Indonesian Rice Delights Part 2 Of 3      2024/04/18

Nasi means “rice” in Indonesian language. I am preparing 10 Indonesian rice dishes for 3 Episodes.

3 Episodes exploring:

Part 1: Nasi bogana; Nasi campur; Nasi goreng, Already published 

Part 2: Nasi kucing; Nasi kuning; Nasi liwet, Now

Part 3: Nasi padang; Nasi pecel; Nasi timbel; Nasi uduk; Soon

▲4. Nasi kucing

Nasi kucing also known as sěgå kucing and often translated cat rice or cat's rice is an Indonesian rice dish that originated in Central Java, primarily in the Yogyakarta, Semarang, and Surakarta areas but has since spread throughout the country. It consists of a small portion of rice with toppings, usually sambal, dried fish, tempeh, egg, chicken, and cucumber, wrapped in banana leaf, which is further wrapped in paper..

Making Shredded Chicken Opor
Boneless Chicken Breast, cut into 4 pieces 400 g
Water 250 ml
Thick Coconut Milk 250 ml
Cooking Oil 60 ml
Tamarind 30 g
Royco Bumbu Pelezat Rasa Ayam 10 g
Sugar 5 g
Lemongrass Stalks, crushed 2 pc
Lime Leaves 3 pc
Galangal 4 pc
Shallot Bulbs 7 pc
Garlic Cloves 5 pc
Candlenuts kemiri 4 pc
Coriander 3 g
Cumin 1 g
White Pepper Seeds 10 pc

Royco Bumbu Pelezat Rasa Ayam 460g
Ingredients:
Chicken, salt, sugar, onion, garlic, vegi oil, corn starch, white pepper powder, celery, turmetric powder, water

Making Pindang Eggs
Chicken eggs 5 pc
Water 750 ml
Garlic Cloves 3 pc

Shallots 3 bulbs

Kaffir lime leaves 3 pc
Bay Leaves 3 pc
Soy sauce 2 table spoon

Palm sugar 2 table spoon

Preparation:

Making Shredded Chicken Opor
o Sauté the ground spices until fragrant. Add the chicken, mix well and cook until the chicken is firm.
o Add water and complementary spices, cook until the chicken is fully cooked and evenly coated with seasoning.
o Remove and shred the chicken, then put it back in spice mix.
o Add the coconut milk, cook and stir until thickened.
o Plate and serve.

Making Pindang Eggs
o Put the eggs into a pan of water and ensure that they're are all submerged.
o Add the seasoning, let them heat to boiling (15 minutes).
o Cool the eggs with cold water and remove the eggshells.
o Pour the seasoning liquid in a container, put the eggs in it and place in a fridge overnight until the eggs are brownish red.

Sambal ulek

Ground chilli pepper with salt, sugar, cooking oil, shallot, garlic, ginger, lemongrass, shrimp paste, and anchovies

Grilled Tempeh; Chicken Opor; Sambal ulek; Pindang Eggs

▲5. Nasi kunning

Nasi kuning (Indonesian for: "yellow rice"), or sometimes called nasi kunyit (Indonesian for: "turmeric rice"), is an Indonesian fragrant rice dish cooked with coconut milk and turmeric, hence the name nasi kuning (yellow rice).

Ingredients

· 2 cups rice
· 1 tablespoon turmeric powder
· 1 lemongrass stalk bruised and chopped
· 3 fresh pandan leaves screwpine leaves knotted together
· 2 bay leaves
· 2 kaffir lime leaves
· ½ teaspoon salt
· ½ cup coconut milk
· 2½ cups water

Instructions

Stove Method

1. Wash the rice in several changes of water until it runs clear. Drain with a sieve to make sure all water is drained off. Getting rid of excess starch is important or the rice will be sticky and mushy.
2. Bring water and coconut milk to a boil. Add rice and the rest of the ingredients, stir to mix. Reduce the heat to medium-low and let it cook covered for 10-15 minutes. The liquid should be fully absorbed.
3. Once the liquid is fully absorbed, bring heat to a complete simmer and let cook for another 5-10 minutes. The rice will dry up and become fluffy.
4. Remove rice from heat and fluff with a fork.

Rice Cooker Method

1. Wash the rice in several changes of water until it runs clear. Drain with a sieve to make sure all water is drained off. Getting rid of excess starch is important or the rice will be sticky and mushy.
2. Add all the ingredients to your rice cooker. Mix thoroughly. Then, cook on the white rice setting. Be sure to wait 10 minutes after it is finished before fluffing the rice. 

Put in a bowl to shape it, and serve alongside your meal.

Making Pindang Eggs
Chicken eggs 5 pc
Water 750 ml
Garlic Cloves 3 pc

Shallots 3 bulbs

Kaffir lime leaves 3 pc
Bay Leaves 3 pc
Soy sauce 2 table spoon

Palm sugar 2 table spoon

Preparation:

Making Pindang Eggs

o Put the eggs into a pan of water and ensure that they're are all submerged.
o Add the seasoning, let them heat to boiling (15 minutes).
o Cool the eggs with cold water and remove the eggshells.
o Pour the seasoning liquid in a container, put the eggs in it and place in a fridge overnight until the eggs are brownish red.

