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You are here: Home / All Recipes / Nasi Goreng is Fried Rice in Indonesia

Nasi Goreng

Connie Veneracion
It’s as simple to cook as any fried rice dish but you simply have to have the right ingredients. Otherwise, you may have fried rice but not necessarily nasi goreng. See, instead of the usual salt and pepper, nasi goreng is seasoned with kecap manis (Indonesian sweet soy sauce), sambal (chili paste) and tamarind paste.
Although the seasonings are what define nasi goreng, there is no singular recipe for it. Meat or seafood, vegetables and herbs, and more seasonings and spices can be added for variety.
Nasi goreng (indonesian fried rice) with egg, carrot, cucumber, dilis and krupuk
Prep Time 5 mins
Cook Time 8 mins
Total Time 13 mins
Course Breakfast, Main Course
Cuisine Indonesian
Servings 2 people

Ingredients
  

  • 2 tablespoons cooking oil
  • 2 shallots, peeled and chopped
  • 4 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
  • 1 half-inch piece ginger, peeled and minced
  • 1 tablespoon shrimp paste, or use finely chopped dried shrimps
  • ½ teaspoon fish sauce
  • 1 tablespoon sambal (chili paste)
  • 2 cups cooked rice, preferably cooked the day before
  • 2 tablespoons kecap manis, Indonesian sweet soy sauce (available in Asian groceries)
  • 2 tablespoons tamarind paste, available in Asian groceries
  • crispy fried shallots, to garnish

Instructions
 

  • Heat the cooking oil in a wok or frying pan.
  • Saute the shallots, garlic and ginger until softened and aromatic.
    Sauteing the spice base for cooking nasi goreng
  • Add the shrimp paste and fish sauce. Continue sauteeing until the edges of the shallot bits are nicely browned.
  • Turn up the heat and add the rice. Drizzle in the kecap manis and tamarind paste.
  • Stir fry until the rice is heated through.
  • Taste the nasi goreng and adjust the seasonings, if needed, before serving.

Notes

Nasi goreng is also popular in Malaysia. If it were cooked in Malaysia, the onion, ginger, garlic and chilies would be ground to a paste, and sauteed until the solids separated from the oil before the rice is thrown in.
What is served with nasi goreng varies too. Krupuk (or kerupuk) is popular; so is egg, fried sunny side up. The most common topping is bawang goreng (fried shallots).
A plate of nasi goreng (indonesian fried rice) with egg, carrot, cucumber, dilis and krupuk
Looking for Filipino food?Visit CASA Veneracion for modern twists on favorite classics!

If you cooked this dish (or made this drink) and you want to share your masterpiece, please use your own photos and write the cooking steps in your own words.

April 27, 2020 : All Recipes, Cooking Indonesian, Rice & Grains

About Connie Veneracion

To feed my obsession with Asian cultures, I created Devour Asia. Why Asia? It goes back to my childhood through early adulthood. Chinese food, Samurai and Voltes V, Asian Civilizations and World History. Read more.

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