Indonesia consists of sprawling islands, put together like a patchwork quilt.
With over 300 ethnicities, it is easy to see why this beautiful archipelago has such a diverse range of flavors and tastes.
Signature flavors include hits of chili, subtly smooth notes of coconut, citrus zings, and hints of nutty goodness. Meals in Indonesia are often multifaceted.
Nasi uduk is a dish made of coconut rice that originates in Jakarta.
The dish is an intricate and popular version of regular steamed rice and translates to “Mixed rice”. The rice is soaked in a mixture of coconut milk, cloves, cassia bark, and lemongrass.
Nasi Uduk has an indulgent texture and is typically served with fried shallots.
Other dishes can accompany Nasi Uduk, such as Tempe orek, eggs, and Krecek. No matter what you serve with Nasi Uduk, it truly shines.
Nasi uduk can be served as breakfast, with a simple side dish of telur dadar gulung (rolled fried egg). It can also be served as lunch/dinner, typically with ayam ungkep (fried chicken), fried tempeh, fried tofu, and sambal terasi (shrimp paste chili sauce) on top of the egg.
Recipe of Nasi Uduk Betawi – Jakarta Fragrant Coconut Rice
Ingredients :
2 cup rice (use the cup that comes with the rice cooker)
1/2 cup thick coconut milk (regular US cup)
2 1/2 cup water (regular US cup)
2 lemongrass (Indonesian: sereh), bruised and knotted
2 fresh/frozen pandan leaves, washed and knotted
4 Indonesian bay leaves (Indonesian: daun salam)
2 thin slices of ginger (Indonesian: jahe)
2 thin slices of galangal (Indonesian: lengkuas)
1 teaspoon coriander powder (Indonesian: bubuk ketumbar)
1/8 teaspoon salt
Instructions :
- Place all ingredients in a rice cooker pot and cook until ready.
- Let rest for 10 minutes before opening the lid.
- Remove the lemongrass, pandan, Indonesian bay leaves, ginger, and galangal. Stir with the rice cooker paddle.
- It is traditional to shape the rice with a cone mold (I just use a banana leaf and make it into a cone), but you can also just use a rice bowl to shape.
- Serve with ayam ungkep (fried chicken), tempeh goreng lengkuas (fried tempeh in galangal sauce), and telur dadar gulung (rolled fried egg).
