Delicious, savoury fried rice with a crispy fried egg and fresh vegetables. This quick and easy nasi goreng is made with simple ingredients and it's a delicious main ready in 30 minutes! Great for the family and this is better-than-takeout.
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What is Nasi Goreng?
Nasi Goreng is an Indonesian fried rice stir fried with sweet soy sauce, tamarind concentrate, tomato paste, fish sauce, sugar, sesame oil with protein and aromatics.
It's typically served with a fried egg, crispy shallots, fresh tomatoes and cucumbers with sambal oelek (a garlic chili sauce) for a spicy kick!
Nasi Goreng is popular dish in South East Asia and is beloved among many locals for it's tangy, savory and spicy flavors!
I love making this dish as it brings me back to my travels to that region. The best part is that this dish is made in one pan and it's packed with flavor!
Ingredients & Substitutes
Please scroll down to recipe card for full measurements.
- Cold day-old rice: I recommend using leftover white rice like jasmine rice or a long grain white rice as this is the key to making a fluffy fried rice. Avoid using hot rice.
- Spam or ham: or substitute with sliced or ground chicken, beef or pork
- Neutral oil: like avocado oil, sunflower oil, grapeseed oil, peanut oil, vegetable oil or canola oil with a high smoke point. Avoid olive oil that has a low smoke point.
- Shallots: avoid substituting with onions as they won't get crispy enough
- Garlic
- Eggs
Stir Fry Sauce
- Sesame oil
- Brown sugar, cane sugar, or palm sugar: to balance out the salty flavors
- Dark soy sauce: this is thicker and darker than regular soy sauce. But if you don’t have this, substitute with regular soy sauce.
- Kecap Manis (aka Sweet Soy Sauce): a dark, thick, sweet soy sauce used in Indonesian cooking. If you don't have this ingredient, replace with dark soy sauce and mix in 2 teaspoon sugar.
- Fish sauce: a common ingredient used in Southeast Asian cooking made of fish oils and salt that lends a very deep umami flavor!
- Tomato paste
- Tamarind pulp mixed with hot water: to make our homemade tamarind concentrate.
Optional Toppings
- Fresh Cucumber Slices
- Tomato wedges
- Red chillis
- Green onions
- Lime juice
- Peanuts
- Sambal Oelek: a flavorful spicy garlic chili paste used in Southeast Asian cuisine. I share a recipe for Sambal Oelek here.
Can I use same day cooked rice?
You may use same day warm cooked rice but it will create clumpy fried rice due to the excess moisture.
To fix this: Spread out the hot rice in a thin layer on a large baking sheet. Place it in the freezer for 45-60 minutes fully exposed. Then break up the rice with a rice paddle or clean hands moistened with neutral oil to prevent it from sticking.
Note: Your Asian grocery store will carry most of the Asian specific ingredients.
Expert Tips
- Use day old cold rice for fluffy fried rice grains! Avoid using hot rice or it'll turn clumpy in the pan.
- Break up the cold rice in the pan or before you cook with a rice paddle. This exposes the grains allowing them to toast better in the pan.
- Use fresh vegetables for the toppings.
- Prepare all your ingredients in advance as the cooking process is fast!
- For that smoky flavor, use a steel wok! The hot oil and wok create a smoke that flavors your food which is often found in most takeout dishes.
- Once the rice is combined with the sauce, remove off heat to prevent sticky fried rice.
- Fry the egg in a clean pan. This prevents the fried egg from sticking to any leftover rice that may be stuck to the pan.
Instructions
Below are step-by-step instructions on how to make nasi goreng:
Make Tamarind Liquid & Stir Fry Sauce
In a small bowl, mix tamarind paste and 2 tablespoon hot boiling water. Mash the paste up until it becomes a thick liquid. Remove and discard the pulp by running it through a fine sieve reserving the concentrate you created. Set aside.
In another small bowl, combine stir-fry sauce ingredients as listed and add the tamarind concentrate. Set aside.
Fry Crispy Shallots & Protein
To make the crispy shallots: In large pan on low-medium heat, add only 2 tablespoon of vegetable oil. Heat oil and then toss in one sliced shallot. Fry until they become browned and crispy on both sides. Remove with a slotted spoon and transfer to a small bowl leaving the remaining oil in the pan.
