Rice, two ways: Nasi goreng and Nasi Kuning

One of the first things we prepare every morning is the rice. My mother in-law, Ibu Boni, still makes Nasi for the day the traditional way: soaked, steamed in a conical bamboo basket in an aluminium pot set over a wood fire, soaked again and steamed one last time.

This rice has a wonderful flavor, due to the firewood and the method of cooking, resulting in a delicious and perfect rice, fluffy with each grain separate; a lifetime of experience that I have yet to master.

We use an electric rice cooker and the results, if different, are quite good. Think a crusty sourdough Pain de Campagne versus a supermarket one!
When we have left over rice, Komang makes Nasi Goreng (his way) and when we have lots of time, I make Nasi Kuning (my way).

Nasi Goreng is simply fried rice, done the Indonesian way. Every family has their own recipe and way to prepare it.

Komang's Nasi Goreng

serve 2

2 cups of cooked rice, room temperature

6 oz of chicken, pork or shrimps chopped

1 cup finely sliced cabbage

1/2 carrot, chopped finely

2 pieces of bok choi, chopped

5 shallots, finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

1 tsp rice vinegar

1 Tbs kecap manis

1 tsp fish sauce

3 tsp kecap asin or light soy sauce

sea salt and pepper to taste

For the nasi goreng sauce:

1 large red chile, chopped

3 bird's eye chile, chopped

1 tomato, chopped

6 garlic cloves, chopped

1 tsp shrimp paste

1 Tbs coconut oil or mild oil

some water

In a pan, place all the ingredients for the nasi goreng sauce, except the water. Cook over a medium flame until fragrant, about 5/8 minutes, add some water if needed. Place in a blender and mix until smooth.

Place the rice in a bowl, add the nasi goreng sauce as well as the rice vinegar, fish sauce, kecap manis and soy sauce. Mix and set aside.

In a wok set over a medium flame, put 2 Tbs of oil and fry the meat for 2 or 3 minutes until golden, add the shallots and garlic. Then add the rice with the sauce and seasonings as well as the vegetables. Toss around until thoroughly mixed, add salt and pepper. Continue tossing with a spatula until the vegetables are wilted but still crunchy and the rice is piping hot. Serve with a garnish of fried shallots, peanuts, cucumber slices and fried egg if desired.


Nasi Kuning is rice cooked with spices, herbs and fresh coconut milk. It is, once cooked, mixed with sambal, more herbs, fried shallots, chilies and some lime juice. This dish is fragrant and delicious and my absolute favorite thing to serve with grilled fish, prawns and duck. It is truly heavenly and you should try it, at least once. 

Nasi Kuning

serve 4

To steam the rice:

3 cups of rice, washed and drained

2 1/2 cups of water

1 1/2 cup of fresh coconut milk or canned coconut milk

2 sticks of lemongrass, bruised with the flat side of a heavy knife

1 large knob of fresh turmeric, grated, juice expelled and added to the water

3 slices of fresh ginger, bruised

1 small stick of cinnamon

6 cardamom pods

3 daun salam (omit if unavailable)

1 pandan leaf (screwpine), tied in a knot (omit if unavailable)

1 leaf of turmeric (omit if unavailable)

1 large pinch of coarse sea salt

In an electric rice cooker, place all the ingredients and cook. Once cooked, un-plug the machine, open the lid and, with a rice paddle, fluff the rice. Close the lid again and wait 10 minutes.

Kasuna-Cekoh

2 Tbs turmeric, chopped (omit if unavailable and increase the kencur to 3 Tbs)

2 Tbs  kencur (cekoh) replace with galanga if unavailable

10 garlic cloves (kasuna)

3 candlenuts

In a mortar, grind all the ingredients to a paste, you could use a food processor if prefered.

In a frying pan, heat 3 Tbs of oil and fry the paste, stirring constantly until it becomes glossy and fragrant, about 4/5 minutes. Drain the oil and leave to cool.

To mix in the rice:

the prepared kasuna-cekoh

5 shallots, finely sliced, deep fried in oil until golden and drained

3 kaffir lime leaves finely, sliced

1 small bunch of lemon basil, leaves only, shredded

the juice of 2 calamondin limes or 1 regular lime

salt to taste

1 Tbs Sambal Goreng ( you could use 2 or 3 bird's eye chilies, very finely chopped)

2 Tbs Sambal Kecicang or 1 torch ginger flower, finely sliced (omit if unavailable)

Place the rice in a bowl, remove all the herbs and spices it was cooked with and add all the ingredients above. Taste, adjust if necessary and serve. Heaven!

Chicken Curry forever

The first "exotic" dish I ever cooked was Chicken Curry, I was eleven years old and had just acquired my very first cookbook;  it was a small compilation of recipes from India, China and Sri Lanka as well as tidbits of lore and history.

And I'm pretty sure that's when it all started, this insatiable curiosity for far away lands which became the unraveling thread of my itinerant life. Blame it on that  book and on Ibn Battuta too!

That what path my life would take, was decided early on because of a wondrous spice and the extraordinary journeys of a 14th century traveler, makes perfect sense to me. Both left me dazzled and forever wanting more. I would travel and I would cook! (In the meantime, reading would do).
I still remember this chicken curry, it took me three days, with my mom's help, to source the ingredients and one full day to make but it was worth it. It tasted of the unknown and made me dream.

I have had many curries over the years, from many different places but still, my favorite remains Balinese Chicken Curry and like the one from my childhood, this is what I call an "involved" recipe.
The first step is to find a chicken, kill it and prepare it. Then it has to be rubbed with garlic, turmeric and tamarind and grilled over a fire of coconut coals.

 Once cooled, it is chopped in bite size pieces.

 To prepare the fresh coconut milk, a coconut has to be cracked open and the meat has to be grated and squeezed by hand until the sweet flesh turns into milk.

All the curry ingredients have to be crushed in the stone mortar and the paste is tasted until the perfect balance between the garlic, turmeric and kencur, the dominant flavors of this curry and the lower supportive notes of sweet, sour and spicy of the tamarind, palm sugar and chilies is achieved.

The process of cooking is relatively simple and quick after all this preliminary work and we can soon sit down and enjoy Chicken Curry. Ahhhhhhh, sooo good and this time, I'm not dreaming!

 Be Siap Mesanten (Balinese Chicken Curry)

1 chicken, around 2lbs, ready to be cooked

5 cloves garlic, crushed
1Tbs fresh turmeric, grated

1 lemongrass stalk, crushed

1 tsp sea salt

2 tsp coconut oil

3 cups of fresh coconut milk

2 Salam leaves 

Curry paste:

5 garlic cloves

2 Tbs fresh turmeric, roughly chopped

2 tsp kencur, roughly chopped

3 candle nuts

10 bird's eye chilies (or less if you do not like it hot)

3 long red chilies

1/4 tsp shrimp paste
1 to 2 tsp of palm sugar, grated

2 tsp sea salt

Make a paste of the turmeric, garlic, sea salt and coconut oil; rub the chicken all over. Prepare the fire, when it is ready, grill the chicken, turning and basting with the marinade, until cooked and nicely charred.

Once cooked, leave it to cool. Prepare the curry paste. Grind all the ingredients in a mortar with a pestle until well blended.

Chop the chicken in bite size pieces.

In a pan, heat the coconut milk, add the curry paste and the salam leaves, cook until fragrant.

Add the chicken, lower the heat and cook another 10/15 minutes until the sauce is thickened.

Serve with steamed rice.

Bali circa 1760