Yesterday's rice fried with shallot, garlic, chilli and shrimp paste, darkened with kecap manis and topped with a fried egg.
What makes it nasi goreng
Cold, cooked rice — fresh rice turns mushy.
A bumbu of shallot, garlic, chilli and terasi, fried first.
Kecap manis for colour and sweetness.
A fried egg, krupuk and pickles on the side.
Where it comes from
Nasi goreng belongs to all of Indonesia and is often called its national dish; it sits in the Javanese kitchen here because Java fries it on every corner, from carts at night to hotel breakfasts. Frying leftover rice is a habit Chinese cooks brought, and the dish took an Indonesian shape with terasi, chilli and sweet soy.
It is breakfast from last night's rice, and supper from a cart whose clang of wok and spatula announces it. The Dutch took it home, and it's still eaten widely in the Netherlands.
How it varies
Nasi goreng kampung
Village style: redder and hotter, with more terasi and less kecap.