Semur

Semur is a type of meat stew that is braised in thick brown gravy commonly found in Indonesian cuisine.

The main ingredient used in semur gravy is kecap manis (sweet soy sauce), shallots, onions, garlic, ginger, candlenut, nutmeg and cloves, sometimes pepper, coriander, cumin and cinnamon might be added. Soy sauce is the most important ingredient in the Semur-making process because it serves to strengthen the flavor, but it should still feel blends harmoniously with other ingredients.


In addition to the main ingredient, semur might also consists of wide range of variation in the presentation, such as the addition of meat (mainly beef), beef tongue, potato, tofu, tomato, tempeh, eggs, chicken, fish and often sprinkled with bawang goreng (fried shallot) or other variations according to the tastes of the communities in each regions.

Varieties of semur :

• Semur Lidah: beef tongue semur
• Semur Aceh: Aceh beef semur
• Semur Goreng Samarinda: fried Semur from Samarinda
• Semur Ikan Purwokerto: fish Semur from Purwokerto
• Semur Ternate: semur from Ternate vinegar added
• Semur Kelapa: coconut juice semur from Maluku
• Semur Terong Tahu: eggplant and tofu semur from West Java
• Semur Daging or Semur Jawa: beef and potato semur, the most common type of semur commonly found in Java
• Semur Betawi: semur of Betawi people in Jakarta, usually consist of beef, potato, and eggs with slightly different spice
• Semur Ayam: chicken semur commonly found in Java
• Semur Jengkol: jengkol semur popular in Jakarta and West Java
• Semur Manado: semur from Manado North Sulawesi
• Semur Banjar: semur from Banjarmasin South Kalimantan

Bubur Ayam

Bubur ayam (Indonesian for "chicken congee") is an Indonesian chicken congee
It is rice congee with shredded chicken meat served with some condiments, such as chopped scallion, crispy fried shallot, celery, tongcay (preserved salted vegetables), fried soybean, Chinese crullers (youtiao, known as cakwe in Indonesia), both salty and sweet soy sauce, and sometimes it is topped with yellow chicken broth and kerupuk (Indonesian style crackers). Unlike many other Indonesian dishes, it is not spicy; sambal or chili paste is served separately. It is a favourite breakfast food, served from humble travelling vendors, warung (small local shops), and fastfood establishments to fancy five star hotel restaurants. The travelling bubur ayam vendors usually pass through the streets of residential areas in the morning selling their wares.

The origin of bubur ayam was probably derived from Chinese chicken congee. The traces of Chinese cuisine influences are the use of cakwe (youtiao), tongcay and soy sauce. Bubur ayam employs a wide range of poultry products, such as shredded chicken meat for the main dish and different dishes made with chicken offal as side delicacies. Bubur ayam is often eaten with the addition of boiled chicken egg, chicken liver, gizzard, intestines and uritan (premature chicken eggs acquired from butchered hens), served as satay. There are some variants of bubur ayam, such as bubur ayam Bandung and bubur ayam Sukabumi, both from West Java.[ The later variant uses raw telur ayam kampung (lit. "village chicken egg", i.e. free-range eggs) which is buried under the hot rice congee to allow the egg to be half-cooked, with the other ingredients on top of the rice congee. The recipe and condiments of bubur ayam served by humble travelling vendors and warung are also slightly different with those served in fastfood establishments or hotel restaurants.

Because this food is always served hot and having soft texture — just like soto ayam and nasi tim — bubur ayam is known as comfort food in Indonesian culture. The soft texture of the rice congee and boneless chicken also makes this dish suitable for young children or adults in convalescence. Because of its popularity, bubur ayam has become one of the Asia-inspired fastfood menu items at McDonald's Indonesia and Malaysia,and also at Kentucky Fried Chicken Indonesia. Although almost all recipes of bubur ayam use rice, a new variation, called bubur ayam havermut, replaces rice with oats. In grocery stores, bubur ayam is also available as instant food, only needing to add in hot water.

Nasi Kuning (yellow rice)

Nasi Kuning (or sometimes Nasi Kunyit) is an Indonesian rice dish cooked with coconut milk and turmeric, hence the name nasi kuning (yellow rice). 


Nasi kuning might come in the form of a cone called a tumpeng and is usually eaten during special events. The rice looks like a pile of gold, so it is often served at parties and opening ceremonies as a symbol of 

The top of the tumpeng is customarily given to the most senior person in attendance.good fortune, wealth and dignity.

It is usually served with a variety of side dishes such as shredded omelette, serundeng (relish of grated coconut and spices), urap (vegetable in shredded coconut dressing), teri kacang (fried anchovy and peanuts), sambal goreng (fried tempeh and potato caramelized in spicy sauce), ayam goreng (Javanese-style fried chicken), balado udang (shrimp in chilli), or perkedel (potato fritters). More elaborate nasi kuning might include fried cow's brain, fried cow's lung, beef and seafood. It is common to serve nasi kuning with kerupuk udang (shrimp cracker) and a decoratively cut cucumber.

Batagor

Batagor (abbreviation from: Bakso Tahu Goreng, Sundanese and Indonesian: "fried bakso and tofu") is Sundanese Indonesian fried fish dumplings served with peanut sauce. It is traditionally made from tenggiri (wahoo) fish meat. Sometimes other types of seafood such as tuna, mackerel, and prawn also can be used to make batagor. Just like siomay, other complements to batagor are steamed cabbage, potatoes, bitter gourd and tofu. 

Batagor is cut into bite size pieces and topped with peanut sauce, sweet soy sauce, chili sauce and a dash of lime juice. Because being fried, batagor have crispy and crunchy texture. Since the serving method is identical, today batagor and siomay often sold under one vendor, with batagor offered as variation or addition to siomay.

