Nasi goreng on a griddle

After last week's Hungarian national dish Goulash, I top it here with the national dish of national dishes, namely an Indonesian Nasi goreng. At first glance, it may seem a bit simple with fried rice mixed with eggs, tofu and vegetables, but you should never underestimate a well-cooked Nasi goreng and especially not cooked outdoors on a grill on a cold January day.

The basis is always a good sambal consisting of shallots, garlic and chilies, which you grind together into a smooth and fine mixture. However, I realized that my mortar was far too small and flimsy. It's great for grinding spices, but in this case it didn't, which meant that my sambal didn't come together the way I wanted it to. It still turned out well in the end, but if you're a perfectionist, you are.

Lovely Asian long beans instead of peas made the dish even more "Asian" and exciting.

I shopped for the ingredients at my local "Chinese" store and found everything I needed. I was extra happy that I found a really nice Asian tofu that I diced into the nasi goreng. I must also recommend you invest a few tens in a pack of Ketjap manis which is an Asian sweet soy sauce. It together with a classic Chinese soya gives an incredible depth with its sweetness and saltiness. Of course, it can be used in other cooking as well so it will be used up. I promise

I added tofu because it is both tasty and healthy, but also to add another source of protein to my otherwise completely vegetarian Nasi goreng. Then I both stirred in three eggs and topped the dish with a fried egg.

Nasi goreng means fried rice and it must be stir-fried, which means that you have to constantly work with a large frying pan so that it does not get a burnt frying surface. The hob becomes like a single large wok and that is what makes this dish so practical to cook on the hob outdoors. If you want to get rid of fridge leftovers, this is an excellent opportunity to clean out. So go ahead with the stove from the garage and cook outside even though we are in the middle of winter.

Have a good day, all stovetop-lovers!

Indonesian Nasi goreng for 4 people

• Jasmine rice - preferably from the fridge left over from earlier
• 10 shallots - both as a fried topping and in sambal
• 1 whole Garlic
• Fresh chili (to taste and strength)
• A bunch of long beans
• A package of Tofu
• 8 Eggs (both stirred into the rice and fried on top when serving
• Ketjap manis (both when cooking and on the dining table)
• Chinese soy (both in cooking and on the dining table)
• Salt

The instructional video on YouTube. Remember to subscribe so you don't miss future episodes.