Rice receipes

Nasi Kuning (Yellow Rice)
Serves approximately 20 people

1 ½ kg long grain rice, washed and drained
1 ½ tbs grated fresh turmeric
2 ¼ L thin santan from 1 ½ coconut
3 stalks lemon grass, bruised
4 salam leaves
4 kaffir lime leaves
Salt to taste
2 tsp lime juice

•Steam the rice for about 25 minutes until it half-cooked, then remove.
•Dissolve the turmeric with a bit of water and strain the liquid. Mix the turmeric water with the santan and the rest of ingredients. Heat it to boiling.
•Pour the rice into the santan mixture. Continue stirring the mixture until the santan has been absorbed by the rice. Take the rice off the heat and stir in the lime juice to give it a good color. Steam the rice until done (about 60 minutes).

TO SERVE
Nasi kuning is generally accompany by various side dishes. The combination of side-dishes provides contrasts in flavor and texture and is as follows:
•Hati Ayam Kombinasi / Fried Chicken Livers
•Sambal Goreng Printil / Miniature Meatballs in Coconut Sauce
•Sambal Goreng Kering Tempe / Spiced crisp-fried tempe
•Kroket Udang / Shrimp Croquettes
•Sarang Burung Isi Dadar / Bird’s Nests With Quail Eggs
•To decorate : use sliced cucumbers and radishes

Nasi Kebuli (Savory Rice With Chicken)
Serves 8-10 people

750 g rice, washed and drained
10 tbs vegetable oil
3 cardamom seeds
5 cloves
½ nutmeg, grated
5 cm cinnamon
1 stalk lemon grass, bruised
1 chicken, cut into 5 cm long serving pieces
Water
Fried shallot slivers
½ pineapple, peeled and sliced

SPICE-PASTE
1 tsp coriander seeds
15 cumin seeds
1 tsp ground pepper
2 cm fresh ginger
10 shallots
5 cloves garlic
Salt to taste

•Steam the rice until it is half-cooked.
•Heat the oil in a work and fry the spice-paste mixture together with the cardamom seeds, nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves and lemon grass until fragrant.
•Add the pieces of chicken and stir-fry until everything is coated with the spices and has changed color. Add just enough water to cover the chicken. Simmer until tender. Take out the chicken and strain the broth.
•Add the broth to the rice in a saucepan with a tight-fitting lid. The broth should be 1 cm above the surface of the rice. If you have less than this, add hot water to make up the difference. Boil the rice until the broth has been absorbed.
•Mix the chicken into rice and steam the rice until it is done (about 50 minutes).
•Serve on a large dish and garnish with the fried shallots slivers and sliced pineapple.

Nasi Goreng Bahari (Fried Rice With Seafood)
Serve approximately 8-10 people

5 tbs vegetable oil
250 g peeled shrimp
Crabmeat from 3 boiled crabs
750 g cold boiled rice
1 tbs sweet soy sauce
1 tbs light soy sauce

SPICE-PASTE
5 red chilies
6 cloves garlic
Salt to taste

•Heat the oil in a work and fry the pounded spice-paste until fragrant. Add the shrimp and stir-fry until they turn red. Add the crabmeat.
•Add all of the rice, the sweet soy and light soy sauce. Stir continuously until everything is well-blended and heated. Serve on a large dish, granished with a fried egg or a shredded omellete and slices of cucumber.

NOTE
It is important that the rice used has been boiled a long time before you intend to fry it, so that it has a chance to cool.

Nasi Briyani (Rice With Lamb, Raisins and Cashew Nuts)
Serve approximately 10 people

800 g rice
500 ml water
1 tsp salt
250 ml milk
Ghee / butter
¼ tsp grated fresh turmeric
½ kg lamb, cut into small cubes
1 cm nutmeg
5 cm cinnamon
5 cloves
5 cardamom seeds
1 stalk lemon grass, bruised
1 L water

SPICE-PASTE
10 shallots
5 cloves garlic
2 tbs coriander seeds
1 tsp ground pepper
1 tsp cumin seeds
2 cm fresh ginger
2 cm fresh turmeric
250 g tomatoes
Salt to taste

GARNISHING
250 g fried cashew nuts
100 g raisins
100 g fried shallots
100 g boiled peas

