Nasi bakar — Indonesia

Nasi bakar is an Indonesian rice dish whose name simply means 'burnt' or 'grilled rice': cooked rice is seasoned, packed with a filling into a parcel of banana leaf, and then grilled or held over charcoal until the leaf itself chars, passing its smoky, slightly bitter aroma into the rice inside. The dish is reported across Indonesia, where it is sold by street vendors and prepared at home, particularly common on the island of Java as a portable meal that can be carried, unwrapped and eaten without plates or cutlery. To prepare it, rice is cooked, sometimes with coconut milk, and mixed with a paste of shallots, garlic, chillies, candlenut and turmeric that has been fried to release its aroma. A filling is stirred through or layered on top, and the seasoned rice is spooned onto a sheet of banana leaf, folded and pinned shut with a wooden skewer or toothpick into a tight parcel, then grilled or barbecued, turning occasionally, until both sides of the leaf are visibly charred. What changes from one packet to another is above all the filling: it can be shredded fried chicken, empal gepuk beef, anchovies, milkfish, salted fish, prawns, mushrooms, tempeh, tofu or duck eggs, and the balance of chilli and spice paste is adjusted to the filling used. The degree to which the leaf is charred, and the resulting intensity of smoky flavour, is also left to the cook grilling it.