The earliest known record of fried rice was in a book of 52 dishes by the head chef of emperor Yang Guang of Sui dynasty (581 - 618) in China. It was a dish to rescue leftover cooked rice and meat / vegetables by stir frying them with oil and condiments like soy sauce. It was the medieval Chinese way of preserving food, long before the invention of refrigeration.
So, right from the start, fried rice doesn't have a fixed recipe - it was
more a technique of preserving whatever cooked leftovers by stir frying in
oil and condiments in an open wok. It was not clear exactly where in China the technique
was invented but since the Sui dynasty, fried rice lasted through the centuries and
spread throughout the Middle Kingdom.
Over time various versions of fried rice emerged. One of the most famous is Yangzhou fried rice created by Yi Bingshou (1654 - 1718) who was a magistrate in the city of Yangzhou during the Qing dynasty (1644 - 1912).
In its most basic form, Yangzhou fried rice is egg floss and cooked
rice stir fried with oil (and / or lard). Egg floss is made by frying beaten eggs in sizzling oil. Additional ingredients can be added e.g. diced ham, scallop, shrimp,
chicken, long beans, carrot, etc. Many Chinese restaurants around the
world today have a version of Yangzhou fried rice on their menu.
In the days of sail, a round trip between China and Indonesia took months
as they had to wait for the wind to change. While waiting for the wind to
change, traders settled at the Indonesian ports and mingled with locals.
The technique of cooking fried rice likely transferred to Indonesians
under these conditions but there is no record of when or where this
happened in Indonesia.
Chinese fried rice is stir fried with oil and soy sauce while the Indonesian version is stir fried with kicap manis (which is soy sauce sweetened with palm sugar).
A good plate of nasi goreng have rice grains that are slightly nutty, light, fluffy and separate easily. The fried rice grains taste subtly sweet and have a savoury-sweet overlay from kicap manis. There is also a slight toasty smokey taste known in Chinese as wok hei from caramelisation of sugars in the kicap manis and rice grains. There's also infusion of flavours and aromas released from shallot and garlic stir fried in oil.
And that's the thing about fried rice - it was invented as a technique to rescue leftover cooked food, hence there is no fixed recipe - whatever leftovers goes. Therefore, the dish is supremely adaptable and is able to absorb all kinds of influences and flavours.
The only defining characteristics of nasi goreng are leftover cooked rice, stir frying and an open wok. On top of that, anything goes - so, there are at least sixty varieties of nasi goreng in Indonesia.
Nasi goreng is like a metaphor of Indonesia's motto of "Bhinneka Tunggal Ika or Unity in
Diversity". There may be many versions of fried rice in Indonesia - black (squid ink), dark brown (kicap manis), yellow (turmeric), red (with ketchup), etc., but they are all nasi goreng Indonesia.
Written by Tony Boey on 9 Aug 2021
Image of pilaf courtesy of
Wikipedia. Image of nasi goreng kambing courtesy of
Wikipedia. Image of Sui dynasty emperor Yang Guang courtesy of
Wikipedia. Image of Chinese junk model courtesy of
Wikipedia. Image of nasi goreng solo courtesy of
Wikipedia. Image of nasi goreng kampung courtesy of
flickr. Crest of Indonesia courtesy of Wikipedia. Nasi goreng Makassar courtesy of Wikipedia. Image of nasi goreng laut courtesy of Wikipedia.
Cooking pilaf in Afghanistan
Cooking nasi goreng in Bandung, Indonesia
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDelete