Nasi Goreng
May peace and blessings be upon you all.
One of the first recipes that I tried in my initial stages of experimenting was Indonesian cuisine and always the best. It is the super easy, delicious and tummy filling... *drum roll* - Nasi Goreng.
As gorgeous as the sunny side up on the rice looked I was curious to try this at home years ago. And one fine afternoon when my mom asked what to cook for lunch, I asked her to go take some rest while I tried nasi Goreng. After like going through a couple of recipes, I tried my hands on Nasi Goreng on my own idea, as I did not have all the ingredients on hand that was required in the authentic recipe. And bam! It was soooooper hit.!
All I would say is that the fish sauce is a bit unpleasant but when everything comes together, the umami flavor is just next level! 😋 You may use a dash of oyster sauce too 👌
And it is generally served with a fried egg/Sunnyside up, a few slices of Cucumber and tomato. Imagine the half done egg yolk oozing onto the flavorful rice. Oooooh soooo good!
One of my absolute favorite lunch/ dinner. The Kecap Manis is what takes this fried rice to a next level. Just make double the quantity of the mentioned kecap Manis and store in the refrigerator to use the next time you prepare nasi Goreng. Super easy and convenient yet such a wholesome meal. This one is such a keeper!
Ingredients :
- 3 cups day old Basmati rice (or cooked and cooled completely)
- 1 onion chopped, and fried (for topping)
For rice:
- 4 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 onion chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 1 green chilli, low heat
- 1/4 tsp Red Chilli Flakes
- 250 gms chicken breast, sliced (or any protein like shrimps), marinated in 1 tbsp kecap manis
- 4 eggs (2 for scrambling and 2 for bullseye topping)
- 2 tsps fish sauce
- Cucumber and tomato slices, to garnish
- Lime wedges, to garnish
Kecap Manis (sweet soy sauce) :
- 6 tbsp Soy sauce
- 1-2 red bird's eye chilli or 1/2 tsp Red Chilli Flakes
- 1-1 1/2 tbsp brown sugar
Instructions :
Kecap manis:
In a pan, add the ingredients under kecap manis and bring to a simmer. Reduce until slightly thickened (for about 2 minutes). The more it sits, the more it thickens.
Rice:
- To a large skillet/wok , pour some oil.
- Once heated, add in your chopped onion, garlic and green chilly.
- Saute until raw smell disappears or until the onion has become translucent.
- Next add in the marinated chicken strips and sautee well until cooked for around 5 minutes.
- Shift the chicken to a side and pour a tsp of oil and drop in your eggs to scramble them.
- Next add rice, little by little, adding in 2 tbsp or more of the prepared or store bought kecap Manis. Add in your fish sauce now, if you are using.
- Now stir constantly on high flame, mostly by tossing the wok, so that the rice doesn't break down further.
- Season with salt if required.
- Garnish by placing a fried egg on the top, Sprinkle the fried onions and place sliced tomatoes and cucumbers on the side of the plate (traditional way of plating). Also place a lemon wedge* and enjoy!
- Bon appétit.
Note:
- You may use Jasmine rice too
- If you do not like fish sauce you may omit it, but the fish sauce is what brings in its different, umami flavor.
- You may use store bought shrimp paste as a substitute for fish sauce.
- After a minute on high heat, add in your marinated protein
- Topping suggestions : chopped spring onions and chopped red bird eye's chilli.
- *The lemon wedge plays a great role in enhancing the flavor of the rice (my favorite part).