Sambal ulek
Ground chilli pepper with salt, sugar, cooking oil, shallot, garlic, ginger, lemongrass, shrimp paste, and anchovies

Sambal ulek; Pindang Eggs

▲6. Nasi Liwet

Nasi liwet is an Indonesian dish rice dish cooked in coconut milk, added with chicken broth, salam leaves, lemongrass, and spices, from Solo, Central Java, Indonesia. Thus, the rice has a rich, aromatic, and succulent taste. The uniqueness of nasi liwet is that it applies a traditional Javanese way of cooking rice in coconut milk. 

INGREDIENTS

· 3 cups long grain white rice
· 2 1/2 cups water
· 1/2 cup coconut milk
· 2 Tbsp cooking oil divided

AROMATICS:

· 4 shallots peeled and thinly sliced
· 2 cloves garlic peeled and finely minced
· 100 gr salted mackerel (ikan asin) optional - cut or flake into small pieces
· 1/2 cup stink / sator / sataw beans thaw if frozen; or lima beans
· 6 whole red chili

SPICES AND HERBS:

· 1 large lemongrass trim the skinny top and cut into half
· 2 inch fresh galangal peeled
· 4 fresh bay leaves or 6-8 dried ones
· 4 kaffir lime leaves tear the edges to release flavor

SEASONINGS:

· 1/2 tsp salt
· 1/2 tsp sugar

OPTIONAL TOPPINGS / SIDE DISH:

· 1/2 cup dried anchovies small to medium size, ikan teri Medan if you can find
· 1/4 tsp sugar
· 1 large bunch holy basil / daun kemangi
· Sambal goreng Tempeh

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Wash the rice with clean running water until the water is clear. Completely drain off the water with a strainer if necessary to make sure no water is collecting in between the rice grain. Set aside

COOKING ON STOVE-TOP:

1. Preheat 1 Tbsp of cooking oil in a large heavy-bottom pot with tight-fitting lid. Add shallots and garlic and stir fry for 1 minute. Add salted fish (if using) and stink beans, and whole red chili. Stir fry for another minute. Add lemongrass stalk, galangal, bay leaves, kaffir lime leaves and stir fry again. Add rice grain, salt, and sugar. Stir to mix everything. Pour in the coconut milk and stir again. Bring to a gentle boil and then lower the heat to simmer. Close the lid and cook for the next 20 minutes undisturbed. Remove from the heat after 20 minutes and wait for 10 minutes before opening the lid. After 10 minute, uncover the lid and fluff the rice with a fork. There should be some "crust" at the bottom of the pot, which is normal and in fact the local like this crispy crust (kerak nasi) at the bottom of the pot. You can discard the lemongrass stalks and other leaves

COOKING WITH RICE COOKER:

1. Preheat 1 Tbsp of cooking oil in a large heavy-bottom pot with tight-fitting lid. Add shallots and garlic and stir fry for 1 minute. Add salted fish (if using) and stink beans, and whole red chili. Stir fry for another minute. Add lemongrass stalk, galangal, bay leaves, kaffir lime leaves and stir fry again. Add rice grain, salt, and sugar. Stir to mix everything. Pour in the coconut milk and stir again. Transfer to a rice cooker and cook like you would regular plain white rice or use the white rice setting if available. You can discard the lemongrass stalks and other leaves

WHILE THE RICE IS COOKING:

1. Preheat 1 Tbsp of oil in a large non-stick skillet. Pan fry the dried anchovies until crispy. Add about 1/4 tsp of sugar will give it a really nice sweet taste but not overly sweet. Remove into an absorbent paper towel. In the same skillet pan fry the basil until crispy

SERVING:

1. You can pile the toppings you prepare on top of the rice and let everyone get their own rice or served the toppings on the side.

Sambal Goreng Tempeh

Ingredients

For sambal paste
· 1 tomato roughly chopped
· 3 cloves garlic
· 1 medium shallot roughly chopped
· 2 chilies roughly chopped (deseed for a less spicy version)

Other ingredients
· 1 package tempeh (about 8oz/225g)
· 1 tablespoon coconut sugar or another sweetener
· 2 teaspoon tamarind paste (optional)
· 1 tablespoon soy sauce or tamari/shoyu (use gluten-free if needed)
· salt to taste

Instructions

Cooking tempeh

1. You can either pan-fry, deep-fry, or cook your tempeh in an air fryer.

Pan-frying - Heat up a tablespoon of oil in a cast-iron skillet/non-stick pan over medium-high. Place tempeh slices in one layer and fry for 2-3 minutes on each side, or until both sides are golden. Set aside.

Deep frying - Preheat 1 inch of oil in a medium skillet/pan. Line a large plate with paper towels or absorbent paper. When the oil is hot, gently place the tempeh in using a spoon/tongs to avoid the oil from splashing out.

Cook for 2-4 minutes, or until they are golden brown. Drain with a slotted spoon and place them on the lined plate.

Making the dish

1. In a food processor or blender, blend together all ingredients needed for the sambal until smooth.
2. Heat another ½ tablespoon of oil in the skillet. Add sambal paste along with coconut sugar and tamarind paste into the pan, and fry until the paste has turned slightly brown, around a minute.
3. Add in cooked tempeh along with soy sauce. Give everything a quick stir. Taste and add more seasonings, if needed. Your sambal tempeh is ready to be served!

Sambal ulek
Ground chilli pepper with salt, sugar, cooking oil, shallot, garlic, ginger, lemongrass, shrimp paste, and anchovies

Sambal goreng Tempeh; lima beans

Sambal ulek

Next, Happy Mother's Day: Rose Garden Honeycomb Cake

Coming Next,  Indonesian Rice Delights Part 3 Of 3 

  

Publisher： Chef Kar Delight