''Nasi ulam'' is a traditional

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 ...

dish of steamed

rice Rice is the seed of the grass species ''Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice) or less commonly ''Oryza glaberrima ''Oryza glaberrima'', commonly known as African rice, is one of the two domesticated rice species. It was first domesticated and grown i ...

(''nasi'') served with various herbs and vegetables (''ulam'') The herbs being used especially the leaves of ''pegagan'' ('' Centella asiatica'') or often replaced with ''kemangi'' ( lemon basil), vegetables, spices and accompanied with various side dishes. This dish is a feature of Betawi and Malay cuisine 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 and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

and southern

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...

. Nasi ulam is often served with '' sambal'' 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 in

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 sixth-largest island in the world at 473,481 km2 (182,812 mi.2), not including adjacent i ...

and

Bali Bali () is a 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 neighbouring islands, notably Nusa Penida, Nusa Lembongan, and Nu ...

. ''Ulam'' in

Betawi language Betawi, also known as Betawi Malay, Jakartan Malay, or Batavian Malay is the spoken language of 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 ...

is the name for

serundeng Serundeng refers to a side dish or condiment to accompany rice in Indonesian and Malay languages. Serundeng may taste sweet, or hot and spicy according to recipe variants. Its best known variant is an Indonesian preparation of sautéed grated ...

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

Tangerang Tangerang (Sundanese: , ) is a city in the province of Banten, Indonesia. Located on the western border of Jakarta, it is the third largest urban centre in the Greater Jakarta metropolitan area after Jakarta and Bekasi; the sixth largest city pro ...

, banten, although it comes from Tangerang, this dish is rarely known by the surrounding community and is more associated with cuisine from Jakarta, this is because in the past many Nasi Ulam traders from Tangerang traded Nasi ulam to the

Glodok Glodok () is an urban village of 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 the traders and residents of Glodok are Chin ...

, Jakarta, and there they introduced their cuisine to the local community, especially to

Chinese Indonesians Chinese Indonesians ( id, Orang Tionghoa Indonesia) and colloquially Chindo or just Tionghoa are Indonesians whose ancestors arrived from China at some stage in the last eight centuries. Chinese people and their Indonesian descendants have l ...

. 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 Malay may refer to: Languages * Malay language or Bahasa Melayu, a major Austronesian language spoken in Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei and Singapore ** History of the Malay language, the Malay language from the 4th to the 14th century ** Indonesi ...

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

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

'' (mashed potato fritter), fried tofu or

tempeh Tempeh or tempe (; jv, ꦠꦺꦩ꧀ꦥꦺ, témpé, ) 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 ...

, and '' krupuk''. (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