Nasi goreng


Nasi goreng, literally meaning "fried rice" in both the Indonesian and Malay languages, is an Indonesian rice dish with pieces of meat and vegetables added. It can refer simply to fried pre-cooked rice, a meal including stir fried rice in a small amount of cooking oil or margarine, typically spiced with kecap manis, shallot, garlic, ground shrimp paste, tamarind and chilli and accompanied by other ingredients, particularly egg, chicken and prawns. There is also another kind of nasi goreng which is made with ikan asin which is also popular across Indonesia. Nasi goreng is sometimes described as Indonesian stir-fried rice, although it is also popular in Southeast Asia. Beyond the Malay Archipelago, it has gained popularity through Indonesian influence in Sri Lanka and via Indonesian immigrant communities in Suriname and the Netherlands. It is distinguished from other Asian fried rice recipes by its aromatic, earthy and smoky flavor, owed to generous amount of caramelised sweet soy sauce and powdered shrimp paste, and the taste is stronger and spicier compared to Chinese fried rice.
Nasi goreng has been called the national dish of Indonesia, though there are many other contenders. It can be enjoyed in simple versions from a tin plate at a roadside food stall, eaten on porcelain in restaurants, or collected from the buffet tables of Jakarta dinner parties.
In 2011 an online poll by 35,000 people held by CNN International chose Indonesian nasi goreng as number two on their 'World's 50 Most Delicious Foods' list after rendang.

History

Nasi goreng had the same beginnings as other versions of fried rice; as a way to avoid wasting rice. Frying the rice could prevent the propagation of dangerous microbes, especially in pre-refrigeration technology Indonesia and also avoid the need to throw out precious food. Nasi goreng is traditionally served at home for breakfast and it is traditionally made out of leftover rice from the night before. Besides ingredients like shallot, tomato, pepper and chili, the rice is fried with scraps of chicken or beef; usually leftovers from a chicken or beef dish.
Nasi goreng is often described as Indonesia's twist on fried rice. And as with other fried rice recipes in Asia, it has been suggested that it can trace its origin from Southern Chinese fried rice. However, it is not clear when Indonesians began to adopt the Chinese fried rice and create their own version. The trade between China and the Indonesian archipelago flourished from the era of Srivijaya around the 10th century and intensified in the Majapahit era around the 15th century. By that time Chinese immigrants had begun to settle in the archipelago, bringing along with them their culture and cuisine. Chinese people usually favour freshly cooked hot food, and in their culture it is taboo to throw away uneaten foodstuffs. As a result, the previous day's leftover rice was often recooked in the morning. Previously, Indonesians probably simply sun-dried the leftover rice to make intip or rengginang, the dried rice also could be ground to make rice flour.
The Chinese influences upon Indonesian cuisine can be seen in mie goreng that appeared simultaneously with the introduction of the stir frying technique that required the use of a Chinese wok. In China, the stir frying technique became increasingly popular during Ming dynasty. The introduction of stir frying technique, Chinese wok, and also soy sauce probably took place around or after this period, circa 17th century. The common soy sauce has its origin in 2nd century CE China, however, kecap manis was developed in Indonesia with a generous addition of local palm sugar. Sweet soy sauce plus the addition of shrimp paste are the elements that distinguish Indonesian nasi goreng from Chinese fried rice.
Other than Chinese influence, there is another theory suggested that nasi goreng was actually inspired by a Middle Eastern dish called pilaf, which is rice cooked in seasoned broth. This suggestion is quite plausible in regard to a particular variant—the Betawi nasi goreng kambing, which uses mutton or goat meat, rich spices and minyak samin, which demonstrates Middle Eastern-Indian influence.
Nasi goreng was considered as part of the Indies culture during the colonial period. The mention of nasi goreng appear in colonial literature of Dutch East Indies, such as in the Student Hidjo by Marco Kartodikoromo, a serial story published in Sinar Hindia newspaper in 1918.
It was mentioned in a 1925 Dutch cookbook Groot Nieuw Volledig Oost Indisch Kookboek. Trade between the Netherlands and the Dutch East Indies during that time has increased the popularity of nasi goreng to the world.
After the independence of Indonesia, nasi goreng was popularly considered as a national dish, albeit unofficial. It is in the menu, introduced, offered and served in Indonesian Theater Restaurant within the Indonesian pavilion at the 1964 New York World's Fair. Howard Palfrey Jones, the US ambassador to Indonesia during the last years of Sukarno's reign in mid 1960s, in his memoir "Indonesia: The Possible Dream", said that he like nasi goreng. He described his fondness for nasi goreng cooked by Hartini, one of Sukarno's wives, and praise it as the most delicious nasi goreng he ever tasted.
Nasi goreng is ubiquitous in Indonesia, and also popular in neighbouring Malaysia and Singapore, as well as the Netherlands through its colonial ties with Indonesia. Today microwave-heated frozen nasi goreng is available in convenience stores, such as 7-Eleven and Lawson in Indonesia.

