Nasi Jinggo a petite spicy companion in the dead of night
When all the restaurants and warung are already closed late at night and you find yourself craving a late-night meal, nasi jinggo will most likely be the first thing that pops into your mind.
The petite portions of nasi jinggo, packed in banana leaves in the shape of a cone, include a handful of cooked rice, a pinch of noodles, a pinch of shredded chicken or beef, a pinch of serundeng (shredded coconut fried without oil with some spices) and last, but not least, a pinch of very hot sambal (chili condiment).
Nowadays, a cone of nasi jinggo is normally sold for Rp 2,500 (26 US cents) per portion. However, some believe that the name jinggo derives from the Hokkian — one of the Chinese dialects — words ceng go, which means one-thousand-five-hundred, referring to the Rp 1,500 original price of nasi jinggo in the past.
Nasi jinggo vendors open their stalls daily between 9:30 p.m. and 4 a.m. along roadsides in downtown Denpasar, Kuta and throughout every corner of the island. Their customers, usually Balinese youngsters, enjoy the nasi jinggo as they chat and sit on a bamboo mat (tikar) or plastic seats provided by the vendors near their stalls.
One favorite nasi jinggo stall on Jl. Diponegoro in the Kertha Wijaya shopping complex in Denpasar is run by Ulfa Dwi Susanti.
Susanti, 30, said that the hot sensation of the chili is the most sought sensation of her nasi jinggo. At her stall, customers can add as much extra chili as they like.
“Most of my customers like my hot chili. So, I just let them refill as they wish,” said Susanti, who sells some 900 to 1,000 cones of nasi jinggo every night, not only to Balinese customers but also local visitors from Surabaya and Jakarta, who are curious to try out the famous Balinese nasi jinggo, which resembles the Javanese nasi kucing.
“I have a worker who continues to cook and pack the nasi jinggo at home,” said Susanti, who also offers soft-boiled eggs, as well as hot and cold beverages at her stall.
Besides being sold on the streets, nowadays nasi jinggo has become an alternative dish ordered specially for religious ceremonies like ngaben, as well as birthdays and work meetings.
A nasi jinggo vendor on Jl. Nusa Indah in Denpasar, Titik Sriyanti, 52, said, “Sometimes I take large orders from the provincial administration when they are hosting an event. On those occasions, the nasi jinggo portion is larger than usual.