Nasi Uduk Betawi
Fragrant Jakarta coconut rice, served with fried tempeh, shredded omelette, fried shallots, sambal and crackers. Betawi's everyday rice plate.
- prep
- 20 min
- cook
- 35 min
- total
- 55 min
- serves
- 4
- level
- medium
Nasi uduk is the everyday rice plate of Jakarta's Betawi community: rice cooked in coconut milk with pandan and lemongrass, served with a specific set of sides, fried tempeh and shredded omelette chief among them.
It shares a cooking method with other coconut rice dishes across the region, but the side dishes are what give it its own identity. Build the full plate rather than serving the rice alone.
Part of our 20 best Indonesian recipes list.
method
Put the rinsed rice, coconut milk, water, pandan, lemongrass, bay leaf and salt in a rice cooker, or a pot.
If using a rice cooker, cook as normal. On the stovetop, bring to a simmer, cover, and cook on the lowest heat for 15 minutes, then rest off the heat, still covered, for 10 minutes.
Remove the pandan, lemongrass and bay leaf, and fluff the rice gently with a fork.
Make a thin omelette with the eggs in a lightly oiled pan, then roll it up and slice it into thin strips once cool enough to handle.
Mound the rice on plates and arrange the fried tempeh, shredded omelette and fried shallots around it.
Serve with sambal, krupuk and cucumber on the side.
chef's tips
- This is close in technique to nasi lemak and other coconut rice dishes across the region, but the specific side dishes, tempeh and shredded omelette especially, are what mark it as Betawi, the native cuisine of Jakarta.
- Do not skip the aromatics in the rice. Pandan, lemongrass and bay leaf are what separate nasi uduk from plain coconut rice.
- A rice cooker genuinely makes this easier and more consistent than the stovetop method, if you have one.
- Nasi uduk is typically a breakfast dish in Jakarta, sold from carts in the early morning, though it works at any meal.