Nasi Goreng might sound exotic, but foodies this is one of THE BEST dishes for using up all those random odds and ends lurking in the depths of your fridge - especially if you have some leftover cold rice too. The secret weapon here is kecap manis, it's a wonderfully sweet and savoury Indonesian soy sauce that tastes amazing, it's the perfect seasoning for the rice and brings all the flavours together perfectly. Nasi goreng just translates as 'fried rice' and it's right up there in the World's greatest comfort foods. This is probably not the most classic nasi goreng recipe, but it's delicious and so simple to make.

A spicy kick will make your nasi goreng sing and Indonesia is famous for their sambals - a paste made with a combination of fresh and dried chillies plus a variety of other ingredients including garlic, shrimp, palm sugar, lime, shallots, anchovies.

A squeeze of lime juice and some fresh coriander will balance out the rich kecap manis and the spicy sambal, so it's good to have a little of those to hand too. Other than that and as far as I'm concerned, most things will go. In this recipe I found a few lonely mushrooms along with a red pepper, a courgette, half a bunch of spring onions, the end of a cucumber and a couple of handfuls of kale. You may have some roast chicken left on the carcass, a bag of unloved prawns, some French beans, cabbage, an aubergine, peas in the freezer, all of these would be great to throw in.

The secret to any successful stir-fried rice dish is to use cold rice, if it's been left in the fridge overnight, even better. But to avoid making a sticky mess in the pan, cook your rice first, chill it down quickly under a cold tap and leave it in the fridge for 20 minutes before you use it. I use basmati rice, but you can use jasmine rice if you prefer.

Prep time: Light
Washing up: 3 pans
Allergens: Gluten, Soy, Egg, 

Ingredients for Indonesian Nasi Goreng
Serves 4 people

275g Dr Nature Basmati Rice
600ml Water
1tsp Salt
1 Red Onion, finely diced
4-5 Mushrooms, cut into quarters
1 Red Pepper, deseeded and diced
1 Courgette, diced into 1cm cubes
2-3 Handfuls of Kale, stalks removed
½ Cucumber, deseeded and sliced
4 Spring Onions, finely sliced
1 Lime, quartered
½ Bunch Fresh Coriander, roughly chopped
4 Cloves of Garlic, peeled, crushed and finely diced
2 Eggs, lightly beaten
4 Eggs, fried as a topping at the end
4tbsps Kecap Manis
1tbsp Light Soy Sauce
1tbsp Sambal Shrimp (plus extra for those that want more heat)
6tbsp Fussels Cold Pressed Rapeseed Oil

1. Start by cooking the rice. I use our Dr Nature basmati rice as it's so good, it never sticks and is so simple to cook. Wash the rice first under cold running water and then leave it to soak for 10 minutes, whilst you boil the water in a small pan. I did weigh out the ingredients for this recipe but generally I don't, I normally use 1 builders mug of rice to 2 builders mugs of water and a pinch of salt....works brilliantly every time! Once the water is boiling, add a pinch of salt, drain the rice from the soaking water and add that in too. Give it a quick stir and place a lid on. Cook steadily for 10 minutes, all the water will be absorbed by the rice leaving you with long, fluffy grains in the pan.

2. Tip the rice into a sieve and cool it down under cold running water. Cooling the rice properly is really critical to the success of this dish, so don't skimp on this part of the recipe! It's best to leave it in the fridge whilst you prep the other ingredients.

3. In your first pan, gently fry the onions with the red pepper for 3 or 4 minutes in 2 tablespoons of rapeseed oil. Then throw in the mushrooms and the kale, continue to cook for another 2 or 3 minutes and then add the courgettes and cook until they have softened. Turn off the heat and set to one side.

4. In a large frying pan or paella pan, heat 2 more tablespoons of oil and fry the garlic for 20 seconds. You make the garlic to release it's wonderful fragrance but be careful not to burn it. Now tip in the beaten egg and leave to cook for a few moments until the egg is half set, before breaking it up with a spatula.

5. Add in the sambal paste and fry for a few seconds before adding in the cold rice. Mix everything together whilst frying the rice, then add in the soy sauce, and kecap manis. Keep frying the rice whilst amalgamating the liquids for a minute or so.

6. Now tip in your cooked vegetables and continue to stir through. Put the pan you used for the vegetables back in the heat to fry the eggs, I like the whites to be slightly crisp around the edges.

7. Once the rice is hot, spoon it into bowls, scatter over the spring onions, the fresh coriander, squeeze over some lime juice and top with the fried egg. Serve each bowl with some crunchy cucumber and add extra sambal paste if you like it hotter.

Enjoy! Foodies don't forget to share and tag us on your social posts and review this recipe when you make this. Cheers! Ben.

 

Have you tried this recipe yet? Tell us about it...

Comments will be approved before showing up.

Name *

Email *

Comment *

---

Also in Somerset Foodie recipes - let us inspire you...