Indonesian Yellow Rice - Nasi kuning

Nasi kuning, anyone?

Hello, Everyone!

What a joyful month!

December is super special for ma petite famille. 
Remember when I said I have three birthdays and 1 anniversary this month? 
Yuuup...
Four precious moments to celebrate with my loved ones and I surely don't wanna miss the opportunity to make those special times 'special'. 
Including by preparing some special dishes :).  

I decided to republish this post, one of my favorite recipes for special times including holiday season like now,  as I would love to make sure everyone tries Nasi Kuning.

Di bulan Desember 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 :).

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.

We recently have 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.

Perhaps, you like to try something different this holiday season? It will definitely be perfect for your special day dinner as well.

So, are you ready to cook with me again?

some of the ingredients :)

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
Chicken broth
Salt 

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 ayam. Nah, kaldu ayam ini modifikasi 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.

For garnish:

Eggs - beaten and fried
Green pepper - cut and shaped as desired
Tomatoes - cut and shaped as desired
Olives
Beef floss - you can easily buy the ready-to-eat package from Asian store
Fried onion - buy the packed on from Asian store, as well.

Untuk penghias nasi kuning kali ini, saya ambil yang praktis saja. Boleh kan :).
Ada telur dadar, abon, bawang goreng dan sayuran untuk hiasan. Prkatis hanyak telur daar saja yang perlu dimasak, yang lainnya beli hehehe :)

How to cook:

Clean the rice and put them in a big pan.  Add the coconut milk, chicken broth, turmeric, garlic and coriander powder as well as the salt, bay leaves and lemon grass. If the coconut milk and chicken 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 :)), nasih 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 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 :).

Shape the rice in a plate and garnish it with eggs, beef floss, fried onion and veggies.
Feel free to create a lovely plate as desired.

Voilaaaa.. Your nasi kuning is ready now :). 

Bon appetite et happy holidaaay :)