If you’ve ever travelled to Indonesia before you will be familiar with the hugely popular dish, nasi goreng; and if you’re anything like us, even hearing its name will have you desperate to jump on a flight and head back to order some. Nasi goreng directly translates fried rice and it is so popular that it has essentially been adopted as the national dish of Indonesia. Simple as it sounds, it is rich in flavour and history and is incredibly delicious. Typically made from some form of protein, rice, onion, sweet soy sauce and topped with a fried egg, nasi goreng was introduced to the country with the Chinese Immigrant population of the 10th century. 

Now fear not, we know you can’t just jump on a plane right now! So just in case we’ve accidentally induced serious cravings in you, we’ve left you a super easy to follow nasi goreng recipe below. It is such a simple and versatile dish to recreate at home and having a plain base of rice and sweet soy sauce means there’s a ton of ways to adapt it to suit a range of dietary needs. If you’re a veggie or vegan, you can simply swap the chicken for tofu, or just load up on other veggies. If you’re looking to elevate the dish or use something other than chicken, you can even add some cooked shrimp!

NASI GORENG RECIPE

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp oil
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 tsp chilli
• 1 brown onion
• 3 cups cooked white rice
• 3 tbsp kecap manis (sweet soy sauce)
• 2 tsp shrimp paste (optional)
• 1 tbsp oil
• 150g protein (chicken or tofu)

Garnish

• Egg
• Green onion
• Tomato and cucumber
• Lime wedge
• Prawn crackers

Method

1. Heat oil in a large pan or wok over a high heat
2. Add garlic and chilli and stir for 10 seconds.
3. Add onion and cook until translucent  
4. Add your chosen protein (chicken or tofu) to the pan and cook well, then add 1 tbsp kecap manis and continue cooking until it is slightly caramelised. Ensure the chicken is cooked through if it’s your chosen protein. 
5. Add rice, 2 tbsp kecap manis and shrimp paste (if using). Cook and stir constantly for 2 minutes to reduce sauce down (rice grains should begin to caramelise due to the kecap manis).
6. To serve in traditional Indonesian style, garnish with green onions, red chilli and fried shallots, top with a fried egg and serve alongside sliced tomato, cucumber and prawn crackers.

Recipe Notes

1. Kecap manis can be found in most popular supermarkets, however, if you’re having trouble getting your hands on it, it’s super easy to make at home! Add ¼ cup of regular soy sauce to ¼ cup of brown sugar in a saucepan over medium heat. Bring the mixture to a simmer and reduce heat when it becomes a syrupy consistency. The mixture will further thicken as it cools, once it’s cold and thick like maple syrup you can use it in your recipe.
2. It’s best to use day old rice when frying, but if you haven’t got time to plan ahead then you can simply put your cooked rice in the fridge or freezer to cool it down before you fry it.

Share a snap of your nasi goreng recreation with us over on Instagram, tag us @onelifeadventures to be featured! 

If this has got you dreaming of days spent exploring islands and eating delicious street food, check out our 12 day Indonesia tour, we’ve got 20% off until 31/01/2021 and deposits are only $1 for a limited time only!!