How to Cook Nasi Goreng

Serves: 4

Preparation time: 30 mins

Cooking time: 30 mins

Ingredients needed to make Nasi Goreng:

For the spice paste:

• ¾ oz galangal, peeled and coarsely chopped
• ½ oz fresh ginger root, peeled and roughly chopped
• ¼ oz garlic
• 1 ½ stout lemongrass stalks, outer leaves removed and core chopped
• ½ oz cashew nuts or roasted peanuts
• 2 red bird’s eye chilies, coarsely chopped
• 1 medium-hot red chili, seeded and roughly chopped
• ½ tsp sesame seeds
• Juice of half a lime
• ½ tsp shrimp paste
• ¼ nutmeg, freshly grated
• ¾ tsp black peppercorns
• 1 ½ tsp palm sugar
• ½ tsp ground turmeric
• ½ tbsp vegetable oil
• ½ tsp salt

For the stir-fried rice:

• 10 oz long grain rice
• 9 oz cooked leftover turkey, diced
• 13 oz shallots, peeled and thinly sliced
• ¾ oz garlic, peeled and finely chopped
• 3 ½ oz fine green beans, trimmed and chopped into 1’’ chunks
• 1 medium carrot, peeled and finely sliced
• 8 spring onions, trimmed and finely sliced
• 1 red bird’s eye chili, thinly sliced
• 2 medium hot red chillies, seeded and finely chopped
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp ketjap manis (available in Asian grocery stores)
• 1 tbsp tomato puree
• 18 fl oz water
• Vegetable oil, for shallow frying
• Salt to taste

Cooking instructions for Nasi Goreng:

• To make the spice paste, dump the nuts, sesame seeds, nutmeg as well as peppercorns into a spice grinder and grind them into a fine powder.
• Add rest of the ingredients for the spice paste into a food processor, and transfer the above blend into it
• Pulse them into a smooth paste and set aside.
• Pour oil in a large frying pan until it stands about 1/2’’ from the base  and heat it over moderately high flame.
• Add half of the shallots into the hot oil and stir fry until they turn crispy golden brown; drain off with a slotted spoon into a bowl lined with paper towel to soak away any excess grease.
• Toss them with a dash of salt and set aside until it is cooled slightly.
• Fill a stockpot with water and add the rice into it.
• Bring it to a boil, give it a nice stir and cover before reducing it to a simmer over slow flame.
• Continue to cook the rice likewise for about 10 minutes and pour it into a colander to drain.
• Spread the rice on a flat plate or tray and set aside to cool to room temperature.
• Drop the beans into a boiling salted water and cook for a couple of minutes or until they are just cooked.; drain and wash it under running cold water before keeping it aside.
• Drizzle 2 tbsp of oil in a wok and heat it over high flame until it gives out smokes.
• Throw in rest of the shallots, along with the chilies, garlic as well as carrots and stir fry for a couple of minutes or they soften.
• Add the spice paste and stir them well together until the veggies are well coated and pour in ketjap manis as well as tomato puree.
• Give it a nice stir to mix well and continue to stir fry them briefly for half a minute.
• Add the cooked rice, turkey cubes and the blanched green beans into the mixture and cook over high flame for 2 minutes.
• Stir in rest of the ingredients into the rice and cook until they are heated through.
• Spoon it into serving plates and top it up with crispy fried shallots.
• Serve hot.

Image credit: Wikimedia Commons

Last Updated on January 10, 2013 by