Nasi Goreng

If you wanted to find a rice recipe that defines Indonesian cuisine, then nasi goreng with its many variations must surely come very close to the top of the list.

Versions of this classic dish put in an appearance throughout East Asia, from Hong Kong to Singapore, through the Malay peninsula and on into Thailand. It was even served to me as part of the reistaffel on the menu of a small restaurant in Holland, an echo no doubt of that country’s colonial past.

Here’s what you need for my version:

5 cups of cooked rice
3 eggs
10g ghee (clarified butter)
1tbs oil
3 or 4 strips of belly pork, cut into fine cubes 2 chili peppers, deseeded and finely chopped 2 onions, finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
300g prawn meat (shrimp to US citizens)
1tbs fish sauce
2tsb sultanas
2tbs coriander (cilantro) leaves
Salt and pepper

Beat the eggs well, season them with salt and pepper and heat the butter in a 20cm skillet. Pout the eggs into the skillet and swirl them round to form a thin pancake. Let this cook through without turning, then slide it on to a suitable plate to cool.

Add the oil to a hot wok and stir fry the pork in this, together with the chili and garlic. Add the onion and let it soften, then toss in the prawns and stir fry them briskly until they are a uniform pink color. Do not overcook, they should still have some ‘bite’ to them.

Use a slotted spoon to remove the cooked prawns and set them to keep warm. Add the soy sauce, the rice and the sultanas. Heat these through while stirring. Remove from the heat.

Roll up the egg pancake and slice it thinly, then add it to the rice mixture. Heap the rice into a serving dish, top with the prawns and garnish with the coriander.

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