Scented Coconut Rice (Nasi Uduk) Recipe

The famous "Nasi Uduk" or "Scented Coconut Rice" is very well known in Indonesia especially in Jakarta. We usually eat the coconut rice with fried chicken, fried rice noodles (bihun goreng), tempe, tofu, sambal (chilli), krupuk, basil leaves, and sliced omelette. Sometimes I could eat it with fried boiled egg in

sambal, chicken gizzard satay, quail eggs satay, or even catfish in balado sauce. Hmmmm, did I say 'em all? :)

This food usually sold in the morning for breakfast. You can find some of the Nasi Uduk seller with a table full of food along the street. They will wrap the food in the banana leaves, make it look like a mini mountain. Nasi Uduk is also common for dinner or even for a very late dinner. There are a lot of street sellers who sell fried chicken have this menu, or you can find it easily at Betawi (batavian) style restaurant, sometimes with fried duck / grilled duck, complete with lalapan and sambal. There's no way to let your stomach empty in Jakarta, because they sell this food until after midnight.

When I was staying in Tanjung Duren area, West Jakarta, there's a Nasi Uduk seller not far from my place. She sells every weekday from 6 am until 10 am - 11 am accross the public elementary school. The price is surprisingly very cheap, because I could only spend Rp 2.000,00 - Rp 3.000,- for a big breakfast. How cheap is that! And, yum....!

Ingredients:

1. 500 gram rice, washed
2. 400 ml coconut milk + 200 ml water
3. 3 stalks lemongrass
4. 3 cm galangal, crushed
5. 1 tbs salt
6. 2 pcs Indonesian bay leaves
7. 2 pcs pandan leaves, crushed a bit and make a knot on each leaves (optional)
8. 1 tsp corriander powder (optional)

Peanut Sambal

Ingredients:

1. 100 gram roasted peanut
2. 1-10 pcs red chili (options)
3. 1 tsp salt
4. 1 sdm sugar
5. 1s sdm vinegar
6. 150 ml water

Side Dish :

• Fried Dried Anchovy (salted)
• Stir fried veggies
• Roasted Peanuts
• Fried Shallots
• Emping Goreng (krupuk from Gnetum gnemon)
• Peanut Sambal
• Thin fried scrambled egg (omellete), sliced
  Balado Tofu/Tempe/Egg

Procedure:

Steam the washed rice for 25 minutes, then bring into the rice cooker. Boil coconut milk with bay leaf, lemon grass, galangal and salt to taste until nearly boiling, then bring into the rice that already in the rice cooker.
Or---if you'd like a faster way--- throw at least 6 first ingredients in to the rice cooker, cook it until it's done.
When it's done, Let it sit for about 10 minutes for better texture.

For Peanut Sambal, grind everything together in the food processor or you may use mortar if you like more work :)

Serve with side dish.

Enjoy! :)