Nasi Goreng

Ryan doesn't particularly like cabbage. But if I make the Asian coleslaw recipe I like, I have lots of cabbage left over. I've been experimenting with Nasi Goreng as a way to use it up. Nasi Goreng is a spicy fried rice dish from Indonesia, traditionally topped with a fried egg. I had a favourite version in a restaurant in Perth, and I haven't quite matched it - but I'm still trying!
Nasi Goreng
2 tbs peanut oil
1 tsp sesame oil
1 red chilli, finely diced
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 carrot, peeled, diced
2 Cups shredded cabbage
200g beef or pork mince
1 cup bean sprouts
1 tsp sweet chilli sauce
2 tbs tomato sauce (ketchup)
2 tbs kecap manis
3 cups cooked jasmine rice
4 eggs
1/2 cup diagonally sliced shallots
2 tbs chopped fresh coriander, plus extra coriander leaves to serve

Heat the peanut oil and the sesame oil in a wok. Add the chilli, onion and carrot and cook over medium heat for 1-2 minutes until just softened but not coloured. Add the beef and cabbage and cook until the meat has browned. Add the bean sprouts, chilli, tomato and soy sauce and the rice and cook for a further minute, stirring to ensure everything is well combined. Turn off heat and cover the wok partially with a lid while you cook the eggs.

Fry the eggs in another pan.

Stir the shallots and coriander into the rice, then spoon into serving bowls. Top with an egg and extra coriander and serve with extra chilli and soy sauce.

Novel Food: Red Rice with Maya

One Christmas I was wandering around Melbourne with Ryan, and we found a beautiful bookshop. No glossy best-sellers here, but the quirkiest collection I'd seen anywhere. I lusted over a beautiful old atlas, and ogled some beautiful cookbooks. Then I lingered in the biographies, torn between heart-tugging stories. One title jumped out at me, "hallelujah! the welcome table". It was subtitled a lifetime of memories with recipes. The author was Maya Angelou. How could I go past?

I have to admit that although I knew her name, and vaguely her story, I hadn't read any of Maya's stories. These ones jumped out at me - and I read the first two chapters before I even left the store. The recipes are a bit intimidating - as well as the Southern food from her childhood, there is cassoulet, beef wellington and souffle. Clearly Ms Angelou is not a cook to mess with. So although I've read through the book several times, I've only cooked one recipe, a simple one for red rice.

The stories are evocative and beautiful. And so are the recipes. One day I am going to attempt the double layer caramel cake. But I thought I'd start with something easy. This is my entry for Novel Food. It's cheating a bit, because it's a memoir, not a novel. But I thought I'd add it anyway.

Red Rice

225g thick back bacon rashers

2 medium onions, chopped

1 small red capsicum, seeded and chopped

475 ml canned diced tomatoes

175g tomato paste

ground black pepper

1/2 teaspoon salt

450g cooked white rice

475ml water

Fry bacon in a large skillet on medium heat until brown, stirring with fork. Add onions and capsicum. Cover and cook for 2 to 3 minutes. Remove lid and add remaining ingredients; mix well. Bring to boil, about 3 minutes. Stir vigorously, cover again, and cook over a very low heat for about 15 minutes until rice and liquid are totally mixed.