the back.
[laughter]
[jazz music]
