Nasi Kunyit_Yelow Rice_Tumeric Rice (Traditional recipe VS Modern Reciple by Chef Linda)

“Nasi Kunyit”, also known as Yellow Rice or Tumeric Rice after translated to English, is a type of glutinous rice cooked with turmeric coloring and is usually served with coconut milk chicken curry or beef curry.

Nasi Kunyit has been one of Malaysia's Food Heritage for many years. It is commonly known as yellow rice in english and is usually being sold in Malaysian Mamaks. It is best served with curry doesn't matter beef or chicken. Other than that, the nasi kunyit is commonly served in Malay weddings The Nasi Kunyit represents a practice, expression, a source of identity and cohesion for our community. Not only that, it shows a sense of continuity, while promoting creativity and social well-being of the Malaysians. The Nasi Kunyit shows that it is something that is inherited for generations and thus a national treasure of Malaysia. It shows a memory of the society from the earlier years and symbolizes civilization.The Nasi Kunyit shows a symbolic sign that it is a traditional dish that has to go on forever.

My assignment's main purpose is to compare the making of Nasi Kunyit from the original way VS the way that the Chef I am interviewing. We are here to look at the differences on how the traditional way of Nasi Kunyit is cooked VS the way chefs make Nasi Kunyit today.

According to one of Malaysia's popular food blog, www.rotiinrice.com, the ingredients used by the traditional chef is as below: 

Ingredients involved with the making of Nasi Kunyit

1 and a half cup of glutinous rice

1/2 teaspoon of ground turmeric

2 pieces of lime juice

1 teaspoon of salt

20 white peppercorn

2 pandan (Pandanus) leaves, shredded and knotted

300 milliliter of coconut milk

A detailed instructions can be seen according to the link below using the traditional way by Roti In Rice. 

http://www.rotinrice.com/2013/09/nasi-kunyit-turmeric-glutinous-rice/

In this experiment, I have interviewed a Home Chef by the name of Chef Linda. Chef Linda graduated in a cooking school around 25 years back in Penang. Being brought up in a home of chefs, she has also continued the family's career path and be a chef. She loves cooking and her passion for it never dies. She often cook Malaysian dishes and like to experiment existing recipes to improve the quality and taste according to her own preference. Chef Linda has been cooking for more than 20 years in the industry and out of the industry. She has countless experiences cooking local food and non-local food. In this attempt in cooking Nasi Kunyit, also known as the Tumeric Rice, I will show you a detailed step by step guide in how Chef Linda cooks the Tumeric Rice like how the modern society of Malaysia is cooking Tumeric Rice as to the taste that Malaysians prefer.

First of all, the preparation of ingredients are as follow:

1) 500gms of glutinous rice (for serving of 5 people)

The main ingredient in the making of “Nasi Kunyit” is glutinous rice. Glutinous rice is known as sticky rice or sweet rice. Glutinous rice is a type of rice grown all over Southern and East of Asia especially in countries such as Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Malaysia and many more. The rice has been recorded for its existence for at least 1,100 years. In Malaysia, the main people that use the glutinous rice are the Chinese and the Malays. For the Chinese, they are usually made into dumplings, dim sum and all kinds of Chinese style cooking. For the Malays, it is popularly made into Nasi Kunyit served during “Hari Raya”, an important religious holiday celebrated by the Muslims in Malaysia. 

2) 1 teaspoon of ground tumeric

Tumeric is a bright yellow aromatic powder obtained from the rhizome of a plant of the ginger family, used for flavouring and colouring in Asian cookery. Tumeric grows wild in the forests of South and Southeast Asia. It is one of the key ingredients in many Asian dishes. Though, many have seen Tumeric as a type of traditional medicine especially in the Indian culture. Tumeric is mostly used in savory dishes and the leaf of the plant is used to prepare special sweet dishes.

3) 1 teaspoon of salt

4) 2 Pandan leaves (knotted) 

Pandanus amaryllifolius is a tropical plant in the Pandarus genus which is commonly known as pandan leaves, and is used widely in Southeast Asian cooking as flavoring. The characteristic aroma of pandan is caused by the aroma of the compound in the leaf. 

