Kampung Fried Rice (Village-style Fried Rice)

I used to work in an office building which had a cafeteria on the 3rd floor. Before my days of intermittent fasting, my colleagues and I would quickly stop by the 3rd floor to get our daily breakfast to go and eat together in the office pantry. One of my favorite breakfast items is kampung fried rice, with a super-greasy-but-yummy fried egg on the side. It was a pretty plain dish, yet it was so flavorful. It was also super spicy – I would definitely need to have a lot of water on standby – but it was delicious.

After Kak’mbang retired, I had to ramp up my repertoire of dishes to prepare for our daily meals. There were days when I felt a little more adventurous and I’d try more complex dishes to have with rice, but there were also days when I just wanted a one-pot meal. Chinese fried rice is always a good option, but one day I felt a bit nostalgic for that awesome kampung fried rice I used to have at my old work place.

Seeking inspiration

I just discovered Che Nom’s Youtube channel at this point, and I saw her video for kampung fried rice. Her version is a lot more complete, unlike the simple version I’m used to seeing. The rice is flavored with savory anchovies and belacan, there’s chicken, shrimp and eggs for protein, and water spinach for our veg. The water spinach really makes this recipe very traditional and authentic.

Once I’ve made my own kampung fried rice, I was forever ruined. Any other kampung fried rice I ordered from different stalls simply can’t measure up to this recipe. Here I’m sharing my version of Che Nom’s amazing recipe, with more precise measurements for the ingredients, adjusted to my preference. My mom can’t really take spicy food, so I’ve substantially reduced the amount of chili in my recipe. Feel free to increase the quantity to taste.

I also absolutely love the 40cm/15 ¾-inch carbon steel wok I now use for making this dish and any other dish needing high heat. It’s naturally non-stick, and gives me the closest approximation to wok hei despite not having the benefit of a restaurant power burner. If you love wok cooking, have the space and the extra cash for it, I highly recommend investing in one.

Step by step

In a small blender jar, add the shallots, garlic, Thai chilies, belacan, and 2 tablespoons anchovies.

Add some water into the jar and blitz into a smooth paste.

In a large wok over medium-high heat, heat the oil. Add a handful of anchovies and fry until golden. Remove from heat and set aside.

Add the blended ingredients and cook, stirring, until all the liquid has evaporated, 2 to 3 minutes.

Next, add the chicken and shrimp and cook, stirring, until just cooked, 1 to 2 minutes.

Add the oyster sauce and anchovy stock cube, and stir to combine.

Push the contents of the wok to the side, and add the eggs.

Break up the yolks a little, then sprinkle with the ground white pepper. Let set for about 30 seconds, then scramble the eggs.

Add the water spinach stalks and cook, stirring, until softened.

Once the stalks have softened, add the leaves and cook, stirring, until wilted.

Add the rice and cook, stirring constantly, until thoroughly combined. Crank the heat up to high and keep cooking, until the rice starts to sizzle and is no longer moist.

Serve hot, topped with the fried anchovies and cucumber slices. Fried egg and fish crackers are also very popular accompaniments.