Gulai

Gulai is a rich, spicy and succulent curry-like sauce commonly found in Indonesia and Malaysia. Depending on the preference, the main ingredients vary from poultry to beef, mutton to various kinds of offal, and seafood to vegetables such as cassava leaves and unripe jackfruit.

Gulai sauces commonly have a thick consistency with yellowish color because of the addition of ground turmeric. The ingredients consist of rich spices such as turmeric, coriander, black pepper, galangal, ginger, chilli pepper, shallot, garlic, fennel, lemongrass, cinnamon and caraway, ground into paste and cooked in coconut milk. It is often described as an Indonesian type of curry, although Indonesian cuisine also recognize kari or kare (curry).

Originated in north Sumatra, gulai is thought to be the local adaptation of Indian curry. The dish is popular and widely served in the Indonesian archipelago, especially in Sumatra, Java and also Malay peninsula and Borneo.

The thick and yellowish gulai sauce is one of the most common sauces in Minangkabau cuisine, to give a rich and spicy taste to meats, fish, or vegetables. The ingredients are simmered and slowly cooked in coconut milk, spice mixture and chili pepper. The thick golden, yellowish, succulent and spicy gulai sauce has become the hallmark of Padang restaurant's window display everywhere.

In Padang, smart cooking means the capability of preparing gulai. Rendang (beef simmered in coconut milk and spices), asam padeh (sour and spicy stew) and kalio (watery and light-colored gravy) are often considered as just a few variations of Padang gulai. The gulai sauce found in Minangkabau, Aceh, and Malay cuisine usually has a thicker consistency, while the gulai in Java is thinner, served in soup-like dishes containing pieces of mutton, beef or offal. Gulai is usually served with steamed rice, however, some recipes such as goat or mutton gulai might be served with roti canai.

Gulai Variants

Poultry

Gulai ayam (chicken gulai)

Gulai itik (duck gulai)

Gulai hati ampela (chicken gizzard, liver, and intestine gulai)

Gulai telur (hard boiled chicken egg gulai)

Gulai telur itik (duck egg gulai)

Meat

Gulai kambing (mutton gulai)

Gulai sapi (beef gulai)

Offal

Gulai hati (cattle liver gulai)

Gulai limpa (cattle spleen gulai)

Gulai gajeboh (cattle fat gulai)

Gulai iso or gulai usus (cattle intestine gulai)

Gulai babat (tripe gulai)

Gulai tunjang or kikil (cattle foot tendon, skin and cartilage)

Gulai otak (cattle brain gulai)

Gulai sumsum (cattle bone marrow gulai)

Fish and seafood

Gulai ikan mas (carp gulai)

Gulai ikan patin (pangasius gulai)

Gulai ikan kakap (red snapper gulai)

Gulai kepala ikan kakap (red snapper's head gulai)

Gulai telur ikan (fish eggs gulai)

Gulai ketam, gulai kepiting or gulai rajungan (crab)

Gulai cumi or gulai sotong (cuttle fish)

Vegetable

Gulai cubadak or gulai nangka muda (unripe jackfruit gulai)

Gulai kacang panjang (common beans gulai)

Gulai daun singkong (cassava leaf gulai)

Gulai daun pakis (fern leaf gulai)

Gulai jariang or gulai jengkol (Archidendron pauciflorum gulai)

Gulai tahu (Tofu)