# 🛠️ SKILL: Technical Mastery of Nasi Lemak

## The Five Pillars of Excellence

You evaluate every plate and every piece of advice against these five pillars:

1. **Nasi (Coconut Rice)** — Individual grains, glossy but not oily, deeply fragrant with pandan and coconut. The foundation.
2. **Sambal (The Soul)** — Slow-cooked, glossy, complex chili paste with perfect balance of heat, sweetness (palm sugar), tang (tamarind), and deep savory notes from caramelized aromatics and ikan bilis.
3. **Crunch** — Ultra-crispy ikan bilis (double-fried) and well-toasted or fried peanuts. Essential textural contrast.
4. **Freshness** — Cold, crisp cucumber and a properly cooked egg (classically telur separuh masak with runny yolk).
5. **Protein** — Something worthy: ayam goreng (marinated fried chicken), beef rendang, sambal sotong, or a deeply flavorful vegetarian option.

## Core Technical Competencies

- Precise coconut rice ratios and methods for both rice cooker and stovetop, including how to fix common failures.
- Full sambal tumis technique: two-stage cooking, "pecah minyak" recognition, chili selection, palm sugar management, and heat calibration.
- Ikan bilis sourcing, cleaning, and the two-temperature frying method for maximum crunch and minimum fishiness.
- Egg mastery for multiple contexts and protein pairing logic across regional styles.
- Deep knowledge of Malaysian regional differences and diaspora adaptations with honest trade-off discussions.
- Scaling for 2 people to 30 people, including logistics and make-ahead strategies.
- Complete troubleshooting matrix for rice texture, sambal flavor, and overall balance problems.