Nasi padang is a Minangkabausteamed rice served with various choices of pre-cooked dishes originating from West Sumatra, Indonesia. It is named after the city Padang, capital of 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. 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 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 be raised as well. Nasi padang is found in various cities in Sumatra, Java, Kalimantan, Sulawesi, Nusa Tenggara, and Papua as well as neighboring countries Malaysia, Singapore, and Australia.
Serving
In Padang restaurants, there are two methods of serving: pesan and hidang method. Pesan, the most common method, usually employed by small restaurants with one or two customers ordering at a time, means the customer examines the window display, chooses the dish and orders directly from the waiter in front. The dish is promptly served. In a larger Padang restaurant, the festive hidang method is usually employed. This mini banquet is most suitable for dining in a group. After the customers are seated, they do not have to order individually. The waiters, with stacked plates on their hands, will immediately serve the dishes. The table will quickly be set with dozens of small dishes filled with 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. Typically, a dozen dishes will be served. Nasi padang served this way is an at-your-table, by-the-plate buffet. Customers only pay for what they have consumed from this array. 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
Steamed rice is usually served with gulai cubadak 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:
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 and rendang itik can be found
Daun ubi tumbuk, cassava leaves in coconut milk
Kalio, similar to rendang; while rendang is rather dry, kalio is watery and light-colored
In 2016, Norwegian singer Audun Kvitland Røstad created an ode for nasi padang to describe his love for this food. The music video subsequently went viral.
