Nasi goreng with a fried egg
Chilled rice is fried with shallots, garlic, chilli, shrimp paste and kecap manis until savoury and lightly caramelised, then topped with a crisp-edged fried egg and served with cucumber.
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Let’s get cooking.
Cook mode
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Servings
Originally developed for 2 servings.
Ingredient checklist
Method
- No timer needed
Finely chop the shallots, garlic and chilli, removing the chilli seeds and inner membranes if you prefer less heat. Crumble the shrimp paste finely. Mix the kecap manis with the light soy sauce. Thinly slice the cucumber and arrange it on two plates. Break up the cold rice with a clean fork, then return it to the fridge until needed.
- No timer needed
Heat the large frying pan or wok over medium-high heat for about 2 minutes. Add 15 ml oil, then the shallots. Fry, stirring, for 3 minutes until softened and beginning to colour.
- No timer needed
Add the garlic, chilli and shrimp paste. Stir-fry for about 1 minute until fragrant, breaking up the paste. Do not let the garlic blacken; lower the heat if it colours rapidly.
- No timer needed
Add the cold rice and increase the heat. Stir-fry for about 5 minutes, turning it and breaking apart any remaining clumps, until the grains separate and the rice is steaming hot with no cold pockets. If it catches, reduce the heat slightly rather than adding water or extra oil.
- No timer needed
Add the mixed sauces and stir-fry for 2 minutes, spreading the rice out briefly between turns to develop light caramelisation. Keep it moving enough that the sugary sauce does not burn. Check that the rice is steaming hot throughout, then remove from the heat and cover while you cook the eggs.
- 03:00
Heat the non-stick frying pan with the remaining 15 ml oil over medium-high heat for about 2 minutes, until shimmering but not smoking. Crack in both eggs, then wash your hands after handling the shells. Fry for 3 minutes, lowering the heat if the edges darken too quickly. Once the whites are mostly set and the undersides crisp, carefully turn the eggs and cook for another 1–2 minutes, until both whites and yolks are fully set.
- No timer needed
Divide the hot rice between the cucumber-lined plates and top each portion with a fried egg. Serve immediately.
Chef tips
- Use the specified broad pan. A smaller pan crowds this quantity and encourages steaming; do not try to compensate with more oil.
- If moisture gathers around the rice, spread it out and let it evaporate briefly before adding the sauces.
- Measure kecap manis rather than pouring freely: brands vary in sweetness and saltiness, and the sauce can scorch quickly.
- Keep raw egg and egg shells away from the cucumber, serving plates and utensils used for the cooked rice.
Equipment check
- 30 cm wide frying pan or 32 cm wok, with a lid or cover
- 24–26 cm non-stick frying pan
- Broad spatula
- Chopping board and knife
- Kitchen scales and measuring spoons
- Small bowl
- Two serving plates
Nutrition per serving
- Calories570
- Protein13 g
- Carbs84 g
- Fat20 g
Tags
Behind the dish.
Overview
The aim is separate, lightly caramelised grains with savoury shrimp-paste depth and restrained sweetness. Cold, relatively dry rice and a broad, hot pan prevent steaming; adding kecap manis only once the rice is hot helps avoid scorching. The rice is kept covered briefly while the eggs cook, making the method manageable for one cook.
Ingredient notes
This recipe starts with ready-cooked, refrigerated plain rice, weighed after cooking—not dry rice. Choose a product suitable for pan reheating and follow its storage and heating instructions. Previously home-cooked rice is also suitable only if cooled quickly, ideally within 1 hour, refrigerated at 5°C or colder and used within 24 hours of cooking. Do not use rice with an uncertain storage history.
Kecap manis is thick, sweet Indonesian soy sauce; ordinary soy sauce is not a direct substitute. Terasi is Indonesian shrimp paste; belacan can substitute. Choose a product suitable for frying directly, and follow any label preparation instructions. For an unusually strong paste, reduce the quantity to 2 g. Omitting it gives a less distinctive, shellfish-free variation only if the other ingredients are also free from shellfish.
Allergens include crustaceans, egg, soya and usually wheat. Check the shrimp paste and both sauces. A gluten-free variation requires verified gluten-free kecap manis, soy sauce and shrimp paste.
Serving & storage
Serve immediately with the fried eggs and cool cucumber. Make only what you need: frying the cooked rice counts as reheating, so do not save the finished dish for another reheating. Refrigerate unused cucumber separately.
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