Наси Горенг: Индонезиялық және Малайзиялық Қуырылған Дәнді Бөлектерінің Тарихы

"Fried rice" in Indonesian and Malay

Nasi goreng has long been considered an important staple of Indonesian cuisine. In 2018, it was officially recognized by the Indonesian government as one of the country's five national dishes. Premixed packaged seasonings for nasi goreng are widely available for purchase, and microwave heated frozen versions of nasi goreng may be found in convenience store outlets throughout Indonesia.

The term nasi goreng means "fried rice" in both the Indonesian and Malay languages. The Cambridge English Dictionary defines nasi goreng as an "Indonesian rice dish with pieces of meat and vegetables added", although this dish is just as common in neighbouring Malaysia and Singapore as a cultural staple.

Similar to other fried rice recipes in Asia, commentators have suggested that Indonesian style nasi goreng can trace its origins to Chinese fried rice, and was likely developed as a way to avoid wasting rice. The Chinese influences upon Indonesian cuisine can be seen in mie goreng that appeared simultaneously with the introduction of the stir frying technique that required the use of a Chinese wok. In China, the stir frying technique became increasingly popular during the Ming dynasty (1368–1644 CE). The common soy sauce has its origin in 2nd century CE China; however, kecap manis (sweet soy sauce) was developed in Indonesia with a generous addition of local palm sugar. However, it is unclear when the people of present day Indonesia began to adopt the practice of cooking fried rice. The trade between China and the Indonesian archipelago flourished from the era of Srivijaya around the 10th century and intensified in the Majapahit era around the 15th century. By that time Chinese immigrants had begun to settle in the archipelago, bringing along with them their culture and cuisine. Chinese people usually favor freshly cooked hot food, and it is taboo to throw away uneaten foodstuffs in their culture. Writer Fadly Rahman from Padjajaran University claimed that there is no historical evidence that proves that nasi goreng is native to Indonesia, and suggested another theory besides Chinese influence: that nasi goreng was actually inspired by a Middle Eastern dish called pilaf, which is rice cooked in seasoned broth. A particular variant, Betawi style nasi goreng kambing (goat fried rice), uses mutton or goat meat (traditionally favoured by Arab Indonesians), rich spices and minyak samin (ghee), all typical ingredients used in the preparation of Middle eastern pilaf. Nasi goreng was considered as part of the Indies culture during the colonial period. The mention of nasi goreng appears in colonial literature of Dutch East Indies, such as in the Student Hidjo by Marco Kartodikoromo, a serial story published in Sinar Hindia newspaper in 1918. Trade between the Netherlands and the Dutch East Indies during that time has increased the popularity of Indonesian style nasi goreng to the world. After the independence of Indonesia, nasi goreng was popularly considered as a national dish, albeit unofficial. Its simplicity and versatility has contributed to its popularity and made it as a staple among Indonesian households—colloquially considered as the most "democratic" dish since the absence of an exact and rigid recipe has allowed people to do anything they want with it. Nasi goreng that is commonly consumed daily in Indonesian households were considered as the quintessential dish that represents an Indonesian family. It is in the menu, introduced, offered, and served in Indonesian Theater Restaurant within the Indonesian pavilion at the 1964 New York World's Fair. Howard Palfrey Jones, the US ambassador to Indonesia during the last years of Sukarno's reign in the mid 1960s, in his memoir "Indonesia: The Possible Dream", said that he liked nasi goreng. He described his fondness for nasi goreng cooked by Hartini, one of Sukarno's wives, and praised it as the most delicious nasi goreng he ever tasted. Nasi goreng is traditionally served at home for breakfast and it is traditionally made out of leftover rice from the night before. The texture of leftover cooked rice is considered more suitable for nasi goreng than that of freshly cooked rice which may be too moist and soft to withstand frying in a wok. Other than cooked rice, nasi goreng consists of at least three components; ingredients (e. g. egg, shrimp, meat, cooking oil), bumbu spice or seasoning (e. g. garlic, shallot, salt, chili pepper), and condiments (e. g. bawang goreng, krupuk, acar pickles, slices of fresh cucumber and tomato). The combination of spices and ingredients in different ratio creates myriad variation of flavours.

