Early in lockdown I went to the mahussive Asian supermarket near me, Wing Yip, and was surprised to find everything fully stocked and no one in there. This was when chicken breasts and thighs were hard to come by. You could get enough chicken to feed all of Joe Exotic's big cats at Wing Yip, and then some.
I wondered whether this was a sign of COVID-induced racism. I heard horrible stories about Chinese restaurants closing down in Sydney because people were afraid to eat there. I mean, really? How stupid are the general public? A Chinese Australian is just as likely to spread the virus as any other Australian, no more, no less. It’s about contact. But you know all that...
Anyway, I didn’t buy any chicken, cause I didn’t need 10 kilos, but I did stock up on all sorts of delicious condiments and sauces to get my Asian cook on.
One thing I had been wanting to make for ages was nasi goreng, but the two key ingredients aren’t always easy to come by in London: ketjap manis (Indonesian sweet soy sauce) and properly stinky shrimp paste. Yes, really. The version you can get in Tesco or Sainsbury's isn’t quite right. It's been dulled down for Western palates. I don't understand this – if you are buying shrimp paste it is surely because you have eaten good Asian food and want to make something similar. When I found properly stinky shrimp paste it transformed my dishes. They tasted like the real deal. If you don't have an Asian store near you, then you can order a decent one online; this is the one that I found at Wing Yip and I'd recommend it.
As for ketjap manis, you can sometimes find it in big supermarkets, but if not you can make your own at home by adding brown sugar to regular soy sauce.
The other absolute essential for good nasi goreng is day old rice. This is absolutely non-negotiable. You cannot use rice that has just been cooked or you will end up with something more like an Asian risotto – yuk. This is a fried rice dish, so you want your rice to be dry when it hits the oil. If you really must rush things, then cook it in the morning and leave it out on the bench uncovered to dry for the evening.
I also like to serve my nasi goreng with sambal oelek, an Indonesian chilli paste. I am in love with the Lucullus brand and find myself making dishes just cause they might go well with it. It is casually slipping into more and more of my meals.
Right, that’s enough preaching, on with the recipe. It's a good one for lockdown cause you can double it or triple it to feed more mouths or to ensure plenty of leftovers.
Serves two greedy people generously.
Ingredients
2 tbsp vegetable or peanut oil
1 small brown onion, finely diced
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 red chilli, or to taste, finely chopped
200g chicken breast, sliced into small strips
125g raw prawns, peeled
2-3 tsp shrimp paste, or to taste
2 tbsp ketjap manis, or to taste
200g basmati rice, cooked the day before
2 eggs, plus oil for frying (optional)
To garnish
2 spring onions, cut into thin rounds
Fried shallots (optional)
Few sprigs coriander
Sliced cucumber (optional)
Sliced tomato (optional)
Sambal Oelek
Method
Heat 2 tbsp oil over a low-medium heat in a large wok. Add the onion and garlic and fry gently until golden, stirring regularly.
Turn the heat up to medium-hot and add the chicken breast. Fry until browned on all sides, then add the prawns. Stir regularly, until the prawns are just starting to turn pink on all sides (but not starting to curl in and tighten).
Mix the shrimp paste into the ketjap manis, making sure it is all broken up so you don’t get lumps of it in the rice. Add to the wok and stir to coat everything.
Add the rice to the wok and fry until warm through and the sauce is evenly distributed across it. Add extra ketjap manis, if required or to taste. Remove from the heat when it is ready.
Heat some oil in a small frying pan and fry your eggs until golden and crispy on the bottom and with a runny yolk. Or poach the eggs, if preferred.
To garnish
Serve the nasi goreng with the fried egg on top, sprinkle the spring onions over and fried shallots, if using. Then add a few sprigs of coriander for garnish.
If serving with sliced cucumber and tomato, put on the side, along with a blob of sambal oelek.
