How to adjust Spice in thai Food recipe

[hurray1]

Hi,

The recipe concerned here is "Nasi Goreng." I know it is not really Thai but Indonesian. But the resturant where I discovered it was Thai and since then I love this dish. My question to all my thai friends is, the restaurant where I eat this regularly makes it reddish but it is not hot. How is this possible? Where does the red color come from?

Most of the Nasi Goreng recipes have Shambal in it. I use Shambal made from red pepper, vinegar and salt. But if I put too little of it to not make the dish hot and spicy, I do not get the red color. If I put a bit more of Shambal to get the red color on the dish, it becomes hot. What can I do?

Please help as I have friends coming over this weekend and I would like to make it for them.

[tutsiwarrior]

sambal is not an ingredient...it is a condiment...at least is was when I lived in Jakarta 20 years ago...

nasi goreng is simply fried (goreng) rice (nasi)...served up with cucumber slices and a pot of sambal on the side...however, if you discovered it in Thailand the locals may have a different preparation...

[AyG]

The key flavouring of nasi goreng is kecap manis (dark, sweet soy sauce). Some variations include sambal, but it's not the norm. I'd suggest that you search out a good sounding recipe that doesn't include sambal.

The red colour may come from tomato ketchup. (It does in the Thai dish "American Fried Rice", so the restaurant may be using it in the nasi goreng too.)

However, I don't think the colour is important. Brownish or red, as long as it tastes good, that's all that really matters.

[hurray1]

Most of the Nasi Goreng recipes I have seen include sambal as an ingredient. Even the thai restaurant where I discovered it and go regularly mention that on their menu. I am sure it can be also sered as a condiment.

I thought the red color was one of the main characteristics of Nasi Goreng. Most of Nasi Goreng's variations are red. You can check the images on google.

At first I did think that they had added some ketchup to their Sambal. I tried it this way but it came out too sweet with a very strong taste of tomatoe. I also tried it with tomatoe concentration. It was disappointing. May be I should use regular soy sauce and not use dark, sweet soy sauce when using ketchup. I don't know.

Or I could add some paprika on the sambal.

[AyG]

Most of the Nasi Goreng recipes I have seen include sambal as an ingredient. Even the thai restaurant where I discovered it and go regularly mention that on their menu. I am sure it can be also sered as a condiment.

I thought the red color was one of the main characteristics of Nasi Goreng. Most of Nasi Goreng's variations are red. You can check the images on google.

At first I did think that they had added some ketchup to their Sambal. I tried it this way but it came out too sweet with a very strong taste of tomatoe. I also tried it with tomatoe concentration. It was disappointing. May be I should use regular soy sauce and not use dark, sweet soy sauce when using ketchup. I don't know.

Or I could add some paprika on the sambal.

I'm sorry, but you seem to be in some sort of fantasy land, disconnected from reality.

Do a Google Image search for nasi goreng, and most are not red, they're brown.

Search Google for "nasi goreng recipe +sambal" returns 383 results. But "nasi goreng recipe -sambal" returns 502,000 results. The vast majority of recipes does not use sambal.

Sambal is a condiment - not a regular ingredient of nasi goreng.

And you should never use regular soy sauce rather than kecap manis, since kecap manis is the defining flavour for the dish.

And as for adding paprika, why? It's not an Indonesian spice so is completely out of place.

Incidentally, out of curiosity I looked up the recipe for one of the reddest dishes on Google Images. Here's the list of ingredients in Google translation:

4 tablespoons olive oil

5 cloves garlic, minced

1 onion, chopped

100 grams of peeled shrimp

50 grams of scallop shell

10 pieces of fish meatballs, chopped

Salt, pepper to taste

4 plates of white rice

4 tablespoons soy sauce

1 tablespoon oyster sauce

2 eggs, scrambled eggs

3 scallions sliced​​, fried

2 red chilies sliced​​, fried

Nothing there to make it red - that is, apart from dodgy photography (and certainly no sambal) .

Source: http://usahamiliyaran.blogspot.com/2013/01/resep-nasi-goreng-seafood.html

[tutsiwarrior]

yeah...kecap manis is required for 'authentic' indo nasi goreng...and I've seen it available in local Lotus supermarkets...avoid regular kecap (asem) as then you get an altogether different typical SE Asian fried rice...kecap manis is brown and has a treacle like consistency and is used in a lot of indo dishes (mie goreng, etc...)...very distinctive, a lot of Singapore noodle dishes use kecap manis...

paprika is not an indonesian ingredient that I'm familiar with...quite nice in goulash and paprika chicken, however...(dose that mother)

[lvr181]

However, I don't think the colour is important. Brownish or red, as long as it tastes good, that's all that really matters.

You pleb! 555 A chef would never say that colour (or presentation) is not important 555

Shame on you sir/madam

BTW I love a hot nasi goreng

[AyG]

However, I don't think the colour is important. Brownish or red, as long as it tastes good, that's all that really matters.

You pleb! 555 A chef would never say that colour (or presentation) is not important 555

Shame on you sir/madam

I'm not sure that a plate of nasi goreng falls into the category of haute cuisine where presentation is a big part of the package. And I did limit myself to brownish or red. Even a pleb such as I would be disconcerted if it were to turn out blue or purple.

[Si Thea01]

I note that you have referred to Nasi Goreng in your post but have you tried Gado Gado, the Indonesian vegetable dish with spicy peanut sauce. I find this much more tastier then the dish you have referred to. If needed you can add more chillies and if protein is required then added meat, chicken or prawns. A great dish, believe me. Plenty of receipts on the net.

[tutsiwarrior]

if we wanna expostulate on favorite indo food I say fergit the previous discussion and try mie ayam noodles for yer brekkie every morning...just noodles and broth with a few chicken gristly bits as a garnish...highly addictive and wickedly delicious sold by little guys pushing handcarts in the early a.m., most are sold out by 9...the noodles are handmade and are thick and chewy like japanese soba...

one guy had his pitch right outside my office in Pluit, North Jakarta and he'd hand my order thru the window with a grin that said: 'the bule engineer likes my noodles...'...indeed, I was hopelessly addicted and if he didn't show up as usual (it useta flood regularly in Pluit during the rainy season) my whole day was ruined...

(tutsi rages around the office in pain without his daily mie ayam fix: 'goddamit can't they do sumpin' about this stinkin' rain?!...how do they expect us to build the goddam power station with this mess?!' 'but, pak tutsi, we can't do alot about the weather...')

Edited October 31, 2014 by tutsiwarrior

[hurray1]

Thank you guys and gals for your suggestions.

Next time I eat Nasi Goreng I will take its picture. You will see it is quite red. Besides on the menu of this thai restaurant I go to regularly, it is clearly stated that Sambal is present on the dish. In fact it was the first time I had heard of Sambal.

Anyway, as someone said above, as long as it tastes good......