John and Claire's Famous Nasi Goreng Recipe
If you never enjoyed a Nasi Goreng at Claire’s place, then this story aims to share a little of what those special occasions were like. It also includes the recipe for this Indonesian staple.
The origin of Nasi Goreng
Nasi Goreng is one of Indonesia’s national dishes, although it’s also been eaten for centuries in Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei, and has now become popular across the world.
Nasi Goreng
There are various theories as to the origins of the dish. Some say it developed during Chinese immigration from the 10th century, while others say it may have been an Indonesian variant of a middle Eastern dish.
The term “Nasi Goreng” means “fried rice” in both the Indonesian and Malay languages. The dish is based on fried rice which is usually cooked with meat and vegetables.
The Dutch connection
During the 1600’s the powerful Dutch East India Company had established itself in the archipelago now known as Indonesia, gradually taking commercial control, and establishing monopolies across products including spices, coffee, tobacco, rubber and much more. The company eventually went bankrupt around 1800, at which time the Dutch government took control of what was then called the Dutch East Indies or the Netherlands East Indies.
As a result of centuries of colonial links with the area, Indonesian cuisine, including Nasi Goreng became very popular in the Netherlands.
Nasi Goreng and the O’Brien Family
So, what’s the connection between this Indonesian dish and the O’Brien family, and particularly Claire’s part of the family?
Claire was the eleventh of Irene and Bill’s twelve children. She and her husband Harry Henkes split up in the late 1960’s, and Claire and her five children moved to 33 Tulloh Street in Willoughby.
The Henkes residence at 33 Tulloh Street, Willoughby
Sometime during the early to mid 1970’s Claire met John Strookman, a Dutch man living in Naremburn. I’m sure that one of my five Henkes cousins can provide more details about how and when they met.
John’s full name was Johannes Petrus Strookman, and over time he became a big part of the Henkes family, and the wider O’Brien clan, attending all manner of family functions.
Given his Dutch origins, John was well acquainted with Indonesian cuisine and Nasi Goreng in particular. He introduced it to the Henkes family, and the rest is history. Every now and then the word would go around that a Nasi Goreng night was on the cards, and excitement would spread across the Henkes and Landsberry families, and beyond.
Sure, it was about the food. But it was also about the process of creating the food. This was no easy dish, particularly when all the accompaniments were added into the mix and everything had to be served up at the same time. There would often be a half a dozen people in the kitchen at once, in a well-coordinated team effort, all under John’s direction.
Sadly, John died on 7 April 1986. He was only in his mid 50’s – way too young.
Since Claire had worked closely with John on many a “nasi night”, she was proud to pick up the baton and run with it. I believe that her first solo Nasi Goreng was an evening in honour of John. Although when I say “solo” she would have been ably assisted by Max Horton (a regular at a nasi night), my Mum (Gwen), and likely other guests.
The recipe remained a closely guarded secret. Of course, various family members knew bits and pieces of the process having been part of the team tasked with assisting in its preparation. But only Claire was across it all.
Then, out of the blue around 2012 or 2013, the recipe was shared. I guess AC had decided that her “nasi days” were behind her now, and she wanted to pass the baton on to the next generation.
And so, here it is. John and Claire's Famous Nasi Goreng Recipe.
Gather a group of friends and family. Rope a few of them into being your assistants. And enjoy.
And always remember John Strookman and Claire Henkes as you do. In fact start the evening off with a toast to them both.
John and Claire's Famous Nasi Goreng Recipe
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There are two versions of this recipe. The first is the original recipe with my modifications, while the second is exactly as provided to me. I made modifications because I’m a cook who needs a VERY clear recipe to make things work, particularly with a dish like Nasi Goreng, which comes together at the last minute. Others will likely have more creative flair in the kitchen.
I’ll leave it to you to decide what works for you.
Recipe 1 - John and Claire's Famous Nasi Goreng Recipe - Modified
Serves 6
Ingredients
2 teaspoons Conimex Sambal Oelek spice paste – Available at Coles or Woolworths (note I changed this to 2 teaspoons as we like it a little spicier)
85g Boemboe Nasi Goreng spices – I found this here (note, I couldn’t find an 85g packet, one of these is 40g and one is 95g)
2 tablespoons crunchy peanut butter
3 tablespoons Conimex Kejap Manis Soy sauce – available at Coles or Woolworths
1/3 cup of shredded moist coconut (McKenzie's) – Available at Coles or Woolworths
Some shots of the trickier ingredients to help you find them
600g pork fillet
2 eggs for the omelette
½ a bunch of shallots (spring onions) - chopped finely
100g cashews for cooking
1kg medium sized green prawns – peeled and with tails removed
3 cups long grain rice (basmati)
Cooking oil (canola)
Ingredients for the garnish
100g cashews
½ a packet of prawn crisps
½ bunch chopped coriander
½ bunch of chopped shallots (spring onions)
Ingredients for the accompaniments – Fried Eggs
6 eggs – one for each person
Ingredients for the accompaniments – Fried bananas (OPTIONAL)
A whole fried banana, a fried egg, and fried prawn crisps may be a bit much for some people, given that the rice dish itself is very substantial. But the added sweetness of the banana is an excellent accompaniment.
