1st Year @ Bristol: Nasi Goreng Cheese (or Cheesy Fried Rice)

Now that winter is almost here, you can't help yearning (well, I can't help yearning :P) for something hot. Something filling, that will keep your tummy full for hours. Back during my very first winter (gosh,that makes it sound like it was so long ago, but it was only 2 or so years ago :P) I had a very limited cooking selection. I believe I had a total of 5 (yes, count it, FIVE) recipes that I cooked, alternating throughout the year. My main ones were Ayam Putih vX.X and Nasi Goreng Cheese. Both recipes very simple, yet so satisfying! Here, I feature Nasi Goreng Cheese :D

What you need:
1 piece boneless chicken, cut into bite-sized pieces - marinated in salt and pepper for about 15 min
1 tablespoon butter, plus extra for "seasoning"
2 shallots, sliced thinly
1 cup cold cooked white rice
2 eggs, beaten well and seasoned with salt and white pepper
A handful of cheddar cheese
Chicken stock and white pepper, for seasoning

What you do:

1. Melt the butter (or margarine, if you prefer) in a NON-STICK wok. When hot and bubbling, fry the chicken pieces until golden brown.
2. Add in the shallots and fry until soft and slightly translucent. Add in the rice, and stir well to combine. Make sure the rice is coated in the butter. *drool*
3. Pour half of the eggs into the rice, and stir well to combine. Leave for about 3 minutes to cook. Make a well in the center of the rice, and add the rest of the eggs. Wait until they have set, then break into small pieces and stir into the rice to mix well.
4. Season the fried rice well with chicken stock (concentrate or powder - salt if you have neither) and white pepper. Add in the cheese (as much as you like!) and mix well. Wait until the cheese is all melty, and serve immediately.

*drool* even the writing this up set me off. I actually haven't made this in close to a year, so yesterday was quite exciting, haha. High point of my day :P Anyway. A non-stick pan is absolutely essential, as is non-soggy rice. Without a non-stick pan, the cheese will stick like mad to the pan. With soggy (or soft rice) it will be very hard to mix everything up well without mashing the rice up. Like most nasi goreng, cold cooked overnight rice is best, but not necassary if you make the rice firm enough. I tried making this without either of these things, and it turned out bad. Very very bad. You have been warned.... :P

This recipe serves one and, for me, is the ultimate comfort food (read - FAT-tylicious :P) It has butter, eggs, chicken AND cheese! What else can you add that will make it unhealthier?! Scared yet? ;) Ahahaha. If it makes you feel any better, my first year was the year that I was thinnest, I think :P

But anyway, if you haven't already turned away in disgust, this dish is reaaaaaaalllly good! Its perfect for all those cold nights, its so hearty! The Bruneian version (or rather, the Ihsan version :P) of lasagne. My brothers have actually been adding cheese to their nasi goreng for years, but they never cooked it together with the rice. And the rice has always been flavoured with something else. So it doesn't count :P This one is flavoured by only the cheese (as well as some pepper and chicken stock, but oh well, cheese is the main flavour)

Back in my first year days, I marinated everything with salt and pepper, even the shallots :P My flatmates were always bemused to see me meticulously cutting up my shallots, then sprinkling them with salt and pepper and leaving them for 15 minutes. Hey, what can I say? First-time cook! Ahahahaha. Now, I do think its quite unnecessary, but there you go. You learn something all the time :D Shallots do not need to be salty ;) Unless you want to deepfry them to make crispy shallots. *drool* They are quite flavoursome on their own.

With any recipe, this can of course be modified to suit your tastes. Add in some fried dried chilli to give it a bit of a kick. Instead of using butter, feel free to use just a teaspoon of cooking oil. Although I have to say that chicken fried in butter tastes absolutely fantastic! Use only one egg, if you want. I just go for two because there are more egg pieces :P Eggs are essential in nasi goreng, I believe. ;)

And that's that! One of the few things I cooked during my first year away from home :D Because I usually ate a lot of rice with very little chicken (1 cup of rice to just about 100g chicken! That would be 4 small drummets, 1 thigh or drumstick, or a quarter of a breast) I would make the chicken very very flavoursome. My ayam putih was the epitome of this. But that's not till next time! :D

Quote of the day: Cheese - milk's leap towards immortality

Until it gets eaten that is :P And on a random note, I finished my final year practical project today! yayz! My days feel free already ;)