Nasi Kuning is an Indonesian traditional food which main ingredients consist of rice, coconut milk, spices and tumeric. In Indonesian, "Nasi" means rice and "Kuning" means Yellow. It is called Nasi Kuning because the rice looks yellow instead of white, the regular color of rice. The unique part of this traditional food is because the tumeric that blends with the rice makes the rice color turns yellow. The ingredients added and the cooking process itself make it tastes more savory and smells more aromatic. Usually, it is eaten with another dishes such as egg, tofu, tempe, noodle and sambal.
Nasi Kuning was originated from Java, the moment the Hindu kingdom began to rise. From the very beginning, it is made to express gratitude. Javanese believes that the yellow color in the rice represents wealth and prosper. Nowadays, you can find it in almost all celebrations or traditional ceremonies across Indonesia, especially Central Java, Yogyakarta, Bali, Manado, and Banjar Area.
Now, I will share how to make a simple Nasi Kuning.
Ingredients:
- 1 kg of rice
- 5 cm of tumeric
- 2 cm of galangal
- 1 pcs of old-aged coconut
- 2 sheets of pandan leaves
- 2 stick of lemongrass
- 4 sheets of bay leaves
- 3 cm of ginger
- 6 pcs of shallots
- 4 teaspoon of salt
Steps:
1. First of all, rinse the rice thoroughly. Then soak the rice in clean water.
2. Grind the tumeric, ginger, galangal, shallot, and salt into a puree.
3. Put the spices that have been grind into puree into the coconut milk and stir until evenly distributed.
4. Cook it until boiled
5. Discard the rice soaking water then pour the coconut milk into the rice by filtering.
6. And then add bay leaf and lemongrass. Boil rice on low heat. While boiling, keep stirring until the water shrinks and the rice almost cooked.
7. After that, take the bay leaf and lemongrass from the almost cooked rice.
8. Meanwhile, prepare a pot for steaming, boil the water first.
9. Then, put the rice in the steamer pot.
10. Last of all, add pandan leaves.
Finally, you can cook Nasi Kuning at home by yourself, or just simply order it from Kokikan. You can also sell your Nasi Kuning creation to your neighbor at Kokikan. All you have to do is to download the apps at Apple App Store or Google Play Store.