Nasi gandul — Central Java, Indonesia

Nasi gandul sets plain steamed rice under a ladling of thin beef slices bathed in a thick, reddish-brown soup that is at once sweet, savoury and spicy, closer in richness to a beef semur or gulai than to a clear broth. The soup, rather than the meat alone, carries most of the dish's character. It is reported from Pati Regency in Central Java, where it is closely tied to local custom and is customarily served over a sheet of banana leaf placed on top of the plate rather than lining the plate itself, with the rice and meat ladled directly onto the leaf. It is eaten at any time of day from dedicated food stalls. Beef is simmered slowly until tender, then sliced thin. A spice paste of shallot, garlic, candlenut, coriander and other ground spices is fried until fragrant and cooked into the beef broth with palm sugar and a little coconut milk until it thickens into a rich, dark sauce. Rice is served on a banana leaf set over the plate, topped with the sliced beef, and the sauce is ladled generously over both. Compared with other beef dishes in the wider Javanese semur and gulai family, nasi gandul is distinguished by its serving style over an open banana leaf and by a soup that leans sweeter and darker than most, closer to a thick beef stew than to a curry. Diners are often expected to eat it without cutlery, using only a spoon, by local custom.