Hey guys!! Actually let’s do that again – hello from the United States of America! I’ve been here for nearly 10 days now and I have to say I’m partially home sick (although the term home sick is kinda vague for me too because it’s really difficult to define home for me).
I gotta admit, I travel quite a bit through the year, and usually for long durations. But my April travel is kinda like a ritual for me, something I’ve been doing for the longest time (since 2011!). I always have to go somewhere in April. It’s like an Aqilah thing. Lol. It’s also the best time to travel because most countries are in between the hot (summer) and cold (winter) and nobody really travels in April (so lesser crowd!).
And coincidentally, and something I’ve only discovered last year, April is also the month for one of the biggest music festival in the world – COACHELLA. Another coincidence? It’s also held in one of my favourite country to visit in this world – you guessed it – USA!
I have a soft spot for North America to be honest. I think it dated back to my days living in Toronto in 2014. North America was also kind of the birth place of my very first initial idea that I have for my company today – 1habit.co. It’s where that light bulb moment just came through while travelling USA in 2014. So I guess that’s why USA has a soft spot for me.
So here I am. Writing this out while just chilling in my hotel room in Las Vegas.
Anyway guys! Since I’m already here, I thought it’ll be super cool to make this dish. It’s so lame I know lol but it’s funny! And healthy. And so delicious. And of course comforting.
So here we go – presenting Nasi Goreng Coachella (also known as Nasi Goreng USA) the Asian Meal Prep version.
Let’s sidetrack a bit – the first time I heard about Nasi Goreng USA was possibly when I was a kid. I thought it was cool, only until I realised it’s named that way not because it has anything to do with my fav country to visit but because it’s made with Udang (prawns), Sotong (calamari) and Ayam (chicken). HOW SMART RIGHT?! LOLZ.
So you know what we can do to make it smarter? Make it healthier of course. Something #mealprep friendly too by popping it into 3 containers. And boom. Your meals served for 3 days in less than 15 mins – healthier than our mamak can ever do.
Will you be up to this challenge to make my version of Nasi Goreng USA? Give it a go man – you’ll be pleased, I promise. And here’s sending some love from USA because, nasi goreng. LOL okay. Enjoy!
P.s. On a serious note. I made this dish with pretty much just a spray of olive oil and used brown instead of white rice. Added in a ton of veggies and used tomato paste (instead of tomato sauce or ketchup) and my homemade chilli paste. All in all – 539 calories with about 54g of protein. Win.
3-Meal Prep: Nasi Goreng Coachella (aka Nasi Goreng USA!)
Makes – 3 meals
Time needed – 15 mins
Cost – ~S$5.60 per serve
Here’s what you need:
- 200g chicken breast, sliced
- 9 prawns, peeled and deveined
- 100g calamari rings
- 2 spring onions, chopped
- 2 small carrots, sliced
- 1 each of red, green and yellow capsicum, sliced,
- 1/2 white onions, sliced
- 1 tsp minced garlic
- 1 tbsp homemade chilli paste (or store bought if you don’t have any)
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 tbsp fish sauce
- 3 whole eggs
- Extra virgin olive oil spray
- 1 cup uncooked brown rice, cooked and let it cool completely
Here’s how you do it:
- Prepare all ingredients as above and have it ready before you begin.
- Heat a non-stick skillet on medium high and spray extra virgin olive oil. Once pan is hot, add onion and garlic. Stir-fry for 2 minutes until fragrant.
- Add in chicken breast and cook till the chicken turns white (or slightly brown) or for about 4-5 mins.
- Toss in prawns and calamari and stir-fry for 2-3 mins until the prawn is pink.
- Toss in tomato paste and chilli paste and stir-through until well covered.
- Add in capsicum and carrots and stir-fry for 1-2 mins.
- Add in rice and mix it all up.
- Finally add in fish sauce and spring onion. Stir fry for a few stirs and then remove from heat.
- On a separate skillet, spray with extra virgin olive oil and cook eggs sunny side up. Remove and set aside.
- If storing for meal prep: Let your meal completely cool before adding into your containers. Add equal amount of nasi goreng and one sunny side up into your containers. Store in fridge for up to 3 days and reheat in a microwave before consuming.
- If serving immediately: Serve with sunny side up!
How much this costs:
*Keep in mind that this numbers are a rough guide. It depends on where you buy it and when. You can definitely save more money if you purchase in wet markets etc. At the end of the day it’s possible to eat healthy without breaking the bank. Also, ~ denotes the items that should already be in your pantry for a long time or it’s a very small amount.
- 200g chicken breast $2.00
- 9 prawns $4.00
- 100g calamari rings $3.50
- 2 spring onions $0.20
- 2 small carrots $0.40
- 1 each of red, green and yellow capsicum $3.95
- 1/2 white onions $0.60
- 1 tsp minced garlic ~
- 1 tbsp homemade chilli paste
- 1 tbsp tomato paste $0.50
- 1 tbsp fish sauce $0.20
- 3 whole eggs $0.60
- Extra virgin olive oil spray ~
- 1 cup uncooked brown rice $1.00
Total price = ~S$16.75
Price per serve = ~ S$5.60
Nutrition Information
The nutrition information below is based on the ingredients I’ve used above. It may not be an accurate representation of the Nasi Goreng USA you made.
This recipe yields approximately 3 serves without the sunny side up egg.
Calories 539 Protein 56.9g Carbs 53.4g Fats 6.9g Saturated Fats 1.2g
