Jakarta – Former president and Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) chairwoman Megawati Soekarnoputri's nasi goreng (fried rice) recipe was shared with the public on the first day of an open campaign on Sunday.
Despite being absent for the launch, the PDIP's secretary general, Hasto Kristiyanto, who had replaced her at the event, shared the recipe with hundreds of supporters in Tangerang, Banten.
Hasto said Megawati had come up with it when her father, Indonesia's first president Sukarno, asked her to cook food for protesters.
Even Indonesia's third president, Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid, said the dish was one of his favorites, Hasto added. Megawati served as Gus Dur's vice president before the latter was impeached and the former ascended to the presidency.
Prior to the campaign's launch, the recipe was leaked by a number of women who participated in a cooking competition centered round the dish.
"Starting from today, Bu Mega's recipe will be available to all Indonesian citizens," Hasto said after tasting one of the two winners' offering.
The ingredients consist of garlic, red onion, onions, shrimp paste, cabbage and three types of chili – gendot (fat) chili, curly red chili and cayenne pepper.
Apart from the main ingredients, the recipe also requires two pieces of candlenut, salt, soy sauce and chicken fat. All of them are mixed with butter, two eggs and chopped chicken breast.
"First, cook the spices (such as the chili) with the chopped chicken breast and chicken fat. Then, fry the portions of rice along with the eggs. Put some soy sauce as you stir the ingredients. Lastly, mix the cooked spices and combine it with the fried rice until they blend," Hasto said in a statement on behalf of Megawati. (mai/swd)