Before you read any further, let me say this:
There is no single recipe for nasi goreng.
Taken literally, nasi goreng is fried rice…Indonesian style. It’s also a breakfast dish comprising mostly leftovers from the previous day- leftover rice, leftover meat, leftover vegies. With spice and sauce.
So, without further ado, nasi goreng, my way…in 5 steps.
This should serve 4- generously- for dinner. If you’re gluten free, use tamari instead of soy sauce and check your kecap manis (if using).
1. Leftover rice
If you’re preparing your rice fresh, cook 2 cups of rice (I use basmati) using the absorption method- the instructions should be on the packet. I like to soak it for about 30mins first and then rinse to get rid of the extra starchy stuff.
Once cooked, spread it out on baking trays until cooled.
2. Take some Bumbu
Essentially bumbu is mix of spices and seasonings and is what lifts this from leftovers into Bali on a plate. Again this varies, but this is what I use.
4 shallots, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 teaspoons sambal oelek (chilli paste)
1 heaped teaspoon belacan, crumbled. Don’t know what belacan is? Check out this post.
I heaped teaspoon grated ginger
Smash this up in a mortar and pestle or a small whoosher blender thing.
Gently cook the paste in about 1 tablespoon of oil (if you’re being really authentic, use peanut oil), for about 3 minutes. You’ll smell it.
3. Add the meat and onion
…or not. Tofu works nicely too.
Most versions will use a combination of chickens, prawns and bacon. For this amount of rice, you’ll need about 400-500g in total of meat. I used 2 chicken thighs sliced finely and 200g diced bacon. You might want to throw in 200g small (cleaned) prawns instead of the bacon…or as well as!
Use a brown onion or a leek or some shallots, or some spring onions- remember, this is leftovers, so don’t be too precious.
Stir fry it all for a few minutes in the bumbu.
4. Put it all together
If you’re using leftover vegies- maybe some capsicum, sliced cabbage, carrot, celery- throw it in now. Add the rice and stir it all together. If you want to add a little soy sauce and kecap manis, you can do it now.
5. The garnishes
You’ll need:
Some tomatoes, sliced
Cucumber, sliced
Fried shallots- you can buy these in most supermarkets
Crushed roasted peanuts
Soy sauce with sliced hot chilli (unseeded)…use with care!
One fried egg per person- sunny side up
I LOVE LOOOOOVE Nasi Goreng. Thank you for this step by step ‘narrative’ sort of recipe. I find these kinds of recipes really help me find my way. Now I’ve gotta track down some bumbu and some belacan… x
Enjoy….& thanks for dropping by.
Oh god, I’m embarrassed about the mess I throw together and call it Nasi Goreng. (Had to check out the links though like Maxabella!).
I love that you can throw anything in & call it that.
Oh me too! LOVE nasi goreng! When I was in Bali and five months pregnant, I ate it every day – with extra hard boiled egg 😉 An amazing food. Thanks so much for this great recipe!
You’re very welcome…
Oh yum! This sounds delicious. I had no idea you could be so flexible with the ingredients, thanks for sharing
Thanks Rhianna 🙂
Yum, this looks delicious! Great recipe with accompanying photos.
Thanks for dropping by…