Jive Kitchen

Cooking: Morrocoan Chicpeas Salad

noreply@blogger.com (Scal) — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 08:36:00 +0000

I got bored with Thousand Island salad dressing, and when chatting with a friend about salad, he reccomend this salad. Turns out that this salad is very much worth the effort. For less than 1 hour, you get a spicy and refreshing salad.

The original recipe can be found in the link section below. Note that I can’t find the red onion, and I ommit the Foccacea. You can also find the picture of my salad in the link section below. For now, I would like to write about the exotic stuff, which contributes to the taste of the salad.

Cumin is popular in Mexican, North African, and Indian cuisine. The spice was formed from Cumin seed, which have a distinctive bitter flavor and strong, warm aroma due to their abundant essential oil content. Their smell can also be detected in the eater’s sweat even after consuming only small amounts. In Jakarta, you can find it in Diamond or Sogo Supermarket. Look at spice section. (Source: Wikipedia)

Feta Cheese is a classic curd cheese in brine whose tradition dates back to Greece thousands of years ago. It is made exclusively from goat’s and sheep’s milk. It give a tangy, salty flavor that can range from mild to sharp. It is one of the ingredients of Greek salad. In Jakarta, you can find it in Sogo Supermarket. Look at diary section. (Source: Wikipedia)

Lemon fruit, cultivated primarily for their juice, though the pulp and rind are also used, primarily in cooking or mixing. Lemon juice is about 5% citric acid, which gives lemons a sour taste. The fruit is available throughout many supermarket in Jakarta. (Source: Wikipedia)

Chilli gave the hot taste to the food. If you like the very hot one, put the chillies witht he seed, like what I did. For the purpose of food presentation, make sure you bought the big chillies in supermarket, not the small one sold in local market.

Garlic has a strong and characteristic odor and an acrid taste, and yields an offensively smelling oil, essence of garlic. (Source: Wikipedia)

Olive Oil is an oil extracted from the fruit of the European olive tree. It is regarded as a healthy dietary oil because of its high content of monounsaturated fat. (Source: Wikipedia)

Ingredients:
6 tbs olive oil
3 garlic cloves, sliced
4 tsp cumin, lightly crushed
2 red chillies, seeded, thinly sliced
1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed several times
3 tomatoes, halved, seeded and thinly sliced
zest and juice of 1 lemon
1 foccacia (my favourite from Vineth Bakery), substitute with Turkish Bread or Indian Naan
½ pack Feta cheese
1 Cucumber, cut into thin batons (my Lurch Mandolin do it in no time)
½ Red Onion (NOTshallots aka brambang aka bawang merah), thinly sliced
1 cup shredded red cabbage

Directions:
- Put 5 tbs Olive oil in the pan, add garlic, chillies and cumin, temper (warm over medium heat for 10 minutes-don’t burn da thing , especially the garlic. Tempering is an Indian cooking method to release aroma from spices without cooking it.
- Add the chickpeas, warm through (5 mins)
- Add tomatoes, lemon zest and juice, set aside
- Brushed foccacia with remaining oil, grill or pan fried until crisp and golden, tear or cut with bread knife
- Toss remaining vegetable with chickpea mixture, topped with crumbled feta served with foccacia, enjoy with friend, in a porch with a glass of iced tea hmmm

Recipe From http://ariep.multiply.com/recipes/item/1

Tampoyak: Face Your Fear at Sari Sanjaya

noreply@blogger.com (Scal) — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 09:30:00 +0000

For some people, the smell of Durian is enough to scare them away. But in Palembang's Dishes, Durian is not enough. It is being fermented, then served with spices as condiment. Are you feeling sick, or does it trigger your curiosity? If the later, go to Sari Sanjaya Palembang Restaurant.

Tempoyak, made from fermented Durian

Chances are, if you can stand Durian, you will get used to the pungent taste of Tempoyak.But for those who choose not to try it, there are other delicious Palembang Dishes. The fish is sure not to be missed. Just a simple grilled Patin (Kind of Catfish), served with sweet soy sauce would satiate your taste. Or Egg Martabak, served with Potato Curry. Unlike the Martabak sold in Jakarta, Palembang's Martabak is simply plain egg and flour wrap to be eaten with Potato Curry.

