Recipe : Famous Nasi Guri & Rambeo Lado ( Savory Rice & Spicy Pomfret Fish)

     In Aceh, local favourite breakfast meals are nasi guri ( savory rice), nasi kuning ( yellow rice) and pecel sayur. As for Nasi Guri, although similiar to nasi guri in java, the acehnese version tends to be bolder and more savory. The rice is cooked with coconut milk, hence the savory taste. It is garnished with fried shallots, serundenng (toasted grated coconut), and shrimp or gnetum gnemon crackers, cucumber slices, tempe kering ( sweet sticky tempe or teri ) and fried peanuts. The rice also comes with a wide variety of side dishes, such as beef kalio ( beef cooked in coconut spicy gravy), fried rambeu (pomfret fish), dendeng ( thinly sliced dried meat, highly popular among local and tourist) and many other choices. Now lets make your own Nasi Guri & Rambeo Lado!

Main Ingredients :

1. 350 gr rice ( Note : to achieve a fluffier texture, substitute with a mixture of 300 gr of rices and 50 grams of sticky rice )
2. 1 Coconut ( made into 400 ml of coconut milk)
3. 2 pomfret fish
4. 2 cups light coconut milk
5. 1 indonesian bay leaf
6. 1 lemongrass stalk
7. 1 pandan leaf ( tied into a knot)

Spice Paste :

1. 5 shallots.
2. 5 red chilies.
3. 2 tbsp of vinegar or lime juice.

How To Make :

1. Wash both rice and sticky rice, steam in a rice cooker. When they are half - coooked, remove and set a side.
2. Heat coconut milk in a pan.Toss in Indonesian bay leaf, pandan leaf, lemongrass stalk and a little salt. Add the half cooked rice and sticky rice.
3. After the coconut milk is fully immersed into the rice, continue with the second part of steaming.
4.  Clean the pomfret fish.Rub with tamarind juice and and a little salt. Fry until crispy.
5. Fry shallots and red chilies, then coarsely grind them. Mix with vinegar or lime juice and 2 tablespoon of the leftover oil used to fry the shallots and chilies.
6. Pour the chilli paste over the fish.
7. Nasi Guri is usually sreved with serundeng, fried peanuts, fried shallots, cucumber and crackers.

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