Brunei (pronounced Brunai): officially the State of Brunei, Abode of Peace. It is located on the north coast of the island of Borneo, in Southeast Asia, apart from its coastline by the South China Sea, it is completely surrounded by the state of Sarawak, Malaysia, is separated into two parts by Limbang, which is part of Sarawak. Brunei, the remnant of a very powerful sultanate, regained its independence from the United Kingdom on 1 January 1984 and is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations.

Fun Facts: It is one of the smallest countries on earth. at 5,765 sq. km. (El Salvador is larger at 21,040 sq km. Who Knew!). POP 150, 000
Over half the population is Malaysian and most are Muslims.

Recipe: Nasi Goreng Keropok Belinjau (a version of Fried Rice)

Ingredients:
2 cups cooked one-day old rice (of course I used whole grain)
6 tbsps margarine, melted (you can free hand it here, I used about 4)
4 oz. mixed vegetables (I suggest the asian or oriental frozen mixed veggies from Green Giant, Europe’s Best or President’s Choice)
4 oz.  prawns, peeled
1/4 lb. chicken meat, thinly sliced (you can get away with using 1/2 lb. I did!)
2 shallots, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp paprika powder
1 cube of chicken stock
2 stalks spring onion, cut diagonally
1 stalk coriander leaves, chopped

Directions:
Heat margarine and stir fry minced ingredients until aromatic. Add prawn, chicken meat, pepper, paprika powder and chicken stock.
Add rice and mix well.
Add mixed vegetables, spring onions and coriander leaves. Stir to combine.

Ok… so overall this recipe was pretty easy. And I learned a lot! For example, I didn’t know that cilantro and coriander where the same thing, I went around to the supermarkets looking for coriander and they kept showing me cilantro! Finally I went home to look it up and sure enough, they are the same. Also, Spring onions are the same as Scallions but can be substituted if necessary by green onions. I used 4 stalks instead of 2.
I don’t own a kitchen scale (I really should get one though!) so I measured the meat by hand and I’m sure I used more than what the recipe called for but it didn’t ruin the taste one bit.

Make sure you put the prawns or shrimp in ice water (maybe even a couple of ice cubes in there too) after you shell them and remove the head and tail until you are ready to add them to the pot, it actually helps keep the flavour when you cook them, just a little tip I learned watching cooking shows. ;)

Verdict: This dish was so aromatic and it was very good! I had leftovers so brought some to work to share, everyone agreed that the smell was so good it made people hungry and it tasted even better the day after. The recipe didn’t call for salt and there really isn’t a need to add it, the buillon cube is enough sodium. I believe that even the pickiest eater would like this (unless they don’t like cilantro/coriander). I will definitely make it again, I think it would be a great addition to any potluck too!