nasi lemak macaron??

yes.
i have indeed created a nasi lemak macaron.
a slightly savory note to the sweet pastry.

nasi lemak is a combination of fragrant coconut rice served with sambal (chili paste), ikan bilis (dried anchovies), cucumber, roasted peanuts and a hard boiled egg.
it is traditionally served wrapped in a banana leaf.

my wacky idea came from the nasi lemak cookie at the cookie museum at the esplanade, with a just as wacky price of 38 dollars a box.
the whole idea is that when you take bite of the macaron and close your eyes, you will feel as though a spoonful of nasi lemak is in your mouth!

so......
here it is.
Nasi Lemak Macarons.

Makes about fifteen cookies

Macaron Batter
1 cup (100 gr) powdered sugar
½ cup powdered almonds (about 2 ounces, 50 gr, sliced almonds, pulverized)
2 tablespoons coconut milk powder
2 large egg whites, at room temperature
5 tablespoons (65 gr) granulated sugar

1 teaspoon green food colouring (1 cap full)

1/2 teaspoon salt

Filling

1/2 cup peanut butter

1/3 cup ikan bilis sambal

1 cucumber

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (180 degrees C).

2. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and have a pastry bag with a plain tip (about 1/2-inch, 2 cm) ready.

3. Grind together the powdered sugar with the almond powder and coconut milk powder so there are no lumps; use a blender or food processor since almond meal that you buy isn't quite fine enough.

4. In the bowl of a standing electric mixer, beat the egg whites until they begin to rise and hold their shape. While whipping, beat in the granulated sugar until very stiff and firm, about 2 minutes.

5. Carefully fold the dry ingredients, in two batches, into the beaten egg whites with a flexible rubber spatula. Add the food colouring with the second batch. When the mixture is just smooth and there are no streaks of egg white, stop folding and scrape the batter into the pastry bag (standing the bag in a tall glass helps if you're alone).

6. Pipe the batter on the parchment-lined baking sheets in 1-inch (3 cm) circles (about 1 tablespoon each of batter), evenly spaced one-inch (3 cm) apart.

7. Rap the baking sheet a few times firmly on the counter top to flatten the macarons, bring the oven temperature down to 150 degress then bake them for 4 minutes. Bake at 180 degrees for another 11 minutes. Let cool completely then remove from baking sheet.

For the filling:

Mix the peanut butter and sambal together and spread some onto each side of the macaron.
Slice the cucumber and place in between the 2 sambal layers.

=)