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.
