Nasi kapau facts for kids
The array of the dishes of nasi kapau
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| Course | Main course |
|---|---|
| Place of origin | Indonesia |
| Region or state | West Sumatra |
| Serving temperature | hot or room temperature |
Nasi kapau is a special kind of mixed rice dish from West Sumatra, Indonesia. It comes from a town called Nagari Kapau, near Bukittinggi. This town is famous for its food and tourism. People often call nasi kapau the Minang version of nasi ramas or nasi campur (mixed rice). It is a popular meal in Minangkabau culture.
How Nasi Kapau is Served
A nasi kapau food stall usually has many big bowls and plates. These are filled with all sorts of yummy dishes. When you sit down, the waiter asks what you would like to eat. They then prepare a plate of warm, steaming hot rice. It comes with cubadak (unripe jackfruit gulai, which is a type of curry). Boiled cassava leaves and sambal (chili sauce) are also added.
Your chosen dishes are then placed right on top of the rice. Sometimes, they come on separate small plates. Nasi kapau restaurants always use very good, fragrant rice. This special rice often comes directly from Bukittinggi and Agam Regency.
Eating with Your Hands
In Minang food places, it is common to eat with your hands. They usually give you a bowl called kobokan. This bowl has tap water with a slice of lime in it. The lime gives the water a fresh smell. You use this water to wash your hands before and after eating. If you do not want to eat with bare hands, it is fine to ask for a spoon and fork.
Delicious Dishes to Try
The dishes served with nasi kapau are very similar to those found with nasi padang from Padang city. The main difference is how they are served. Also, some dishes are special to Kapau Bukittinggi and are not often found in other Padang restaurants. Here are some popular dishes you might find:
- Rendang: Chunks of beef cooked slowly in spicy coconut milk and chili sauce. It is cooked until it is quite dry. You can also find rendang ayam (chicken rendang) and rendang itik (duck rendang).
- Daun ubi tumbuk: Cassava leaves cooked in coconut milk.
- Kalio: This is similar to rendang, but it is more watery and lighter in color.
- Gulai ayam: Chicken curry.
- Gulai cancang: A curry made with meats and cow internal organs.
- Gulai tunjang: A curry made from cow foot tendons.
- Gulai babek or gulai babat: A curry made from cow tripes.
- Gulai iso or gulai usus: A curry made from cow intestines, often filled with eggs and tofu.
- Gulai impo: A curry made from cow spleen.
- Gulai ati: A curry made from cow liver.
- Gulai otak: A curry made from cow brain.
- Gulai sumsum: A curry made from cow bone marrow.
- Gulai gajeboh: A curry made from cow fat.
- Gulai itiak: Duck curry.
- Gulai talua: Boiled eggs in a curry sauce.
- Gulai kepala ikan kakap merah: Red snapper's head curry.
- Gulai jariang: A curry made from jengkol stinky beans.
- Dendeng batokok: Thin, crispy beef.
- Dendeng balado: Thin, crispy beef with chili.
- Paru goreng: Fried cow lung.
- Ayam bakar: Grilled spicy chicken.
- Ayam goreng: Fried chicken with spicy granules.
- Ayam pop: A special Minang style chicken. It is first boiled or steamed, then lightly fried. Unlike regular fried chicken, ayam pop is light-colored.
- Ikan bilih: Fried small freshwater fish from the genus Mystacoleucus.
- Baluik goreng: Crispy fried small freshwater eel.
- Udang balado: Shrimp in chili sauce.
- Rajungan goreng: Crispy fried crab.
- Terong balado: Eggplant in chili sauce.
- Petai goreng: Fried green stinky beans (Parkia speciosa).
- Ikan asam padeh: Fish in a sour and spicy sauce.
- Peyek udang: Shrimp rempeyek, which is a crispy cracker.
- Kerupuk jangek: Cow's skin krupuk, another type of crispy cracker.
- Sambal balado: Chili sauce with large sliced chili peppers.
- Sambal lado tanak: Another type of chili sauce.
