My Mother's Nasi Goreng
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 15 minutes
Makes four serves
- Oil for frying
- 200g/7ozs chicken breast, sliced thinly and cut into small pieces
- 100g/3.5ozs shelled prawns/shrimp, chopped into small pieces
- 1/2 teaspoon salt plus more to season
- 1/2 teaspoon palm or regular sugar
- 1.5 tablespoons cornstarch
- 4 eggs
- 1 cup finely chopped onion or golden shallots
- 2 stalks lemongrass, thinly sliced
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped garlic
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped ginger
- 40g/1.41ozs. preserved shrimp reconstituted in hot water for 10 minutes, then drained
- 8 cups cold long grain rice (cooked from the day before, my dad cooked the wrong rice, oops! You want longer grain)
- 4-6 tablespoons kecap manis
- 1-2 large red chillies, thinly sliced
- Finely sliced green onions to serve
- 1/2 cucumber, sliced diagonally
*Preserved shrimp adds a distinctive seafood taste to this dish. It can be found at Indonesian grocery stores.
Step 1 - Season the chicken and prawns by mixing both with the 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon sugar and 1.5 tablespoons cornstarch and mix until coated all over. Set aside. Heat the oil in the wok or frypan and cook the eggs sunny side up. Set aside.
Step 2 - Heat more oil and on medium to high heat fry the chicken and prawn mixture. Remove from the pan and put aside.
Step 3 - Add the onion, lemongrass, garlic and ginger and stir until fragrant. Add the rice breaking up any lumps. Drizzle the kecap manis on top to ensure an even distribution. Add more oil if necessary. Once the colour is consistent, return the chicken and prawn mixture to the wok and add some salt to taste. Add red chillies and green onions. Serve with the slices of cucumber on the side and the egg on top.