Nasi Goreng

Nasi Goreng

I was born in The Netherlands and as a result, was introduced to Dutch-Indonesian food from an early age. Why Indonesian food you might ask. Indonesia was a Dutch colony until 1949 and the Dutch cuisine was of course greatly influenced by the exotic spices and flavors of the east.

My mother used to make Bahmi Goreng (fried noodles) and Nasi Goreng (fried rice) with the addition of cabbage, cubed meat and packaged and powdered spices. Although I totally loved her dishes growing up I saw the need for improvement as an adult. The Minute Rice definitely needed to be replaced (sorry Mam). And I wanted to use the freshest ingredients.

My mother only used the cabbage in the Bahmi. I decided to try it in the Nasi and it adds great texture and flavor!

The soy sauce used, Ketjap Manis, is a dark soy sauce and sweeter than traditional soy sauce. I prefer to make it using a recipe I found at food.com.

The following recipe is inspired by my mother's recipe and the more traditional ones I found on the web.

serves 4

The Ingredients:

1 cup dry white rice

2 cups water

2 medium carrots - diced

6 chopped green onions

1/4 of a head of savoy cabbage

2 handfuls of spinach - lightly chopped (optional)

a handful of Mung sprouts

3 cloves garlic

peanut or sesame oil

dark soy sauce (Ketjap Manis)

3 eggs

parsley

salt & pepper

about 6 oz. of either chicken, shrimp or ham cut into bite-size pieces (optional) marinated in the Dark Soy Sauce, just enough to coat.

Sauce

2 teaspoons crushed & chopped ginger

2 teaspoons Oyster Sauce

1 - 2 teaspoons Sambal Oelek

1/2 cube chicken bouillion (dried) For a vegetarian version use a vegetable bouillon cube

Salad

1-2 cucumbers thinly sliced

1/2 cup oil

1/4 cup vinegar

1/2 teaspoon dry mustard

1/4 teaspoon celery seed

salt & pepper

Note: It's traditional to serve Kroepoek (shrimp crackers) on the side. You can purchase them on Amazon.

The Process

Add a little oil to a medium-size pot and fry the dry rice until it's slightly browned. This is important - Frying the rice first prevents it from getting sticky.
Add the water and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer until it's done.

While the rice is cooking slice the cucumbers. Wisk together the dressing ingredients, add the cucumbers and set aside.

Mix the sauce ingredients together and set aside.

Beat the eggs with some parsley, salt, and pepper.
Make a thin omelet. Depending on the size of your pan you may need to make 2 or 3 - they should be thin.
Place them on a plate. After it's cool enough to handle roll the omelet and slice it into thin strips.

Set aside.








If you decide to use meat, fry it in some oil until it's done. Then set it aside and cover to keep warm.

Heat about a tablespoon of the oil in a skillet. Add the carrots and stir fry until they are a bit softened. Add the garlic and continue frying for a minute. Add the shredded cabbage and green onions. Stir fry until the cabbage is slightly wilted - about 6 minutes.
Mix in the sauce.

Add the mung sprouts and stir fry for a minute or 2. Lower the temperature. Add the spinach and stir until wilted.

Add the cooked rice, the meat and about 3/4 tablespoon of the Ketjap.

Mix it together to heat.
Top it with the egg strips.

Serve with the Ketjap Manis, Sambal Oelek, Kroepoek, and the cucumber side salad.

ENJOY!