nasi tempong — East Java, Indonesia

Nasi tempong is a mixed rice plate built around a fiercely spicy sambal — its name, from the Osing word for a slap, describes the jolt the chili delivers rather than any single ingredient. Steamed white rice sits at the center, surrounded by a spread of separately cooked sides rather than one combined stew. It is reported from Banyuwangi, at the eastern tip of Java, home to the Osing people, whose everyday cooking runs heavier on raw chili and fresh herbs than much of the rest of the island. The plate is sold from morning stalls and warung as a full meal rather than a snack. To prepare it, vegetables — commonly spinach, water spinach or long beans, plus a few cosmos or basil leaves — are blanched and kept separate. Tofu and tempeh are fried, a corn fritter (bakwan jagung) is fried to order, and a piece of catfish or other freshwater fish is fried until crisp. The sambal is pounded fresh per portion, either built around kencur (aromatic ginger) or fermented shrimp paste, with raw bird's eye chili doing most of the work. What separates this plate from other Javanese mixed-rice spreads is the sambal itself and the way the sides stay distinct on the plate rather than being folded together — each vegetable, the fritter and the fish are meant to be tasted against the chili paste rather than blended into one flavor. Portions and the exact vegetable mix shift from one warung to the next.