Egg Martabak with Potato Curry

After the the main course, don't forget to check the display of snacks right at the entrance of Sari Sanjaya. There are various local sweet cakes and snack just to finish of the whole dining experience

Sari Sanjaya Restaurant
Kompleks Flavor Bliss Alam Sutera, Serpong
For more photo of the food, please visit here

Weekly Meals 16 - 22 January 2012

noreply@blogger.com (Scal) — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 17:00:00 +0000

Monday 16 January 2012
Breakfast: Lees Whole Wheat Bread with Skippy
Lunch: Buffet Lunch at Hanamasa Japanese Shabu and Yakiniku
Dinner: Nasi Bakar at RSPI

Nasi Bakar at RSPI

Tuesday 17 January 2012

Breakfast: Lees Whole Wheat Bread with Skippy
Lunch: Hotel Mulia Buffet: All the sweets, and Fried Rice with Salted Fish and Kacang Panjang with Chicken Saute. Desserts with almond pie and raisins pie
Dinner: Two piece of Cavendish Banana, as seen in the picture

Sweets at Hotel Mulia

Wednesday 18 January 2012
Breakfast: One piece of Cavendish Banana
Lunch: Doner Kebab Regular Chicken

Saturday 21 January 2012
Lunch: Umaku Alam Sutra
Dinner: Take away from Sari Sanjaya

Weekly Meals 9 - 15 January 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Scal) — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 17:00:00 +0000

Monday 9 January 2011
Breakfast: Whole Wheat Bread from Apple Berry with Morin Chocolate Peanut Butter. Great breat, but the Morin is not so great
Lunch: The famous Bakmi GM
Dinner: Mie Tektek RSPI. Once is enough. Fried tofu with vegetables, this one is good

Fried Tofu with Vegetables fillings from RSPI. This one is good!

Tuesday 10 January 2011
Breakfast: Whole Wheat Bread from Apple Berry with Morin Chocolate Peanut Butter

Lunch: Fish Fillet from Koi Teppanyaki.

Dinner: Salad of Iceberg, Carrots, Tofu and Chickpeas with Gomatare Dressing

Wednesday 11 January 2011
Breakfast: Whole Wheat Bread from Apple Berry with Skippy Peanut Butter

Lunch: Chicken Sandwich a RS Pondok Indah
Dinner: Pork Knuckle and Sausage Plater, plus 1.5 liter of Erdinger

It Only Takes 1 Hour to Finish

Thursday 12 January 2011

Breakfast: Whole Wheat Bread from Apple Berry with Crumpy

Lunch: Late Lunch at Starbucks Chocolate Scone
Dinner: Nasi Goreng Petai at Mie Factory, and Rujak Juhi from Glodok

Friday 13 January 2011
Breakfast: Whole Wheat Bread from Apple Berry with Skippy Peanut Butter
Lunch: Kanin Atlantica: Nasi Merah + Cassava Leaves + Corn + Fried Tofu
Dinner: Tahu Goreng, Kuo Tie and Grilled Bread

Saturday 14 January 2011
Breakfast: Lees Bread with Skippy Peanut Butter
Lunch: Various food: Fried Tofu & Tempe, Saute Buncis & Carrots and Siomay

Sunday 15 January 2011
Breakfast: Lees Bread with Skippy Peanut Butter
Dinner: Q Smokehouse's Beef Brisket, Fried Mushroom and Cesar Salad

Weekly Meal 2 - 8 January 2012

noreply@blogger.com (Benny) — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 17:00:00 +0000

Monday - 2 January 2012
Not really going in the office, but instead went some detour to visit dear customer
Breakfast: Finishing few days old of bread from the fridge, with peanut butter
Lunch: Kupat Tahu at Pasar Modern BSD. Not really special
Dinner: Vegetable salad with pineapple sauce. Add a lot of peanut to make it nicer

Image via Wikipedia

Tuesday - 3 January 2012
Breakfast: Bread from Holland Bakery Cheese Loaf and Raisin Loaf
Lunch: Vegetarian lunch at Atlantica building, cassava leaves, buncis, tofu and tempe
Dinner: Sayur Lodeh, Empal (kind of minced meat) and some salad

Wednesday - 4 January 2012
Today I'm working from home, so it will be mostly food that we cook
Breakfast: Still finishing those raisin and cheese bread from Holland Bakery
Lunch: A delicious and refreshing chicken soup with sausages, and buncis (a kind of green beans)
Dinner: Still try to finish the soup, with martabak bought close to home

