Nasi Goreng, The Food of Cultures

Nasi goreng or ‘fried rice’ in English, is actually simply fried pre-cooked rice, a meal consists of fried rice with other items, generally spiced with tamarind and chilli and including other ingredients, particularly egg and prawns.

The main ingredients for nasi goreng include pre-cooked rice, shallot, garlic, soy sauce and some spring onions for garnishing. Many Indonesians, Malaysians, and Singaporeans eat it for breakfast, using using leftover pre-cooked rice from the previous day’s dinner, although, nasi goreng can be eaten at any time of day. The rice used for nasi goreng is cooked ahead of time and left to cool it down (so it is not soggy), which is one reason to use rice cooked from the day before.

The “standard” version of nasi goreng is a complete meal in itself, including egg and prawns, spiced with chilli, tamarind, and coriander. Nasi goreng can also be found in some western countries, such as in Chinese and Indian, but with local adaptation (i.e: by adding curry spice).

Fried rice in Indonesia and in other countries can have their own variations depending on the area of origin and ingredients or materials used. These variations are influenced by food ingredients commonly used by local people, ethnic or even foreign cultural influences from migrant. Several variations of the famous fried rice in Indonesia:

• Nasi goreng ikan asin: Using ikan asin(salty fish), one of the famous variations in Indonesia
• Nasi goreng kambing(goat): Using goat‘s flesh for the typical flavor.
• Nasi goreng pattaya (from Thailand): The fried is wrapped with omelet
• Many more

The many variations of Nasi Goreng which can be found in this country is an expression of creativity of the people of Indonesia in preparing culinary creations with different types of flavor and taste. Never tried one? You should be visiting Indonesia…

Nasi Goreng Fried Rice