Nasi Goreng (Indonesian Fried Rice with Shrimp and a Fried Egg)
Cold rice fried with shallots, garlic, shrimp paste, coriander and cumin, shrimp, snow peas and bean sprouts, darkened and sweetened with kecap manis and sambal, then topped with omelet strips and a fried egg.
Nasi goreng simply means "fried rice". In September 2018, Indonesia's Tourism Ministry named five dishes as the national food: soto, rendang, nasi goreng, satay and gado-gado (The Jakarta Post). In 2011, Wikipedia says, a CNN International online poll with 35,000 votes ranked it second on a list of the world's 50 most delicious foods, after rendang.
What sets it apart is kecap manis, a thick sweet soy sauce made with palm sugar, which turns the rice golden brown and slightly sweet, and terasi, a fermented shrimp paste. Wikipedia says commentators trace the dish to Chinese fried rice, made so rice would not go to waste, while Fadly Rahman of Padjadjaran University has argued it was inspired by Middle Eastern pilaf. The early 19th-century Javanese text Serat Centhini names a "sekul goreng", which may not be the same dish. It traveled to the Netherlands with Indo-Dutch families and was printed in a Dutch cookbook by 1925. A fried egg on top is so common that Wikipedia says the version with one is sometimes called nasi goreng istimewa, "special" fried rice.
Why it works the kitchen science
Sweet soy as the seasoning
Kecap manis is thick and sugary, so it coats the rice, caramelizes in the hot pan and balances the salty, funky terasi.
Two kinds of egg
The spiced omelet strips season the rice from inside, and the fried egg on top adds a soft, rich layer you break into as you eat.
Step by step
- Step 1
Whisk the 2 eggs with 1/2 tsp sambal, 1/4 tsp each coriander and cumin, salt and pepper. Heat 1 tbsp oil in a small skillet over medium heat. Add 1/2 tsp of the shallots and 1/4 tsp of the garlic for 30 seconds, then 1 tsp of the onion, the scallion whites and half the scallion greens for 1 to 2 minutes. Pour in the eggs and cook about 3 minutes, until set. Slide onto a board and cut into 1/2-inch strips.
- Step 2
Break the cold rice apart with your hands so there are no big clumps.
- Step 3
Heat the remaining 3 tbsp oil in a wok or large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the rest of the shallots and garlic for 30 seconds to 1 minute, until fragrant, then the rest of the onion for 2 minutes.
- Step 4
Add the shrimp and terasi and stir-fry 3 minutes, until the shrimp are pink and opaque. Add the snow peas for 1 minute, then the rest of the coriander and cumin and the bean sprouts.
- Step 5
Add the rice and stir about 3 minutes, until it is heated through and steaming (165°F). Stir in the remaining sambal and the kecap manis until the rice is evenly brown, and season with salt and pepper.
- Step 6
Meanwhile, heat 1 tbsp oil in a nonstick skillet over medium heat. Crack in the 4 eggs and fry about 3 minutes, then cover the pan 1 to 2 minutes more, until the whites are set and the yolks are firm (or as you like them).
- Step 7
Pile the rice on plates, lay the omelet strips over it, top each plate with a fried egg and the rest of the scallion greens, and serve with cucumber, tomato and krupuk.
