Nasi Ulam Betawi // Betawinese Rice with Spiced Grated Coconut

I'm counting my days until my departure day to Jakarta. I'm so happy to be back in my hometown again to see my family and friends and to have all those yummy foods everyday. Oh I really can't wait.

Nasi Ulam Betawi is a traditional rice dish from Betawi, local inhabitants of Jakarta which is cooked with spiced toasted grated coconut and one of my favorite rice but never crossed in my mind making it from scratch. I'm so happy having this cooking book. The recipes all are really good. This book helps me a lot when we throw a dinner, since mostly of the recipes are food combinations. Yes, this book is highly recommended, unfortunately only in Indonesian language.


Source: Sajian Nasi Lengkap Tradisional Indonesia

Ingredients:
500 gr cooked rice
100 gr fresh grated coconut or dessicated coconut
5 chillies -- seeded
3 cloves garlic
50 gr Ebi (dried shrimp) -- soaked in hot water (I used shrimp powder)
Lemon grass -- take the white part, thinly sliced
1 tbsp coriander powder (I used 2 tbsp)
1/2 tsp pepper
Salt to season
Oil for sautéing

Directions:
Dry fry the grated coconut until gold brown and fragrant, grind. Add chillies, garlics, dried shrimp, sliced lemon grass, coriander powder and pepper. Grind until all well combine

In a wok or a pan, heat the oil then add the grind spice. Cook until fragrant. Add cooked rice, combine well. Season with salt


Instead of cooking the rice with spiced toasted grated coconut which is also called serundeng in Indonesian, you can also top your rice with this spiced toasted coconut grated. Nasi Ulam is normally served with sliced omelet, sliced cucumbers, Indonesian basil and fried shallot but you can accompany with anything you like. We had it with sambal goreng dada ayam (Fried Sambal Chicken Breast Fillet), salad and crackers. Thanks to a friend of mine who just arrived from Jakarta, she gave me three different kind of Indonesian shrimp crackers. She even gave my favorite drink in Indonesia. Rice + krupuk + my favorite drink.. oohh.. heaven!