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Nasi Goreng

A fried rice dish with cooked rice, egg, shallots, garlic, chilies, shrimp paste, soy sauce, and optional protein and vegetables.

From the Recipes Wiki (Fandom) · 13 ingredients
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Why it works: Shallot and cucumber match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 3% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 264 recipes. Both carry eucalyptol, which smells eucalyptus, herbal. The science ↓

Nasi Goreng

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare

  1. Stir the rice with a fork to separate the grains.

  2. Pour a small amount of oil in a wok and fry the egg to make a thin omelet; cool, then shred.

Cook

  1. Heat the remaining oil in the wok and fry the shallots, garlic, chilies and shrimp paste until the shallots are tender (if adding any meat or shredded cabbage to this dish, add now and cook until meat is cooked through).

  2. Increase the heat to high and add the rice, salt and soy sauce, adding a little oil if necessary, stirring constantly until well mixed and heated through.

Garnish and serve

  1. Garnish with shredded egg, cucumber, and tomato.

  2. Serve with fried egg, fried chicken, satay, and shrimp crackers, in the traditional style, if desired.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

1059Calories
100 gProtein
38 gFat
77 gCarbs
What these numbers assume: 13 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Pork100g cooked242
Rice1 cup cooked (158g) white206
Chicken100g cooked165
Olive Oil1 tbsp (14g)119
Shrimp100g cooked99
Egg1 large egg (50g)78
Broccoli1 cup chopped (156g)55
Onion1 medium (110g)44
Tomato1 medium (123g)22
Cucumber1/2 cup sliced (52g)16
Soy Sauce1 tbsp (15ml)9
Garlic1 clove (3g)4
Salt1 tsp (6g)0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Recipes Wiki (Fandom).

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Shallot + cucumbertop 3% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together264 recipes

    Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).

  2. Garlic + cucumbertop 4% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together2,556 recipes

    Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).

  3. Shallot + garlictop 4% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together2,000 recipes

    Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).

  4. Rice + cucumbertop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together734 recipes

    Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).

  5. Shallot + clovetop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together1,677 recipes

    Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Cold cooked rice
Cold, dry rice fries into separate grains instead of turning mushy or sticky.
Shallots
Soften and sweeten as they fry, building the savory base of the dish.
Garlic
Adds pungent aroma that mellows and deepens as it cooks in the oil.
Red chilies
Bring heat and fragrance to the oil that flavours the whole dish.
Egg
Thin omelet adds richness and a soft contrast in texture when shredded through the rice.
Sweet soy sauce
Adds sweetness and a deep brown color as it caramelizes against the hot wok.

The step that matters

Frying the rice over high heat. Cold rice must be stirred constantly over high heat so surface moisture evaporates and the grains fry rather than steam. Crowding or low heat leaves the rice soggy and clumped.

Swap the clove

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (rice, egg, shallot, garlic, shrimp, sauce, cucumber):

  1. Capersfits better
  2. Tarragonfits better
  3. Turmericfits better
  4. Clovethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against rice, egg, shallot, garlic, shrimp, sauce, cucumber. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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