Nasi Kerabu: The Malaysian Blue Rice Dish That Stops People in Their Tracks

The first thing people always notice is the colour.

That impossible, deep blue, almost violet when the light hits it right, sitting on a plate surrounded by bright green herbs, golden kerisik, a perfectly split salted egg, and a glossy, coconut-lacquered piece of grilled chicken. Before anyone takes a bite, they stop. They look. They ask: what is that?

That is nasi kerabu. And it has been stopping people in their tracks for centuries.

I grew up knowing this dish as a special occasion meal, something Amma made when she wanted to show people what Malaysian food could really do. Not a weeknight dinner, not a quick stir-fry. A feast. The kind of meal that takes over the kitchen for an afternoon and fills the apartment with the smell of coconut and tamarind and toasted dried chili, and makes every minute of it absolutely worth it.

When we decided to feature nasi kerabu on the Lost in the Sauce table, we knew it had to be done right. Not simplified, not stripped down. The full picture.

What Is Nasi Kerabu?

Nasi kerabu is a traditional Malaysian rice dish originating from the East Coast states of Kelantan and Terengganu. The name translates roughly to "herb rice", with nasi meaning rice and kerabu referring to a type of Malaysian herb salad. What makes it iconic is the striking blue butterfly pea flower rice (bunga telang), coloured naturally by steeping dried blue pea flowers in water before cooking.

A complete nasi kerabu plate is a study in contrast and complexity: the blue rice is served alongside Ayam Percik (grilled coconut sambal chicken), kerisik (toasted grated coconut that is rich and nutty), a fresh herb-and-vegetable slaw, a halved salted egg, crispy fried fish crackers, and sambal. Each component plays a different role, sweet, salty, smoky, crunchy, creamy, and together they make one of the most layered, satisfying plates in all of Malaysian cuisine.

This nasi kerabu recipe uses Amma's Malaysian Sambal as the backbone of the Ayam Percik marinade and sauce, giving the chicken that deep, complex chili flavour that makes this dish sing.

Why Nasi Kerabu Matters

There is a reason this dish is considered one of Malaysia's cultural treasures.

Nasi kerabu comes from the Kelantanese kitchen, a cooking tradition that is deeply rooted in Malay heritage, shaped by trade routes and spice culture and the kind of generational knowledge that lives in hands, not books. The blue rice alone is a piece of food history. The bunga telang flower, known in English as butterfly pea or blue pea, has been used in Southeast Asian cooking and traditional medicine for hundreds of years. Its colour changes with acidity: blue in the rice, purple in the right drink. It is edible magic.

For the Malaysian diaspora, nasi kerabu is also something else: it is proof. Proof that this food is sophisticated, layered, and worth knowing. Proof that Southeast Asian cuisine goes far beyond what most people have been exposed to.

When Amma made this, she was not just cooking. She was saying: this is where we come from, and it is beautiful.

Breaking Down the Components

Nasi kerabu can feel intimidating because of how many elements are on the plate. But each component is actually straightforward, they just come together to create something extraordinary. Here is how to think about it:

The Blue Rice (Nasi Bunga Telang)

Steep dried blue butterfly pea flowers in hot water for 30 minutes. The water turns a deep indigo. Use this to steam your rice. The colour is purely from the flowers, no food dye, nothing artificial. The rice has a subtle, earthy quality that pairs beautifully with the richness of the chicken and coconut.

Ayam Percik (Grilled Coconut Sambal Chicken)

This is the centrepiece. Chicken marinated in turmeric, salt, and lime juice, then grilled low and slow, basted repeatedly with a sauce of Amma's Malaysian Sambal, coconut milk, tamarind, and ground spices. The result is slightly charred on the outside, deeply flavourful all the way through, with a sauce that caramelizes as it cooks. It is the kind of chicken that makes you understand why Malaysian BBQ is a whole culture unto itself.

Kerisik (Toasted Coconut)

Do not skip this. Kerisik is made by dry-toasting desiccated coconut until golden and grinding it into a paste. It has a nutty, slightly smoky richness that acts as a flavour anchor for the whole plate, and mixed into the long bean slaw, it takes the vegetables from a side dish to something you want to eat by the spoonful.

