I was supposed to post a third Lasang Pinoy 5 entry last night but the photo that was meant to go with the entry didn’t come out so well. No amount of photo editing could fix it. I will just have to re-take photos of the dish when I cook it again. I won’t say yet what it is; it’ll be a surprise.
Anyway, I’ll be posting five entries today. All my blogging energy will be concentrated on this blog today because, for some reason, there’s some technical problem again with the Sassy Lawyer blog. The commenting system has gone awry. I’m at my wits’ end about that blog but it’s just as important to me as this is, so…
Reader Joy was asking if I have a recipe for Java Rice. Well, in a manner of speaking, I do. I do have a recipe for my Java Rice and it is something so much more than the artificially colored Java Rice in fastfood barbeque joints.
A lot of people, especially non-Asians, think that Asian cooking is a big mystery. I think that becoming familiar with Asian herbs and spices is a huge part of demystifying Asian cuisine. If you know Oriental herbs and spices, and how to combine them, cooking Asian food becomes an adventure rather than a mystery.
It was really a surprise that a search for Java rice recipe on Google yielded only one truly relevant result and the recipe from Cooks.com didn’t even sound remotely similar to the Java rice we know here in the Philippines. So, I made my own recipe using very Asian ingredients.
Ingredients :
6 c. of cold cooked rice
1 tbsp. of finely minced garlic
1 tbsp. of finely minced ginger
2 shallots, finely chopped
1 red or green bell pepper, finely chopped
1 tsp. of finely minced lemongrass
1 tsp. of sambal oelek or 1 finely chopped chili pepper
1 tbsp. of turmeric
6 tbsps. of ghee or clarified butter (instructions below)
salt
Cooking procedure :
To make ghee or clarified butter, melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat until frothy. Reduce the heat to low and cook the butter until the cream separates from the oil. Strain the oil through a fine piece of cloth. The strained oil is the ghee or clarified butter.
Heat the ghee in a skillet or wok. Over medium-high heat, add the garlic, chopped shallots and bell pepper, ginger, lemongrass and sambal oelek. Cook for about 2 minutes or until fragrant. Add the turmeric powder and stir well to blend. Add the cold rice and toss well. Add some salt, about a teaspoonful will do, and cook until the rice is heated through.
And that’s it! Serve your grilled fish, chicken or meat with Java rice and turn a simple meal into a visual and gastronomic delight. 
[tags]Java+rice, lemongrass, Asian+cooking, sambal+oelek[/tags]
cant even remember cooking this.
sambal at tanggang
good excuse to go to manila town (its a name my bro in law calls the area here where most Pinoy live)
naku, the many trials and errors before i got the right taste.
Can you provide a non-dairy java rice/sauce recipe? I am lactose-intolerant and I don’t taste any butter flavor in the java rice and sauce that I like (The Aristocrat’s- the best!)
Thanks!
ach13, there is no more cream in ghee; it’s just the oil.
java rice + sate babe is heaven.
thank you so much! will definitely try this at home.
angelo, hope you found my recipe for the sate babi sauce?
You are welcome, Joy. My kids really loved this one.
Hi Connie! You think I can use dried lemon grass for this recipe? I can’t seem to find fresh ones here in Germany.
May I just add that your website is really therapy for me? Haha it honestly releaves stress.
Thanks so much!
Denise, am not familiar with the dried variety although I’m sure that the flavor and aroma will be there. You may have to rehydrate the dried lemon grass, perhaps?
Stress buster… hehehe that is so good to know.
Cooked a batch yesterday and it was great! But oh my God, the dried lemon grass could cut a person’s throat — even after soaking it for an hour in water. The flavor was there, though. Will use fresh ones next time. Oh yeah, I was initially intimidated by the recipe because of the ghee. No problems with it, though. It was super simple to make!
Thanks Connie for going through the pains of figuring out the mystery behind java rice!
Denise, just like all dried herbs, the potency is twice as much. SO you’ll have to use twice as less or maybe even less than that.
Hi! I was a disaster – no, a calamity! – in the kitchen, until the first time I visited your blog. Now my family is awed by my cooking skills (har har), and my kids are getting interested in cooking too (and that’s the best part for me – nothing like quality time with my family!). Thank you!
Your Java Rice recipe (as with your other recipes) is yummy! My kids, who grew up with fastfoods, would judge homecooked foods based on that “fastfood standards.” But now they are shifting their tastes to more wholesome dishes. Another round of thanks for that!
May I ask something? I cook for 4 people, but I’ll be going to a pot-luck lunch next month. I was wondering how I could cook for 20 persons: Do I just multiple all the ingredients by 5? Is there a rule of thumb for this? Thanks again, and more power to you!
Hello Louie. You make me smile.
I am so happy for you AND your kids.
20 people… generally, yes, just multiply by 5. however, stir fries are no good for bulk cooking. stews, roasts, grilled food and soups, yes, times 5 and you’re ok.
thanks a lot. my husband loved it or is it me cooking it for him:wink:
i love
where’s the recipe?i really wanna learn it.tnx
Click the link to page 2, Coni.
Hi Connie,
I just made this one today. Came out great! Talagang bilib na sa iyo si Kulas. Will we ever get to see a book of your recipes published? Grabe, this is now a must for all barbeque meals will do. We had it with baby back ribs at talaga naman namaga ata ang mata ko sa daming nakain ko!