Typical seasonings for nasi goreng include but are not limited to salt, chilli pepper, spring onions, turmeric, palm sugar, bumbu paste made from ground garlic and onion or shallot, kecap manis (sweet soy sauce), shrimp paste, black pepper, fish sauce, powdered broth and so on. Eggs may be scrambled into the rice during the cooking process, or served as accompaniments in the form of sunny side up eggs, omelettes, and boiled eggs. Scraps of leftovers from a prepared dish, perhaps chicken or beef pieces, may also be used.

There is no single defined recipe for nasi goreng, as every fried rice dish with certain mixtures, additions, ingredients, and toppings could lead to another recipe of nasi goreng. There is an innumerable variety of fried rice recipes described as nasi goreng in the nations of Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore. While many versions are perceived as regionally specific, some recipes share common elements that transcends regional and national boundaries: examples include the use of the term kampung ("village" in Indonesian and Malay), shrimp paste (terasi in Indonesian, belacan in Malay), chilli based sambal relishes, salted fish, and the technique of wrapping fried rice in an omelette.

Nasi goreng is adopted into Sri Lankan cuisine through cultural influences from the Sri Lankan Malays. It is prepared using a variety of ingredients including spices, soy sauce, oyster sauce, ginger, white onion, shrimp, cucumber and prawns. and still eaten in The Netherlands today is made with butter and bacon or other types of pork at its base.

Nasi goreng can be eaten at any time of day, and many Indonesians, Malaysians and Singaporeans eat nasi goreng for breakfast whether at home or at dining establishments.

Nasi goreng is a popular staple served by street vendors, in warungs and also by travelling night hawkers that frequent residential neighbourhoods with their wheeled carts. Nasi goreng is usually cooked to order for each serving, since the cook usually asks the client their preference on the degree of spiciness: mild, medium, hot or extra hot. The spiciness corresponds to the amount of sambal or chili pepper paste used. The cook might also ask how the client would like their egg done: mixed into nasi goreng or fried separately as telur mata sapi or ceplok (fried whole egg) or as telur dadar (omelette). Nevertheless, some popular nasi goreng warung or food stalls may prepare in bulk due to large demand. In many warungs (street stalls) in Indonesia, nasi goreng is often sold together with bakmi goreng (fried noodles), kwetiau goreng, and mie rebus (noodle soup).

Nasi goreng is a popular dish in restaurants. In Indonesia there are restaurant chains that specialise at serving nasi goreng.

Some seasoning brands sold in Indonesian supermarkets offer "bumbu nasi goreng", an instant nasi goreng seasoning paste to be applied upon frying leftover rice. Convenience store outlets in Indonesia also offering prepackage frozen microwave heated nasi goreng take away.

Tante Lien's song "Geef Mij Maar Nasi Goreng" (Just Give Me Nasi Goreng), composed and recorded in 1979, illustrates historical culinary ties between the Netherlands and Indonesia, as well as whimsically describing the craving of people of Indo (Eurasian) descent repatriated in the Netherlands for Indonesian cuisine. In February 1973 Philip Proctor and Peter Bergman from The Firesign Theatre released their first solo album TV or Not TV on which a character named "Nasi Goreng" sings a song of the same name to introduce himself. In 2011, an online poll with participation from 35,000 voters held by CNN International chose Indonesian style nasi goreng as number two on their 'World's 50 Most Delicious Foods' list after rendang. The titular police division in the 2016 Japanese comedy series Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department, Nasi Goreng Division is named after the dish. During their 2016 concert in Indonesia, the Australian band 5 Seconds of Summer dedicated a song inspired by the dish entitled "Nasi Goreng".