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Spiced Baked Rice Cone Dinner
(Nasi Kuning Lengkap)
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| What You Need: |
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RICE CONE
½ cup vegetable oil
1 cup finely chopped onions
1 tablespoon finely chopped garlic
2 blades fresh lemon grass, tied together, or ¼ teaspoon powdered sereh (see Glossary)
4 salam leaves (see Glossary)
4 djeruk leaves (see Glossary)
4 teaspoons turmeric
1 tablespoon salt
3 cups uncooked white rice
6 cups fresh coconut milk made from 6 cups coarsely chopped coconut and 6 cups hot water
GARNISH
3 fresh hot red chilies, each about 4 inches long, stemmed and seeded
3 cups plus 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
½ cup medium-sized shallots, peeled and sliced paper thin
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 tablespoon finely chopped celery leaves
12 to 15 ti leaves, or substitute 1 head of romaine lettuce, trimmed, washed and separated into leaves
2 large cucumbers, scrubbed but not peeled, scored lengthwise with the tines of a fork and sliced into ¼-inch-thick rounds
7 hard-cooked eggs, preferably tinted with various hues of vegetable coloring
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| How To Cook: |
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RICE CONE:
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1. First prepare the rice cone in the following way: Preheat the oven to 350°F. In a heavy 4- to 5-quart casserole, heat the oil over moderate heat until a light haze forms above it.
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2. Drop in the onions and garlic and, stirring frequently, cook for about 5 minutes, or until they are soft and transparent but not brown. Watch carefully for any sign of burning and regulate the heat accordingly.
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3. Mix in the lemon grass or powdered sereh, salam leaves, djeruk leaves, turmeric and salt, and cook for a minute or so. Then add the rice and stir for 2 or 3 minutes, until all the grains are evenly coated, but do not let the rice brown.
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4. Pour in the coconut milk and cook over moderate heat until small bubbles appear around the edge of the pan. Do not let the coconut milk boil. Cover tightly and bake in the middle of the oven for about 35 minutes, or until the rice is tender and has absorbed all liquid in the pan.
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5. Remove the lemon grass, if you have used it, and the salam and djeruk leaves. While still hot, pack the rice tightly, a cup at a time, into an Indonesian cone mold or a conical sieve about 8½ inches deep and 7½ inches in diameter.
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6. Place a large serving plate upside down over the mold or sieve and, grasping them together firmly, invert them. Rap the plate on a table and the rice cone should slide out easily.
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GARNISH:
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1. While the rice is baking, prepare the garnishes. Cut 2 of the chilies lengthwise into strips about ¼ inch wide and 2 inches long. Shape the remaining chili into a fringed "cap" by slicing it lengthwise at ¼-inch intervals from the stem end to within about 1 inch of the other end.
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2. Pour 3 cups of oil into a 12-inch wok or fill a deep fryer or large, heavy saucepan to a depth of 2 inches. Heat the oil until it is very hot but not smoking. Drop the chili strips into the hot oil and, stirring constantly with a slotted spoon, fry them for a minute or so, until they are delicately brown and somewhat crisp around the edges.
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3. With the slotted spoon, transfer them to paper towels to drain. Add the shallots to the oil and stir them for 20 or 30 seconds until they are brown and crisp; remove them with the spoon and drain them on paper towels.
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4. In a heavy 8-inch skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of oil over moderate heat until a light haze forms above it. Pour in the beaten eggs and cook undisturbed for 1 minute, or until the bottom is lightly browned. Turn the egg pancake over, cook for another minute, slide it onto a plate and cut it into strips about ¼ inch wide and 2 inches long.
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5. To assemble the nasi kuning lengkap, place the chili pepper "cap" on top of the rice cone and scatter the chili strips, shallots, pancake strips and chopped celery leaves decoratively around the base. Arrange the ti or romaine leaves in a spoke like pattern around the cone, overlapping the leaves to cover the outer edge of the plate completely.
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6. Arrange the seven side dishes in mounds on the leaves, encircling the rice cone. Separate the side dishes from one another with rows of overlapping cucumber rounds, and place a hard-cooked egg on the rim of the plate at the end of each row.
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SIDE DISHES:
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Udang asam garem (tamarind shrimp)
Rempejek (peanut wafers)>
Rempah (coconut patties)
Sambelan goring kentung (deep-fried potato rounds)
Atjar kuning (yellow pickles)
Serundeng katjang (toasted spiced coconut with peanuts)
Ajam ungkap (deep-fried tamarind-marinated chicken)
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NOTE:
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1. The name nasi kuning lengkap means, literally, yellow rice, complete. Even in Indonesia, the side dishes vary in type and number from three or four to dozens. You may decide to make only a few of the side dishes listed above, or you may omit them altogether and use any of the other Indonesian meat, poultry and seafood or vegetable recipes in their place.
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2. The Atjar kuning and Serundeng katjang may be prepared a day in advance.
The Rempejek, the Sambelan goring kentang and the Ajam ungkap may be cooked an hour or so in advance and served at room temperature or kept warm in a 250°F oven.
The Udang asam garem and Rempah, however, should be made at the last possible moment.
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