My special Nasi Goreng is very easy to make and contains Petai (Parkia Speciosa) which is a kind of a bean. The shape looks like an almond. Petai is usually sold frozen in bags. Petai adds a unique smell and taste to a dish. Let’s be frank, I call it the tasty stinky bean. Not only does petai please the palate it supposedly also enhances your mood. According to a study carried out by MIND amongst individuals struggling with depressive disorder, numerous felt better after consuming petai. Petai contains tryptophan, a kind of protein which the body changes into serotonin, recognized to cause you to relax and usually cause you to feel more comfortable. That’s why I renamed this dish: Happy Nasi Goreng! Enjoy!
So let’s have a go at Happy Nasi Goreng
INGREDIENTS
5 tbs vegetable oil
3 tbs kecap manis (sweet soy sauce)
16 petai beans, sliced in four pieces
3.5 cups cooked rice, cold (previous day) 3 tomatoes, sliced
2 cabbage leave, shredded
fried onions (bawang goreng)
fried emping
SPICE PASTE
6 shallots
4 cloves of garlic 5 red chillies 1tsp terasi
6 petai beans salt to taste
DIRECTIONS
Pound or grind the spices into a paste. Heat the oil in a wok. Fry the spice-paste until fragrant. Add the sweet soy sauce and the petai. Stir-fry until well-blended. Add the rice and continue stirring until everything is well-blended and heated. Remove from heat. Serve with following garnish: sliced tomatoes, shredded cabage and friend emping around the rice. Sprinkle fried onions over the rice.
I like my nasi goreng best stir fried long enough until it gets this light crispy textured coating. For that you need rice that had time to dry – leftovers refrigerated overnight. My advise is not to use freshly cooked rice as it will not fry up right – it will be too moist and soft.
Read more in this article about my love for nasi goreng!
©2016 Jeff Keasberry