Thursday - 5 January 2012
Breakfast: Just another regular bread with peanut butter, brought from Lees at Sogo Food Hall. It is a damn big bread
Lunch: Went to canteen at Pondok Indah Mall 2 for a serving of Nasi Bakar. Great stuff for only Rp. 10.000
Dinner: Take Away from Glodok: Kuotie (Some kind of wonton), and take away from Kenanga: Tahu Baso, Pork Satay and Shu May


Pork Satay & Shu May from Kenanga

Friday - 6 January 2012
Breakfast: Lees Toast with Crumpy, nothing fancy
Lunch: Fish Ball and Tahu Baso Kenanga
Dinner: Tofu with Bean Sprouts, and Green Squash (Local Name: Oyong) with Egg

Tofu with Bean Sprout (left) and Oyong with Egg (Right)

Saturday - 7 January 2012
Breakfast: Again Lees Toast with Crumpy. It is Weekend, time for lazy breakfast
Lunch: Take Away Bakmi Vila Cinere
Dinner: Cassava leaves with coconut milk soup with fried tofu

Sunday - 8 January 2012
Breakfast: Fried Sukun
Lunch: Chicken Soup with Carrots
Dinner: Gado-gado Padang, kind of vegetables salad

Cassava Leaves and Coconut Milk White Soup Recipe

noreply@blogger.com (Scal) — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 11:31:00 +0000

The dishes came from the origin of my mom, Padang in West Sumatra. So it is not surprising that she often cook it during my childhood.

There are some variety of this food. In most of Padang Restaurant, or maybe in some waroong on the street, the most common one is with yellowish soup from addition of Turmeric (Kunyit). But the one made by mom was simply without Turmeric.

Here is the ingredients:

Cassava Leaves. Try to find the young small one that is softer when cooked
Coconut Milk. You need a thin one, so if you have a first press, mix it with some water.
Shallots, thinly sliced
Sugar to taste

After washing the leaves, put in boiling water for 2-3 minutes to dilute some of the bitter taste. Strain and replace the water with the coconut milk, then bring to boil with the leaves in . Add some shallots and sugar to taste.

The 2nd boiling time will mostly depends on how soft the Cassava leaves are. If the coconut milk gets to thick, then add more water

The dishes can be served hot or cold. I can't wait to taste mine, freshly made for the sake of memory.

New in 2012: Daily Meals

noreply@blogger.com (Benny) — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 10:12:00 +0000

Happy New Year. Wish that your new year party was great, and wish you a great 12 months ahead

Welcoming 2012, Jive Kitchen will create a new section, called the Daily Meals. You can find the special section to the right of our homepage

So, what is it all about? It is to document the food that we eat daily, might it be from our kitchen, or someone else kitchen (translation: eat out or take away). The purpose is that, this section will be our food log, from which we can refer to when we are really out of idea of what to cook, or where to eat.

So that it won't be cluttering our blog, we will publish the post every Monday morning, which will list our meals from the previous Monday until the Sunday before. We will try to include at least the name of the food, where to get it if we bought it, link to recipe if we have one, and some picture.

Of course, we would like to hear from you about our 1 week meals, so feel free to comment, or suggest some idea. Who knows, your suggestion will make it to our kitchen and get posted :D

See you all in 2012

Breakfast Idea: Bagel with Scrambled Egg

noreply@blogger.com (Scal) — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 06:51:00 +0000

The Bagel can be purchased from local bakery. Scramble the egg in the morning. Cut the ham into small size, then mixed into the scrambled egg. Serve with slice of tomato, salt and pepper.

Banana Muffin

noreply@blogger.com (Scal) — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 07:41:00 +0000

On one fine evening, Grace came out with the idea to make a banana muffin. I thought this was her old competitive spirit that come back after my successful venture with Chocolate Chip Cookies. "No", She said. "We just have too much stuff in the fridge that we need to finish before it expire". The fact is that, those stuff she mentioned is mostly similar to the ingredients of my Chocolate Chip Cookies.

She eventually made one a few day after. And what was called Banana Muffin was actually really everything-in-the-fridge mixed together. In addition to Banana, Grace put some oats, carrots, raisin, and almond. So much extra stuff added that the taste of Banana is barely noticeable.