Ingredients

Nasi goreng is distinguished from other Asian fried rice recipes by its aromatic, earthy and smoky flavour, owed to generous amount of caramelised kecap manis and ground powdered terasi, and the flavour is stronger and spicier compared to Chinese fried rice. Nasi goreng often includes krupuk and bawang goreng or to give a crispier texture.
The main ingredients of nasi goreng include pre-cooked rice, sweet soy sauce, powdered terasi, salt, garlic, shallot, chilli pepper, spring onions, nutmeg, turmeric, vegetable oil, onions, palm sugar, ginger garlic paste, and slices of cucumber and tomato for garnishing. Some recipes may add black pepper, fish sauce, or powdered broth as a seasoning and taste enhancer. Eggs might be mixed into fried rice or fried separately, either as telur ceplok/telur mata sapi, or telur dadar, and also telur rebus. Originally optional, the addition of fried egg is often named as nasi goreng spesial or special fried rice topped with fried egg.

Condiments

Nasi goreng often add condiments as add-on upon the fried rice. Fried shallot and traditional crackers are often sprinkled upon to give crispy texture, pickles are added to give sour freshness in otherwise rather oily dish, a fried egg is often placed on top of the dish to add savouriness, while chili paste is to add the zesty spiciness according to one's preference. Some common condiments are:
There is no single recipe of nasi goreng, as every fried rice dish with certain mixtures, additions, ingredients, and toppings could lead to another recipe of nasi goreng. Usually, in Indonesian households, the ingredients of nasi goreng prepared for daily breakfast are the leftovers of the previous day's meals preserved in the refrigerator, with fresh vegetables and eggs added. The basic ingredients of nasi goreng are rice and sliced or ground bumbu mixture of shallot, garlic, pepper, salt, tomato ketchup, sambal or chili sauce, and usually sweet soy sauce. Some variants may add saus tiram, ang-ciu, kecap ikan, or kecap inggris. The texture of leftover cooked rice is considered more suitable for nasi goreng than that of newly cooked rice, as freshly cooked rice is too moist and soft.
Nasi goreng is known as fried rice variants commonly found in Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei. Despite myriad specific regional variants, it is notable that certain recipe appears in multiple countries, kampung, shrimp paste, sambal, salted fish and egg-wrapped fried rices are appears in both Indonesia and Malaysia. There are similar fried rice dishes from neighbouring countries, such as khao phat from Thailand, and sinangag from the Philippines.

