Javanese Food

It is all about Javanese food, and it's cooking.  Most dishes here are traditional cooking, but some of them may be my own interpretation; however, the flavour is the same, as I will use all the authentic herbs and spices.
I noticed nowadays people in Java present the food differently compared to the olden days. For example, a rice cone used to be offered only for white or yellow rice with traditional garnishes, but now the rice cone would be the core of the presentation and surrounded by all variety of dishes including, lumpia, kroket, meat, savoury and vegetables.  It looks so good, and I am for it, I will try my best to do so.
I am proud of my Javanese cooking, and I will share the recipes with you.


Rice or Nasi
Rice is the main staple food for Javanese people,  there are two types of rice, glutinous rice, which is commonly used for sweet preparations, and plain rice which is served with its companions.  The way they cook rice is by steaming and also boiling.  Other rice preparation is as porridge, it is popular for breakfast.

Glutinous Rice

black glutinous rice

glutinous rice in a packet

Two types of glutinous rice are white and black.

Black glutinous rice comes in 1 kg packet.

white glutinous rice

a packet of white glutinous rice

White glutinous rice comes in 1 kg packet or more.

Plain Rice
 Plain rice is white and brown and also short and long grain. 

white long grain rice-jasmine

jasmine rice in packet

Rice Dishes
Yellow Rice - Nasi Kuning
White Rice - Nasi Putih
Nasi Goreng - Fried Rice

Yellow Rice- Nasi Kuning
Nasi Kuning or yellow rice is savoury fragrant rice with turmeric, it is traditionally served with a few side dishes, such as opor Ayam (mild chicken curry), acar (pickled cucumber/ or vegetable salad with coconut dressing) and krupuk udang (prawn crackers).

Other companions of nasi Kuning;  serundeng (savoury and crispy desiccated coconut), telur Dadar iris - (shredded omelette), Ayam goreng (fried chicken) and perked or (fried potato dumplings).  Also  a salad (fresh vegetables-cucumber and young cabbage), sambal pedals (chilli paste) and krupuk udang or emping (mlinjo nut crackers)

For the everyday meal, the white rice is served. But occasionally yellow rice is cooked and served with simple garnishes, but for a special occasion or a party, elaborate garnishes are added.

A sample of nasi kuning for everyday meal

Yellow rice is served with sauteed broccoli, fried chicken, spicy meat ball
and semur telur- braised egg with soy and potato.

White Rice - Nasi Putih
Steamed or boiled white rice is the most popular food in Java, weather for everyday meals or for special occasions.

A rice dish for an everyday meal: steamed white rice with garnishes, meat or egg, lalaban- (fresh vegetables) and crackers- (krupuk) and keringan (spiced.crisps desiccated coconuts and nut with tempeh or without).  Tea is served with the meal,  no dessert, but fresh fruits instead.

Steamed White Rice with Garnishes

For Daily Meals

Steamed white rice, dendeng daging basah(moist and sweet spicy beef)
 serundeng -mede (hot and spiced decicated coconuts and cashews) and lalaban
fresh vegetable salad (lettuce, or young cabbage, shredded and dressed with lime juice)

White steamed rice with garnishes

Fried Rice-Nasi Goreng
What about 'nasi goreng' or fried rice?

Nasi goreng is a favourite dish to be served for breakfast.  It does make sense that the family serve nasi goreng for breakfast, the idea is using the left over rice from the day before.  What they need is only preparing the spices and the simple garnish.  The spices are garlic, chilli, salt and sweet soy, and the simple garnish is fried egg or shredded omelette.

Javanese Nasi Goreng

Nasi Goreng often garnished with krupuk (crackers)

True Javanese nasi goreng does not contain any meat, especially no bacon or ham, and the garnish is shredded fried egg (complete).  Nasi goreng istimewa (special supreme fried rice) has unique garnishes of the whole fried egg (telur ceplok) and shredded omelette.

Nasi Goreng Istimewa

Nasi Goreng Istimewa (Special Supreme Fried Rice).  It has
special garnishes - fried whole egg, prawns and prawns crackers.

Rice Porridge or Bubur
Bubur is rice porridge, made of boiled white rice with coconut milk, the process is easy enough, but it takes a long time to get a perfect and silky porridge how bubur should be.  It is served for breakfast, for toddlers and children.  Sometimes grown up enjoy the bubur garnished with spiced braised meat, tofu, and tempeh.



Cooking Rice

Steamed White Rice
I don't have a steamer instead I do it in a pot with a very heavy based.

Recipe:
1 cup heap full of long grain white rice (Jasmine)
2 cups of water
Place the rice and water in a heavy based pot
Cook over medium heat, uncovered
Bring the rice to boil, stir and cook until the liquid is absorbed
Cover the pot, reduce the heat to low
Continue cooking over the low heat for 9  minutes
Take it off the stove, uncover the pot, fluff the rice.
The rice is ready and serves with garnishes.







Yellow Rice
(More recipes for yellow rice and this is one of them)

Recipe
2 cups long grain white rice
2 cups and a half water
2 cups of coconut milk
Fragrant herbs
1 daun pandan - pandan leaf (available in the Asian grocery store)
1 lemon grass and 1 salam leaf
2 kaffir lime leaves
1 piece galangal ( about 20 g)
1 tablespoon turmeric powder

1 tablespoon oil to saute the spices.
Salt to taste
Method
In a heavy based pot, saute the turmeric and all herbs with the oil until fragrant.
Add in the water, and the rice, stir, mix and cook over medium heat until the water is almost absorbed (stir it from time to time)
Stir in the coconut milk and cook uncovered until the rice is consuming the coconut milk.
Cover the pot, lower the heat and cook for another 12 to 15 minutes
Take it off the stove, uncover the pot, fluff the rice.
Keep the rice in the pot until serving time.
(Cook the rice prior serving the food, keep the rice hot in the pot)


Now you have recipes for cooking rice, next post will be the garnishes.  Stay Tuned.



Thank you for visiting.
Susy