The Banana Muffin

The mix adds to the richness of texture in the muffin. Most sweets come from the raisin, which is different from raw sugar. The oats and the almond add the crunchiness of different type, one is bigger, and the other is smaller. From nutrition perspective, these additional stuff add additional nutrient from any traditional muffin.

I was running in a race yesterday, and the muffin definitely made an additional after-race meal, in addition to companion of evening coffee.

Starbucks VIA Ready Brew Review

noreply@blogger.com (Scal) — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 12:47:00 +0000

Jive Kitchen was invited to the launching of Starbucks VIA Ready Brew. Of course, we do some research of what is this Starbucks VIA is all about, a ready to brew coffee. My initial reaction is surprised: What the heck Starbucks is doing by launching an instant coffee? Seriously, I didn't come Starbucks for the coffee, but because the overall experience, and the convenience to grab a cup of coffee.

We came home with 2 flavor of Starbucks VIA Ready Brew coffee, with several coffee-time snacks and cookies that Starbucks was launching at the same time. I put it aside for some time while thinking of the purpose of this new product. Then one day, I decided to give them a try.

First I unpack the Italian Roast. I didn't smell the strong aroma of a coffee. I regularly grind my own coffee every morning, so I kinda used to the smell of freshly grind coffee. Pour in the hot water, and still nothing smells like a freshly grind brewed coffee.

I was quite surprised on my first sip of the coffee: it taste good! I was expecting bitter sour taste like any other instant coffee. Instead, what I got is nutty taste and light sweets.
The Columbia is slightly different from Italian Roast. I was expecting something stronger. Instead, I taste a flat taste. My preference definitely goes to the Italian Roast.

The Starbucks VIA Ready Brew coffee is sold in package of 3 for Rp. 25.000 or package of 12 for Rp. 88.000. Slightly expensive, but worth the simplicity of having a decent cup of coffee.

Sausage & Zucchini Carbonara from Jamie Oliver

noreply@blogger.com (Scal) — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 04:50:00 +0000

This dish is one of our real use of ipad in the kitchen. We got the recipe from Jamie Oliver ipad apps. The apps was pretty great. In addition to the recipe, we also got the step-by-step instruction, complete with photo.

As how the real Carbonara was made, the egg was cooked by putting the boiled pasta to egg mixture, cooking the egg while the pasta cools down. The recipe cleverly use Italian Sausage for the meatball. It was a perfect choice and much simpler, rather than making meatballs from minced meat.

The result is the rich flavor of Carbonara sauce, topped with meaty meatballs and crunchy zucchini. Add some grated parmesan and some Italian herbs for more flavor

Chocolate Chips Oatmeal Cookies

noreply@blogger.com (Scal) — Mon, 05 Sep 2011 08:33:00 +0000

Who doesn't know Chocolate Chip Cookies? The round fat dark brown cookies, with small chips of chocolate spread on top will definitely entice the taste of anyone's sweet tooth. In an attempt to make the snacks, while keeping healthy food in mind, we baked the healthy version of Chocolate Chips Cookies

Start with the flour, we used whole wheat flour richer in fiber. And to even further add the amount of fiber, we mix large amount of rolled oats to complete the "Chocolate Chips Oatmeal Cookies"

We also cut the amount of sugar, as the chocolate chips we use also have some sugar added. Why not replacing it with artificial sweetener you may ask. In our opinion, the artificial sweetener, no matter what they are made from, contains chemical materials which might not be healthy in the long term.

Some thing is still being tested in the ingredients and process. There might be some room to reduce the amount of sugar while maintaining the taste. And using steel-cut oats instead of rolled oats might have different outcomes. But in the mean time, we are happy to enjoy our Chocolate Chips Cookies with our evening coffee

Aglio Olio, the Honest Pasta

noreply@blogger.com (Scal) — Wed, 26 Jan 2011 06:28:00 +0000

With simply garlic and chili, Aglio e Olio is the most simply honest pasta have ever invented. Don't be fooled, however. With only 2 main ingredients, only a skillful chef can prepare a decent one.

Pasta need to be perfectly al dente, chili and garlic need to be fresh, as no cream and tomato to shield the taste. Add generous Olive Oil, and drizzle bit of Italian herbs and pepper. And you will have a perfect dishes of Aglio e Olio, if you hit it right.

Meatlovers can add slices of Cervelat. The peppery taste of Cervelat would perfectly complement the strong taste of Aglio Olio.

