Updated: March 19, 2022 – The Abundance of Nasi Padang
Estimated reading time: 4 minutes
My First Encounter
Is hard to have a sequence of planned trip as having a favourite style of cooking. Some days, you might want some Italian food. Some day Sushi. Other day you might crave for the home cooking you’ve grown up on. But if I have to declare a favourite, it would probably be for ‘The Abundance of Nasi Padang’. My first encounter with Minang cooking was in Jakarta, not over 5 years ago. And now in Sumatra enjoying this original food—the abundance of nasi padang.
In Indonesia, who doesn’t like Nasi Padang? This cuisine from West Sumatra is indeed so popular. Many admit that the abundance of Nasi Padang is the most delicious food in Indonesia found throughout the entire country. They usually served it with Minangkabau steamed rice, vegetables, fish, and sambals that’ll set your tongue ablaze. However, Nasi Padang has blended into every province’s cooking and becomes their identity of their own.
Cooking Method
This is clear because most Padang dishes involve spicy chili and coconut milk. A blend of various traditions of Indonesian, Middle Eastern and Indian cuisine. Not only Padang cuisine, almost most areas in Sumatra are like that. You can see this from the many dishes of curry sauce and coconut milk.
The cooking method is by grilling or frying using spicy chili sauce and curry sauce. The locals cook the various kinds of fish in the same way. They usually boil the vegetables, for example, young jackfruit, cassava, and cabbage.
The True Cuisine
Here’s how to identify authentic Padang cuisine restaurants:
The rendang—The authenticity of the Padang restaurant can be determined from the way the rendang is served. Rendang meat is the main dish of Nasi Padang—a rich and tender beef stew with explosive flavour. Padang people will not serve rendang with a sweet sauce. Real rendang has a spicy taste. This is because the Minang people do not use sugar as a spice. And sweetness only exists in drinks.
The sambal—There is red chili sauce and green chili sauce. Nasi Padang is famous for its green and red chili paste. This sambal is made from green chilies mixed with onions. I love the green chili paste. The two are cooked together until they turn green.
The thick gravy—The original Nasi Padang seasoning never disappoints the tongue of anyone who enjoys it. The gravy is thick because it is rich in coconut milk and spices. For taste, the original Nasi Padang restaurant never compromises. The seasoning is always just right.
Food for Thoughts
Besides ‘The Abundance of Nasi Padang’, Riau Province is also rich with Melayu Riau’s cooking, which shares some taste similarities with the Malays in the Malaysia’s counterpart. I will share my experience in a separate blog. Meanwhile, the above are some ways to choose the original abundance of Nasi Padang meal. Happy eating and hopefully useful! Let us know your thoughts and experiences.
I hope you have enjoyed this blog. If you want me to write about any other topics about Indonesia, drop me a comment below. In case you’ve missed my other blogs, please click on the menu ‘Blog’ on the top right corner.
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