Passport & Plate - Black Fried Rice
Indonesia | Friday, March 14, 2014 | 5 photos
Ingredients
- 4 cloves of shallot
- 1 cloves of garlic
- 1 inch of ginger
- 20 basil leaves
- 1 scallion, sliced thin
- 1 lemongrass, break it with the back of your knife
- 1 lime leaf
- 1/2 cup of water
- 3 or 4 squid heads, harvest the fresh ink and dice the tentacles. Or you can just use about 10 gram of squid ink paste
- 1 1/5 cups of cooked rice
- 2 tablespoons olive oil/cooking oil
- 1 pinch of salt
- 1 red chili (for garnish)
- 1 egg, make a sunny side-up (for extra deliciousness)
How to prepare this recipeGrind the shallots, garlic, and ginger into a paste (or you can use food processor) and then divide them in two parts. One part will be used for the squid ink herbs, and another one will be used for the rice.
First, we will make the squid ink seasoning.
Heat a tablespoon of olive oil in the frying pan, and stir-fry the one part of shallot garlic and ginger paste. Put in the squid ink paste and the diced squid heads, lemongrass, lime leaf, and half cup of water into the pan. Stir them until it boiled and thickened.
Now we will fry the rice. Heat another spoonful of olive oil in the pan, and stir-fry the second part of the shallot garlic and ginger paste. Put in the cooked rice, the squid ink seasoning, the basil leaves, sliced scallion, and add a pinch of salt for the taste. Stir-fry them until all the seasonings blend nicely with the rice for about 5 minutes.
Put the fried rice into a plate, add the sunny side-up egg and chopped red chili on top. Your black fried rice is ready to serve.
The story behind this recipeRice is the staple food for the people of Indonesia. We eat rice every day, with various dishes like soups and meats. And we also make dishes from the rice, such as fried rice - our most popular dishes. We call it "Nasi Goreng" in Indonesian (nasi = rice, goreng = fry). Every place in Indonesia has their own recipe for fried rice. Creative mothers usually think of something special for their fried rice, and add various spices and seasoning to add more taste. The style differs in every region, accustomed to their own culture and land.
The recipe I submit for Passport & Plate is Black Fried Rice. Not just a regular fried rice, but black from the squid ink. I got this recipe from my best friend, Leon. He and his family came from Manado, the capital city of North Sulawesi - one of the big islands in Indonesia. Manado people use more spices in their dishes like lemongrass and basil. It makes the dishes taste more savory and spicy.
Squid ink is not a common seasoning in my tradition. But when I first tasted it, I am hooked instantly. When the squid ink mixed with other spices like shallot, garlic and ginger, it is savory, unique, and bursts a special taste that you will crave for more. It also smells pretty nice, sunk out the fishy squid smell with the strong lemongrass and basil fragrances. Manado-style fried rice with squid ink is not a common dish in Java, but Leon had succeeded bringing out this fried rice into a most popular dish in his restaurant. Leon told me that this Black Fried Rice is his family's recipe for some generation. It becomes my favorite dishes every time I come to his place.
I asked Leon for the recipe so I could make this Black Fried Rice at home by myself, and turns out it is very simple. I don’t have to go to Manado or ask Leon to make me one, but I can just go to the supermarket and get some squids and the ink, and cook it in my own kitchen. I am sure everyone can cook it, and you have to try it and taste the uniqueness with your own tongue.
