Talking about pop culture, how many foods or drinks actually made it into shaping our society? You can name big brands or food empires all you want, and it is indeed true. Foods like hamburgers, hot dogs, and pizza has been a worldwide phenomenon due to American domination in our pop culture. Recently it was bubble tea and Korean food that played a pretty significant part in our popular culture due to its exposure in social media and of course, online K-drama streaming services.
Every other food has its own mark in history and pop culture, probably not as significant compared to pizza or dark sugary-fizzy drink we all familiar with. But nonetheless, Nasi Goreng in this case left some pretty remarkable marks in; not just in nusantara region, but also; the world as we unravel its steps in pop culture through time.
Do you know that during colonial times, Nasi Goreng was considered as an elite dish? (Rahman, 2016). As listed in Rijsttafel, a set of menu that showed dishes consumed daily by the East Indies Dutch in restaurants and as a repertoire for home cooks. Surely, Nasi Goreng was one that surprisingly made a sub-category. Another fun fact according to a legendary chef William Wongso, is that Nasi Goreng now has become a mandatory menu in European; mainly in the Netherlands; restaurants .
In Bumi Manusia, a novel by Indonesian writer Pramoedya Ananta Toer there's a scene where this main character Minke, fled on a train. Nasi Goreng was then served for him. It was oily and everything with sunny side up and chicken on top of a banana leaf. He said it was too 'luxurious' for him.
Geef Mij Maar Nasi Goreng (Give Me My Nasi Goreng), was a song composed by Wieteke van Dort in 1977. van Dort herself was an Indo-Dutch mix. The song was written for her longing towards Indonesia and its cuisine sometime after she was forced to return to the Netherlands due to West Irian conflict.
Another interesting pop culture mark was when Barrack Obama visited Indonesia. In his famous and memorable speech reminiscing his childhood as 'Anak Menteng' , clearly Nasi Goreng was one of his favourite; among other anecdotes that he made, which was the highlight of the entire speech.
Let's not forget the moment when Nasi Goreng ranked #2 on CNN's most delicious dishes in the world (2017). It clearly was a moment to remember.
It started as a peasant food. Its versatility and humility brought itself to every single corner we can find; from street to high-class restaurants. When fingers ran through the whole menu, at some point it'll stumble upon this re-cooked leftover.
Source:
https://historia.id/kultur/articles/pesona-nasi-goreng-P0mrK
Rahman, F. (2016). Rijsttafel. Jakarta, Indonesia: Gramedia.
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