Nasi Goreng – basically Indonesian fried rice – is a really delicious dish which isn’t as popular as I think it should be. It’s easy to make and seriously tasty. This is my take – a vegetarian Nasi Goreng. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!
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There are certain things that make a Nasi Goreng. One of those is kecap manis – a sweet soy sauce. Now, unfortunately my local supermarkets have not quite reached the multicultural 21st century and did not have any – nor did I have time to jump online – so I have made this with sugar in the spice paste and a little normal soy sauce. If you have kecap manis, omit the sugar from the spice paste and use it in place of the soy. If you don’t have it, well – here’s the recipe for you!
Nasi Goreng is traditionally served with a fried egg on top. Cook it simply and let that runny egg drip into the rice – yum!
This is a vegetarian version – Nasi Goreng often has meat or fish and dried shrimp. I’ve left those out to make it deliciously meat free.
Vegetarian Nasi Goreng – The Ingredients
- Peanuts – add a delicious nutty taste to the spice paste.
- Shallot – I used banana shallot but you can use any type.
- Garlic – use as much as you like! Six large cloves gave this a whack of flavour.
- Ginger – fresh ginger adds a hint of spice.
- Red chilli – you can make this as spicy or as mild as you like. I used one red chilli to add just a little warmth (my chillies were quite mild). Leave out if you don’t want that chilli hum.
- Turmeric – ground turmeric gives this dish colour and warmth.
- Nutmeg – ground nutmeg is an incredible flavour in this dish – it runs underneath everything and lifts it up. Delicious!
- Palm sugar – to add sweetness. As mentioned above, omit this if you are using kecap manis.
- Olive oil – to bind the spice paste.
- Cooked rice – as with any other fried rice recipe, this is made with cooked rice. You could use those packets of cooked white rice from the supermarket. Any white rice will do.
- Carrot – one large carrot is all you need.
- Mushrooms – chestnut mushrooms add a nice bit of texture to this nasi goreng.
- Peas – frozen peas are an awesome staple to have in the freezer and bring sweetness to this dish.
- Eggs – perfectly fried eggs with a runny yolk make this nasi goreng so delicious! Use fresh eggs!
- Prawn crackers – a big handful of prawn crackers to scoop up that rice are a necessity. Make sure your prawn crackers are vegetarian friendly (lots are).
Cooking the Recipe
This is a simple recipe to cook for your dinner. Here are some tips to make it a success:
- Be careful not to overcook the spice paste. Nobody likes the taste of burnt garlic! If it starts cooking too fiercely, just turn the heat down.
- The peas only need a few minutes of cooking time. Put them in right at the end to make sure they keep their texture.
- Frying the egg – put your oil in a nonstick frying pan on a medium-high heat and leave for a minute. Crack your egg in, and leave for two minutes, letting it crisp and bubble up. Then turn the heat down really low and put a lid over the frying pan (it doesn’t need to fit fully). Leave for 3-4 more minutes and you’ll get the most perfectly runny yolk with a fully cooked white.
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Vegetarian Nasi Goreng
Save This RecipeIngredients
Spice paste
- 25 g peanuts
- 1 banana shallot
- 6 cloves garlic
- 25 g ginger
- 1 red chilli
- 1/2 tsp ground turmeric
- 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 tsp palm sugar
- 2 tbsp olive oil
Rice
- 500 g cooked rice
- 1 tsp tomato puree
- 1 carrot
- 150 g chestnut mushrooms
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 150 g frozen peas
- 4 eggs
- Prawn crackers to serve
Instructions
- Put all of the ingredients for the paste (after peeling the ginger, garlic and shallot) into a food processor and whiz until they make a smoothish paste.
- Put the paste into a large pan and heat for 30 seconds, until it becomes fragrant.
- Add the cooked rice, tomato puree, sliced carrot, chopped mushrooms and soy sauce. Fry for 5 minutes, stirring often, then add 100ml water.
- Put a lid on the pan and cook on a low heat for 10 minutes.
- Add the peas to the rice and heat through.
- Fry the eggs in a separate pan (see tips above). Season each egg with salt and pepper.
- To serve, top a generous portion of the rice with the shallots and a fried egg, and serve with the prawn crackers on the side.
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