What kind of dish is this?
This is a thick, spicy, Indonesian fried rice.
Fried rice was introduced from China and seasoned with Indonesia’s own seasonings.
Name
・Nasi＝rice
・goreng＝fry / cook by immersing in hot oil
History
“Fried rice”
In the early 7th century, something similar to what we call egg fried rice today was recorded in Sui Dynasty. Although it was not a common food at the time, this is the earliest record of fried rice in the world.
In the latter half of the 10th century, the kettle used to make porcelain was modified for cooking, resulting in a cooking utensil that could handle high heat cooking.
This led to the spread of fried rice throughout China, where the cold rice was cooked over high heat with other leftovers.
“Nasi goreng”.
Interaction between Indonesia and China began to flourish in the 10th century, and by the 15th century, more and more people were migrating to Indonesia.
As a result, Chinese food culture such as fried rice was introduced to Indonesia.
Indonesia has a tropical climate, and refrigeration technology was not well developed at that time.
Fried rice cooked over high heat prevented the development of microorganisms. Even if they use leftovers
In addition, it was delicious. In Indonesia, it was called “nasi goreng” and spread rapidly.
Incidentally, soy sauce was also introduced from China to Indonesia around this time.
“Modern Nasi Goreng”.
In the mid-19th century, a sugar factory was built in southeast Java, and kecap manis (sweet soy sauce), an essential ingredient in Indonesian cuisine, was born.
It was developed based on Chinese soy sauce and palm sugar.
This ketchup manis also came to be used in nasi goreng, and is still used today.
Ketchup manis = sweet soy sauce. It is derived from the Cantonese word koechiap (sauce).
Thoughts
There are no rules for recipes, but all the local recipes use “kecap manis” and “sambal” as a matter of course.
Now that I know this, I can’t stop myself from buying them.
So, I bought them. I made nasi goreng with them.
It turned out to be different from the fried rice I live with in Japan, but it was not quite enough.
Both kecap manis and sambal are very strong, so I could only taste these two.
Then I remembered. Oh… that…. Shrimp paste…. The local recipe used shrimp paste for about 90% of the people….
But I can’t eat shrimp…
So I made it again, substituting oysters and miso dip.
Delicious! Wonderful! It’s spicy, it’s sweet, it’s rich, it’s… it’s deep!
I now use these seasonings in mere vegetable stir-fries as well.
Very satisfying!
Recipe for Nasi Goreng
Ingredients
No.1
- 1/2 onion finely chopped
- 60 g chicken any size you like
- 40 g green onion finely chopped
No.2
- 1 tsp oyster and white miso dip originally shrimp paste *important
- 1 tbsp sambal
No.3
- 300 g cooked rice
- 1 tbsp kecap manis
- Free seasoning I used Ajinomoto seasoning.
Instructions
- Sauté onions, chicken, and green onions.Cook until done to your liking.
- Add the dip and sambal.Mix well.
- Add rice, kecap manis and seasoning.Stir-fry until done to your liking.
Video
Notes
When it comes to nasi goreng, sambal and kecap manis are the most famous. But! If you just use these ingredients, you will only get the taste of sambal and kecap manis. I think dips and pastes are very important. Sambal is a paste of chili peppers, onions, garlic, salt, pepper, fermented shrimp, tomatoes, etc., which is then fried.
Kecap manis is made by fermenting soybeans and wheat and adding palm sugar and salt.
You can find substitutes for sambal and kecap manis on the Internet. I have also tried the substitutes. But! They are not expensive and can be purchased by mail order…so if you want to feel the local taste and exoticism, I think you should buy them.
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