Rice · Recipe · Jakarta · Reference page

Nasi goreng (kambing)

Name: Nasi goreng (kambing)
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 40 min
Yield: 2
Ingredients: 2 tbsp vegetable oil, divided; 200 g mutton or lamb backstrap, in small cubes; 3 clove garlic, sliced; 3 piece Asian red shallots, sliced; 2 piece long fresh red chillies, finely chopped; 740 g cooked rice, refrigerated (4 cups); 1 pinch five-spice powder; 1 tsp curry powder; 0.5 tsp ground cumin; 1 piece head of pak choi, sliced; 50 g white cabbage, thinly sliced; 40 g fresh peas; 2 piece spring onions, sliced; 2 tsp dark soy sauce; 2 tbsp kecap manis (sweet soy sauce); 1 pinch salt and pepper; 1 tbsp fried shallots; 1 tbsp thinly sliced spring onion; 1 piece Lebanese cucumber, sliced; 2 piece tomatoes, sliced; 2 piece green bird's eye chillies, sliced

nasi goreng kambing

Indonesian fried rice made with day-old rice, garlic, shallots, chilli and sweet soy sauce. This is the Jakarta mutton version, nasi goreng kambing, as Luke Nguyen recorded it at a famous stall on Jalan Kebon Sirih for SBS's Street Food Asia.

Editorial illustration of the documented recipe; not a photograph of a kitchen-tested result.

Servings: 2
Preparation: 30 min
Cooking: 10 min
Total: 40 min
Difficulty: Easy

Equipment

Wok
Large spatula or wok shovel

Substitutions

Mutton → Lamb backstrap, as the source allows, or chicken (editorial).
Kecap manis → Dark soy sauce sweetened with palm or brown sugar (editorial suggestion).

Common mistakes

Using freshly cooked rice: it clumps and goes soggy.
Too low a heat: the rice stews rather than fries.

Storage & reheating

Eat at once. The cooked rice used must have been cooled within an hour and kept in the fridge no more than a day; reheat only once, until steaming hot (UK FSA).

Safety

Contains soy and gluten (soy sauce and kecap manis usually contain wheat). Leftover cooked rice can carry Bacillus cereus spores: chill it quickly and use it within a day (UK FSA).

Allergens

Soy · Gluten

Check labels: stock, bacon and sauces can contain further allergens.

Dietary

dairy-free

A Jakarta street stall

Luke Nguyen found this version just off Jalan Sabang in Jakarta, at a nasi goreng stall at 73 Jalan Kebon Sirih that is famous for making it with mutton. He describes cooks searing kilos of meat in two huge woks, then stirring in rice, spices and "heaps of sweet, sticky kecap manis" with a shovel. Nasi goreng simply means fried rice; kambing is goat or mutton.

[1]

Cold rice, hot wok, sweet soy

The recipe starts from refrigerated cooked rice, which has dried enough to fry into separate grains. The meat is seared first and set aside so it stays tender, the aromatics go in next, then the rice is stir-fried on high heat for five minutes until lightly browned. Ground spices, a handful of greens and the two soy sauces, dark and sweet, finish the dish. Fresh cucumber, tomato and green chilli on the side cut the sweetness.

[1]