Fried rice

Fried rice is food in the form of rice that is fried and mixed with cooking
oil, margarine or butter. Usually added with sweet soy sauce, shallots, garlic,
tamarind, pepper and other ingredients; such as eggs, chicken and crackers.
There is also another type of fried rice made with salted fish which is also popular
throughout Indonesia
Fried rice is also known as Indonesia’s national dish. Fried rice is often
found at roadside stalls, mobile hawker carts, restaurants and buffet tables at
wedding parties in Indonesia.
In 2011, fried rice was ranked 48th on the list of the 50 Most Delicious
Foods in the World after Madurese black duck rice.
Fried rice has the same beginnings as other versions of fried rice; as a way
to avoid wasting rice. Frying rice can prevent the spread of germs, bacteria,
harmful microbes, especially in pre-freezing technology in Indonesia and also
avoid the need to throw away valuable food. Fried rice is traditionally served at
home for breakfast and is traditionally made from leftover rice from the night
before. Apart from ingredients such as shallots, tomatoes, peppers and chilies,
fried rice with pieces of chicken or beef; usually leftovers from cooking chicken
or beef.
Fried Rice is often described as a modification of Indonesian fried rice
and with other fried rice recipes in Asia, it has been suggested to trace its origins
to Southern Chinese fried rice. However, it is unclear when Indonesia started
accepting Chinese fried rice and creating their own version. Trade between China
and the Indonesian Archipelago developed since the time of the Sriwijaya
Kingdom around the 10th century and became more intensive during the
Majapahit Kingdom around the 15th century. At that time Chinese immigrants
began to settle in the archipelago, bringing their culture and cuisine with them.
Chinese people generally favor hot, freshly cooked food, and in their culture it is
taboo to throw away uneaten food items. As a result, leftover rice from the
previous day is often cooked again in the morning. In the past, in Indonesia
perhaps only leftover rice was dried in the sun to make peek or rengginang (rice
crackers), dried rice could also be ground to make rice flour.
The Chinese influence on Indonesian cuisine can be seen in the fried
noodles which appeared at the same time as the introduction of frying techniques
that required the use of Chinese woks. In China, frying techniques became
increasingly popular during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644 AD). The introduction
of frying techniques, Chinese pots, and even soy sauce may have occurred around
or after this period, in the 17th century. Common soy sauce originates from 2nd
century China, but kecap (sweet soy sauce) was developed in Indonesia with the
addition of abundant local palm sugar. Sweet soy sauce with the addition of
shrimp paste is the element that differentiates Indonesian fried rice from Chinese
fried rice.
Apart from Chinese influence, there is another theory which states that
fried rice was actually inspired by a Middle Eastern dish called ]Pilaf, which is
rice cooked in seasoned broth. This suggestion makes sense in relation to a
particular variant, namely Betawi goat fried rice, which uses mutton or mutton
(usually favored by Arab-Indonesians), rich spices and Samin oil (beef fatty oil),
which suggests Middle Eastern influence.
Fried rice was considered a part of Indian culture during the colonial era.
Mentions of fried rice appear in Dutch East Indies colonial literature, such as in
the story of Hidjo’s pupil by Marco Kartodikoromo, which was published in the
Sinar Hindia newspaper in 1918. It is mentioned in the 1925 Dutch cookbook
Groot Nieuw Vollemenggali Oost Indisch Kookbook. Trade between the
Netherlands and the Dutch East Indies at that time increased the popularity of
fried rice throughout the world.
After Indonesia’s independence, fried rice was considered a national dish,
although unofficially. It was on the menu introduced, offered and served at the
1964 Indonesian Theater Restaurant inside the Indonesian pavilion at the New
York World’s Fair. Howard Palfrey Jones, US Ambassador to Indonesia in the last
year of Ir. Soekarno in the mid-1960s, in his memoir “Indonesia: a dream
possible”, said that he was like fried rice. He described his courage for the fried
rice cooked by Hartini, one of Sukarno’s wives, and praised it as the most
delicious fried rice he had ever tasted.
Indonesian fried rice smells different from fried rice from other Asian
countries, the smell is more earthy and smells of smoke, this is because fried rice
in Indonesia is given sweet soy sauce or sometimes shrimp paste, and the taste is
stronger and spicier than Chinese fried rice.[4] Fried rice is usually served with
crackers and fried onions to give it a crunchy taste.
The main ingredients for fried rice include cooked rice, sweet soy sauce,
shrimp paste powder, salt, garlic, shallots, cayenne pepper, spring onions, nutmeg,
turmeric, vegetable oil, shallots, sugar, ginger paste, and cucumber and tomato
slices for garnish. Some recipes can add black pepper, fish sauce, or stock powder
to add spice and flavor. Eggs can be mixed into fried rice or fried separately,
either as fried eggs, sunny side up eggs, or omelette, and also boiled eggs. Adding
eggs or not is usually a choice, fried rice served with fried eggs is often called
special fried rice or special fried rice topped with fried eggs.
Serving Fried rice can be eaten at any time, and
many Indonesians, Malaysians and Singaporeans eat it for breakfast, usually using
rice left over from the previous night’s dinner. The rice used to make fried rice
has been cooked first and allowed to cool, so that is the reason for using rice
cooked the day before.