Cheap Eats 2: Chicken fried rice

Posted by Michelle | Filed under Food

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Nasi goreng and other fried rices are quick, cheap and easy and one of my favourite dishes to make at home. For the my brother who has just moved out of home, this should mean he’ll have more beer money and still get a decent meal in.

Note: this is part of the Cheap Eats series, aimed at arming my brother, who has just moved out of home with a few dishes to get him by. The heavy use of rotisserie chickens is because he works behind a supermarket deli counter and often gets the leftovers.

Chicken nasi-goereng (makes a shitload- easily about $1 a serve)

A good slug of oil
random cheap veggies gathered at the central markets OR 1 bag of mixed frozen stir-fry veggies (about $3)
Shredded cooked chicken from work
cooked rice (add more rice to make the meal cheaper!!)
a good slug of soy sauce (kecap manis is better but you could theoretically steal soy sauce from sushi bars and mix in a little sugar to sweeten it)
sambal oelek or chopped chilies
1 egg, beaten

Heat a wok or big frying pan to very high and add in some oil.
Chuck in the veggies and cook until done.
Throw in the rice and the chicken and chilli and stir fry for another few minutes until the rice is golden
Add the soy sauce, enough to coat the rice without making it soupy. Continue to stirfry for a few more minutes until dry.
Push the rice to one side and add the egg and fry until nearly cooked then stir into the rice.
A bit of coriander would brighten this up.

Image courtesy of http://ninecooks.typepad.com/

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Comments (1) | February 28th, 2010

One Response to “Cheap Eats 2: Chicken fried rice”

  1. Kate A Says:
    February 28, 2010 at 3:27 pm

    Coriander, as much as I adore this herb, is a no-no for traditional nasi goreng. Slices of cucumber, fried onion and/or homemade sambal are the usual condiments. Mind you, I add whatever to mine because I find extra veggies fill the meal out even further ;-) . So, there, purists!

    Come to think of it, celery and coriander are never used in Indonesian cooking. The seeds of both are heavily used in Balinese seasonings, particularly fish dishes. Celery seeds, alone, are more for East Javanese soups, like soto ayam or sop buntut. White pepper, along with MSG, are the main seasonings for most roadside dishes.

    This is a brilliant idea, Michelle.