The array of the dishes in a nasi padang window display in a Padang restaurantThe waiter stacking plates of dishes in his hand prior to hidang serve in a Padang restaurant
Nasi padang, sometimes referred to as Padang rice, is a Minangkabau dish of steamed rice served with various choices of pre-cooked dishes originating from West Sumatra, Indonesia. It is named after the city of Padang, capital of the West Sumatra province. A miniature banquet of meats, fish, vegetables, and spicy sambals eaten with plain white rice, it is Sumatra's most famous export and the Minangkabau people's primary contribution to Indonesian cuisine.[1]
A Padang restaurant is usually easily distinguishable with its Rumah Gadang-style facade and typical window display. Such displays usually consist of stages and rows of carefully arranged stacked bowls and plates filled with various dishes. Padang restaurants, especially smaller ones, will usually bear names in the Minang language.
Nasi padang is a vital part of the Indonesian workers' lunch break in urban areas. When nasi padang prices in the Greater Jakarta area were raised in 2016, municipal civil servants demanded the uang lauk pauk (food allowance, a component of civil servants' salary) to be raised as well.[2]
Nasi padang is found in various cities in Sumatra, Java, Kalimantan, Sulawesi, Nusa Tenggara, and Papua as well as neighboring countries Malaysia, Singapore,[3]East Timor and Australia.
Serving
In Padang restaurants, there are two methods of serving: pesan (ordering) and hidang (serve) method.
Pesan, the most common method, usually employed by small restaurants with one or two customers ordering at a time, involves the customer examining the window display and choosing each desired dish, ordering directly from the attendant.
In larger restaurants, the festive hidang method is usually employed. This mini banquet is most suitable for dining in a group. After being seated, patrons are served (without prompt) a set of dishes by waiters whose arms are stacked with plates. The dishes, usually numbering a dozen, typically includes beef rendang, curried fish, stewed greens, chili eggplant, curried beef liver, tripe, intestines or foot tendons, fried beef lung, fried chicken, and sambal, the spicy sauces ubiquitous at Indonesian tables.
Nasi padang served this way is akin to an at-your-table, by-the-plate buffet.[1] Customers only pay for what they have consumed from this array.[4]
In Minang food establishments, it is common to eat with one's hands. Kobokan, a bowl of tap water with a slice of lime, is provided for washing hands before and after eating. If a customer does not wish to eat with bare hands, it is acceptable to ask for a spoon and fork.
Dishes
The hidang style of serving in a Padang restaurant
Steamed rice is usually served with gulai cubadak (unripe jackfruitgulai) and boiled cassava leaves. Nasi padang dishes are quite similar to nasi kapau from Bukittinggi. The differences mainly lie in the method of serving. Dishes offered include:
Gulai cubadak, unripe jackfruit gulai
Sayur daun ubi kayu or sayur daun singkong, boiled cassava leaves
Rendang, chunks of beef stewed in spicy coconut milk and chili gravy, cooked well until dried. Other than beef, rendang ayam (chicken rendang) and rendang itik (duck rendang) can be found
Sambal balado, sambal with large sliced chilli pepper
Sambal lado tanak'
Lele goreng, fried catfish
In popular culture
In 2016, Norwegian singer Audun Kvitland Røstad created an ode for Padang rice to describe his love for this food. The music video subsequently went viral.[5][6]