Raise heat to medium high heat and add in the remaining shallot, spam and garlic. Stir fry for about 3 minutes until spam is slightly browned.
Toss in Rice with Sauce
Add in day-old cooked rice and break apart. Stir fry for 1-2 minutes until it begins to steam.
Add sauce and stir fry together. Once rice is thoroughly covered in sauce, immediately remove and transfer to a serving plate. Do not overcook. Keep warm by covering it.
Fry Crispy Egg & Serve
Clean wok or pan. On medium-high heat, add remaining vegetable oil. Crack first egg into a bowl and slide the egg into the hot oil to shallow fry until you get crispy edges. The egg yolk should be runny. Repeat this process for remaining eggs. Transfer over fried rice.
Serve fried rice with sliced cucumbers, tomatoes, red chili, green onion, fried shallots and limes. Enjoy!
Storage
- Leftovers will last up to 4 days stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator. To reheat: microwave for 2-3 minutes until hot or reheat in a pan on medium heat.
- Freezer friendly? I don't recommend freezing this fried rice as the rice will turn hard since it's got a bit more sauce to it.
Pairing Suggestions
Nasi goreng serves well with:
- starters like egg rolls
- other noodle dishes like Mee Goreng or Bami Goreng
- cooked vegetables like bok choy, spicy garlic bok choy, choy sum, gai lan, garlic green beans or stir fried snow pea leaves.
FAQ
This can be made in advance and stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. To enjoy, reheat it in the microwave or in a pan on the stovetop on medium heat.
No, a large pan will work too! But if you want that smoky taste that you'll find in most Asian takeout, use a steel wok. When the oil hits the hot steel, it creates a smoke in the air that envelops the food making it taste smoky.
This is due to various reasons and they can include:
- using fresh hot rice or warm rice and not using day-old cold rice
- forgetting to break up the grains
- not using a high enough heat setting
- not stir frying the rice enough
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📖 Recipe
Quick & Easy Nasi Goreng
Ingredients
Fried Rice
- 500 grams cooked jasmine rice day old
- 170 grams spam diced (or sub with ham, chicken, beef or pork)
- 3 large eggs
- 1 shallot finely sliced
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 3-5 tablespoon vegetable oil or any neutral oil
Stir Fry Sauce:
- 2 tablespoon Kecap Manis (aka sweet soy sauce)
- 1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
- 2 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 2 teaspoon brown sugar or cane sugar/palm sugar
- 1 teaspoon fish sauce
- 11 grams tamarind pulp
Toppings:
- 1 shallot thinly sliced for crispy shallots
- 1 cucumber sliced
- 2 tomatoes sliced into wedges
- 1 red chili pepper sliced
- 2 green onions finely sliced
- 1 lime sliced into quarters
Instructions
- In a small bowl, mix tamarind paste and 2 tablespoon hot boiling water. Mash the paste up until it becomes a thick liquid. Remove and discard the pulp by running it through a fine sieve reserving the concentrate you created.
- In another small bowl, combine stir-fry sauce ingredients as listed and add the tamarind concentrate. Set aside.
- To make the crispy shallots: In a large pan on low-medium heat, add only 2 tablespoon of vegetable oil. Heat oil and then toss in one sliced shallot. Fry until they become browned and crispy on both sides. Remove with a slotted spoon and transfer to a small bowl leaving the remaining oil in the pan.
- Raise heat to medium high heat and add in the remaining shallot, spam and garlic. Stir fry for about 3 minutes until spam is slightly browned.
- Add in day-old cooked rice and break apart. Stir fry for 1-2 minutes until it begins to steam.
- Pour in sauce and give it a good stir fry. Once rice is thoroughly covered in sauce, immediately remove and transfer to a serving plate. Do not overcook. Keep warm by covering it.
- Clean out the pan. On medium-high heat, add remaining vegetable oil. Crack first egg into a bowl and slide the egg into the hot oil to shallow fry until you get crispy edges. The egg yolk should be runny. Repeat this process for remaining eggs. Transfer over fried rice.
- Serve fried rice with sliced cucumbers, tomatoes, red chili, green onion, crispy shallots and limes. Enjoy!
Heidi | The Frugal Girls
That beautiful fried egg on top and those fresh veggies make this dish so irresistible... and that was such a smart tip to use day old cold rice!
Michelle | Sift & Simmer
Mmm spam makes everything taste better! Looks delish Christie!