Indonesian Food: Nasi Goreng

20 April 2013
Arafat Hossain Shuvo
SHARD1201

Indonesian Food: Nasi Goreng

Nasi Goreng has been called the national dish of Indonesia. Nasi Goreng literally means 'fried rice' in Indonesian. It is very popular all over the world, especially in asian countries like Malaysia and Singapore. It is also very popular in The Netherlands through it's colonial ties with Indonesia. It takes around 40-50 minutes to cook this dish. There is no single recipe of nasi goreng, every fried rice dish with certain mixtures, additions, ingredients and toppings could lead to another recipe of nasi goreng. But I will provide the most basic ingredients and methods of nasi goreng in today's blog.

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons long-grain rice, rinsed

2 1/2 tablespoons kecap manis

1 tablespoon dark soy sauce

1 tablespoon sweet chilli sauce

1/4 cup peanut oil

4 eggs, lightly beaten

1 brown onion, thinly sliced

1 teaspoon sambal olek

3 garlic cloves, finely chopped

1 teaspoon shrimp paste

1 carrot, peeled, finely chopped

1 small chicken breast fillet, chopped

300g green prawns, peeled, deveined, roughly chopped

3 green onions, thinly sliced

1/4 small chinese cabbage, finely shredded

1/4 cup fried shallots

thinly sliced red chillies, to serve

Methods:

Step 1: Cook rice following absorption method until just tender. Drain. Transfer to a baking tray. Fluff rice with a fork. Cool to room temperature. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours or until cold.

Step 2: Combine kecap manis, soy sauce and sweet chilli sauce in  jug. Set aside.

Step 3: Heat a wok over high heat until hot. Add 1 teaspoon oil and swirl to coat. Add one-quarter of beaten egg and swirl to form a thin omelette. Cook for 30 seconds or until egg sets. Slide onto a board. Repeat with oil and egg, in 3 batches, to make 4 omelettes. Roll up omelettes and thinly slice crossways.

Step 4: Heat remaining 2 tablespoons oil in wok over high heat. Add brown onion, sambal olek, garlic, shrimp paste and carrot. Stir-fry for 1 mintue or until aromatic. Add chicken. Stir-fry for 1-2 minutes or until sealed. Add prawns. Stir-fry for 2 minutes or until prawns turn pink. Add rice, soy mixture, green onions and cabbage. Stir-fry for 3-4 minutes or until rice is heated through. Toss through half the sliced omelette.

Step 5: Spoon nasi goreng into serving plates. Top with remaining sliced omelette. Sprinkle with fried shallots. Serve with sliced chillies.