Hello, Everyone!
Hope you all have a wonderful day.
August, last month, is super special for me et ma petite famille.
It is my birthday month as well as the Independence of my beloved country, Indonesia!
Yuuup…
Precious moments to celebrate with my loved ones and I surely don’t want to miss the opportunity to make those special times ‘special’. Including by preparing some special dishes :).
Di bulan Agustus yang ceria, keluarga kecil kami memang dilimpahi banyak kebahagiaan dan nikmat yang harus senantiasa disyukuri. Walaupun tidak heboh dengan perayaan, tapi saya selalu mencoba menyiapkan makanan spesial untuk hari yang istimewa. Kali ini, saya coba membuat nasi kuning :).
I decided to share one of my favorite recipes for special times as I would love to make sure everyone tries Nasi Kuning, the Indonesian delicious yellow rice with coconut milk. It is simple, nice, and vegetarian based so everyone can enjoy.
As I celebrated my birthday last August, I cooked Nasi Kuning for my family. Not only the rice but also other main dishes like ayam goreng or fried chicken*, perkedel kentang* or fried potatoes croquette*, telur dadar* or omelet and urap or fresh veggies with spiced grated coconut. It was very tiring as we cook so many things at the same time but I love doing it. Besides, it’s for my special day indeed!
In Indonesia, we have a tradition of preparing nasi tumpeng or cone-shaped rice made of Nasi Uduk or Nasi Kuning. Usually, it is garnished with so many additional yummy plates of fried chicken, potato fritters, fried eggs, fried noodles, beef floss, or even sambel goreng tempe, which recipe I have shared here before. But of course, it doesn’t have to be that complete.
When I was assigned in the Permanent Mission of the Republic of Indonesia to the United Nations in New York City, we had a welcoming dinner at the Mission for the UN Secretary-General Designate, H.E. Mr. Antonio Gutterres, with Nasi Kuning komplit as the main course. He liked it of course as it was unique and tasty at the same time.
Perhaps now you like to try something different this time by cooking Indonesian food?
It will definitely be perfect for your special day dinner as well or simply your weekend cuisine.
So, are you ready to cook with me?
Here are the ingredients:
Rice - 2 pounds
Coconut milk - 3 cans or boxes
Lemon grass - 4 pieces, cut and beaten
Dried bay leaves - 6 pieces or more, as desired Turmeric powder - as needed
Garlic powder - as needed
Coriander powder - as needed
You can also use vegetarian broth (usually from mushroom) if you like.
Salt
For garnish:
Eggs - beaten and thinly fried
Green pepper - cut and shaped as desired
Tomatoes - cut and shaped as desired
Olives
Beef floss - if you want it, otherwise you can drop it. You can easily buy the ready-to-eat package from Asian store
Fried onion - buy the packed on from Asian store as well or you can cook it yourself by frying the super-thinly sliced shallot or bawang merah.
Bahan-bahannya standar dan mudah kaaan.
Beras, santan, serai segar, daun salam, bubuk bawang putih, kunyit dan ketumbar (bumbu favorit saya nih :)), dan juga garam plus kaldu sayuran. Nah, kaldu sayuran ini tambahan saya sendiri sih, supaya nasinya bisa lebih gurih walaupun tidak terlalu banyak santan. Pas buat mereka yang mencoba mengurangi makanan berlemak tapi tetap menyukai makanan enak dan gurih #hmmsiapayaaa.
How to cook:
Clean the rice and put them in a big pan.
Add the coconut milk, vegetarian broth (if you wish), turmeric, garlic and coriander powder as well as the salt, bay leaves and lemon grass. If the coconut milk and broth appear to be inadequate, you can add water to make sure is not too dry. Mix it well, particularly the turmeric powder, and make sure it’s evenly mixed and nicely turn the rice yellow.
Slow cook it in low fire and occasionally stir it to avoid overcooking it.
Once it’s ready (all the liquid will be dried and the rice will be nicely damp and yellow), set it aside and prepare the steamer for the mixed rice. Steam it for approximately 20 minutes until the rice is well-cooked.
You can definitely use the rice cooker for this but I prefer preparing it separately like this for better result.
Memasaknya gampang kan :). Tinggal memasukkan semua bahan yang dibutuhkan ke dalam panci besar, aduk hingga warna kuningnya merata dan masak dengan api sedang. Saat santan dan air kaldu sudah hampir habis, lebih baik api dikecilkan, supaya bagian bawah tidak gosong. Jangan lupa sering-sering diaduk yaaa…supaya tidak gosong dan matangnya bisa merata. Selesai diaron (benar kan ya bahasanya diaron :)…kalau di keluarga kami, proses ini disebut mengaron. Hmmm…berarti kata dasarnya aron ya #abaikan :)), Nasi ditanak dengan dandang terpisah yang sudah diisi air di bagian bawahnya. Masak hingga nasi tanak. Supaya tau sudah tanak atau belum, langsung dimakan saja. Kalau ingin praktis memang bisa langsung menggunakan rice cooker. Tapi saya lebih suka dengan cara begini, supaya nasinya betul-betul matang atau tanak.
For the garnish egg, beaten the eggs evenly and mix it with salt and garlic. Then fry it in a pan. In Indonesia we call it telur dadar. Usually, for nasi kuning or nasi uduk, we make the thin version of telur dadar, roll it and slice it thinly, like the one in my photo up there :).
Untuk penghias nasi kuning kali ini, saya ambil yang praktis saja. Boleh kan :).
Ada telur dadar, abon, bawang goreng dan sayuran untuk hiasan. Prkatis hanya telur dadar saja yang perlu dimasak, yang lainnya beli hehehe. Kecuali ingin masak ayam goreng, perkedel kentang dan sambal goreng tempe juga
Shape the rice in a plate and garnish it with eggs, beef floss 9if you like), fried onion and veggies.
Feel free to create a lovely plate as desired.
Voilaaaa… Your nasi kuning is ready now :).
Bon appetite et enjoy this special dish ?
Hope you like it and happy cooking!
Belated Happy Birthday , Thank you for sharing your favorite dish with us 
Maybe I’ll visit an Indonesian restaurant tomorrow and get nasi uduk/kuning myself.
love it.
karena memang dimasaknya sama sama pake santan. Perbedaannya di bumbu yang dipakai. 