Indonesia

In most parts of Indonesia, nasi goreng is cooked with ample amounts of kecap manis that creates a golden brownish colour, and the flavour is mildly sweet. However, in other places such as Eastern Indonesia, the sweet soy sauce is usually absent and is replaced by bottled tomato and chili sauce, creating reddish-coloured nasi goreng. This variant is called nasi goreng merah or nasi goreng Makassar after the South Sulawesi capital. Some variants of nasi goreng, such as salted fish or teri Medan nasi goreng, do not use kecap manis at all, creating a lighter colour similar to Chinese fried rice or Japanese chahan.
Nasi goreng Kambing Kebon Sirih is a popular variant of goat meat fried rice sold in the Kebon Sirih area, Central Jakarta; while nasi goreng amplop is fried rice "enveloped" inside thin omelette skin, almost identical to Malaysian nasi goreng pattaya.
The most common nasi goreng variants usually use chicken and egg, however, some variants are named after their additional ingredients. Specific examples of nasi goreng include:
  1. Nasi goreng ayam
  2. Nasi goreng kambing
  3. Nasi goreng domba
  4. Nasi goreng sapi
  5. Nasi goreng babi
  6. Nasi goreng babat gongso, a tripe fried rice from Semarang
  7. Nasi goreng usus
  8. Nasi goreng ati ampela
  9. Nasi goreng pete/petai
  10. Nasi goreng jengkol
  11. Nasi goreng telur
  12. Nasi goreng telur asin
  13. Nasi goreng udang
  14. Nasi goreng cakalang, speciality of Manado
  15. Nasi goreng roa, also speciality of Manado
  16. Nasi goreng tuna
  17. Nasi goreng cumi
  18. Nasi goreng seafood
  19. Nasi goreng ikan asin
  20. Nasi goreng teri Medan
  21. Nasi goreng ebi
  22. Nasi goreng jamur
  23. Nasi goreng sosis
  24. Nasi goreng kornet
  25. Nasi goreng daging asap
  26. Nasi goreng siram
  27. Nasi goreng tomat
  28. Nasi goreng bayam
  29. Nasi goreng lada hitam
  30. Nasi goreng saus tiram
  31. Nasi goreng saus teriyaki usually beef or chicken fried rice in teriyaki sauce, a Japanese influence in Indonesia
  32. Nasi goreng keju
  33. Nasi goreng rendang, rich and spicy fried rice usually made from leftover rendang spices
  34. Nasi goreng spesial with complete ingredients, including chicken, egg mixed in rice, sausages, vegetables, and topped with sunny side up fried egg
  35. Nasi goreng Jawa
  36. Nasi goreng Sunda, spicy fried rice with ample of kunyit which add golden yellow colour
  37. Nasi goreng Bali, rich in spices including chopped lemongrass, turmeric, shallot, garlic and galangal, and uses no soy sauce.
  38. Nasi goreng Aceh, rich in spices akin to mie aceh
  39. Nasi goreng Padang, also rich in spices similar to Aceh fried rice
  40. Nasi goreng Magelangan or also called as Nasi goreng Mawut, a combo of fried rice and noodle with vegetables and spices
  41. Nasi goreng rempah, spicy fried rice with ample of bumbu spice mixture
  42. Nasi goreng sambal terasi, or simply nasi goreng terasi
  43. Nasi goreng sambal ijo/hijau, often simply called nasi goreng hijau
  44. Nasi goreng pedas, hot and spicy fried rice with chili peppers
  45. Nasi goreng rawit, extra hot and spicy fried rice with cabe rawit or bird's eye chili
  46. Nasi goreng jancuk, extra hot and spicy fried rice from Surabaya
  47. Nasi goreng setan, extra hot and spicy fried rice with various types of chili peppers, including sambal paste, sliced fresh bird's-eye chili and chili powder
  48. Nasi goreng merah or nasi goreng Makassar
  49. Nasi goreng hitam, or nasi goreng cumi hitam, coloured and flavoured with squid ink
  50. Nasi goreng pelangi, without soy sauce with colourful vegetables
  51. Nasi goreng amplop, also known as nasi goreng pattaya
  52. Nasi goreng santri
  53. Nasi goreng nanas, also known as nasi goreng Hawaii or nasi goreng Thailand
  54. Nasi goreng gila, fried rice topped with more savoury additional ingredients including chicken, meat, shrimp, sliced bakso, sausages, egg, etc.
Indonesians also called foreign versions of fried rice simply as nasi goreng, thus nasi goreng Hongkong and nasi goreng Tionghoa/China refer to Chinese fried rice, while nasi goreng Jepang refer to yakimeshi or chahan.

Malaysia

Nasi goreng is a commonly popular household dish in Malaysia. It is also can be found in restaurants and food courts in the country.
Nasi goreng variants popular in Malaysia includes:
  1. Nasi goreng ayam
  2. Nasi goreng belacan
  3. Nasi goreng blackpepper
  4. Nasi goreng cendawan
  5. Nasi goreng cili api/masak pedas
  6. Nasi goreng dabai.
  7. Nasi goreng daging/kambing
  8. Nasi goreng ikan masin
  9. Nasi goreng kampung
  10. Nasi goreng kerabu
  11. Nasi goreng kunyit
  12. Nasi goreng kari
  13. Nasi goreng ladna
  14. Nasi goreng masak merah
  15. Nasi goreng mamak
  16. Nasi goreng nenas
  17. Nasi goreng paprik
  18. Nasi goreng pattaya
  19. Nasi goreng petai
  20. Nasi goreng seafood
  21. Nasi goreng sotong
  22. Nasi goreng telur
  23. Nasi goreng tomyam
  24. Nasi goreng udang
  25. Nasi goreng USA, squid and chicken )
  26. Nasi goreng Amerika''

    Singapore

In Singapore, nasi goreng is one of the most popular rice dishes and is a staple with a lot of variations of it. Some include sausage, stinky beans, seafood, and beef—chicken however, is the most common meat. Nevertheless, since Singapore is a cosmopolitan city with significant numbers of foreign nationals and expatriates, plus English is a commonly spoken language in the island, the term nasi goreng is seldom used in the city, thus its English translation "fried rice" is commonly used.
Nasi goreng variants commonly popular in Singapore includes:
  1. Nasi goreng Singapore or Singapore-style fried rice
  2. Nasi goreng ayam or Chichen fried rice
  3. Nasi goreng telur Singapore or Singapore egg fried rice
  4. Nasi goreng seafood
  5. Nasi goreng pedas or Spicy Fried Rice
  6. Nasi goreng sayur or Singapore vegetable fried rice
  7. Nasi goreng sambal or Sambal fried rice
  8. Nasi goreng kampung or Village-Style Fried Rice
  9. Nasi goreng lapis or Layered fried rice
  10. Nasi goreng daging Mongolia or Mongolian Beef Fried Rice
  11. Nasi goreng daging or Beef fried rice
  12. Nasi goreng kari or Curry flavoured fried rice
  13. Nasi goreng ayam ham or Chicken ham fried rice''
Singapore has an ethnic Chinese majority that has influenced local cuisine. Chinese fried rice recipes, such as Yeung Chow fried rice also popular throughout in Singapore.