LOL Kulasa, pati ako nainggit ah! tagal na naming di nag-iihaw sa uling.
thanks for sharing your java rice receipe! i stumbled upon your receipe after searching the net. i only searched for it since my girlfriend asked me how to make java rice…wish us luck!
Go, Paton! You can do it!:grin:
i would like to receive recipes.i am a mother of 2 boys.i am just starting to like cooking.pls send me easy to make food for my family.thank you.
hi, i’m glad i saw your recipe for java rice. will share with family.
its good that there are websites like this one..i wil definitely try this one..
Whew I almost hyperventilated. I was surfing around for the ingredients of java rice just because I had it for lunch and I was wondering whether or not it is vegan. Good thing the recipe from the site you mentioned is nothing like the one in our fastfood joints.
Thanks for the info and your site is fun. Here’s to good eats!
pardon my ignorance, but what is sambal oelek? i can’t even spell it without checking the recipe above…hahaha! and where can i get them here in manila…thanks!
chunky, here is the link to the Wikipedia article on Sambal.
You can buy them in supermarkets.
Hi Ms. Connie!
My boss and his family is out for a week vacation so free ako dito sa office without any to do. Your website keeps me company by enjoying good recipes, tips and huge laughter by reading the commentaries of satisfied people who have tried your recipes . At home talaga ang feeling!
Thanks for this Java Rice recipe! This is a must with bbq ribs sa mga parokyano naming british & americans that always request our catering services. More power always!
PS. Out na ba yung book mo?? sana available dito sa Kuwait
hey!
just wanna know why it is called java rice? and also salpicao and ala pobre….bakit nga ba sila tinawag na ganun…thnxs
hi
can i have the recipe of the jave rice..
my kids love it. thanks
Dear madam,
My son likes the taste of java rice in aristocrat, i wonder if you can send me some recipes closer to the taste of it.
Thanks a lot
paul
bakit nga ba java rice tawag?
galing bang indonesia ang idea ng ganitong rice?
tuwing naalala ko lang kasi dati, pag barbekyu house, laging java rice ang order. madilaw sha shempre lagi.
yung butter sa recipe, same one you use for the dipping sauce ng lobster.
subukan ko nga ang rice na to. simple lang naman steps. thanks.
Hi, I’d love to try making Java rice with your recipe. I remember how I used to ordeer the chicken barbecue with the Java rice back home. Pls send me the recipe. Tx,
Hi, I would love to try your Java Rice as I am craving for Pinoy food here in Florida. Was wondering though what type of rice is best to use in this recipe. I would sometimes make fried rice here using Jasmine Rice but they always come out sticky. I have very limited options in the groceries here on what rice to use. Will basmati be a good choice? Also, what’s the subtitute for sambal oelek? There are some chili paste for sale here and I know sambal oelek is chili paste too or I’m wrong? Thanks.
Actually, I’m not very particular about the variety of rice. Just use less water than usual when cooking the rice, then cool (chilling overnight, covered, is better) before mashing to separate the grains.
Re sambal oelek: I don’t think there is anything similar but chili garlic paste seems like a good substitute.
“java rice” is another pinoy food that doesn’t really exist where we pinoys think it came from. think, “pansit Canton” and “lumpiang Shanghai.”
well, okay indonesia has something similar but they don’t call it “java rice,” but rather “nasi kuning,” or literally “yellow rice.”
nasi kuning is rice boiled with coconut milk to make it rich and a bit oily. the yellow color is derived from turmeric. it isn’t supposed to taste sweet or even garlicky but just plain coconut-y rice. i’m not quite sure if some add lemongrass though.
can u give me the recipe of java rice?
My son loves to eat java rice…tnx.
hi, can u pls. share to me the recipe of java rice , my sis. and i planning for small business in our province, we want yung patok na value meal sa mga students, cuz wer’e juz near sa isang univ. school. we want something new, both us love eating java rice hope u can help us. tanx…
Its my favorite kc ung java rice, kc ung hndi p kmi mgasawa un na knkain nmin,s0 i wnt to try to make java rice
Huh?
thnx for the recipe!!! this make my wife happy
Java rice is not from the Philippines, it`s from the island of JAVA which is part of Indonesia…but, the best JAVA rice I had was in this small restaurant in ONGPIN, Binondo, Manila…it was so awesomely delicious, best with JAVA Chicken too…yummyyyyyyy!
Java is part of Indonesia, yes, but you won’t find “Java rice” in Indonesian cuisine.
Hi Ms. Connie, i wanna try this recipe but Im not familiar with shallots?! any common term for that? =)
Sibuyas Tagalog.
Hi, where can I get turmeric? What brand?
I want to try your recipe, ‘coz I made Java Rice the other night using tomato ketchup, i got that recipe online, it doesn’t taste good
You can buy raw turmeric or powdered (McCormick).
which one do you use? what’s better?
Whichever I have at the moment.
Both work.
I tried this tonight, and it was really good. Thank you for the recipe
i love it
hi connie, will the sambal make this dish spicy? would you recommend to omit it?
Sambal is made of chilies so it is spicy.
Hi Ms. Connie,
I’ve been following your site for weeks now and it truly completes my day just reading on the recipes and getting inspiration for next day’s menu. Just want to let you know i’ve tried your Java Rice recipe and tagged (if i’m using the right term, sensya na po, techie-impaired)you in my post (newbie blogger din) of my version of the recipe.
I’m really glad i found your site, now i know the best way to survive a boring day at the office
There’s nothing like the thought of a good meal awaiting to be cooked at home when it gets boring at work, right?