Nasi Goreng Recipe — Indonesian Fried Rice from the Van

I keep cooked rice in the fridge at Casa Adora because Issy loves it. It's become a habit that carries over into the van — there's nearly always a bag of day-old rice in Florie's fridge, which means this nasi goreng recipe is never more than fifteen minutes away.

I made this one parked up at Huércal-Overa in Almería province. One pan, one gas ring, leftover jasmine rice, a bottle of kecap manis, and a bag of prawn crackers from Lidl. It is exactly the kind of cooking the van was made for.

What Is Nasi Goreng?

Nasi goreng is Indonesian and Malay for "fried rice" — but calling it that undersells it considerably. This is Indonesia's national dish, a Southeast Asian comfort food eaten at breakfast, lunch and dinner, on street corners and in home kitchens across the archipelago. It started, as the best rice dishes often do, as a way to use up leftover day-old rice without waste — fresh rice is too wet and steamy for the wok, while cold rice from the day before fries up perfectly.

What sets nasi goreng apart from other fried rice dishes is kecap manis — a thick, sweet Indonesian soy sauce with a dark caramel depth that coats the rice and gives it that characteristic colour and flavour. Add shallots, garlic, chilli and a little shrimp paste for umami, top with a fried egg and serve with cucumber, tomato and prawn crackers alongside. That's the dish.

Easy Nasi Goreng Recipe — The Van Version

No wok needed, no specialist equipment. A high-sided frying pan on a gas ring is exactly right. The key, as with all fried rice, is day-old rice — cold from the fridge, grains separate, ready to take the heat without clumping.

The same leftover rice logic applies to my easy egg fried rice — different flavour profile, same principle.

Nasi Goreng Recipe

Serves 1 | Frying pan | 15 minutes

Ingredients:

• 150g cooked jasmine rice, cold from the fridge (day-old)
• 2 shallots, finely sliced
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1 red chilli, finely sliced (or ½ tsp chilli flakes)
• ½ tsp shrimp paste (terasi) — optional but worth it
• 1½ tbsp kecap manis
• 1 tsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil, plus extra for the egg
• 1 egg
• Sea salt to taste

To serve:

• A few slices of cucumber
• A few slices of tomato
• Prawn crackers (krupuk) — Lidl does perfectly good ones

Method:

Heat the oil in a high-sided frying pan over a high heat. Add the shallots and fry for 2–3 minutes until softened and starting to colour. Add the garlic, chilli and shrimp paste if using, and fry for another minute until fragrant.

Add the cold rice and stir-fry for 2–3 minutes, breaking up any clumps, until the rice is heated through and starting to catch slightly on the pan.

Add the kecap manis and soy sauce, toss everything together and fry for another minute until the rice is evenly coated and dark. Taste and adjust seasoning.

In a separate pan, fry the egg in a little oil — the yolk should still be runny.

Serve the nasi goreng in a bowl or on a plate, topped with the fried egg, with cucumber slices, tomato and prawn crackers alongside.

This easy nasi goreng recipe is part of my Campervan Cooking collection — food cooked on the road in Florie, my Fiat Ducato campervan.
It also features in my Rice Recipes collection — a global collection of rice dishes from paella to pilau.
The cold cooked rice in this dish makes it a resistant starch recipe — cook it, cool it, use again.
Find more recipes and food adventures here.

Wonky photos, proper food, genuine adventures — The Flexible Chef