Special Nasi Goreng

Nasi Goreng is an Indonesian dish and literally means "Fried Rice" in Indonesian or Malay. This dish has lots of variations to it at and is made in different ways in different parts of the world. Its often prepared using the previous days left over rice. The rice used to make nasi goreng is cooked ahead of time and left to cool down (so it is not soggy), which is one reason to use rice cooked from the day before. A plain nasi goreng has cooked rice, shallots, garlic, soy and spirng onions.

Long back I had Nasi goreng from a restuarant in Bangalore and I was very fascinated by its presentation. It was served in a large bowl with a whole fried egg on top, which definetely looked very unique. The taste of it was very different and was unlike the taste of the Chinese fried rice. Years later I saw the recipe on television and jotted it down. And finally last day I thought of reviving the taste of the Nasi goreng which I had long back. With lots of ingredients missing from the original recipe I still could make something which I would make many more times in the future.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup – Basmati Rice, cooked, drained and cooled
• ½ cup – Boneless chicken
• 2-3 – Shallots, sliced
• 2 cloves – Garlic, sliced
• 2 – Eggs, beaten
• ¼ cup – Carrot, cut into long thin strips
• ¼ cup – Cabbage, cut into long thin strips
• ¼ cup – Leek leaves(if available, I managed without it)
• 2 tbsp – Sambal paste
• ½ tsp – Soya sauce
• Salt to taste
• Pepper
• Oil
• 1 - Fried egg, for garnish
• 1 - Spring Onion, chopped, for garnish
  For Sambal paste:
• 5 – Dried red chillies
• 2 cloves – Garlic
• 1 tbsp – Shrimp / prawn paste
• 1 – Onion, diced
• ¼ tsp – Turmeric powder
• Oil to sauté
• 3-4 - Kafir lime leaves (if available, I again managed without it)

Method:

• Heat oil in a pan and sauté all the ingredients for the sambal paste and when cooled down, make it into a fine paste
• Heat oil in a wok or large kadhai and sauté shallots and garlic till transparent
• Add chicken and sauté till tender
• Mix in the beaten eggs and scramble
• Add the carrot, cabbage, leek leaves and cook
• Add the sambal paste and sauté again
• Now add the cooked rice and fry it well till all the moisture is gone. Make sure you do not over cook the rice, like I did the first time. Also use a fork to fluff the rice than a spatula
• Add soy sauce, salt and pepper and mix well
• Top it up with pieces of fried eggs