Easy Nasi Minyak | Malay Ghee Butter Rice (rice cooker recipe)

How to make easy Nasi Minyak or Ghee Butter Rice in a rice cooker.

Nasi Minyak, or Ghee Rice, is a fragrant rice dish that is commonly served at special occasions in Singapore and Malaysia such as at weddings or Hari Raya. My mom recently made this for guests and I was surprised to learn it’s easy to make.

Try Nasi Minyak and serve with typical dishes such include Ayam Masak Merah, Rendang and Achar.

Key Ingredient in Nasi Minyak – Ghee or Clarified Butter

The main ingredient is ghee, or clarified butter. This gives it that delicious full-bodied flavour. While Ghee is the main fat in the dish, it’s important to add a second neutral-tasting oil such as Vegetable Oil or Soybean Oil. Ghee has a stronger smell and taste so the oil helps to make it more palatable.

If hard pressed, you can replace with regular butter. The taste will not quite be the same, but it’ll still be delicious.

The brand I use is Q.B.B. Pure Ghee, but this and this are good alternatives too.

What Type of Rice to Use for Nasi Minyak

The main type of rice is the long-grained Basmati Rice. Basmati rice has a slightly nuttier flavour than Jasmine white rice. Make sure to rinse the rice in water a couple of times until the water is not cloudy before cooking.

With Basmati rice, you are recommended to soak it prior to cooking. You can do this, but I personally do not, and my Mom does not as well. Since we transfer the rice to the rice cooker, the Nasi Minyak comes out perfectly soft and fluffy each.

Soaking the rice is perhaps more important if you are cooking it over the stove. Soaking it for about 30 minutes will allow the rice to soak some of the liquid, so it cooks properly. If using the stove method, adjust the rice to water ratio. For basmati rice, the rice to water ratio is 1:2.

Level up Nasi Minyak With Whole Dry Spices

This recipe calls for cinnamon, cloves, star anise and cardamoms. My Mom called this combo of spices “the four friends”. If you do not have all four, no worries! The recipe can work with even just a couple of the spices. For example, just star anise and cinnamon, if you want bigger whole spices that you can easily fish out.

You would also notice that there are no onions in this recipe. “No need,” my Mom said. She used only garlic and ginger, and it tasted really good.

How to Get Red and Yellow Colour

Nasi Minyak usually has some yellow or red grains in the mix. That’s actually food colouring. I don’t add any colouring to my Nasi Minyak, but feel free to if you want the “look” down.

You can also try other healthier alternatives such as beet root food colouring for the red, and a water mixture of turmeric powder with water for the yellow.

Authentic Nasi Minyak | Easy Ghee Rice Recipe

Recipe by Sha

5.0 from 1 vote

Course: Eats, Recipes

Servings

2

servings

Prep time

10

minutes

Cooking time

20

minutes

Ingredients

• 2 cups of Basmati Rice

• 2 cups of Water (adjust according to what your rice cooker needs)

• 1 tbsp Ghee or Clarified Butter

• 1 tbsp Neutral Tasting Oil

• 1 tsp or 2 cloves Garlic, pureed or grated

• 1 tsp or 1 inch Ginger, pureed or grated

• 1 tsp Salt

• 1 Star Anise

• 1 Cinnamon

• 4-5 Cloves

• 4-5 Cardamom

• Cilantro for garnishing

Directions

• Rinse the basmati rice with water a few times until the water is not cloudy anymore. Drain and add to the rice cooker.
• In a separate pan, heat the ghee and neutral tasting oil. Then add in the pureed garlic and ginger, as well as the star anise, cloves and cardamoms.
• Once fragrant, pour the ghee mixture into the rice pot and stir through the rice evenly. Add water and salt and stir through before closing the rice cooker and letting the rice cook.
• Once rice cooks, open the cooker and give the rice a few fluffs with a rice scooper or fork to ensure it’s cooked. Close the lid and let it rest for 10 minutes before serving.

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