''Nasi kucing'' (; also known as (''sěgá kucing'') and often translated cat rice or cat's rice) is an 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 grain, it is the most widely consumed staple fo ...

that originated in

Central Java Central Java ( id, Jawa Tengah) is a province of Indonesia, located in the middle of the island of Java. Its administrative capital is Semarang. It is bordered by West Java in the west, the Indian Ocean and the Special Region of Yogyakarta in t ...

, primarily in the

Yogyakarta Yogyakarta (; jv, ꦔꦪꦺꦴꦒꦾꦏꦂꦠ ; pey, Jogjakarta) is the capital city of 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 a monarchy, ...

Semarang Semarang ( jv, ꦏꦸꦛꦯꦼꦩꦫꦁ , Pegon: سماراڠ) is the capital and largest city of Central Java province in Indonesia. It was a major port during the Dutch colonial era, and is still an important regional center and port today. ...

, and

Surakarta Surakarta ( jv, ꦯꦸꦫꦏꦂꦠ), known colloquially as Solo ( jv, ꦱꦭ; ), is a city in Central Java, Indonesia. The 44 km2 (16.2 sq mi) city adjoins Karanganyar Regency and Boyolali Regency to the north, Karanganyar Regency and Sukoh ...

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

sambal Sambal is an Indonesian chilli sauce or paste, typically made from a mixture of a variety of chilli peppers with secondary ingredients, such as shrimp paste, garlic, ginger, shallot, scallion, palm sugar, and lime juice. ''Sambal'' is an Indo ...

, dried fish, and

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 ...

, 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 (; , bew, Jakarte), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta ( id, Daerah Khusus Ibukota Jakarta) is the capital and largest city of Indonesia. Lying on the northwest coast of Java, the world's most populous island, Jakarta ...

, other parts of the country, and as far as

Mecca Mecca (; officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, commonly shortened to Makkah ()) is a city and administrative center of the Mecca Province of Saudi Arabia, and the Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red ...

, sold by Indonesian workers during the

hajj The Hajj (; ar, حَجّ '; sometimes also spelled Hadj, Hadji or Haj in English) is an annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, the holiest city for Muslims. Hajj is a mandatory religious duty for Muslims that must be carried ...

Presentation

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

'', dried fish, and

. Other ingredients can include egg, chicken, and cucumber. 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'' ( en, tiger's rice) 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 language, 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 com ...

'', 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 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, interest, a ...

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

References

Bibliography