Nasi Goreng

Ingredients

• •4 cups cold cooked rice (day-old)
• •2 tbsp vegetable oil
• •1 tsp shrimp paste (terasi)
• •4 shallots
• •4 cloves garlic
• •2-4 red chilies
• •1/2 lb chicken breast or shrimp, diced
• •3 tbsp kecap manis (sweet soy sauce)
• •1 tbsp soy sauce
• •2 eggs
• •Cucumber slices, tomato wedges, fried shallots, and prawn crackers, for serving

Steps

1. 1.Blend the shallots, garlic, and chilies into a coarse bumbu paste.
2. 2.Heat the oil in a wok until very hot, add the shrimp paste, and fry for 30-60 seconds until it becomes fragrant and slightly darker - this blooming step is essential, since raw shrimp paste is sharp and pungent but transforms into something mellow and deeply savory once bloomed in hot oil.
3. 3.Add the bumbu paste and fry until fragrant and the oil separates.
4. 4.Add the chicken or shrimp and cook until just done.
5. 5.Add the cold rice, breaking up any clumps, and press it against the hot wok to let it char slightly in spots.
6. 6.Pour in the kecap manis and soy sauce in the final 30-60 seconds, tossing constantly so the sauce caramelizes against the very hot wok rather than just coating the rice - the finished rice should look dark brown, almost mahogany, not pale or golden.
7. 7.Push the rice aside, fry the eggs sunny-side up in the same wok, then serve the nasi goreng topped with a fried egg, alongside cucumber, tomato, fried shallots, and prawn crackers.