Nasi Goreng Gila

- CRAZY Fried Rice -

Fried rice, or Nasi Goreng, is probably the most well-known Indonesian dish in North America - or at least in my family. It is a delicious mixture of rice, scrambled eggs, sweet soy sauce, and almost any mixture of meat, veggies, seafood, or whatever the cook of the day has decided to load it up with.

I remember fried rice was a staple at my house growing up (in Canada). My mom loved it. I had always known, or assumed, it was an Asian dish of some sort, but only once I had already moved to Indonesia did I realize that it was a famously Indonesian dish, the National Dish of the archipelago.

When my parents came to visit me last summer, I was reminded again of my mom's love of Nasi Goreng, as she ordered it for at least half of her meals here. And I finally realized that perhaps my mom had developed her love of Nasi Goreng on a long-ago trip to Bali, the year we lived in Singapore as kids.

In Indonesia there are many types of Nasi Goreng. Nasi Goreng Ayam (chicken), Nasi Goreng Seafood (with shrimp and other seafood), Nasi Goreng Kambing (with goat meat), and finally Nasi Goreng Gila, which translated means Crazy Fried Rice, and is specifically fried rice with a whole bunch of meatballs, and Indonesian "sausages" - I make the distinction here, because Indonesian sausages are closer to hot dogs than to other sausages. (Thank you, Indonesia...)

Nasi Goreng Gila is a wonderfully fun example of Indonesian fast food or street cuisine. Like much Indonesian food, it is a combination of fresh, exotic spices - fresh chilis, garlic, and shallots, but to make it fun (a.k.a. crazy), they add loads of meatballs and these hot-dog sausages.

This morning, after over a month of take out, more take out, eating out, and a lot of birthday cake, I wanted to cook again. However, the grocery store was not yet open, and I wasn't enthusiastic about going anywhere too far for groceries. So, I found myself at the corner store under my building, buying "sausages" and meatballs (bakso), and deciding to make NASI GORENG GILA.

While it may not have been the homestyle, healthy home cooked meal that one longs for after hardly having cooked in over a month, it was pretty tasty. The recipe that follows can be adapted into a recipe for any other type of Nasi Goreng - just switch out the meatballs and sausages for some other mix-ins.

- Nasi Goreng Gila -

Ingredients:

• 1 cup of rice, cooked and cooled (measure when dry)
• 3-6 tbsp oil for stir-frying
• 6 shallots, or half of a small onion
• 3-4 cloves of garlic
• 1 tbsp coriander, ground up
• 5 long, mild Indonesian chilis (cabe merah)*
• 4 spicy orange chilis (cabe rawit merah)*
• 1 inch cube palm sugar ("gula merah" brown sugar, sold in the shape of hockey pucks), optional
• 1 cube chicken boullion
• some combination of oh-so-many meatballs and chicken hot dogs, boiled until cooked through and hot. (Indonesian meatballs use meat that is very finely ground, and are held together with tapioca flour)
• 2 eggs
• salt and white pepper, to taste
• 2-4 tbsp Indonesian sweet soy sauce (Kecap Manis. Available in Asian grocery stores)
• 2 tbsp light soy sauce
• Shrimp crackers, or sliced cucumbers to serve with; optional

*If in Canada, or in someplace with limited chili selection, you can just use 1-5 spicy red Thai chilis (adjust amount depending on taste)

Directions:

1. Get the spices ready. If you have a mortar and pestle, crush the shallots, garlic, coriander, chilis, palm sugar, and chicken boullion together to a paste. If you don't have one, just chop the spices finely.
2. Heat the oil in the frying pan and toast the spices until soft. Add the meatballs and sausages and fry until slightly toasted.
3. Add the eggs, and scramble around the meatballs.
4. Add the rice, and stir fry (adding more oil, if necessary). 
5. Season with sweet and salty soy sauces, and salt and pepper, to taste
6. Serve in generous portions. If you have shrimp crackers or cucumber on hand, serve them alongside (optional). 

P.S. In Indonesia, any type of fried rice can be eaten at ANY TIME OF DAY. This makes it somehow a breakfast food (good use for leftover rice), and also somehow very much a late night food (Nasi Goreng street food stalls are what you will see open all over cities all day, and even at 1:00, 2:00, 3:00 in the morning.) It is really a 24-hour food here in Indonesia.