 Indonesian mixed rice with various toppings, served in small portion | |
| Course | Main course |
|---|---|
| Place of origin | Indonesia |
| Region or state | Yogyakarta,Central Java |
| Serving temperature | Hot or room temperature |
| Main ingredients | Rice in small portion with various side dishes wrapped inside banana leaf |
| 100 calories | |
Nasi kucing (from Javanese ꦤꦱꦶꦏꦸꦕꦶꦁ 'nasi kucing';Javanese:[ˈnasiˈkutʃɪŋ],lit. 'small-portioned dish')[1] is anIndonesianrice dish that originated inCentral Java, primarily in theYogyakarta,Semarang, andSurakarta areas but has since spread throughout the country. It consists of a small portion of rice with toppings, usuallysambal, dried fish, andtempeh, wrapped in banana leaves.
The termnasi kucing, literally meaning "cat rice" or "cat's rice", is derived from its portion size; it is similar in size to what theJavanese would serve to a pet cat, hence the name.[2]
Nasi kucing originated in theYogyakarta,Semarang, andSurakarta areas,[3] but has since spread toJakarta,[1] other parts of the country, and as far asMecca, sold by Indonesian workers during thehajj.[3]
Nasi kucing consists of a small, fist-sized portion of rice with some toppings. Common toppings includesambal, dried fish, andtempeh.[2] Other ingredients include egg, chicken, and cucumber can be added tonasi kucing.[3] It is served ready-made, wrapped in abanana leaf, which is further wrapped in paper.[2]
A variation ofnasi kucing,sega macan (English:tiger's rice) is three times the size of a regular portion ofnasi kucing. It is served with roasted rice, dried fish, and vegetables. Likenasi kucing,sega macan is served wrapped in a banana leaf and paper.[4]
Nasi kucing is often sold at a low price (sometimes as low asRp 1,000 fornasi kucing[5] andRp 4,000 forsega macan[4]) at small, road-side food stalls calledangkringan, which are frequented by working-class people, orwong cilik, including pedicab and taxi drivers, students, and street musicians.[6] This has led toangkringan being considered the "lowest class of eatery".[5]
The owners of theangkringan themselves often come from lower socio-economic classes, may have few or no marketable skills, or originate from remote villages.[7] In order to open their stalls, they borrow money from a patron, called ajuragan; that amount can be up toRp 900,000.[8] From the dailynet profits ofRp 15,000 –Rp 25,000,[9] the seller repays the patron until the debt is repaid and the seller can operate independently.[10]
