DIY Nasi Goreng Spice Mix

Growing up in a dutch immigrant household, we had nasi goreng (Indonesian fried rice) at least once a week. It was my dad's favourite meal. My mom, who wasn't a fan of spice, would make it with just the package of spice mix. My dad and brothers would throw Tabasco sauce on it liberally. To me, that flavour still tastes like a bit of my childhood. Even though I'm a little more stingy with the Tabasco.

I often made it myself from the mixes after moving out. Even when the Dutch store was far away, I would stock up on bags to last a few months at a time.

It was only in the past few years that I thought to make my own spice mix instead of buying those imported baggies of Conimex or Inproba. I live near an Asian grocery store now, so I've been able to load up my pantry with spices, and I was pleased to find that I had everything I needed already on my shelves.

I found a few recipes online, and tweaked and combined to settle on this one, which seems to hit my nostalgia tastebuds just right.