•Steam the rice until half-cooked, then take it off the fire.
•Put the rice into a saucepan together; with the water, salt, milk, 3 tbs of ghee / butter and ¼ tsp turmeric. Stir the mixture and boil until the liquid has been absorbed by the rice. Remove.
•Heat 5 tbs ghee in a work, fry the pounded spice-paste until fragrant. Add the lamb, grated nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves, cardamom and lemon grass. Stir until everything is well-blended. Add water and boil until water has evaporated and the meat is tender.
•Mix the lamb into the rice and put everything into a steamer.
•Steam until the rice is done, about 50 minutes.
•Serve garnished with the cashew nuts, raisins, fried shallots and boiled peas.

Nasi Goreng Petai (Fried Rice With Petai)
Serve approximately 8-10 people

5 tbs vegetable oil
3 tbs sweet soy sauce
1 pod of petai, peeled and each bean sliced in four pieces
Cold cooked rice boiled from 750 g rice
3 tomatoes, sliced
2 cabbage leaves, shredded
Fried emping

SPICE-PASTE
5 red chilies
6 shallots
4 cloves garlic
1 tsp terasi
6 petai beans
Salt to taste

•Heat the oil, fry the pounded spice-paste until fragrant. Add the sweet soy sauce and the petai. Stir-fry until well-blended. Add the rice and continue stirring until everything is well-blended and heated. Remove.
•Serve garnished with fried shallots. Put the sliced tomatoes, slivers shredded cabbage and the fried emping around the rice.

NOTE
Petai (Parkia speciosa) is a kind of bean. Remove the skin and use the pod. Petai is used to add a unique smell and taste to a dish.

Lopis (Sticky Rice Rolls)
Serve about 10 people

200 g white glutinous rice
1 tbs slaked lime water (kapur sirih water)
Banana leaves or alumunium foil
¼ grated coconut to which salt to taste is added
Brown sugar syrup

•Soak the glutinous rice in water for an hour and drain. Add the calcium water to make Lopis more solid and stir.
•Make the banana leaf rolls as pictured below, fill 4/5 full with the glutinous rice. Secure the ends and tie the rolls with string so they will not burst during the cooking.
•Put the rolls in a saucepan and cover with water. Boil for 4 hours, drain and allow the rolls to cool. Add more hot water during the cooking when necessary.
•Serve the Lopis cut in 1 ½ cm thick slices. Sprinkle the grated coconut on top and pour the brown sugar syrup over the Lopis.

NOTE
The slaked lime water is made with 1 tbs slaked lime mix with 1 cup of water.
To make the syrup, boil the palm sugar with water. Continue boiling until you have obtained a thick syrup. You may substitute brown sugar.

Ketupat (Compressed Boiled Rice Packets)
Serve around 10 people

400 g rice
10 ketupat containers, woen of coconut leaf
Water

•Wash the rice several times and drain.
•Fill the Ketupat containers 1/3 full and put them in a saucepan or the bottom part of a rice steamer filled with water to cover all the Ketupat. Boil for 4 to 5 hours; add more hot water if necessary.
•Drain, and allow the rolls to cool off.

NOTE
Lontong is made in the same way as Ketupat. The difference is that the rice is filled into rolls made of banana leaves (see the recipe for Lopis).

Arem-Arem (Stuffed Rolls of Rice)
About 10-15 rolls of 10 cm length each.

500 g rice
Thin santan from ½ coconut
2 salam leaves
Salt to taste
Banana leaves, or substitute alumunium foil

STUFFING
2 tbs vegetable oil
6 shallots, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
3 red chilies, finely sliced
1 cm fresh langkuas, bruised 1 salam leaf
250 g ground beef
250 ml thick santan from ½ coconut

SPICE-PASTE
½ tomato
2 cm fresh kencur
Salt to taste
A pinch of sugar

•Put the rice and enough santan to reach 5 cm above the surface of the rice in a saucepan. Add the salam leaves and the salt. Boil until the santan is absorbed by the rice and the grains are al dente.
•Meanwhile, prepare the stuffing : heat the oil and fry the pounded shallots, garlic, chilies, langkuas, salam leaf and the spice-paste until fragrant. Add the meat and stir until meat stiffens. Add the thick santan and simmer until the beef is tender and the santan has been absorbed.
•Take a piece of banana leaf or alumunium foil. Put in 2 tbs of the rice, flatten it and put 2 tsp of the meat mixture on top. Enclose the filling with another 2 tbs of rice. Roll the banana leaf or foil into a roll. Secure the ends tightly. Repeat with the rest of the ingredients.
•Steam the Arem-Arem rolls in a steamer for about 90 minutes.