Nasi Goreng (Indonesian Fried Rice with Shrimp and a Fried Egg)
Serves 4 · 4 plates · 45 min total
Omelet
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 tsp sambal oelek
- 1/4 tsp ground coriander
- 1/4 tsp ground cumin
- Salt and pepper
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- A little of the shallot, garlic, onion and scallion below
Fried rice
- 3 tbsp vegetable oil
- 2 shallots, minced
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 1 medium onion, finely chopped
- 2 scallions, thinly sliced, whites and greens kept apart
- 4 cups cold cooked rice, from the refrigerator
- 1/2 lb medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
- 1/2 tsp terasi (Indonesian shrimp paste)
- 20 snow peas, sliced on the diagonal
- 1/2 tsp ground coriander
- 1/2 tsp ground cumin
- 1 1/2 cups bean sprouts
- 1 tbsp sambal oelek
- 3 tbsp kecap manis (Indonesian sweet soy sauce)
To serve
- 4 large eggs and 1 tbsp oil, for frying
- Cucumber and tomato slices
- Prawn crackers (krupuk), optional
Method
- Whisk the 2 eggs with 1/2 tsp sambal, 1/4 tsp each coriander and cumin, salt and pepper. Heat 1 tbsp oil in a small skillet over medium heat. Add 1/2 tsp of the shallots and 1/4 tsp of the garlic for 30 seconds, then 1 tsp of the onion, the scallion whites and half the scallion greens for 1 to 2 minutes. Pour in the eggs and cook about 3 minutes, until set. Slide onto a board and cut into 1/2-inch strips.
- Break the cold rice apart with your hands so there are no big clumps.
- Heat the remaining 3 tbsp oil in a wok or large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the rest of the shallots and garlic for 30 seconds to 1 minute, until fragrant, then the rest of the onion for 2 minutes.
- Add the shrimp and terasi and stir-fry 3 minutes, until the shrimp are pink and opaque. Add the snow peas for 1 minute, then the rest of the coriander and cumin and the bean sprouts.
- Add the rice and stir about 3 minutes, until it is heated through and steaming (165°F). Stir in the remaining sambal and the kecap manis until the rice is evenly brown, and season with salt and pepper.
- Meanwhile, heat 1 tbsp oil in a nonstick skillet over medium heat. Crack in the 4 eggs and fry about 3 minutes, then cover the pan 1 to 2 minutes more, until the whites are set and the yolks are firm (or as you like them).
- Pile the rice on plates, lay the omelet strips over it, top each plate with a fried egg and the rest of the scallion greens, and serve with cucumber, tomato and krupuk.
Adapted from Widjiono "Yono" Purnomo (Yono's and dp An American Brasserie, Albany, New York), "Nasi Goreng > Indonesian Fried Rice with Shrimp", James Beard Foundation (4 servings). We follow its amounts and method: an omelet seasoned with sambal, coriander and cumin and cut into strips; then shallots, garlic, onion, shrimp with terasi (3 minutes), snow peas, bean sprouts, 4 cups cold rice (3 minutes), sambal and 3 tbsp kecap manis. The fried egg on each plate is ours, following Wikipedia's description of nasi goreng istimewa, as are the cucumber and tomato garnish (Wikipedia names them as usual sides), the egg-frying times and the 165°F check. archive.jamesbeard.org. Ingredient list follows the source; the method is in our own words.
All sources (3)
Tips
- Purnomo favors day-old rice, which he finds less gummy than fresh.
- Terasi is strong: fry it with the shrimp so it cooks into the oil instead of staying in lumps.
- No kecap manis? It is sold in Asian groceries and many supermarkets; it is not the same as regular soy sauce, which is thin and salty.
- Wikipedia says versions in eastern Indonesia often leave out the kecap manis.
The rules people argue about
What the sources agree on, what they don't, and what is just a good story.
- Nasi goreng comes from Chinese fried rice. Disputed: commentators cited by Wikipedia trace it to Chinese fried rice; Fadly Rahman (via The Jakarta Post, February 2017) argues for a Middle Eastern pilaf.
- It is Indonesia's national dish. Documented: one of five national dishes named by the Tourism Ministry in 2018 (The Jakarta Post; Wikipedia cites Kompas).
- Real nasi goreng has kecap manis. Disputed: Wikipedia says most Indonesian versions use plenty of it, but eastern Indonesian versions often do not.
- The fried egg is part of the dish. Folklore: very common, and Wikipedia says the egg-topped plate is sometimes called nasi goreng istimewa; Purnomo's own recipe uses omelet strips instead.
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