Nasi jinggo
Photo: Okkisafire · CC BY-SA 4.0

History

Nasi jinggo dates to the 1980s, when a Javanese husband-and-wife team began selling the parcels as a late-night snack on Jalan Gajah Mada in Denpasar, beside the 24-hour Kumbasari market. The name is uncertain: one theory is jeng go, Hokkien for 1,500, the old price in rupiah; another links it to the 1966 film Django. The parcels are small, so buyers often order two, and they also appear at ceremonies. Denpasar's pavement sellers, such as Nasi Jinggo Diponegoro, open at 19:00 and trade into the night.

Common allergens: Egg, Gluten, Shellfish, Soy

Make it at home

Yield Makes 12 parcelsHands-on 45 minTotal 1 hr 15 minDifficulty Easy

Ingredients

  • 500g rice, 2 pandan leaves and a pinch of salt
  • 250g chicken breast, boiled and shredded
  • 5 shallots, 3 garlic cloves, 2 large red chillies, 5 bird's-eye chillies and 2 kaffir lime leaves, for the chicken
  • 200g tempeh, diced, with 2 tbsp kecap manis and 3 bird's-eye chillies
  • 100g dried egg noodles and 2 garlic cloves
  • For the sambal: 6 shallots, 3 garlic cloves, 5 bird's-eye chillies, 2 large red chillies, 1 tsp shrimp paste, palm sugar and salt
  • Banana leaves and baking paper to wrap

Method

  1. Cook the rice with the pandan leaves and salt.
  2. Grind the chicken's shallots, garlic, chillies and lime leaves and fry in oil until fragrant. Add the shredded chicken and cook until the paste is absorbed and the chicken looks dry.
  3. Fry the diced tempeh until crisp, then toss with the kecap manis and chopped bird's-eye chillies.
  4. Boil the noodles, drain and stir-fry with the garlic and a little oil.
  5. Grind the sambal ingredients and fry until cooked. Season with palm sugar and salt.
  6. Put about 3 tbsp rice on a square of banana leaf over paper, add a spoon each of chicken, tempeh, noodles and sambal, then fold into a tight parcel and pin with a toothpick.

Tip from the editors. Keep each parcel to a few spoonfuls of rice and eat two or three, as Denpasar's evening buyers do.

Where to eat nasi jinggo

Nasi jinggo in Bali

Nasi Jinggo Diponegoro ★ 4.2

$ Street foodDenpasar

Nasi Jinggo Diponegoro sells small rice parcels with shredded chicken, noodles and egg from a shopfront pavement in Denpasar, Bali, from 19:00 to 02:00.

TryNasi jinggo: a small rice parcel with shredded chicken, fried noodles, egg and sambal

TipIt sells from the pavement outside the Kertayaja shop. The parcels are small, so order two; Bali Konten (2024) puts one at about IDR 10,000.

Directions

Warung Nasi Jinggo Bu Agus ★ 3.7

$ Street foodDenpasar

Warung Nasi Jinggo Bu Agus on Jl. Tukad Balian in Renon, Denpasar, Bali, sells nasi jinggo with sate lilit, serundeng and sambal from 08:00 to 22:00 daily.

TryNasi jinggo with fried noodles, fried chicken, sate lilit, serundeng and sambal

TipNasi jinggo is usually an evening food, but this warung opens at 08:00, so it works for breakfast. Portions start from about IDR 10,000.

Directions

Nasi Jinggo Thamrin Ibu Agung Pemecutan ★ 3.6

$ Street foodDenpasar

Nasi Jinggo Thamrin Ibu Agung Pemecutan serves nasi jinggo with chicken or beef and skewers on Jl. Thamrin in Denpasar, Bali, from 18:00 to 00:00.

TryNasi jinggo with chicken or beef, plus sate kerang, sate ceker and a half-cooked egg

TipA parcel costs about IDR 10,000, according to Bali Konten (2024). It opens at 18:00 and is shut on Tuesdays, so plan a different night.

Directions

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