BANGING FRIED RICE

It was a quandary that obsessed me. If one combines eggplant and bacon as the flavouring for a fried rice dish, to what stage should either ingredient be pre-cooked before adding them? And does one perhaps need rehydrated dried shrimp too? How much garlic and ginger would be overkill? What made it even more pressing was that somewhere around halfway through I realized I was actually asleep, and cooking in a dream.
But it was too interesting to wake up.

And in retrospect I think that rehydrated dried shrimp gilded in bacon grease would add an interesting textural and visual element, provided they were on the large-ish side. Essentially everything needs to be sautéed before dumping in the rice. Plenty eggplant. Not so much bacon. Enough dry shrimp so they're noticed. Scant garlic and ginger.
Cilantro is optional, but advisable.

Both Chinese and Indian diners would find a lot to like in it, hence calling it 'banging fried rice' (bhaingan pulao), but given that much of what I do is Dutch Indonesian, the words 'terong' and 'nasi goreng' would be more appropriately used.
Sambal on the side. Of course.

Just for more Dutchness, sweet soy sauce (ketjap manis) would also be used. That might be the only thing of which Uncle Roger would approve, but Jamie Oliver probably wouldn't.
Both of them would object to the complete absence of eggs.


Nigel Ng should have some salt fish and chicken fried rice instead (鹹魚雞粒炒飯 'haam yü gai naap chaau faan'). Plus extra sambal. Jamie Oliver shouldn't. He would not like it.


By the way, if you live in an area where American style smoked bacon, presliced, is not available (like England, France, and Groningen), use rookworst instead. Don't crisp it.
And yes, sambal on the side. Always.


Sambal. It's a blessing.



==========================================================================
NOTE: Readers may contact me directly:
LETTER BOX.
All correspondence will be kept in confidence.
==========================================================================