Tiger prawn nasi goreng is one of my favourite versions of this Indonesian crowd pleaser of spiced fried rice, seafood, egg, salad and pickles. This one is very quick to cook and doesn't require many specialist ingredients.
Multiple personalities
Nasi goreng has become a popular dish in many parts of the world. It's usually considered an Indonesian dish—probably because Indonesia profiled it as one of its national dishes in the Indonesian Theater Restaurant of its pavilion at the 1964 World Fair in NYC—but it is popular in much of South East Asia, particularly in Singapore and Malaysia.
Furthermore, it isn't just one dish so much as a category of dish—"nasi goreng" simply means "fried rice"—and is cooked in almost endless permutations. The version that seems to be best known outside South East Asia is the version that features prawns, chicken and eggs scrambled into the fried rice. But, I'm particularly fond of this version that uses black tiger prawns and is topped with a fried egg. However, you can use any tiger prawns, very large prawns or shrimp, as long as they are shelled and raw.
No matter which variation you choose, there are essentially four elements to any nasi goreng: rice and other vegetable ingredients, wok-fried; proteins, whether seafood, chicken, pork, beef or goat, often in combination; spices and sauce; and, salad, pickles or krupuk, again, often in various combinations.
Nasi goreng is another of those dishes that is created from leftovers and is often cooked for breakfast in Indonesia using the remnants of the previous evening's meal. This is precisely one of the reasons it has so many variations. For those who care about these things, it's thought to have its origins in Chinese fried rice dishes.
During the period that the Dutch East India Company built their swanky headquarters at Batavia—today Jakarta—thousands of Chinese merchants and traders flocked to this hub of commerce... until the Dutch capped the number of Chinese businesses allowed to set up shop. Nonetheless, it became a cultural melting pot, attracting Arab, Malay and various other ethnic populations, each with their own spin on nasi goreng while being drawn to the prospect of making a profit. So, the next time anyone tells you that their version of nasi goreng is the authentic one, smile and tell them there is no such thing.
Of course, the Dutch colonisation of Indonesia that lasted up until just after the end of WWII accounts for why nasi goreng is particularly popular in the Netherlands, the place I first really discovered it in multiple varieties in a country where practically every Dutch-Indonesian restaurant has its own version. In many ways, Indonesian cuisine is to the Dutch what Indian cuisine is to the British. It was already widely appreciated in the Netherlands and its colonies in the Caribbean by the early 19th century. For example, today it is largely considered a "local dish" in Suriname.
Kaapse misterie
However, nasi goreng is oddly absent from the "Cape Malay" cooking, which strikes me as strange given the Indonesian origins of Cape Town's Muslim communities, largely brought as slaves or servants to the "Cape of Good Hope", especially since most were of Sunni Islamic schools of thought that considered all "creatures of the sea" halal. So why was it not a Capetonian staple?
The only "clue" I've so far found useful is in a text in the British Library by an obscure Dutch-South African scholar written in Hooghollands in the 1930s. It postulates that that the relatively abundant availability of beef and mutton in the Cape colony—compared with in Indonesia in the 17th and 18th centuries—saw dishes that used these as equated with "the high life" compared with the "poor kitchen" that produced nasi goreng. And, therefore, beef and lamb dishes with their rich, spiced sauces were favoured at the tables of the burgeoning wine estates or amongst privileged households of administrators in the Castle, some of whom had spent time in Indonesia. The trickle-down effect, according to his argument, was that simpler dishes that were essential in Batavia to keep large households going were not at the Cape. I'm skeptical. But, it remains one of the few works that questions why "Cape Malay" cuisine developed how it did and that development did not feature nasi goreng prominently. But, I digress.
On the whole, nasi goreng is generally not a fiery hot dish, though there are very hot versions, such as nasi goreng rawit, made with red bird's eye chillies, or nasi goreng petir, literally "thunderbolt fried rice". I'm using a large fresh red chilli that rates about 2-out-of-5 on the "fire scale". At these quantities, I would say it is pretty mild. But, it you don't like spicy, don't add the raw chilli slices as garnish at the end.
By contrast, be careful with the amount of dried chilli flakes you use in the "quick" pickle. If you eat it a few hours after making it—which is fine to do—it will still be mild. But, if you keep it marinating for the optimum 2 days, it becomes notably spicier. Adding additional chilli flakes will make it very hot.
This recipe is for 2 to 3 adults, and is easily scaled up for larger dinning parties. But, please note, the photos actually show quantities that are disproportionate to the recipe quantities.
