Nasi Goreng (Fried Rice) is a very popular dish in Indonesia. There are hundreds of nasi goreng variety out there. This recipe is the one I often have when I am home.
Ingredients:
Chili paste (grind or blend):
- 3 shallots
- 2 cloves garlic
- 6 red Chili
- Thai Chili – the small ones, very spicy, this is the one that controls the spicyness. I usually use about 3. For mild, skip this
- pinch of salt (make it easier to grind to paste)
- Tips: Shallot and Chili sizes can be vary, the composition of shallots to chilis, should be 2 to 3.
- For shortcut, there are store-bought brands available in jars/packets at Asian grocery stores. It will definitely save a lot of time. Available brands: Kokita, Indofood, Finna.
Other ingredients:
- steamed rice made from 3 cups of rice approximately (left over rice is better, cold rice. if rice is hot, it’s going to be mushy)
- 2 tbs ketchup
- 1 tbs sweet soy sauce / kecap manis (optional)
- 1 cup of chicken and shrimp combined, dice. 1 tbs each of chinese cooking wine and light soy sauce
- 3 eggs
- 2 spring onions, chopped finely
- 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp sugar, 1/2 tsp ground white pepper (or to taste)
- cooking oil
Garnish/Sides (optional):
- Slices of cucumber/tomato; some lettuce
- Over medium eggs
- Fried shrimp cracker/chips
- Fried shallots
- 2 sticks chicken satays
Directions:
- Scrambled eggs, set aside.
- Heat wok, add a bit oil, add chicken and shrimp, stir until they begin to turn color, add cooking wine and soy sauce. Cook until all the liquid absorbed, set aside. Rinse the wok.
- Heat wok, add ground chili paste, stir until its water evaporated (if you’ve never fried chili before, be prepared for some sneezing).
- Then 2 tbs oil, continue to stir until the paste is cooked Stir until the paste cooked (steps 3-4 take about 2 min, the smell starts to go around and you’ll hear people sneezing).
- Add ketchup, and kecap manis. Add rice, mix. When it’s about half-mixed, add chicken, shrimp, scrambled eggs, salt, sugar, pepper, mix well.
- I usually cheat at this point. I would turn down the heat to mix the rice. The best fried rice made on high heat and fast stir. I am just not that strong. If I didn’t turn down the heat, it will burnt for sure. When it’s started to look well mix, crank up the heat again.
- Add chopped green onions. Mix one more time. Serve immediately.
Tips:
- If you add the rice, and the red color is too overpowering, just add more rice. If you think you don’t have enough chili paste, add more ketchup.
- If you think the fried rice is not salty enough, or want an extra ‘kick’, make a mix of chopped thai chili and light soy sauce. Drizzle it a bit when you’re eating.
