Nasi Goreng Chicken excerpted from Bibimbap: and other Asian-inspired rice & noodle bowl recipes by Louise Pickford. Photography by Ian Wallace.
Rice and noodles are at the very heart of Asian cooking, providing the building blocks to what is a varied, healthy, and fascinating cuisine. They are mostly served as one-pot dishes in soups, salads, and stir-fries and provide the carbohydrate element alongside fresh vegetables, herbs, meat, and fish, balancing the nutritional benefits of each dish. Bibimbap itself is a Korean rice dish consisting of rice, topped with a variety of seasoned and sautéed vegetables, plus kimchi and a gochujang sauce. It is also often served with a fried egg on top to finish. The perfect all-rounder delicious meal in one bowl.
“Bibim” means “mixing” and “bap” means “cooked rice,” but this Asian-influenced dish is just the start. It is such a versatile idea and can be used as a basis for all manner of other one-bowl rice and noodle dishes. Begin with the basics of putting a one-bowl rice or noodle dish together and what flavours and ingredients go together well, then move on to trying endless combinations. Discover dishes such as Chilled Soba Noodles with Dipping Sauce, Wild Garlic Miso Pork Stir-fry, or BBQ Pork Noodle Bowls, and not forgetting Chicken Noodle Soup or a Spicy Noodle Seafood Broth.
Use the recipes in this book as a starting point on an Asian-inspired rice and noodle journey and create your perfect meal in one bowl.
Nasi Goreng Chicken
Nasi goreng is a classic Indonesian rice dish that can be made with chicken or beef, or as a vegetable dish. It is most commonly served for breakfast in Indonesia, but is equally good as a lunch or supper dish.
2–3 tablespoons vegetable oil, plus extra for shallow frying
500 g/1 lb. 2 oz. skinless boneless chicken thighs, thinly sliced
250 g/9 oz. small raw prawns/ shrimp, peeled and deveined
800 g/1¾ lb. cooked long-grain rice, cooled and chilled
2 tablespoons light soy sauce
1 tablespoon ketjap manis
4 eggs
chilli/chili sauce, to serve
RED CHILLI PASTE
4 large red chillies/chiles, sliced
2 teaspoons shrimp paste
2 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
4 shallots, thinly sliced
GARNISH
sliced tomatoes
sliced cucumber
crispy onion flakes coriander/cilantro leaves
Serves 4
Make the chilli paste. Place the ingredients in a pestle and mortar and grind to make a fairly smooth paste. This can also be done in a small blender.
Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a wok or large frying pan/skillet, and fry the spice paste over a medium heat for 1– 2 minutes until softened and aromatic. Add the sliced chicken and stir-fry for 2–3 minutes until lightly browned. Then add the prawns and stir-fry for 2 minutes.
Add the rice along with a little extra oil if needed. Stir well, then add the soy sauce and ketjap manis and continue to stir-fry for a further 1–2 minutes until the rice is heated through and evenly browned. Keep warm.
Shallow-fry the eggs in 1 cm/½ in. of vegetable oil for 2 minutes until the whites are cooked through and the yolks are cooked but still runny.
Divide the rice between bowls and top each one with a fried egg. Garnish with tomatoes, cucumber, onion flakes and coriander and drizzle with the chilli paste.
Recipe reprinted with permission from Ryland Peters & Small.