Nasi campur

For those in the know, nasi campur is one of the most delicious meals or rather a wonderful way of eating here in Indonesia and something I would certainly struggle to live without should I ever live outside of Indonesia again. Even when I have left Indonesia for four or five weeks I have intense cravings for it after just a few days. Of course I recreate many Indonesian dishes both at home or for family when I’m abroad, but nasi campur isn’t really something people cook at home as it consists of so many different dishes.

Nasi campur with nasi kuning (Balinese yellow rice)

 

Translated nasi campur means mixed rice. What this actually means is that you have a portion of rice (white in most parts of Indonesia, Balinese often opt for yellow rice and now in healthy eating cafes often red or brown rice is available too) topped with some kind of meat or fish, perhaps a couple of types of vegetables and maybe some egg or tofu or tempeh. This might not sound very exciting but if you go to a specific nasi campur warung (simple, local café) you will be greeted by a display of anywhere from a dozen to thirty odd dishes to choose from: meat cooked different ways, curried vegetables, stir-fried vegeatables, tempe manis (sweet fried tempeh), curried tofu, stuffed tofu, grilled fish, sate, potato or corn fritters, shredded chicken, chili sauces or varying strengths, peanut sauce, pickles. The lists and options are endless and change from town to town and island to island.

Everyone selects the different dishes they want to accompany their portion of rice and the price is calculated by what you choose and how much you have. It is not very likely that any two people choose exactly the same combination. I know when myself and my husband Agung go to any of the many nasi campur warungs we love that when you look at our plates on the table after we have selected the various dishes from the display that you would think we had gone to two different restaurants. He of course enjoys his meat and fish and often selects vegetables that I am not much fussed about whereas my plate will be loaded with tempeh cooked three different ways, several different types of vegetables and plenty of sambal (chilli sauce) or fresh chilli. That is the beauty of nasi campur, you can choose a little bit of a lot of different things.

I love this way of eating (and I eat it at least 3 times a week). Everyone is happy as they can choose exactly what they want. You don’t need to commit to a whole plate of one thing on a menu. I struggle sometimes ordering from menus in restaurants as actually what I want is a little taste of lots of things on the menu! This is also why it would be very tiresome and expensive to re-create at home as it would mean cooking so many different dishes to have just a spoonful of each. 

I can not live without nasi campur!

Nasi campur is one of the many reasons why I love Indonesia and more specifically Indonesian food. I am continually amazed how each day there is a slightly different selection of dishes on offer to choose from and I never grow bored of the flavors.

There are so many great places to buy nasi campur ranging from street carts to ramshackle sheds to sparkling new little cafés (you can eat it there or take it away wrapped in a brown paper bundle). I even love the nasi campur warungs aimed more at westerners or health conscious Indonesians, that cook authentic nasi campur but use organic and quality ingredients. How very lucky I am to be able to eat this way so often. 

Photos taken at Warung Pili-Pili, Seminyak, Bali

Photo 1: Nasi kuning (yellow rice), green beans stir-fried with garlic, chili, bean sprouts and carrots, tempeh and tofu cooked in sugar and chili, curried jackfruit, battered prawns, eggplant cooked in a chili tomato sauce, pickled vegetables and a shallot and chili garnish.

Photo 2: Nasi kuning (yellow rice), green beans stir-fried with garlic, chili, bean sprouts and carrots, curried bamboo, tempeh and tofu cooked in sugar and chili, fried noodles, sweetcorn fritter, pickled vegetables and a shallot and chili garnish.