NOTE
Abon (shredded, spiced meat), Sambal Goreng Hati or Acar Kuning can be used as a stuffing instead. A beaten egg can be added to the cooked rice mixture or sheets of omelette can be wrapped around the rolls before wrapping them in banana leaf or foil.

Ketupat Ketan (Boiled Glutinous Rice Packets)
About 20 packets

800 g white glutinous rice
20 Ketupat containers, measuring 6 x 7 cm
3 L thin santan and 1 L thick santan, made from 2 coconuts
1 tbs salt

•Wash the glutinous rice and drain.
•Fill the Ketupat in a saucepan and add the thin santan to cover the Ketupat. Add salt.
•Boil until santan has almost evaporated, then add the thick santan.
•Continue boiling until santan has thickened and stir continuously.
•When oil starts coming out the santan, take Ketupat out and drain. Allow to cool.

Nasi Goreng Babat (Fried Rice With Ripe)
Serves 8-10 people

500 g tripe, washed and cleaned
Water
Salt to taste
1 cm fresh ginger, peeled and smashed
5 tbs vegetable oil
2 tbs sweet soy sauce
1 tbs light soy sauce
Cold cooked rice made from ¾ kg rice
3 tbs fried shallots slivers
3 tomatoes, sliced
1 cucumber, sliced

SPICE-PASTE
5 red chilies
6 shallots
6 cloves garlic
Salt to taste

•Boil the tripe with water to cover, salt and the ginger until tender and the water has evaporated. Cut in 1 x 3 cm pieces.
•Heat the oil, fry the pounded spice-paste until fragrant. Put in the tripe and stir well. Add the sweet soy and the light soy. Finally, add the rice and keep stirring the mixture until all the rice grains are well-coated and everything is blended. Take off the fire.
•Garnish with fried shallots slivers, the sliced tomatoes and the cucumbers.

Nasi Bumbu (Tasty Rice With Herbs)
Serves 12 people

800 g long grain rice, washed and drained
3 tbs vegetable oil
½ chicken, cut into 12 pieces
6 cloves
6 cm cinnamon
2 stalks lemon grass, bruised
2 salam leaves
1 L thin santan from 1 coconut
3 hard-boiled eggs, peeled
3 potatoes, peeled and cut into 4 pieces each

SPICE-PASTE
2 tbs coriander seeds
2 tbs cumin seeds
2 cm fresh ginger
2 cm turmeric
Salt to taste

•Steam the rice until is is half-cooked.
•Heat the oil in a work and fry the pounded spice paste until fragrant. Add the chicken pieces, cloves, cinnamon, lemon, lemon grass and salam leaves. Stir and add the santan.
•Cook until the chicken is tender, add the half-cooked rice and cook until all the water has been absorbed by the rice.
•Mix the boiled eggs and potatoes into the rice and steam the mixture until done.

Bubur Manado (Tinotuan)
Serves 6-8 people

250 g long grain rice
2 ears of corn, kernels stripped from the cobs
Salt to taste
Water
½ melinjo leaves
5 long beans
½ cup spinach leaves
½ cup kangkung leaves (water convolvulus)
200 g pumpkin, cut in 2 x 2 cm piaces of 1 cm thickness
20 kemangi (Horrapa basil) leaves

•Boil the rice together with the corn kernels and the salt in enough water to cover rice to a depth of 6 cm.
•After the water comes to a boil, add the melinjo leaves and the long beans, cut in 5 cm lengths. Cook until the rice is half done; add the spinach leaves, the kangkung, the pumpkin and the basil. Simmer tightly covered, until rice is done. Remove.
•Serve with tomato sambal and fried salted fish.

Sambal Tomat
•Mix finely sliced red chilies, bird’s eye chilies, shallots and tomatoes together. Add salt and stir until everything is well-blended.


