Nasi Tumpang

      The massive evolution of food industry over the years has led to the development of modern food which is genetically modified fruits and meats, artificial sweetener and preservation. Nowadays, most of us living in this fast paced world would seek for convenience and demand for fast food leading to an increase in the supply of fast food. Therefore, we barely have the opportunity to try the authenticity of traditional food. Now I am given the opportunity to carry out an interview to document a current recipe and compare the differences between online recipe and an actual recipe. 

Nasi Tumpang ( Kelantan )

        According to the interview conducted with Nurul Iman, she said that the actual recipe was passed down from the previous generation, great grandmother to her family. She also commented that Nasi Tumpang used to be a source of income for them. Her grandmother used to sell Nasi Tumpang in Pasar Besar Buluh Kubu which is now known as Pasar Besar Siti Khadijah located in Kelantan. Nasi Tumpang is a source of breakfast for Kelantanese. On average, the sales of Nasi Tumpang is 450 packets per day. The sales can even come up to 1000 packets occasionally. However, Nurul Iman said the price of Nasi Tumpang used to be RM0.50 in the olden days, but now it is selling at RM2.00 at Pasar Besar Siti Khadijah. The price also varies according to the choice of dishes to be added into Nasi Tumpang. The choice of dishes are like meat, chicken or fish floss (serunding), egg, shrimp paste (sambal), spicy fish red curry (gulai ikan tonggol) and fish gravy or sweet gravy. It is quite complicated to prepare Nasi Tumpang.

Interview Session with Nurul Iman

The recipe and preparation method of one packet of Nasi Tumpang is as below:

1. Preparation of Rice Ingredients: (1 packet)

•         200m of rice
•          600ml of water

2. Preparation of chicken floss (serunding) Ingredients :

•         1 Chicken Breast
•          2 Lemongrass – Bruised

        

    

           

    

•     15 Shallots
•          1 Handful Dried Chillies (blend)
•      4 Kaffir Lime Leaves

             

•   1 Tumeric Leaf (*finely sliced)

                

•       1 Tablespoon Curry Powder

               

•        1 Bowl Coconut Milk

             

•    1 Pinch of Palm Sugar
•          Salt

 

Chicken Floss (Serunding)

            

                 

3. Preparation of shrimp paste (sambal)

•          10 shallots, or 8 small red onions (chopped)
•          2 ounces or 8 fresh chilies (seeds removed and sliced finely)

             

•  5 cloves garlic (sliced)
•  1 stalk of sliced lemongrass (use only the bottom 3 inches of the stalk)
•    ½ ounce tamarind (soak in a cup of water and pour the tamarind juice through a strainer before use)

              

    

•         ½ ounce or 10 dried chilies (soak in hot water for 5 minutes)

• 

•            2 tablespoon turmeric powder

                

•  3 tablespoon sugar
•   1 tablespoon salt

Nasi Tumpang ( Indonesia )

       According to the online recipe, I managed to find the recipe of Nasi Tumpang in Indonesia. The Nasi Tumpang in Indonesia is called as Nasi Tumpeng. Nasi Tumpang in Indonesia comprises cone shaped rice surrounded by different Indonesian dishes such as vegetables, fried chicken, sweet and spicy fried beef, beef floss, fried prawn, shredded omelette, stir fry tempeh and liver in chilli sauce. Based on the tradition in Indonesia, Nasi Tumpeng should have a balance between vegetables, egg and meat.

The recipe and preparation method of one packet of Nasi Tumpang is as below:

1. Preparation of Rice Ingredients (1 meal)

•       2 cups of long grain rice
•      2 tablespoon of turmeric powder
•        1 cup of coconut milk
•        3 cloves
•       2 slices of ginger
•       2 cloves of garlic (smashed)
•        2 tablespoon of butter

Preparation of Stir Fry Tempeh: (1 meal)

•       500 gram of tempeh (cut into small pieces)

               

•        5 shallots (finely chopped)
•       3 garlics (finely chopped)
•       4 red chillies (sliced)
•         2 bay leaves

                  

•       2cm galangal (crushed)

       

•         50gram brown sugar
•          2 tablespoon soy sauce

Stir Fry Tempeh

Comparison Between Actual and Online Recipe

        

           First of all, from the culture aspect, Nasi Tumpang in Kelantan is served mainly for breakfast but Nasi Tumpeng in Indonesia is served only during important events like wedding anniversary. According to the recipes, the online recipe for Nasi Tumpeng in Indonesia is more luxurious compared to the Nasi Tumpang in Kelantan. This is being said because the dishes surrounding the Nasi Tumpeng in Indonesia are such as beef, fried prawn and fried chicken whereas for Nasi Tumpang in Kelantan is layered with egg, shrimp paste, chicken floss and spicy fish red curry.  The factor that contributes to this difference in recipes is because of the history of Nasi Tumpang. To the Indonesian, Nasi Tumpeng is considered to be one of the symbols of gratitude, therefore it only can be served to celebrate important events unlike the Kelantanese. Kelantanese serves Nasi Tumpang for breakfast as they are influenced by the older generation where Nasi Tumpang acts as an important source of food for the farmers who go out to the paddy field early in the morning. The rice for Nasi Tumpeng is a triangle shaped yellow rice whereas the rice for Nasi Tumpang is white and wrapped with banana leaf in conical shape. The factor that leads to this difference in colour is because of the different ingredients. One of the major ingredients that gives the yellow colour is the turmeric powder added into Nasi Tumpeng. On the other hand, for Kelantanese Nasi Tumpang, the rice is cooked without any other flavouring.

NASI TUMPANG (KELANTAN)                                                                              NASI TUMPENG (INDONESIA)