Nasi goreng (fried rice)

Nasi goreng, literally meaning "fried rice" in Indonesian, can refer simply to fried pre-cooked rice, a meal including stir fried rice in small amount of cooking oil or margarine, typically spiced with kecap manis (sweet soy sauce), shallot, garlic, tamarind and chilli and accompanied with other ingredients, particularly egg, chicken and prawns. There is also another kind of nasi goreng which is made with ikan asin (salted dried fish) which is also popular across Indonesia.

Nasi goreng has been called the national dish of Indonesia, though there are many other contenders. There are many Indonesian cuisines but few national dishes. Indonesia's national dish knows no social barriers. It can be enjoyed in its simplest manifestation from a tin plate at a roadside warung, travelling night hawker's cart; eaten on porcelain in restaurants, or constructed at the buffet tables of Jakarta dinner parties.

Nasi goreng is often described as Indonesia's twist on fried rice. And like the rest of fried rice recipes in Asia, it was suggested that it can trace its origin from Southern Chinese fried rice. However it is not clear when did Indonesians began to adopt the Chinese fried rice and create their own version of nasi goreng. The Chinese influences upon Indonesian cuisine can be seen in mie goreng that appeared simultaneously with the introduction of stir frying technique that required the use of a Chinese wok.

The trade between China and the Indonesian archipelago flourished since the era of Srivijaya around the 10th century and intensified in the Majapahit era around the 15th century. By that time the Chinese immigrants began to settled in the archipelago, bringing along with them their culture and cuisine. Chinese people usually favor freshly cooked hot food, and in their culture it is considered a taboo to throw away uneaten foodstuffs. As a result, the previous day's leftover rice was often recooked in the morning. Previously, Indonesians probably simply sun-dried the leftover rice to make intip or rengginang (rice cracker), the dried rice also could be ground to make rice flour.