Indonesian cooking can certainly be related to the cuisines that prevail across Southeast Asia, but it (of course) has its own twist on things. We cooked Nasi Goreng – the Indonesian take on fried rice – with Edo, once in our kitchen, and once while out camping!
Indonesian cooking also features one of the most noxious ingredients we’ve ever encountered: shrimp paste. Made of fermented ground shrimp, we keep ours sealed away in its original package, wrapped in plastic, and inside a jar – and far away from any other foodstuff in our kitchen. That said, it is essential to the flavor, and there really isn’t any substitute for it. So plug your nose and get cooking!
Cook according to package directions and then cool:
225 ml rice
Peel and devein:
400 g prawns
Slice finely:
200 g rump steak
Beat together:
2 eggs
1 ml salt
Heat a frying pan and lightly brush with vegetable oil. Pour about a quarter of the egg mixture into the pan and cook it for about one to two minutes, until it sets. Flip it over and cook it on the other side for about 30 seconds. Repeat with the remaining three portions of egg and then set all aside to cool.
Put in a food processor, spice grinder (known to most people as a coffee grinder), or a mortar and pestle:
3 cloves finely chopped garlic
1 finely chopped onion
2 seeded and very finely chopped red chilies
5 ml shrimp paste
5 ml coriander seeds
2.5 ml sugar
Grind into a fine paste. Heat in a wok or deep frying pan:
15-30 ml vegetable oil
Add the paste and cook over high heat until the spices in the paste are fragrant. Add prawns and beef. Stir-fry for 2-3 minutes, or until they change color. Add:
50 ml vegetable oil
Stir in the cold rice, breaking up any lumps as they form. Add:
10 ml kecap manis (sweet soy sauce)
15 ml regular soy sauce
4 onions, finely chopped
Stir-fry for another minute. Turn out the rice into the center of a large platter. Arrange around the outside edges of the platter:
½ head of lettuce, finely shredded
Roll each of the egg portions gently and cut them into strips. Garnish the rice with them, as well as a sliced cucumber and 45 ml crisp fried onions (a common Indonesian condiment). Enjoy!