Bubur Ayam (Chicken Porridge)
Serves approximately 6 people

300 g chicken
200 g rice
1 L water
Salt to taste
½ tsp ground pepper
2 pieces cakue, finely sliced
50 g Tientsin preserved vegetable
Fried shallots slivers
Finely sliced spring onions

•Simmer chicken in water to cover until tender with some salt. Fry the chicken, debone and shred the meat.
•Reserve 2 L of the chicken broth.
•Wash and drain the rice. Boil in 1 L water until grains are tender to the bite. Add chicken broth. Bring to a simmer and continue simmering at low heat until porridge is ready and there is no separation of liquid and rice. Add salt and pepper.
•Serve porridge in deep bowls. Garnish with the cakue, Tientsin preserved vegetable, shredded chicken, fried shallots sliver and sliced spring onions. Add drops of light soy to taste. Serve garlic chili sauce on the side.

NOTE
Cakue is a savory roll that can be purchased in Chinese markets. For added nutrition, a raw egg yolk can be added on top of the hot porridge.


Lemang (Glutinous Rice Cooked in A Bamboo Container)
About 40 slices

PREPARATION
•Obtain a segment of bamboo with an inside width of 5 cm nd a length of 45-50 cm. The bamboo should be no more than 1 cm thick – which lets the heat penetrate. Thicker bamboo prevent the glutinous rice from cooking evenly; too thin, and the bamboo will catch fire. One end of the bamboo will should be hollow and the other end stoppered by the end of the internode.
•Line the inside of the bamboo tube with banana leaves will be needed. It should be lined with the banana leaf fibers following the inner curve of the bamboo tube so that the leaves will not split during the cooking.

600-650 g white glutinous rice, cooked in water for 3-5 hours, then washed and drained
800-850 ml thick santan from 3 mature coconuts
Salt to taste

•Fill the bamboo tube ¾ full with the glutinous rice.
•Top it up with santan until about 5 cm above the surface of the rice.
•Tie down a banana leaf lid firmly and tightly over the mouth of the tube.
•Cook the rice by placing the bamboo tube over a low fire for 6-7 hours.

COOKING THE LEMANG
•Construct a barbeque pit, made of red bricks. The height of the spit should be no more than 4 bricks.
•Rig a crossbar of wood or bamboo acrros the pit.
•Prepare a fire, using charcoal, firewood or dried coconut husks. The fire should not be too hot, to prevent the bamboo from catching fire, and kept at a constant level of heat.
•Place the bamboo tube so that it leans against the crossbar, with the hollow end at the top.
•Turn the tube every half hour.
•After one hour, turn the bamboo tube upside-down. Make sure the banana leaf lid is tied tightly to the bamboo. Reverse it again after another hour. Continue this process until the Lemang is cooked, about 6-7 hours.
•When the Lemang is cooked and has cooled off, shake the tube and the Lemang will slide out. Unwrap from its banana leaf coverings and slice into rounds. Serve with black tapai ketan (fermented black glutinous rice).


Buras (Steamed Stuffed Rice Packets)
Enough for 20 packets

500 g rice
1 tsp salt
1 ½ L water
3 tbs vegetable oil
1 salam leaf
½ cm fresh langkuas
18 x 15 cm slice of red oncom, crumbled
150 ml water
2 stalks spring onion
Flat-leaved parsley
Banana leaves or aluminium foil

SPICE-PASTE
6 shallots
3 cloves garlic
3 red chilies
5 bird’s eye chilies
½ tsp terasi
½ cm fresh kencur
Salt to taste
A pinch of sugar

•Boil the rice with the water and salt until half-cooked. Take off the fire.
•Heat the oil, fry the spice-paste together with the salam leaf and the kencur until fragrant. Add the crumble oncom and the water and cook until oncom is done and the water has evaporated. Put in the sliced spring onions and flat-leaved parsley, stir-fry for a minute or two and take off the fire.
•Take a piece of banana leaf or foil and put in 2 tbs of the rice mixture. Flatten it and put 2 tsp of the oncom on top. Roll up the leaf tightly and secure the ends.
•Steam the Buras for abour an hour until done. Allow to cool.

NOTE
Oncom is a fermented cake made from residue of crushed peanuts after oil has been extracted. It can also be made from soybeans and coconut. It is bright orange with a mouldy appearance. It is a moderate source of protein and iron.