Nasi liwet — Central Java, Indonesia

Nasi liwet is a rice dish from the Solo area of Central Java, cooked in coconut milk together with chicken broth, salam leaves and lemongrass so that the grains turn rich, fragrant and slightly moist rather than dry and fluffy. It is generally eaten as a full plate rather than a plain side, built around the rice and a set of small accompaniments. The dish is reported specifically from Solo, also known as Surakarta, where it has long been sold in the evening and early morning by street vendors, often women carrying baskets or running small stalls, who serve it wrapped in a cone of banana leaf. To prepare it, washed rice is cooked with coconut milk, chicken stock, salam leaves, bruised lemongrass and a little salt until the liquid is absorbed and the rice is tender and aromatic. It is then served alongside shredded chicken, chicken liver or gizzard, a hard-boiled or quail egg, and chayote cooked in a thin coconut sauce, with a spoonful of thick coconut cream, called areh, poured over the top. What changes from one vendor's version to another is chiefly the accompaniments served with the rice: the amount of offal, the choice between chayote or other vegetables in the coconut sauce, and how thick and generous the final ladle of areh is. Some stalls also offer a side of spicy sauce for those who want more heat.