Plain flour to coat bananas
2 eggs to coat bananas
Panko breadcrumbs
1 banana for every 1 to 2 people
Preparation
The night before Nasi Night
Slice the pork.
Add oil to the wok over high heat.
Once hot, add the pork and stir continuously until cooked.
In a large bowl mix the Boemboe Nasi Goreng spices, crunchy peanut butter and shredded moist coconut.
Add the cooked pork and coat it with the mix.
Cover and leave in the fridge overnight.
The morning of the Nasi Night
Cook the rice and leave it out covered.
When Nasi Night is almost upon you
In three separate bowls, place the flour, eggs and breadcrumbs.
Peel the bananas and cut into three pieces each. You could also do thick slices of banana.
Coat banana with flour, dip in beaten eggs and coat with breadcrumbs.
Set aside.
Chop the shallots (spring onions) and divide in half. Place half in a bowl along with the prawns, 100g of cashews, Conimex Kejap Manis Soy sauce, and Sambal Oelek.
In a separate bowl, add the other half of the shallots (spring onions) to the chopped coriander and 100g of cashews for garnish.
Enlist the help of two guests – you do the main dish in a wok, while one does the fried eggs, and another does the fried bananas and prawn crisps.
When ready to eat - main dish
Beat the omelette eggs in a small bowl or cup.
Heat 2 teaspoons canola oil in a wok over high heat, tilting to swirl oil, until smoking.
Add eggs and let cook undisturbed for about 10 seconds, then gently move the eggs back and forth with a spatula until they start to firm up. Remove the omelette and cut it into slices, then set aside.
Wipe the wok clean.
Add 2 teaspoons canola oil to the wok.
Add the rice and stir continuously to break it up, and until it just starts to brown.
Add the pork mix and stir continuously.
Add the bowl containing the prawns, shallots, cashews, Conimex Kejap Manis Soy sauce, and Sambal Oelek.
Stir continuously until the prawns are cooked.
Add the sliced omelette.
When ready to eat (and while the main dish is in progress) - eggs
Fry an egg for each person, keeping the yolks as soft as possible.
You may need to keep these in a warm oven depending on how many people you’re serving.
When ready to eat (and while the main dish is in progress) – bananas and prawn crisps
Either deep-fry the bananas in hot oil until golden brown and crispy, or shallow fry in a frypan.
Place them on paper towels to drain excess oil.
You may need to keep these in a warm oven depending on how many people you’re serving.
If serving with prawn crisps, deep fry these (unless you have the ready to eat ones).
To Serve
Place the rice dish on a large serving platter and top with the ingredients in the garnish bowl - chopped coriander, cashews and shallots.
Add the prawn crisps around the edge.
Serve the eggs and bananas on separate platters.
Recipe 2 - John and Claire's Famous Nasi Goreng Recipe - Original
Night before:
1 pkt (80g) Boemboe Nasi Goreng spices
2 tbspn Crunchy peanut butter
1/3 cup shredded moist coconut
1 lge pork fillet
1 omelette (use 2 eggs)
Fry pork fillets and cook omelette till light brown and combine with all the other ingredients, cover and leave overnight
Morning of:
3 cups rice
Cook rice and leave out covered
On the night of:
Bunch shallots chopped finely
Pkt Cashews
Conimex Kejap Manis Soy sauce (add to taste preference)
1 tspn Sambal Oelek spice
1kg med size prawns peeled
Add these ingredients to the Pork mix and stir in rice
Accompaniments:
Fried eggs
Crumbed deep fried bananas
Prawn crisps
Shopping list:
Jar Sambal Oelek spices
1 pkt Boembo Nasi Goreng spices
Crunchy peanut butter
Shredded moist coconut (McKenzie's)
1 lge pork fillet
2 Eggs for omlette and one fried egg for each person
Bunch Shallots
Pkt Cashews
Conimex Kejap Manis Soy sauce
1kg Prawns
Pkt Prawn crisps
Cooking oil
Cornflake crumbs
Bunch coriander
Directions on the night:
One fried egg for each person
One floured, egged and breadcrumbed banana deep fried for each person
1/2 pack of prawn crisps deep fried for decoration
After combining the pork mix with the rice and prawns, put on large service platter and top with1/2 bunch chopped coriander, cashews, shallots and deep fried bananas and arrange prawn crisps around the edges.
Tip:
Conimex soy sauce and Sambal Oelek chilli paste can be bought at Woolworths.
It can be harder to get the Boemboe Nasi Goreng spices as they come from Malaysia - I ordered them online and had them mailed to me within 48 hours through Aussie Spices (www.aussiespices.com)
Written by Rob Landsberry, with the Nasi Goreng recipe provided by John Strookman and Claire Henkes, last modified 17 June 2023