Kebon Kacang Tradition · Coconut Milk Rice
Nasi Uduk
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Betawi food historians trace nasi uduk back more than 500 years, meaning the dish likely predates the 1527 founding of the city that became Jakarta — and it began as humble fare for rice farmers and laborers, not the beloved breakfast staple it is now.
Rice is steamed in coconut milk with lemongrass, bay leaf, and kaffir lime leaf until fragrant and faintly savory, then served wrapped in a cone of banana leaf with fried shallots, tempeh, fried chicken or egg, and a spoon of sambal. Jakarta's Kebon Kacang neighborhood has sold it from streetside stalls for generations, often piled high before dawn for the morning rush.
Why it's made this way: The word 'uduk' is thought to derive from a term meaning hardship, a nod to the dish's origins as food for farmers and laborers, and Kebon Kacang in Tanah Abang remains the neighborhood most closely identified with it, with vendor stalls that have operated there for over a century.
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