''Nasi ulam'' is a traditional Indonesian and Malaysian dish of steamed

rice Rice is a cereal grain and in its Domestication, domesticated form is the staple food of over half of the world's population, particularly in Asia and Africa. Rice is the seed of the grass species ''Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice)—or, much l ...

(''nasi'') served with various herbs and vegetables ('' Ulam (salad)''). The herbs used are mostly the leaves of ''pegagan'' ('' Centella asiatica''), though they can also be replaced with ''kemangi'' (

lemon basil Lemon basil, hoary basil, Thai lemon basil, or Lao basil,Dorothy Culloty (''Ocimum'' × ''africanum'') is a hybrid between basil (''Ocimum basilicum'') and American basil ('' Ocimum americanum''). The herb is grown primarily in northeastern ...

), vegetables, and spices, accompanied with various side dishes. This dish is a feature of Betawi and

Malay cuisine Malay cuisine (; Jawi script, Jawi: ) is the traditional food of the ethnic Malays of Southeast Asia, residing in modern-day Malaysia, Indonesia (parts of Sumatra and Kalimantan), Singapore, Brunei, Southern Thailand and the Philippines (most ...

with many variations and is commonly found in

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

, and southern

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

. Nasi ulam is often served with ''

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 ...

'' chilli paste.

History

Nasi ulam is a typical Betawi mixed rice. Nasi ulam is a cross of several culinary cultures that influence the variant of the nasi ulam and its side dishes. Some say that white rice topped with coconut serundeng (''ulam'') and peanuts is an Indian influence. In Indonesia, Nasi Ulam is not only found in Jakarta but also

Sumatra Sumatra () is one of the Sunda Islands of western Indonesia. It is the largest island that is fully within Indonesian territory, as well as the list of islands by area, sixth-largest island in the world at 482,286.55 km2 (182,812 mi. ...

and

Bali Bali (English:; Balinese language, Balinese: ) is a Provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia and the westernmost of the Lesser Sunda Islands. East of Java and west of Lombok, the province includes the island of Bali and a few smaller o ...

. ''Ulam'' in

Betawi language Betawi, also known as Batavian, Jakartanese, is a creole language spoken by the Betawi people in Jakarta, Indonesia. It is the native language of perhaps 5 million people; a precise number is difficult to determine due to the vague use of the nam ...

is the name for

serundeng Serundeng () refers to a Javanese spiced grated coconut side dish or condiment originated in Indonesia that is used to accompany rice. Serundeng may taste sweet or hot and spicy, according to the recipe variants. Its best-known variant is an ...

from

grated coconut The coconut tree (''Cocos nucifera'') is a member of the palm tree family (biology), family (Arecaceae) and the only living species of the genus ''Cocos''. The term "coconut" (or the archaic "cocoanut") can refer to the whole coconut palm, ...

, which when stirred with hot white rice will bring out a savory and slightly spicy taste on the tongue. The history of Nasi Ulam comes from

Tangerang Tangerang (Sundanese script, Sundanese: , ) is the List of regencies and cities of Indonesia, city with the largest population in the province of Banten, Indonesia. Located on the western border of Jakarta, it is the sixth largest city proper in ...

Banten Banten (, , Pegon alphabet, Pegon: بنتن) is the westernmost Provinces of Indonesia, province on the island of Java, Indonesia. Its capital city is Serang and its largest city is Tangerang. The province borders West Java and the Special Capi ...

. Unfortunately, this dish is rarely known by the surrounding community and is more associated with cuisine from Jakarta. This is because, in the past, a large number of Nasi Ulam traders from Tangerang brought the dish to

Glodok Glodok () is an Villages of Indonesia, urban village of Taman Sari (Jakarta), Taman Sari, West Jakarta, Indonesia. The area is also known as Pecinan or Chinatown since the Dutch colonial era, and is considered the biggest in Indonesia. Majority of ...

, Jakarta. The cuisine was enjoyed by the local community, particularly

Chinese Indonesians Chinese Indonesians (), or simply ''Orang Tionghoa'' or ''Tionghoa'', are Indonesians whose ancestors arrived from China at some stage in the last eight centuries. Chinese Indonesians are the fourth largest community of Overseas Chinese in th ...

. Not all Betawi people in Jakarta are familiar with all variations of Nasi Ulam, both wet (basah) and dry (kering). ''Wet'' ulam is only known among the Cina Benteng, Petak Sembilan, kawasan Pecinan, Tanjung Priok, Kemayoran, Matraman, dan Senen. Meanwhile, ''dried'' ulam is known in the Tebet, Kayumanis, and Mester Jatinegara areas. Betawi people usually eat rice ulam in the morning as one of the breakfast menus.

Variants

Indonesia

In Indonesia, ''nasi ulam'' can be found in Betawi (native Jakartans) cuisine as well as

and Sumatran Malay. In Jakarta there are two types of ''nasi ulam'', the wet (soupy) ''nasi ulam'' of northern and central Jakarta, and dry one of southern Jakarta. In Indonesia, nasi ulam usually spiced with ''kemangi'' herb, chili, sliced cucumber and sprinkled with peanuts granule and ''

'' (grated and sauteed coconut). An array of other additional dishes are often added on top of ''nasi ulam'', such as ''

dendeng ''Dendeng'' is thinly sliced dried meat in Minangkabau cuisine. It is preserved through a mixture of sugar and spices and dried via a frying process. It is similar to jerky. ''Dendeng'' is traditionally produced by using some spices and sugar a ...

'' (beef jerky), ''telur dadar'' (

omelette An omelette (sometimes omelet in American English; see spelling differences) is a dish made from eggs (usually chicken eggs), fried with butter or oil in a frying pan. It is a common practice for an omelette to include fillings such as chiv ...

), ''

perkedel ''Perkedel'' are vegetable fritters from Indonesian cuisine. Most common ''perkedel'' are made from mashed potatoes, yet there are other popular variations, such as ''perkedel jagung'' (peeled maize ''perkedel'') and ''perkedel tahu'' (tofu ''p ...

'' (mashed potato fritter), fried

tofu or bean curd is a food prepared by Coagulation (milk), coagulating soy milk and then pressing the resulting curds into solid white blocks of varying softness: ''silken'', ''soft'', ''firm'', and ''extra (or super) firm''. It originated in Chin ...

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 ...

, and ''

krupuk ' (Javanese language, Javanese) is an Indonesian cuisine, Indonesian deep frying, deep-fried Cracker (food), cracker made from starch and other ingredients that serve as flavouring. They are a popular snack in parts of Southeast Asia, but are ...

''. (Indonesian)

Malaysia

Nasi ulam in Malaysia consist of cold boiled rice that is mixed with shredded herbs such as ''daun kaduk'' (wild pepper leaf), ''pucuk gajus'' (cashew leaf shoots), onions etc. ''Kerisik'' and other spices are also added. Sometimes shredded fried fish is mixed in. This version is common in northwest Peninsular Malaysia. A type of nasi ulam in northeast Peninsular Malaysia, in which the rice is dyed blue, is called '' nasi kerabu''.

References

{{Malaysian cuisine Indonesian rice dishes Betawi cuisine Malay cuisine Malaysian rice dishes

History

Variants

Indonesia

Malaysia

See also

References