Flavours from the East: Abi cooks nasi goreng

Years ago when I was working at a hotel owned by a Dutch family they taught me how to make their favourite Indonesian dish – nasi goreng. I used to make huge pots of it every Friday and it was served on the pub lunch menu.

We now eat it at least twice a month, and even more often lately, as it's the perfect thing to cook when we have loadshedding. It's best made with rice that has been cooked the day before so it's as dry as can be. If you have some in the fridge all you need to do before the lights go out is to quickly stir-fry some chicken and a few veggies. It really is one of those dishes where you can add just about anything! Diced chicken, leftover roast chicken, pork, prawns and all sorts of veggies, although my best is smoked pork fillet and a handful of frozen peas.

We eat ours as I was taught – with prawn crackers, peanuts, fried banana and a soft fried egg, but you can also slice up a thin omelette instead of the fried egg. To make it, fry some chopped onion and garlic in oil until soft. Add some meat or seafood and cook through. Now add chopped baby corn or chopped green beans. Add some ketchup manis, a salty chili sauce, and some shrimp paste or a dash of fish sauce. Toss in the rice and warm through. Drizzle with soya sauce to season and serve with all the toppings or just an egg.