The name Nasi Goreng simply means ‘fried rice’ in Bahasa Indonesia. Amongst the large variety of traditional food, Nasi Goreng is quite popular locally and internationally. In fact, according to CNN International, nasi goreng is the number two on their “World’s 50 Most Delicious Foods” list. This traditional Indonesian dish is quite easy and quick to make. Although the taste of the rice is kept similar, you can customize the ingredients mixed in according to your liking.
Ingredients for nasi goreng:
Makes 2 servings
- 2 cups long-grain rice
- 8 shallots or 1 small onion
- 4 red chillis or 2 tsp chilli-powder and 2 tsp paprika
- 4 tb vegetable oil
- Salt
- 2 tsp sweet soya sauce
- 2 tsp tomato ketchup
Directions :
- Boil the rice a good long time before you intend to fry it you can fry freshly boiled rice, but the Nasi Goreng will be better if the boiled rice is allowed to cool. Two hours is a satisfactory interval.
- Leaving the rice to cool overnight, however, gives less good results-the rice has time to go dry. An important point to note here is that rice for Nasi Goreng must be cooked with the least possible quantity of water this prevents it from becoming too soft.
- For 1 cup of rice, use 1 cup of water. Assuming you have now got your cool, boiled rice, proceed like this: slice the shallots or onion, seed and slice the chilli (or pound the shallots and chilli together in a mortar). Heat the oil in a wok it makes no difference, by the way, whether you use oil, fat, or butter.
- Saute the shallots and chilli for a minute or so, and season with salt, soya sauce, and tomato ketchup. Put in all the rice, and stir it continuously until it is well heated this will take 5 to 8 minutes.
Serve in a good large dish, generously garnished with a fried egg, sliced cucumber, tomatoes, fried onions, and Krupuk.