Batagor is ubiquitous in Indonesian cities. It can be found in street-side foodstalls, travelling carts, bicycle vendors, and restaurants. The dish is influenced by Chinese Indonesian cuisine and derived from siomay, with the difference instead of being steamed, batagor is consider as fried type of siomay. Batagor was invented in 1980s in Bandung, and the most famous variety is Batagor Bandung. It has been adapted into local Sundanese cuisine. Today, most of Batagor sellers are Sundanese.

Nasi Pecel

Nasi pecel  is a Javanese rice dish served with pecel (cooked vegetables and peanut sauce). 


The vegetables are usually kangkung or water spinach, long beans, cassava leaves, papaya leaves, and in East Java often used kembang turi. It tastes best when eaten with fried tempeh and traditional cracker called peyek. It is popular in East and Central Java

Nasi campur

Nasi campur, (Indonesian: "mixed rice", also called nasi rames), referring to a dish of rice topped with various meats, vegetables, peanuts, eggs and fried-shrimp krupuk. Depending on which areas it originate, a nasi campur vendor can several different side dishes, including vegetables, fish and meats.It is a staple meal of the Southeast Asian countries, and popular especially in Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and the Netherlands. A form of it called chanpurū also exists in Okinawa.

Origin and variations       

There is no exact rule, recipe or definition of what makes a nasi campur, since Indonesians and by large Southeast Asians commonly consume steamed rice surrounded with several side dishes consists of various kinds of vegetables and meat. As the result either the question of origin or recipe is obscure. Yet nasi campur is commonly perceived as steamed rice surrounded with various dishes that might consists of vegetables and meats, served in personal portion, in contrast of tumpeng that served in larger collective portion or Rijsttafel that setted in lavish colonial banquet. There are several local variations emerges throughout Indonesia; from Bali, Java and Indo colonial to Chinese Indonesian versions of nasi campur.

In Bali the tastes are often distinctly local, punctuated by basa genep, the typical Balinese spice mix used as the base for many curry and vegetable dishes. The Balinese version of mixed rice may have grilled tuna, fried tofu, cucumber, spinach, tempe, beef cubes, vegetable curry, corn, chili sauce on the bed of rice. Mixed rice is often sold by street vendors, wrapped in a banana leaf. In Java, nasi campur is often called nasi rames, and wide variations available across the island. One dish that always found in a Javanese nasi campur is fried noodle. A similar Minangkabau counterpart is called nasi padang.

The combination known as Nasi Rames is a dish created in West Java during WWII by the Indo (Eurasian) cook Truus van der Capellen, who ran the Bandung soup kitchens during (and after) the Japanese occupation. Later she opened a restaurant in the Netherlands and made the dish equally popular there.

Furthermore, some people who reside in Jakarta area use the term nasi campur loosely to refer to Nasi Campur Tionghoa[3] (i.e. Chinese Style Nasi Campur), a dish of rice with an assortment of barbecued meats, such as char siew, crispy roast pork, sweet pork sausage and pork satay. This dish is usually served with simple Chinese chicken soup or sayur asin, an Indonesian clear broth of pork bones with fermented mustard greens. However, such name for similar dish does not exist in Mainland China, Singapore, Malaysia, or even most other areas of Indonesia outside of Jakarta.

In reality the usage of the name Nasi Campur here is only for marketing and convenience purposes for the locals and should not be included in the category of Nasi Campur. The categorization of Nasi Campur in this manner makes as much sense as categorizing all buffets with rice in them as Rijsttafel (or worse, nasi campur buffet) just because of the presence of any rice and assortment of dishes. The name Nasi Campur Tionghoa is only a shortened version of "nasi dengan daging campur cara Tionghoa" (i.e. "rice with assortment of Chinese style meats").

Furthermore, most Chinese vendors and food-court stalls in the region serve only one kind of meat with rice and a bowl of broth; patrons have to order different meats as separate dishes or add-ons. Hence, in most cases, those Chinese vendors' menu refers to the specific meat accompanying plain rice, for example, Char Siew Rice, or Roast Pork Rice.

In most cases, Nasi Campur refers specifically to the Indonesian and Malaysian versions of rice with assortments of side dishes.

Gudeg

Gudeg is a traditional food from Yogyakarta and Central Java, Indonesia which is made from young Nangka (jack fruit) boiled for several hours with palm sugar, and coconut milk Additional spices include garlic, shallot, candlenut, coriander seed, galangal, bay leaves, and teak leaves, the latter giving a reddish brown color to the dish. It is also called Green Jack Fruit Sweet Stew.

Gudeg is served with white rice, chicken, hard-boiled egg, tofu and/or tempeh, and a stew made of crisp beef skins (sambal goreng krecek)

There are several types of gudeg; dry, wet, Yogyakarta style, Solo style and East-Javanese style. Dry gudeg has only a bit of coconut milk and thus has little sauce. Wet gudeg includes more coconut milk. The most common gudeg came from Yogyakarta, and usually sweeter, more dry and reddish in color because the addition of teak leaves. The Solo gudeg from the city of Surakarta is more watery and soupy with lots of coconut milk and whitish in color because teak leaves is absent. The East-Javanese style gudeg employs a spicier and hotter taste, compared to the Yogyakarta-style gudeg, which is sweeter. Gudeg is traditionally associated with Yogyakarta, and Yogyakarta often nicknamed as "Kota Gudeg" (city of gudeg). The center of Yogyakarta gudeg restaurants are in Wijilan area, east side of Yogyakarta Kraton (Sultans' palace).