Traditional Nasi Goreng

Feeds 3-4

---

I'm sure we all have our moments in the kitchen; where we want to throw the tray in the bin, where we curse the greek gods for burning the veggies, where the food sucks but the mess is worse. It's not always a pleasurable experience, and this week has been a myriad of shockers for me. I suppose I spend more time than most in my kitchen, and I am trying to create recipes so of course there's going to be a lot of failure along the way. I have to get comfortable with that I suppose as I can be extremely defeatist sometimes - no matter how many hours I listen to Elizabeth Day's How to Fail podcast.

I decided to bring you this Nasi Goreng recipe today as I find a renewed sense of creativity when I come back to a classic. Creating this one for you guys has allowed me to find a sense of calm in the kitchen again, and now I'm working on the most elaborate almond choux bun imaginable (stay tuned).

Some of my best friends were those I met whilst living in Indonesia, and I will forever be grateful that I got to run around rice paddies, sip mocktails, eat french fries by the pool, and learn how to play the gamelan. A country marred by poverty and I got to live like the 1% - it's not something I could understand at the age of 10, all I knew was that I was lucky. I got to experience all the beautiful parts of their culture; no matter how I looked or how much I had, they wanted to share everything with me, and that is the beautiful thing about the Indonesian people. They are graceful and giving and that played a large role in shaping the person I am today. I hope i've done this dish justice because man alive it's a beautiful one.

Recipe

Ingredients

• 2 cups of cooked, day-old jasmine rice

• 1 teaspoon of neutral oil (I use rice bran)

• 2 Eggs, whisked

• 4 Cloves of garlic, finely chopped

• 1 teaspoon-1 tablespoon of sambal olek (depending on spice preference)

• 3 tablespoons of kecap manis

• 2 tablespoons of soy sauce

• 2 tablespoons of sesame oil

• Salt & Pepper to taste

• 1 medium carrot, thinly sliced

• 1/2 cup of leeks, thinly sliced

• 1/2 cup of red cabbage, thinly sliced

• 2 Spring onions, thinly sliced

• Fried eggs for serving (optional)

• Crispy shallots for serving (optional)

Method

1. In a large frying pan or wok, heat up your oil. Add in your whisked eggs and continually stir to scramble them. Once scrambled, add in your chopped garlic and stir that for 1 minute. Add in your cooked rice and stir everything together for 3-4 minutes.

2. Add in your sambal, kecap manis, soy sauce, sesame oil, and salt & pepper. Stir everything together continually for 3 minutes or until the rice has started to caramelise.

3. Add in your carrot, leeks, red cabbage, and half of your spring onions. Cook everything together until the vegetables are cooked.

4. Transfer your rice to a bowl and sprinkle over the rest of the spring onions. You can serve this with a fried egg and crispy shallots or just eat it on it's own. Enjoy!

Stay Salty,

Romy xx