Want to make one? Follow the recipe here: http://www.malaysiabest.net/2006/04/04/recipe-spaghetti-aglio-olio-with-portobello/. The recipe highlight the most important thing that I always overlook: To put generous amount of Olive Oil.

Next time I'm going to put in white wine, and see if the taste match.

Shabu Dinner with Shabuya

noreply@blogger.com (Kiko) — Fri, 24 Dec 2010 05:13:00 +0000

Jive Kitchen was invited.

Between packed schedule and unfriendly traffic, couple weeks ago finally we were able to visit and enjoyed Shabuya, restaurant specialized in shabu style with “premium angus beef” tagline. Thanks to goorme.com who gave such invitation for ‘tukang makan’ like us.

Once you step through reception desk, you’ll find white bricks walls dominate the interior while iron décor and hanging lamp accentuate warmth ambience. Most of the tables are spacey, enough for a family of 6 or more to sit comfortably. In fact, eating shabu always become communal ritual in fun way. We were hosted politely to a reserved table near window. Our table can accommodate up to 4 person, and equipped with electric infra red ceramic cook top. I like this kind of cook top due to its capability to provide stable warm temperature for longer cooking period.

Three kinds of Korean style appetizer served nicely in small array. Home made fresh kimchi, today chef selection of golden ball (meaty potato balls), and sweet potato glazed with caramelized sugar and sesame. I like their kimchi because of its fresh taste balance and crunchy bites between watery cabbage, spicy and sour fermented chili. The golden ball, rolled on bread crumb before frying, combine the crunchy texture, softness of potato and crumbly meat at the core.

Before cooking ritual begin, they served us several kind of dipping sauce, vegetables, plate of seafood, and appealing thinly sliced shiny red angus beef. Ponzu shoyu (citrus based sauce) come in larger bowl than usual, while gomatare (sesame dipping sauce) only served when you asked. Table default were chili powder and salt. Pak Kevin, the restaurant manager, hand us plate of triple yakume : crushed garlic, radish, and chopped scallion. He assists us to blend the ponzu with triple yakume to acquired better taste for dipping. The ponzu gets thicker with the mixing and gave bold taste while gomatare taste less nutty than usual. This ponzu sauce was tasty enough, once you realize in next session you tend to dip the beef and vegetables over and over.

At first, we wanted to try the broth without any dipping sauce to acknowledge its original flavor. The broth surprisingly taste good with slightly natural sweet meaty taste come from good quality beef and katsuoboshi broth. Electric stove worked excellent for those who want food texture and broth temperature stays on their peak. Vegetables still crunchy to bite, and meats still lean. In that way, you can enjoy your shabu for longer period without worrying for overcooked meals.

Later, with few drips from ponzu dip we try to continue the exploration for richer taste to come. It works, with the result we tried to dip most things into ponzu sauce. Some of vegetables went well with gomatare dip. Those who wanted hotter splash sensation, there are chopped chili and chili powder to fulfill your needs. We decided to keep eating with lesser dipping and enjoyed meat and vegetables original flavor. Seems nice to have relaxing family dinner here next time.

Shabuya
Central Park Mall 1st floor 113A
Jl. Let. Jend. S. Parman Kav.28
West Jakarta, Indonesia
Phone: +62 (21) 56985585
Opens: 09:00 - 21:30 (Last Order)

Website: http://www.facebook.com/shabuyaindonesia

Twitter: Shabuya_Indo

Olive & Balsamic Vinegar Salad

noreply@blogger.com (Scal) — Wed, 01 Dec 2010 04:48:00 +0000

A more healthier salad, compared to the last one, the Olive & Vinegar Salad doesn't contains any meat or cheese. The olive used is also supposed to be lower in fat than mayo-based salad. Thanks to Ranch Market for the inspiration

I tried 2 different mushroom preparation: raw and cooked with olive oil. Between those 2, a compromise is the best: dip the mushroom in the olive oil, but don't pan-fried it. As the mushroom soak, it will gain more taste.

Next on the dressing. My local groceries runs out of olive oil-based dressing, so I was forced to be creative. Put some olive oil, some balsamic vinegar, pepper, sesame seed, mustard, and there you have a mixture rich of taste. Good enough for me.

So, have another experimentation on salad? Have your own favorite mixture for dressing? List it in the comment, and we will try it out.

