''Nasi kucing'' (; , ) is an

Indonesian Indonesian is anything of, from, or related to Indonesia, an archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. It may refer to: * Indonesians, citizens of Indonesia ** Native Indonesians, diverse groups of local inhabitants of the archipelago ** Indonesian ...

rice dish This is a list of rice dishes from all over the world, arranged alphabetically. Rice is the seed of the monocot plants ''Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice) or ''Oryza glaberrima'' (African rice). As a cereal, cereal grain, it is the most widely consumed s ...

that originated in

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, primarily in the

Yogyakarta Yogyakarta is the capital city of the Special Region of Yogyakarta in Indonesia, in the south-central part of the island of Java. As the only Indonesian royal city still ruled by Hamengkubuwono, a monarchy, Yogyakarta is regarded as an importan ...

Semarang Semarang (Javanese script, Javanese: , ''Kutha Semarang'') is the capital and largest city of Central Java province in Indonesia. It was a major port during the Netherlands, Dutch Dutch East Indies, colonial era, and is still an important regio ...

, and

Surakarta Surakarta (Javanese script, Javanese: , Pegon script, Pegon: ), known colloquially as Solo (Javanese script, Javanese: ; ), is a major List of regencies and cities of Indonesia, city in Central Java, Indonesia. The city adjoins Karanganyar Reg ...

areas but has since spread throughout the country. It consists of a small portion of rice with toppings, usually

sambal Sambal is an Indonesian chili sauce or paste, typically made from a mixture of chillis with secondary ingredients such as shrimp paste (terasi), garlic, ginger, shallot, scallion, palm sugar, and lime juice. ''Sambal'' is an Indonesia ...

, dried fish, and

tempeh Tempe or tempeh (; , ) is a traditional Indonesian food made from fermented soybeans. It is made by a natural culturing and controlled fermentation process that binds soybeans into a cake form. A fungus, '' Rhizopus oligosporus'' or '' Rhizopu ...

, wrapped in banana leaves.

Etymology

The term ''nasi kucing'', literally meaning "cat rice" or "cat's rice", is derived from its portion size; it is similar in size to what the Javanese would serve to a pet cat, hence the name.

Origin

''Nasi kucing'' originated in the

, and

areas, but has since spread to

Jakarta Jakarta (; , Betawi language, Betawi: ''Jakartè''), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta (; ''DKI Jakarta'') and formerly known as Batavia, Dutch East Indies, Batavia until 1949, is the capital and largest city of Indonesia and ...

, other parts of the country, and as far as

Mecca Mecca, officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, is the capital of Mecca Province in the Hejaz region of western Saudi Arabia; it is the Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red Sea, in a narrow valley above ...

, sold by Indonesian workers during the

hajj Hajj (; ; also spelled Hadj, Haj or Haji) is an annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, the holiest city for Muslims. Hajj is a mandatory religious duty for capable Muslims that must be carried out at least once in their lifetim ...

Presentation

''Nasi kucing'' consists of a small, fist-sized portion of rice with some toppings. Common toppings include ''

'', dried fish, and

. Other ingredients include egg, chicken, and cucumber can be added to ''nasi kucing''. It is served ready-made, wrapped in a

banana leaf The banana leaf is the leaf of the banana plant, which may produce up to 40 leaves in a growing cycle. The leaves have a wide range of applications because they are large, flexible, waterproof and decorative. They are used for cooking, wrappin ...

, which is further wrapped in paper. A variation of ''nasi kucing'', ''sega macan'' () is three times the size of a regular portion of ''nasi kucing''. It is served with roasted rice, dried fish, and vegetables. Like ''nasi kucing'', ''sega macan'' is served wrapped in a banana leaf and paper.

Sales

''Nasi kucing'' is often sold at a low price (sometimes as low as for ''nasi kucing'' and for ''sega macan'') at small, road-side food stalls called ''angkringan'', which are frequented by working-class people, or ''

wong cilik ''Wong cilik'' literally means 'little people' in Javanese, the language of the Javanese people, Indonesia's largest ethnic group. It is a term that refers to a social class in traditional Javanese society that corresponds to commoners in medieval ...

'', including pedicab and taxi drivers, students, and street musicians. This has led to ''angkringan'' being considered the "lowest class of eatery". The owners of the ''angkringan'' themselves often come from lower socio-economic classes, may have few or no marketable skills, or originate from remote villages. In order to open their stalls, they borrow money from a patron, called a ''juragan''; that amount can be up to . From the daily

net profit In business and Accountancy, accounting, net income (also total comprehensive income, net earnings, net profit, bottom line, sales profit, or credit sales) is an entity's income minus cost of goods sold, expenses, depreciation and Amortization (a ...

s of – , the seller repays the patron until the debt is repaid and the seller can operate independently.

References

Bibliography