Recipe
Nasi kuning
Check dates to cook this with Chef Wayan in Petulu.
IDR 450.000per guest, shared class
Balinese yellow rice: steamed with turmeric, lemongrass, lime leaf, and coconut milk. The base of a festive plate, never fried.
By Chef Wayan Suryana, Warung Tumang BaliLast updated First published
Serves 4 servings·Prep 10 minutes·Cook 20 minutes
Nasi kuning in short
Nasi kuning is Balinese yellow rice. Rinse jasmine rice well, cook it covered with coconut milk, water, turmeric, lemongrass, lime leaf, and salt for about 15 minutes, then rest it 10 minutes off the heat before fluffing.
White rice stained with turmeric and scented with lemongrass and coconut milk is the base of the plate.
Rinse the rice until the water runs almost clear. Turmeric on unrinsed starch turns muddy instead of gold.
Nasi kuning ingredients
- 300g jasmine rice, rinsed
- 250ml coconut milk
- 200ml water
- 1 teaspoon ground fresh turmeric, or 1/2 teaspoon powder
- 1 lemongrass stalk, bruised
- 2 lime leaves
- 1 salam leaf, if you have it
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
How to make nasi kuning
- Stir the rice, coconut milk, water, turmeric, lemongrass, leaves, and salt in a pot.
- Bring to a simmer, then cover and cook on low until the liquid is absorbed, about 15 minutes. Do not lift the lid early.
- Rest off the heat for 10 minutes. Pull out the lemongrass and leaves, then fluff.
- The rice should be gold and separate. If it looks wet, leave the lid ajar for a few minutes.
In the class this rice is cooked while the sate and sambal are finished, then set out with the dishes you just made. The Petulu rice fields are the walk before the pot goes on. Cold rice left from that pot is what the wok turns into nasi goreng.
Nasi kuning questions
- Why is my nasi kuning muddy instead of gold?
- The rice was not rinsed enough. Rinse until the water runs almost clear. Turmeric on unrinsed starch turns muddy.
- Can I use turmeric powder?
- Yes. Use 1/2 teaspoon of powder in place of 1 teaspoon of ground fresh turmeric.
- What is the difference between nasi kuning and nasi goreng?
- Nasi kuning is steamed with turmeric and coconut milk and never fried. Nasi goreng is cold cooked rice fried in a wok with base genep and sweet soy.
Cook next from the same kitchen
- TipatHow to make tipat: Balinese compressed rice in a coconut-leaf pouch, steamed 2 hours, then sliced. Ketupat is the same pouch rice under the Indonesian name.
- Nasi gorengHow to make Balinese nasi goreng: cold jasmine rice fried with base genep, shallot, garlic, kecap manis, and lime leaf. Two to three servings, about 25 minutes.
- Kare ayamHow to make Balinese kare ayam: bone-in chicken simmered in fried base genep, coconut milk, lemongrass, and lime leaf. No curry powder, about an hour.