Nasi Goreng (Indonesian fried rice)

Post #438,677 by Another Scott 3/13/21 11:09:41 PM 3/13/21 11:09:41 PM Reply	Nasi Goreng (Indonesian fried rice) ChasM at BalloonJuice: 34. ChasM MARCH 13, 2021 AT 10:21 PM Because I am so jealous of your hammered wok, I am going to give a recipe for Nasi Goreng. My ancestors were Dutch, and we come by our Nasi Goreng through exploitation and colonialism (Uncle Roger is correct that quality fried rice requires torture). Enjoy! You will need: Komodo Krupuk Udang – dried shrimp things. They are good. Get either the chips or the sheets. Not strictly necessary, but a great snack you won’t be sorry. Blachen – dried shrimp paste. Secret ingredient. Comes in butter sized blocks, but you don’t need more than 1/2 teaspoon at a time. Stinks. Necessity. Ketjap Manis – Ancestor of Ketchup. Sweetened soy sauce, essentially. There are recipes if you can’t get Conimex brand. Carnalizes the rice, so yeah, essential. Sambal Oelek – The Sriracha guys’ stuff is fine, maybe even better than Conimex. Garlic cloves Last nights left-over COLD rice Protein of choice Eggs – scrambled or the best is a fried one on top Shallot thin cut lengthwise, or Conimex Gebakken Uitjes (Fried Shallots) Tomato and cucumber slices. Prelims: Get some oil nice and hot and fry up the Krupuk Udang. They turn into amazing shrimp chips that you and quests will enjoy as you prepare the rest of the rice. If you don’t have the commercial Gebakken, fry up some shallots into thin crispy’s. Drain on some paper towel and save for garnish. Main Bout: In a mortar, make a paste from about 1/4 tsp shrimp paste, 2 cloves garlic, 1/4-1/2 tsp sambal PER SERVING. This is a pungent fish/garlic/hot/vinegar concoction, so it’s all about personal taste. Experiment. Heat some oil (canola or peanut) in wok, add protein stir and brown. Add a tbl/splash of Ketjap Manis and wok it up. Should get nice and carmalized after a few. Set aside. Tad more oil, nice an hot in empty wok. Add the paste. Stir and cook 20-30 seconds until fragrant . Add rice and a swirl of Ketjap. Stir-fry hot adding splashes of ketjap until rice is brown and starting to carmalize. Add protein, and cook until done. Just before you take off heat, add in the tomatoes and cucumbers and stir. If you have a fried egg that you happened to remember to make, or scrambled, this is the time to add. Heap into bowls/plates and top with fried shallot and krupek if any left. You are welcome. Sounds yummy. Cheers, Scott.
Post #438,678 by boxley 3/13/21 11:49:03 PM 3/13/21 11:49:03 PM Reply	not enough sambal "Science is the belief in the ignorance of the experts" – Richard Feynman
Post #438,680 by Andrew Grygus 3/14/21 1:58:27 AM 3/14/21 1:58:27 AM Reply	It do indeed look like the Real Thing . . . I keep all those ingredients on hand, but I do warn: the Blachen. Keep that block sealed up in an air tight jar, or your kitchen will reek of stinky self digested shrimp in short order. And for the Krupuk Udang, any rice noodles will do fine, though lacking the fake shrimp flavor - it's just a garnish. There should be plenty of real shrimp flavor in this thing anyway. Just toss rice noodles in the hot oil and they will explosively puff up into very light and edible styrofoam. On the other hand, for ethical (and probable health reasons as well), I will not touch Canola Oil under any circumstances. Peanut Oil is pretty good, but Olive Pomace Oil is better. That the rice is refrigerated overnight (for any fried rice recipe from anywhere) is essential. The refrigeration causes some transformation of the starches in the rice which makes it more suitable for Fried Rice dishes (and reduces glycemic index - though not a whole lot).
Post #438,683 by drook 3/14/21 9:57:06 AM 3/14/21 9:57:06 AM Reply	Re: Canola oil I know about the health reasons, what's with ethical? -- Drew
Post #438,687 by Andrew Grygus 3/14/21 1:34:29 PM 3/14/21 1:34:29 PM Reply	Re: Canola oil - Ethics Have you noticed that every published recipe and every cookbook calls for Canola Oil by name in all recipes? The reason is simple - the Canola Oil industry pays off the publishers, who are apparently easier to buy than politicians or scientists. You literally can't get your cookbook published if you don't call for Canola Oil by name. I have seen some that call for Olive Oil (correct) AND Canola Oil (incorrect) to get around this. Same with Yukon Gold potatoes which are a disaster in many recipes that call for them. I've seen the same work-around in recipes calling for the right potatoes AND Yukon Gold. I won't touch them either - except for research.

Welcome to IWETHEY!