Wasabi Mayo Salad Dressing

noreply@blogger.com (Scal) — Tue, 30 Nov 2010 03:34:00 +0000

Have too much Wasabi Tube leftover from the last Sushi cooking? Is it going to expire soon? Don't worry, this recipe will help you to finish it, along with some leftover vegetables in the fridge. In our case, it helps to finish off some Romaine Lettuce, Cherry Tomato, Olives, Carrot, Parmigiano Cheese, Smoke Ham, Almond and Sesame Seeds.

We compared between regular mayonnaise and Kewpie. The regular Mayonnaise come out too salty when mixed with Wasabi. So, we choose the Kewpie which come out better to our taste.

Mixing wasabi and mayonnaise is tricky. The wasabi taste does not come out during mixing, but when you spoon a mouthful of salad later on, the wasabi will kick hard to your nose.

We also put in some bread stick bought at Him Heang in Penang. Those crackers was supposed to be for coffee, but we are too lazy to make our own crouton. If you can get one, it would be great, but you can always bake your own crouton.

Dinner is finished with full stomach, and empty fridge happily

The Energy Food: Baked Mini Potato with Cheese

noreply@blogger.com (Scal) — Thu, 18 Nov 2010 09:31:00 +0000

One afternoon of a sunny day. We were having a late brunch, thanks to the holiday, which make us skip our lunch altogether. However, I planned to do 10k run on the evening, and in need of energy. A LOT OF ENERGY.

Rice is too boring and take time to prepare, plus all the dishes that follows. Potato become my option. To be specific, it would be mini potatoes for 2 reasons: It is bite size, and take shorter to prepare,compared to the bigger potato.

All these steps took less than 15 minutes preparation, and around 30 minutes of baking

Wash the potato in running tap water, then cut them in half
Pour olive oil in baking pan, and spread evenly. Arrange the halved potatoes on the pan. Don't forget to heat the oven to 180-200 degree. Put some pepper, salt or parsley to your taste
Put the potato in the oven, and set a timer for 10 minutes. Sit back, relax, and enjoy your favorite TV show
After 10 minutes, take out and stir. Place it back in the oven for another 1-15 minutes. Sit back and continue watching your favorite TV show
After 10-15 minutes, take out and place in a serving plate made of ceramics (or something else that oven-save). Grate your favorite cheese on top of the potato. My favorite is Mozzarella to give some nice melt, and cheddar for the salty taste
Put the potato and cheese with the serving plate back in the oven. This is the tricky part. You have to watch the cook so that the cheese melt, but not burnt. Sorry, no favorite TV show here
Serve with tabasco or mustard. And you will have more than enough energy for your 10k run

Poached Egg

noreply@blogger.com (Scal) — Tue, 21 Sep 2010 05:29:00 +0000

Having encounter this dish several time, it always left me wondering, how can one boil cracked egg, maintaining the egg white in one piece. And my wife, on her quest to someday cook egg benedict, showed me the poached egg over the last weekend.

It is vinegar who does the trick. And she does another trick to make it perfect. Put dash of salt and pepper, and it was a good breakfast for the weekend. The egg white then goes with the toast.

Well done, you're one step closer to your egg benedict :D

Traditional Bistik Ayam

noreply@blogger.com (Scal) — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 11:42:00 +0000

Traditional Bistik Ayam
Originally uploaded by bnc_id

A Traditional Holland Dishes, brought to Indonesia during the Colonial Era. Over time, the dishes was influenced by affluent Javanese, thus result to this traditional food. Now being served by peranakan restaurant across Jakarta, which bring back the old memory of affluent Javanese during colonial era.

Nasi Goreng: Looks Simple to Make....

noreply@blogger.com (Scal) — Sat, 24 Jul 2010 15:10:00 +0000

I used to call it: Dishes for desperate people. Dine out several time with few people, when they have no idea on what to order, they will order this: Nasi Goreng (Fried Rice)

And if you watch the cooking process, you will see why it is a desperate choice.It is very easy to prepare, quick, and despite of come variations, the taste came from 2 key ingredients: rice and soy sauce. Some extra condiments served would be fried egg, diced beef/chicken/lamb, chillies and pickles

Until you make one yourself, then you see that making it is far from easy - at least if you aim for your different Nasi Goreng. Here is some requirement from Kiko:

The perfect nasi goreng should not sticky. The rice should be in its sandy instead of sticky
Different soy sauce yields different taste and final color. Yes, there are lots of brand out there, mass market one and specialized one

Don't believe it? Go ahead and make one for yourself

Servings from Moka Pot

noreply@blogger.com (Scal) — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 11:31:00 +0000

The only moka pot I own yields 6 shot of espresso. When I'm staying at home, alone, it definitely too much for one drink. So, I come up with 4 drinks as the day progress

8:30 AM, right after brewing, the first drink is Americano, savoring the best of coffee of the stove. Besides, at this hour, we definitely need some boost to start the day.