The Slaw

Simple: fried long beans, shredded white cabbage, kerisik, and crushed lemongrass. It is fresh and crunchy and fragrant, a textural counterpoint to the richness of everything else on the plate.

Salted Egg and Fish Crackers

The salted egg brings a briny, creamy richness. The fish crackers bring crunch. Together they complete the plate, and together with the sambal, they create the kind of eating experience where every bite is different from the last.

A Word on the Sambal

In this recipe, Amma's Malaysian Sambal does two things: it is the flavour foundation of the Ayam Percik sauce, and it sits on the plate as a condiment in its own right.

The Percik sauce, coconut milk, tamarind, spices, and sambal, is rich and fragrant and coats the chicken in layers of flavour as it grills. But at the table, a spoonful of sambal alongside everything else is what ties it all together. It is heat. It is depth. It is the thing that makes every other component on the plate pop.

This is what good sambal does. Not just heat: dimension.

This Is Amma's Kind of Cooking

Nasi kerabu is not a recipe you make once and move on from. It is the kind of dish that becomes a ritual, something you make for the people you want to feed properly. For birthdays. For weekends when you have time. For moments when you want the table to feel like a celebration.

Amma understood that. She cooked with intention. Every plate she put down was a statement: I love you enough to make this.

We built Amma's Malaysian Sambal in that same spirit. Not a shortcut: a foundation. Something real, made with care, that makes the rest of the cooking feel worthy of the effort you are putting in.

If you make this nasi kerabu recipe, we genuinely want to see it. Tag us at @litssauce, the blue rice especially. That colour deserves to be shared.

Shop Amma's Malaysian Sambal →

Recipe Card: Nasi Kerabu with Ayam Percik

Ingredients

Blue Butterfly Pea Rice

• 2 cups jasmine rice
• 2 tbsp dried blue butterfly pea flowers (bunga telang)
• Water for steeping and cooking

Ayam Percik (Grilled Coconut Sambal Chicken)

• 1 whole chicken, cut into pieces (or 4 chicken legs)
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp turmeric powder
• 1 tbsp lime juice

Percik Sauce:

• 3 tbsp cooking oil
• 3 tbsp Amma's Malaysian Sambal
• 1 tsp turmeric powder
• 1 tsp cumin powder
• 1 tsp coriander powder
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• 200ml coconut milk
• 1 tbsp tamarind paste, diluted in 2 tbsp water
• 2 tbsp kerisik (optional, for extra richness)

Kerisik Slaw

• 2 stalks long beans, fried
• 1/4 cup fresh white cabbage, shredded
• 2 tbsp kerisik (toasted grated coconut)
• Crushed lemongrass, to taste

To Serve

• 2 tbsp kerisik (additional, for plating)
• Amma's Malaysian Sambal, to taste
• 1 to 2 salted eggs, halved
• Fried fish crackers

Instructions

1. Marinate the chicken. Rub chicken pieces with salt, turmeric, and lime juice. Marinate for at least 30 minutes (overnight is best).
2. Make the percik sauce. Heat oil in a pan. Add Amma's Malaysian Sambal and stir until aromatic. Add turmeric, cumin, and coriander. Stir for 1 to 2 minutes. Pour in coconut milk and tamarind water. Simmer on low until the sauce thickens slightly, about 5 minutes. Stir in kerisik if using. Season with sugar and salt.
3. Grill the chicken. Preheat grill or oven to 180C (350F). Place marinated chicken on the grill. Baste generously with percik sauce. Cook for 40 to 50 minutes, turning and basting every 10 minutes, until slightly charred and cooked through.
4. Make the blue rice. Soak dried butterfly pea flowers in 2 cups of hot water for 30 minutes. Strain and use this blue water to cook your rice as normal (rice cooker or stovetop). The rice will turn a beautiful blue-purple colour.
5. Make the kerisik slaw. Fry long beans until just cooked. Combine with shredded cabbage, kerisik, and crushed lemongrass. Toss to combine.
6. Plate and serve. Mound the blue rice on the plate. Arrange Ayam Percik alongside. Add kerisik slaw, a halved salted egg, a spoonful of sambal, and fish crackers. Sprinkle extra kerisik over the plate. Serve immediately.

Lost in the Sauce is a Toronto-based flavour brand making Malaysian condiments rooted in memory. Shop our sauces at lostinthesauce.ca.