‘Nasi Kapau’, King of Minangkabau Cuisine

Kompas/Syahnan Rangkuti

Ernida, popularly known as Uni (Sister) Er, serves customers at her nasi kapau food stall in Los Lambuang, Pasar Bawah, Kota Bukittinggi, West Sumatra.

The heavy rains at the end of January did not prevent customers from visiting Ni Er’s warung (family-owned eatery). Ernida, owner of Ni Er, did not stop placing side dishes, chili paste, vegetables and a several kinds of sauces onto the plates of her customers. The sauces were served in the correct amount.

“If the vegetables, broths and chili paste are served in the correct proportions, it will taste good,” said the 50-year-old woman.

Ni Er, Ernida’s nickname, sells nasi kapau (West Sumatran dish from Kapau village) in Los Lambuang, Pasar Bawah, Bukittinggi, West Sumatra.

Her warung occupies two lots, each measuring 4-by-4 meters. Dozens of side dishes are on display, arranged neatly on plates or big bowls on wooden shelves.

The hijab-clad woman stood behind a table preparing the food. Meanwhile, her customers sat on wooden chairs around the table.

The scene at the Nasi Kapau Ni Er is different from at warung usually found in other cities across the country, which usually put the dishes on display in the front window.

Long wooden skewers, stewed young jackfruit, steamed young bamboo, cabbage and long bean curry, gulai tambusu (cow intestine curry) and ikan batalua (carp stuffed with fish roe), chicken/duck rendang are favorite dishes at Nasi Kapau. These dishes are rarely found at Padang eateries in other cities.

Nasi kapau is different from the typical Padang food. The recipe for nasi kapau hails from a small ethnic group in Kapau village, in Tilatang Kamang district, Agam regency, West Sumatra. Due to being only 5.6 kilometers from Bukittinggi, it is not surprising that the center of nasi kapau sales is Bukittinggi, known as the Clock Tower City.

Serv by women

A nasi kapau eatery is usually named after its owner, who is typically a woman. Los Lambuang has several other outlets, such as Ni Lis. Meanwhile, warung that sell nasi padang are usually named Sederhana, Garuda, Siang Malam or Pagi Sore.

Nasi kapau is not only managed traditionally. One of the biggest nasi kapau outlets belongs to Uni (big sister) Cah, and is located in Kapeh Panji on the border between Bukittinggi City and Padang Panjang. Restaurant owner Nafsah, 60, is nicknamed Cah.

The Uni Cah restaurant, which started as a roadside food stall in 1981, rose to fame after President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and a few ministers ate there in October 2013.

How a nasi kapau outlet is named, different from nasi padang food outlets, is not without reason. Andalas University anthropology professor Nursyirwan Effendi said it aimed to highlight the identity of the nagari (village) and the Kapau people’s pride in their cooking.

The Kapau people believed that their ancestors’ recipes were different from Minangkabau cuisine, even though the ingredients are the same.

“The specialty of nasi kapau is in the stewed young jackfruit, which is served with young bamboo, cabbage and long beans, gulai tambusu, ikan batalua and rendang. The side dishes are a bit acidic, yet fresh. Each nasi kapau outlet offers a different flavor. But all of them offer a similar treat: They are either delicious or very delicious,” Nursyirwan said.

Uni Cah said the quality of nasi kapau started with selecting the ingredients, the cooking skills and seasoning, the cooking method and the presentation. Cooking food is not just about heating the ingredients on a stove and the seasoning. It also involves a long and complicated process.

For quality ingredients, for example, Uni Cah selects the vegetables and other ingredients at the market herself. She insists on using local ingredients, such as chili, onion, ginger, galangal, salam leaves, lemongrass and coconut. The spices and seasoning are prepared for each specific dish.

Uni Cah said many cooks at Padang restaurants prepare one batch of spices and seasoning for different dishes. They use the same seasoning and coconut milk for different cooking dishes using a gas stove.

“I do not. I use different coconut milk for different dishes such as the intestine curry, batalua fish, tunjang (cow leg) and rending,” said Uni Cah.

Beside, Uni Cah said, she uses nine furnaces to cook different cooking. Most of the cooking is cooked on the furnaces that are fueled with firewood. She usually uses special woods that release smoke, which does not cause eye irritation. The special wood also makes the cooking more fragrant.

“Food cooked on a wood stove will taste different from food cooked on a gas stove. The local ingredients also make it taste different,” she said.

Kapau village head Zulkarnaini said true nasi kapau enthusiasts will be able to tell the difference between dishes from their hometown and other Minangkabau food simply by smell. The smell comes from the use of local foods and a wood-fired stove to cook them.

However, as the saying goes, “there’s appearance, taste and price”. The price of nasi kapau is slightly higher in general than the food at a typical Padang restaurant. The extra cost pays off when we eat the nasi kapau. Once tasted, it cannot be forgotten.