Brunei

Nasi goreng is a common rice dish in Brunei. Nasi goreng ikan masin or fried rice with salted fish is the most popular version.
Nasi goreng variants commonly popular in Brunei includes:
  1. Nasi goreng pulau Brunei
  2. Nasi goreng belutak
  3. Nasi goreng corned beef
  4. Nasi goreng ikan masin
  5. Nasi goreng kampung Brunei
  6. Nasi goreng sardin
  7. Nasi goreng keropok belinjau
  8. Nasi goreng seafood

    Sri Lanka

Nasi goreng is a common dish in Sri Lanka. It was adopted into Sri Lankan cuisine through cultural influences from the Sri Lankan Malays and Indonesia. It is prepared using a variety of ingredients including spices, soy sauce, oyster sauce, ginger, white onion, shrimp, cucumber and prawns.

Netherlands

In the Netherlands, Indonesian cuisine is common due to the historical colonial ties with Indonesia. Indonesian migrants cater Indonesian food both in restaurants and as take-away. Also, take-away versions of nasi goreng are plentiful in toko Asian grocery shop and supermarkets. Supermarkets also commonly carry several brands of spice mix for nasi goreng, along with krupuk and other Indonesian cooking supplies. Chinese take-aways and restaurants have also adapted nasi goreng, plus a selection of other Indonesian dishes, but spice them Cantonese style. In Flanders, the name nasi goreng is often used for any Asian style of fried rice. Distinctive version of nasi goreng has been developed, such as Javanese-Suriname version of the dish. In the Netherlands, nasi goreng has been developed into snack called nasischijf, it is a Dutch deep-fried fast food, consisting of nasi goreng inside a crust of breadcrumbs.

Servings

Homemade

Nasi goreng can be eaten at any time of day, and many Indonesians, Malaysians and Singaporeans eat nasi goreng for breakfast. In most of households, last night leftovers stored in refrigerator are often used to create nasi goreng for breakfast; such as chunks of chicken, shrimp, vegetables, fish, beef, bakso or sausages. The rice used to make nasi goreng is cooked ahead of time and left to cool down, which is one reason to use rice cooked from the day before.

Street vendor

While most Indonesian households serve it for breakfast, nasi goreng is also a popular choice for late night supper served by street vendors, in warungs and also by travelling night hawkers that frequent Indonesian residential neighbourhoods with their wheeled carts. The nasi goreng is usually cooked on order for each serving, since the cook usually asks the client their preference on the degree of spiciness: mild, medium, hot or extra hot. The spiciness corresponds to the amount of sambal or chili pepper paste used. The cook might also ask how the client would like their egg done: mixed into nasi goreng or fried separately as telur mata sapi or ceplok or as telur dadar. The term spesial pakai telur means the nasi goreng has two eggs per serving, one mixed into the nasi goreng as scrambled egg, another fried separately. As well as offering nasi goreng, the travelling nasi goreng cart vendors usually also serve mi goreng, mi rebus, and kwetiau goreng. Nasi goreng usually made by order, nevertheless, some popular nasi goreng warung or food stall might cook them in bulk, due to large demand. The degree of spiciness is applied by customer through the addition of sambal hot sauces.

Restaurant

Nasi goreng is a popular dish in Indonesian restaurants and Asian fusion restaurants. It is often served for breakfast in Indonesian hotels. In Indonesian restaurants, the dish is often served as a main meal accompanied by additional items such as a fried egg, ayam goreng, satay, vegetables, seafoods such as fried shrimp or fish, and kerupuk. Although traditionally nasi goreng is seldom consumed with satay nor fried chicken, in many Indonesian restaurants abroad this combo is quite popular—in order to allow clients to sample quintessential Indonesian dish; nasi goreng and satay in single serving.
In many warungs, when accompanied by a fried egg, it is sometimes called nasi goreng istimewa. Nasi goreng is usually sold together with bakmi goreng and mie rebus. They sell a simple nasi goreng with small amount of shredded fried chicken, scrambled egg, green vegetables, and served with pickled cucumber. In Indonesia there are restaurant chains that specialise on serving nasi goreng.

Convenience store

Some seasoning brands sold in supermarkets, such as Sajiku-Ajinomoto, Racik, LaRasa, Royco and Kokita offering "bumbu nasi goreng", an instant nasi goreng seasoning paste to be applied upon frying leftover rice. Today the modern convenience stores such as 7-Eleven and Lawson operated in Indonesia also offering prepackage frozen microwave-heated nasi goreng take away.

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