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Shopping list
for the tiger prawn nasi goreng
Approx. 250g black tiger prawns, raw, shelled and cut in half
1 egg per diner
Approx. 1½ cups white basmati rice, boiled, and drained
2 medium red onions (or brown), chopped
3 cloves of garlic, very finely diced (or minced)
2 large red chillies, deseeded and sliced
Approx.100g roasted peanuts, chopped or roughly broken
1 tbspn soy sauce
2 tbspns kecap manis
1 tspn fish sauce (or Worcestershire sauce)
Approx. 1½ tbspns peanut oil (or sunflower oil)
1tspn sesame oil (optional)
salt and pepper to taste (optional)
for the "quick" pickle
1 large carrot, peeled and cut into very thin slices
1 tbspn fine white salt (not rock salt)
1 tbspn white sugar
Approx. ½ cup clear distilled malt vinegar
¼ tspn finely crushed dried red chilli flakes
A thumbs length of root ginger (or galangal), peeled and finely grated
The juice and pulp of 1 fresh lime
3 spring onions, sliced
5 or 6 green beans, chopped
pepper to taste
for the salad accompaniments
fresh tomatoes, cut into wedges
fresh cucumber, cut into thick slices or wedges
krupuk or "prawn crackers" (optional)
Sliced shallots, fried until crispy and cooled, used as a garnish (optional)
Cooking Method
the tiger prawn nasi goreng
Boil and drain the rice and flake the grains apart using a fork. When fully cooled, transfer to a sealable container and store in the fridge. Make your "quick" pickles (see below) and store in the fridge. Ideally do this 2 days before cooking, but at least the day before you make the nasi goreng
Prepare all of you ingredients in advance before cooking, including cutting the tomatoes and cucumber. This dish cooks very quickly in the wok and you won't have time to do it once you start cooking.
Heat about 1tspn peanut oil and 1tspn sesame oil in a wok on a high heat. When hot, add the tiger prawns, stirring constantly—or tossing the wok. As soon as they turn pink, remove with a sieve spoon, leaving any juices and oil in the wok. Place to one side
Add the remainder of the oil to the wok, "swilling" it so that it coats the sides as it heats. Add the chopped onion and half of the red chillies and stir constantly as it cooks on a high heat, adding the garlic once onions release juices. When the onions and chillies are softened, but still al dente—this will take no more than a couple of minutes—add the rice and stir vigorously, ensuring it is all fully sealed in the juices and oil
After 2 or 3 mins, add the soy sauce and stir in. As soon as it is absorbed, add the kecap manis, season with a little pepper and, keep stirring—or tossing the wok—until the rice is piping hot and has absorbed the sauces. NB: I never add salt to this dish because soy is effectively "Asia's salt".
The rice won't go crispy (unless you do something wrong) but as soon as you can taste that the grains have "fluffed up" and fully absorbed the sauce flavours, add the tiger prawns back into the wok and the fish sauce. Stir until all ingredients are piping hot. This should not take more than 1 or 2mins if your wok is as hot as it should be
Add the crushed peanuts and a dash more soy sauce and stir in. As soon as the peanuts are mixed in, remove from the heat—they will heated by the other ingredients. Cover and allow to rest while you fry the eggs and add the salad and pickle to plates
Plate the nasi goreng, topping each plate with a fried egg. Garnish with raw chilli slices and take to table with krupuk
the "quick" pickle
Do this at least five hours in advance though two or three days before is best. In a fairly deep bowl, sprinkle the carrot slices and chopped green beans with salt. Using clean fingers, mix the salt in so that all facets of the vegetables are salted. Cover and allow to rest for at least an hour, but no more than two
Thoroughly rinse off the salt by filling the bowl with cold water and pouring off. Repeat this at least three times then drain the vegetables in a sieve or colander, first run under cold water
While the salted vegetables are draining, dissolve the sugar in the vinegar and lime juice in a cup or small bowl using a whisk
Decant the salted carrot slices and beans to a sealable dish. Fold in the grated ginger and chopped spring onion. Season with a little black pepper and the chilli flakes. Then pour in the "pickling" liquid and stir gently but thoroughly with a fork, ensuring that all ingredients are coated. NB: if the liquid is insufficient to cover the ingredients, add additional lime juice and vinegar. Seal and store in the fridge for up to 72 hours. You can stir it every 5 or 6 hours—just for fun—but it's not necessary
When your nasi goreng is ready, lift the required quantities out of the liquid with tongs and plate
Alternatives
This dish is by default pescatarian. But, as I made clear in my smug treatise above, it really is what you make it. My favourite vegan version—and, yes, I often do the vegan version because I love mushrooms so much—is to use finely chopped smoked tofu and enoki mushrooms (or any mushrooms really) and mushroom ketchup in lieu of fish sauce and not add the egg. Lacto-vegetarians can obviously add the egg.
The combination of chicken and prawns is one of the best known versions of this for carnivores. But if you want to go the full hog—or kid—why not try the Jakarta-style version with goat? Like I said, this one really is a moveable feast.
Pairings
This version is great with white wines that can deal with the rich spiced flavours but also the raw freshness of the salad and pickles. Of course, I default to my beloved South African chenin blancs. But, it's also excellent with a chilled riesling, sauvignon blanc or Portuguese Douro wines. The main thing that you're looking for is a white that is ballsy enough to deal with the spices. However, ultimately this is almost a "comfort food"; the spices far less complex than in many Indian or Chinese dishes. So you really do want a wine that has a certain direct simplicity
I'm not a big beer drinker, but I often serve it with the well known Indonesian Bintang beer, a pretty straightforward pilsner, though my personal advice is go for the wonderful Bintang Radler, a low-alcohol "shandy" will a big kick of lemon juice.
Most often, I end up having it with a kalkschorle, a simple combination of lime juice and chilled soda water, which is a perfect match.
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