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If you travel to Kutai, East Kalimantan, don't forget to try its typical cuisine, "Nasi Bekepor" or Bekepor Rice. This delight was once known as the food of nobles and kings. At that time, Bekepor Rice was a special menu often served when the King of Kutai received a visit from a guest of honor. In the Kutai language, "bekepor" means "to move" or "to rotate". It is called Bekepor Rice because of the way it is cooked on a wood-fired stove, then rotated while stirring so that it cooks evenly.

Nasi Bekepor or Bekepor Rice is cooked over wood charcoal by mixing half-cooked rice with basil leaves, chilies, lime juice, vegetable oil, and pieces of salted fish in a large cauldron. Bekepor Rice is fluffy, but the color is a bit pale and oily because it has been mixed with oil and various spices. It tastes savory and delicious, with an appetizing aroma of spices.

Nasi Bekepor or Bekepor Rice is usually eaten with several side dishes such as meat seasoned with soy sauce, eggplant soup with dayak onions, hoven's carp fish, gangan asam (sour vegetables) cooked with fish heads and sweet potatoes, and gence ruang, a typical East Kalimantan fried chili sauce. Don't forget the sambal raja, the perfect accompaniment to eating Bekepor rice. This chili sauce is made from a mix of six ingredients: fried eggplant chili sauce, asparagus bean, chives, boiled egg, mudfish, boiled shrimp, and kwini mango. Bekepor Rice is sold in restaurants in Kutai at a price of around 25,000 to 30,000 rupiah, or 1.5 to 2 US dollars per portion.