Move aside Nasi Goreng – it’s time to meet Jakarta’s Nasi Gila – Indonesian Crazy Rice! A super quick 10 minute stir fry with sausage, chicken, veggies and epic spicy homemade sauce.
Why We Love This
Bring the flavour of classic Indonesian street food into your kitchen with this easy fried rice recipe! This dish is super satisfying and a complete meal with protein, fresh veggies and rice.
Homemade is so much tastier than regular takeaway fried rice, and this way you know exactly what’s in it! It’s perfect for using up leftover veggies or rice.
We love the Indonesian flavours of sambal and kecap manis. Tweak the sauce ingredients to get it just how you like it.
Related: Nasi Goreng Fried RIce / Sambal Telur Spicy Eggs
What is Nasi Gila?
Nasi Gila, also known as Indonesian Crazy Rice, is a popular street food dish in Jakarta. It’s often served up with krupuk (prawn crackers) and fresh tomato and cucumber slices.
This spicy dish starts with a bed of white rice, then is loaded on top with stir fried egg, vegetables and meat in a spicy sweet soy and sambal sauce.
The meat can include hotdogs (sosis), shredded chicken and meatballs, while the vegetables are usually a combination of cabbage, choy sum and spring onion.
What You’ll Need
For the fillings:
- Sausage – Called sosis in Indonesian, we use skinless hotdogs sliced on a diagonal.Sub with cocktail frankfurts, spam or even kabana. You can also make this with leftover beef meatballs from bakso soup.
- Chicken – This is a great way to use up leftover rotisserie chicken or shredded chicken breast. You can also poach fresh chicken breast and shred before continuing with the recipe if you need.
- Veggies – Common inclusions are cabbage and green leafy veggies like bok choy, choy sum or spinach. Feel free to use up leftover veggies out of the fridge like thinly sliced carrot, or casicum / bell pepper, bean shoots, even mushrooms. You could even add kimchi for extra heat and flavour!
- Rice – We love jasmine rice for this recipe, but you can use any medium to long grain variety.
For the sauce:
- Kecap Manis – Secret to the classic Indonesian sweet and salty flavour profile. You can make kecap manis easily at home if you can’t find store-bought.
- Sambal – This is a spicy Indonesian chilli sauce that’s so popular, if it’s not used directly in an Indonesian recipe, it’ll most likely be served on the side. Sub with sriracha, gochujang paste, a sprinkling of cayenne pepper, chilli powder or extra fresh sliced chilli if needed.
- Oyster Sauce – Sub with shrimp paste or Worcestershire sauce.
- Other Pantry Staples – You’ll also need soy sauce, fish sauce, tomato sauce / ketchup, sugar, pepper.
How to make Nasi Gila:
For the sauce:
- In a small bowl, add the kecap manis, oyster sauce, tomato sauce, sambal, fish sauce, soy sauce, sugar and white pepper. Mix until combined into a smooth sauce.
For the nasi gila:
- Pop a large wok over medium-high heat. Throw in the vegetable oil, onions, garlic and optional chilli. Fry for a few minutes until the onion is translucent.
- Move everything to the side of the pan and pour in the beaten egg. Allow to cook through, scrambling with a spatula as you go.
- Pour in the hotdogs, chicken, cabbage and bok choy. Continue frying for another few minutes.
- Next, pour in the bowl of sauce and mix everything through. Once everything is coated, switch off the heat.
- To serve, divide the cooked white rice on the side of each bowl. Then ladle a scoop or two of the nasi gila next to or on top of the rice. Enjoy!
Wandercook’s Tips
- Sides – Serve with fresh tomato wedges and cucumber slices.
- Extra Oil – If at any time the filling starts to stick to the pan, add a little extra oil.
FAQs
No, you can cook this dish in a regular frying pan if you need. Woks are preferred though as they transfer the heat really well for even, fast cooking.
