Pattaya Fried Rice, more commonly known as Nasi Goreng Pattaya in Malaysia, is instantly recognisable by the thin egg omelette wrapped around the fragrant fried rice.

While it’s named after a region in Thailand, you would be pretty hard pressed to find nasi goreng Pattaya widely available in Pattaya itself.

As it turns out, this dish is actually a Malaysian invention – which is hardly surprising considering the variety of nasi goreng on offer in many of our Mamak stalls.

Chicken is normally the standard meat in most Pattaya Fried Rice. However, things have been changed up a little with some less than typical ingredients for a Butterkicap oomph!

INGREDIENTS

For the fried rice:

• 25g garlic

• 25g shallots

• 1 carrot, diced

• 25g dried shrimp (udang kering)

• 3g dried squid, sliced small

• 100g diced beef

• 10g fish sauce

• 20g sesame oil

• 20g cooking oil

• 840g cooked rice, cooled down

• 80g butter

• 100ml water

• 20g light soya sauce

• 20g sweet soya sauce

• 20g Kikkoman sauce

• Salt

• Pepper

• Boiled water

For the egg wrap:

• 60g cooking oil

• 5 eggs

• A pinch of salt and pepper

For the toppings:

• 20g butter

• 20g sweet soya sauce

METHOD

• Preparing the meat and seafood

1. Marinate the diced beef with a pinch of pepper. Set aside for later.

2. Separate the dried shrimp and dried squid into small, shallow bowls. Fill the bowls with boiled water, just touching the top of the shrimp and squid.

• Making the egg wrap

1. While the shrimp and squid soften up, get the omelette started.

2. First, break the eggs into a bowl and add a pinch of salt and pepper. Then, whip it up good until thoroughly mixed.

3. Heat up your wok or a large skillet on high heat. If using a non-stick wok or skillet, pour in all the cooking oil and let it heat up until the oil starts to smoke.

4. Protecting your hands, carefully swirl the oil around the wok or pan, covering as much surface area as possible.

5. Are you ready? This is where you need good reflexes. Pour in the egg mixture and carefully swirl the egg all around the wok, coating as much of it as possible.

6. You want a thin, even omelette, but not too thin that it will break or get too crispy.

7. Once the omelette is cooked, turn off the heat and carefully remove with a thin spatula, starting with the edges. If you’ve oiled the wok sufficiently or used a non-stick pan, this step should be a little less nerve-wrecking.

8. Find a big plate then gently – gently – slide the omelette onto it.

9. Got through that part ok? Now take a big breath of relief. The rest of it is pretty easy.

• Now let’s start cooking the fried rice

1. Put the garlic, shallots and a pinch of salt in a pestle and crush these with a mortar. You don’t want to overdo this – just a few pounds to crush and flatten the shallots and garlic is sufficient.

2. Set aside the mixture. Transfer the soaked dried shrimp (with its water) into the pestle. Using a twisting motion with your wrist, gently crush the shrimp, mixing it with the water. This doesn’t need to be too fine either.

3. Mix light soya sauce, sweet soya sauce and Kikkoman sauce together. Give it a little stir.

4. Reuse the wok – there’s no need to wash it i.e. less dishes to do.

5. Pour in the cooking oil and half the butter. Let the mixture heat up and the butter, thoroughly melt.

6. Next, add in the garlic and shallots and fry until fragrant. Then, toss in the dried shrimp and dried squid, including the juices, and fry until crispy.

7. Add in the beef and carrots next, 100ml of water and a pinch of salt and pepper. You want to let the carrots cook through properly.

8. Once the carrots are cooked, add the cold rice in and stir well. Add in the fish sauce, sesame oil, and 20ml (1 tablespoon) of the soya sauce mixture.

9. Add in the remaining butter.

10. Once everything has been thoroughly mixed, spoon the fried rice onto the middle of the egg, leaving the edges empty.

11. Fold the exposed edges of the omelette over the rice, into a square parcel.

Finishing touches

1. Once everything is neat and tidy, it’s time to finish with the toppings.

2. Add 20g (or 1 tablespoon or a giant chunk) of butter on top of the wrapped parcel and generously drizzle sweet soy sauce all over it. The heat of the rice will melt the butter, resulting in decadently delicious ooziness.

We hope you enjoy our little take on this classic fried rice dish.

Extra tips

1. If using a non-stick skillet or wok, use a brush to spread the cooking oil around the pan instead. Just 20g or 1 tablespoon of oil will suffice. For extra yumminess, ditch the oil and go for butter instead.

2. If you’d like some green in your fried rice, add half a cup of peas while cooking the carrots. You can also toss in some sliced spring onions just after everything has been combined and cooked.

3. Optional garnishing – bawang goreng (deep-fried onions).

4. You can get several servings of Pattaya fried rice from this recipe, so you may want to make more than one omelette.

5. This recipe is kid-friendly. If you want some spiciness, serve it with sliced chilli padi in light soy sauce on the side.

This article first appeared in butterkicap.com

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