Garuda Indonesia Colours Magazine January 2018 | Page 74

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Explore | Flavours
2 Nasi rames, another Javanese rice dish,
served with savoury marble eggs, fried
noodles, vegetables and prawn crackers.
The most commonly known rice dish is nasi uduk. It is
a Betawi-style dish that includes rice steamed in coconut
milk, bay leaves, orange leaves, galangal and lemongrass...
are nasi uduk (rice cooked in coconut milk),
rames (rice mixed with a variety of side
dishes), yellow rice and fried rice.
Rice: A Culinary Legacy
The most commonly known rice dish
is nasi uduk. It is a Betawi-style dish that
includes rice steamed in coconut milk,
bay leaves, orange leaves, galangal and
lemongrass, resulting in a fragrant savoury
dish. Nasi uduk is served with various side
dishes, such as chicken, tofu and tempeh
(soybean fritter), and fried egg, as well as
vegetables, such as traditional Indonesian
salad and sayur asem. Chilli paste, sprinkles
of fried garlic and crackers or Indonesian
melinjo crackers are usually added to nasi
uduk for an additional flavour kick.
Although closely associated with Betawi
cuisine, nasi uduk is also found in other
regions. The dish is called sego wuduk in
Central Java and also featured in the Serat
Centhini text as one of the common Javanese
dishes. In Sumatra and Malaysia, a variety
of nasi uduk called nasi lemak is also found.
CNN even featured nasi lemak as one
of the most delicious dishes in Malaysia.
Despite the different names, nasi uduk
is a common dish in Javanese and
Malay cuisine.
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A close relative of nasi uduk is nasi liwet from
Solo. It is a historical rice dish that offers a
similar savoury flavour. According to Serat
Centhini, nasi liwet originated as a ritual dish
when earthquakes hit the island of Java. It
subsequently developed into a breakfast dish
for the people of Solo. Nasi liwet is cooked
using coconut milk, bay leaves and salt. It is
served with side dishes such as telur pindang
(eggs preserved in spices), ayam areh (chicken
mixed with thick coconut milk), tahu and
tempeh bacem (tofu and soybean fritter
preserved in brown sugar), sambal goreng
hati (liver fried in chilli sauce), cooked
squash and rambak (cow-skin crackers). Javanese as an affordable breakfast, and can
easily be found at warungs (traditional food
stalls) every morning.
Another variety of savoury rice is yellow
rice. True to its name, the rice gets its colour
from the use of turmeric. In the past, yellow
rice was often used in special events such
as cultural and religious celebrations.
For celebrations, the yellow rice is usually
shaped into a cone (tumpeng) and surrounded
by various side dishes, such as fried chicken,
sliced fried eggs, sambal goreng ati, potato
fritters, dried tempeh, fried noodles, urap (a
salad dish mixed with grated coconut) and
chilli paste. Fried Rice Going International
Among the different rice dishes, fried rice is
probably the most popular. Fried rice can be
found all over the world, from street-food stalls
to fine-dining restaurants. During the Dutch
colonial era in Indonesia, fried rice was one
of the favourite dishes of the Europeans.
Today, however, yellow rice is not always
served as tumpeng. It is known among
Another rice dish is nasi rames. This Javanese
dish is known for the various side dishes that
come with the rice. In Javanese, rames means
‘combining into one’, so nasi rames involves
combining side dishes that contain animal
protein and plant protein as an addition to
the rice. The animal protein usually comes
from chicken or beef and boiled or fried egg.
Meanwhile, the plant protein usually comes
from stir-fried string beans or fried aubergine
as well as fried tofu or stir-fried tempeh.
A Surabaya-born Dutch singer, Wieteke
van Dort, even reminisced about Indonesia
through her popular song released in 1979,
Geef Mij Maar Nasi Goreng (‘Just Give Me
Fried Rice’). “Geef mij maar nasi goreng met
een gebakken ei” (Just give me fried rice with
a sunny-side-up egg) go the playful and cheeky
1 Nasi uduk Betawi served with fried
chicken, sautéed tempeh, omelette, cracker
crisps, fresh vegetables and spicy peanut sauce.
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