We recommend storing this in an air-tight container for 2-3 days in the fridge. Otherwise, pop it into the freezer – for the best quality use it up within 2-3 months.
The quickest and easiest way is to pop it in the microwave (covered). You can of course reheat it in a frying pan, but then you’ll have an extra dish to wash… 😉
Variations
- Rice – Cook with chicken stock for extra flavour. Swap for mee goreng noodles!
- Make Nasi Goreng Gila – Instead of serving this dish on plain white rice, stir fry the rice along with the main ingredients. It’s a great way to use up excess cooked rice.
- Make it Spicier – Add more fresh chili, extra sambal, gochujang paste, rayu sesame chilli oil or shichimi togarashi.
- Make it Vegetarian – Leave out the chicken and hot dog sausage. Swap the fish sauce and oyster sauce for a vegetarian version.
- Switch up the Proteins – Swap for firm or fried tofu, shrimp / prawns of thinly sliced pork. Serve with a hard boiled egg per person.
- Garnishes – Top with crispy fried shallots, crushed peanuts, spring onion or fresh coriander / cilantro.
More South East Asian favourites:
★ Did you make this recipe? Please leave a comment and a star rating below!
Ingredients
For the sauce:
- 4 tbsp kecap manis / sweet soy sauce
- 2 tbsp oyster sauce
- 2 tbsp tomato sauce / ketchup
- 2 tbsp sambal sub sriracha
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp fish sauce
- ½ tsp sugar
- ¼ tsp white pepper
Optional:
- 1-2 bird’s eye chilli chopped for extra heat
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Sliced tomato and cucumber
Instructions
For the sauce:
- In a small bowl, add the kecap manis, oyster sauce, tomato sauce, sambal, fish sauce, soy sauce, sugar and pepper. Mix until combined into a smooth sauce.4 tbsp kecap manis / sweet soy sauce, 2 tbsp oyster sauce, 2 tbsp tomato sauce / ketchup, 2 tbsp sambal, 1 tbsp soy sauce, 1 tbsp fish sauce, ½ tsp sugar, ¼ tsp white pepper
For the nasi gila:
- Pop a large wok over medium-high heat. Throw in the vegetable oil, onions, garlic and optional chilli. Fry for a few minutes until the onion is translucent.½ onion, 3 tsp garlic, 1 tbsp vegetable oil, 1-2 bird’s eye chilli
- Move everything to the side of the pan and pour in the beaten egg. Allow to cook through, scrambling with a spatula as you go.3 eggs
- Pour in the hotdogs, chicken, cabbage and bok choy. Continue frying for another few minutes.3 skinless hotdogs, 1 cup roto chicken, 2 cups cabbage, 1 cup bok choy
- Next, pour in the bowl of sauce and mix everything through. Once everything is coated, switch off the heat.
- To serve, divide the cooked white rice on the side of each bowl. Then ladle a scoop or two of the nasi gila next to or on top of the rice. Garnish with optional: sliced tomato, cucumber and salt and pepper. Enjoy!2 cups cooked white rice, Salt and pepper, Sliced tomato and cucumber
Video
Recipe Notes
- Rice – Cook with chicken stock for extra flavour. Swap for mee goreng noodles!
- Make Nasi Goreng Gila – Instead of serving this dish on plain white rice, stir fry the rice along with the main ingredients. It’s a great way to use up excess cooked rice.
- Make it Spicier – Add more fresh chili, extra sambal, gochujang paste, rayu sesame chilli oil or shichimi togarashi.
- Make it Vegetarian – Leave out the chicken and hot dog sausage. Swap the fish sauce and oyster sauce for a vegetarian version.
- Switch up the Proteins – Swap for firm or fried tofu, shrimp / prawns of thinly sliced pork. Serve with a hard boiled egg per person.
- Garnishes – Top with crispy fried shallots, crushed peanuts, spring onion or fresh coriander / cilantro.
Nutrition
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