5) 300 milliliter of Coconut milk

Coconut milk is the liquid that comes from the grated meat of a brown coconut. The colour and rich taste of coconut milk can be attributed to the high oil content. Most of the fat is saturated fat. This milk is a very popular food ingredient used in the Southeast Asia. Traditionally coconut milk is acquired through the grating of the coconut flesh and then it is mixed with small amount of water to dissolve the coconut’s white fatty content. The grating process can be done in the traditional manual way or using a grating machine.

Instructions:


Soak the glutinous rice with water added with 1 teaspoon of ground tumeric. Soak it for at least 5 hours in order for the glutinous rice to absorb all the tumeric flavoring.

Secondly, drain the glutinous rice water and add 2 pandan leaves, 1 teaspoon of salt and add 300 ml of coconut milk and water boil it for 20 minutes. 

Adding coconut milk to the drained rice

After 20 minutes of steaming, it is done!  It is best edible with curry.  For this special occasion, I have requested Chef Linda to cook curry in order to show you (my readers) the best way to eat with Nasi Kunyit. Wallaaaaaaa.

Regional Differences

West Malaysia  vs  East Malaysia

          One of the biggest regional differences that I have discovered about the Nasi Kunyit is that the East Malaysians, ie the Sabahans, they serve nasi kunyit as a common breakfast dish and typically served with sambal,  eggs, coconut based spices, and spiced fish. While the West Malaysians typically serve Nasi Kunyit on special occasions and typically with curry chicken or beef. 

          In Malaysia, there are a few communities who prepare the Nasi Kunyit for unique occasions. First of all are the Malays; Nasi Kunyit is usually served during Malay weddings, engagements, Hari Raya Aidilfitri, and many more.

         Besides the Malays, the Chinese community in Malaysia also serves Nasi Kunyit especially to announce the birth of a newborn in the family. The Nasi Kunyit is usually presented to relatives and friends as a sign to share the blessing of a newborn with others.

How is it served

Nasi Kunyit is best served hot in special occasions such as the Hari Raya Aidilfitri. The glimmering, sticky rice goes well with curry beef or chicken. However, in special occasions, it is usually served as a buffet style where people are given the freedom to take as much rice and curry as they want. This gives the people the freedom to choose whether they want more curry to go with the rice or not. 

There are a few differences comparing Chef Linda's way of making nasi kunyit and the traditional way according to rotiinrice.com.


#1 First of all, the first difference is Chef Linda does not add lime juice into her nasi kunyit. She says that the nasi kunyit would give a more sour smell to the rice but the people around her does not fancy sour taste in their daily food intake so she left that ingredient out. The outcome is almost the same.

#2 Secondly, the other difference is that Chef Linda's nasi kunyit seems stickier as compared to the nasi kunyit based on rotiinrice website. I have asked Chef Linda why does her nasi kunyit seem stickier, she said it is because she used pure glutinous rice while most people would mix the rice with normal white rice.


#3  Other than that, the steps and ingredients are all the same. The Malaysian Heritage for Nasi Kunyit is indeed being passed down. Other than minor changes, the Nasi Kunyit remains as one of Malaysian's favorite food to eat indulging themselves with curry.

Why is Nasi Kunyit a Malaysian Food Heritage

Can you imagine a Malay wedding without Nasi Kunyit? Typically, the most common and famous Food Heritage in Malaysia is the Nasi Lemak but in my opinion, Nasi Kunyit comes in second. Without the existence of the yellow rice in Malay weddings, it would definitely feel different.

The Nasi Kunyit represents a practice, expression, a source of identity and cohesion for our community. Not only that, it shows a sense of continuity, while promoting creativity and social well-being of the Malaysians. The Nasi Kunyit shows that it is something that is inherited for generations and thus a national treasure of Malaysia. Not only that, it shows a memory of the society from the earlier years and symbolizes civilization.The Nasi Kunyit shows a symbolic sign that it is a traditional dish that has to go on forever.