10 AM, the brewed coffee is getting colder. It is best to be served with Ice. I was thinking to put in some sugar, but just plain coffee would be as good. And the quality only degraded slightly.

1 PM, after lunch, wondering for some dessert. Throw 2 scoop of Vanilla Ice Cream, and pour in some coffee... I enjoy the Affogato as my dessert. The colder coffee works better with the Ice Cream, without melting it.

3:30 PM, the heaviest hour in a day for work. I took a short break to make Ice Milk Coffee from whatever left from my Moka Pot. The Milk help to cover the degraded coffee

So, what else can you have from 6 servings of Moka Pot?

Tricolor Breakfast

noreply@blogger.com (Scal) — Sat, 19 Jun 2010 05:22:00 +0000

One of the easy quick breakfast to have. The mashed potato and chili sauce can be prepared days in advance. . Grilling the sausage and caramelizing the onion should take less than 15 minutes.

Best served with Tabasco for the sausage, and melted gorgonzola cheese for the mashed potato

Sexy Sushi

noreply@blogger.com (Scal) — Sat, 08 May 2010 15:46:00 +0000

Of all the food I have ever photographed, sushi is the only food I never satisfied of. In front of camera lens, sushi crafted with creativity to the detail is like a model on the catwalk, like an expensive bag on store display. It is charming, and never run out of angle.

One of our favorite sushi establishment is Sushi Tengoku. The best thing about this place is, the lightings are perfect for a photo. The black table helped the bright color of sushi material to stand out of the background.

Another lovely restaurant we found is Sakura Restaurant. Set up at different ambiance from Sushi Tengoku, the lightning setup also provide a perfect light to the sushi, with the wooden table background.

Driving further out of town is Umaku, one of the youngest of the pack. This place is not so big, which provide intimate communication between patron and the chef. Of course, the perfect place would be seated at the sushi bar, from which we can see the skill of the chef who craft this sexy food, similar like a make up artist preparing the model.

Thankfully, preparing a sexy sushi is not the luxury of professional chef. Something that is already good will only need little touch to make it perfect. The problem is not on the preparation, but how to have the correct lighting and background to make the perfect photo.

I certainly will never have enough for this food

Vegetables Series: Manado Papaya Buds

noreply@blogger.com (Scal) — Wed, 05 May 2010 12:11:00 +0000

Unlike myself, who can eat same vegetables from day to day, week to week,month to month, she will be bored to dead. Fortunately, before that happens, her creativity kicks in. Combining leftovers in the fridge, she cook this Manadonese traditional dishes: Stir Fry Papaya Buds with corn. Is is spicy, hot, salty, slightly bitter, and ultimately refreshing.

This food can be found in almost all of Manado Restaurant in Jakarta. Yet, making it yourself is simple. Just stir fry in particular order: garlic, shallots, corn, chill, boiled Papaya Buds, Lemon Basil, precooked Anchovy. The dishes should be slightly oily, so add some more generous oil if needed.

It took less than 30 minutes to prepare, and 15 minutes to cook. Best eaten with steamed rice

Lovely Evening at the Office with Stroopwaffel

noreply@blogger.com (Scal) — Fri, 30 Apr 2010 15:21:00 +0000

I can't remember anymore who told me about pairing coffee with stroopwafel. But I still remember the first time I tried this pairing. One evening, at Starbucks Coffee, I put the stroopwafel on top of my hot latte. Moments later, my nose was filled with nice smell of caramel, as it melted. The Stroopwafel became softer, nicer to chew. I finish it in on time.

Last week in the office, I decided to recreate the experience. Using black coffee instead of latte, I put the stroopwafel, and those familiar caramel vapor fills up my desk. Only that this time, the black coffee match the sweet taste of stroopwafel better than my previous Starbucks latte.

Gotta do this again someday, and gotta learn to make those stroopwafel someday.