Cooking and Baking Laboratory

Spicy papaya flower

2010-02-25T16:38:00.005+07:00

papaya flower, originally uploaded by diananovita.

Long time no write. I forgot how to write and fortunately still remember how to cook. There are so many things to manage. Not to complaining, I’m just telling. Okay let’s start with the new recipe.
I suddenly remember many many years ago, when my mother got papaya flower from neighbor. My neighbor had a garden with papaya tree. Not a common species of papaya, we said in Bahasa Indonesia: Pepaya Gantung (Hanging Papaya). The flower and fruits has longer stalk than common papaya. My mother cooked it. For a child like me, it had strange taste. It was bitter, absolutely. It was spicy for certain, stunk my tongue and my mouth. But somehow, I remember it was delicious. Maybe that’s why it is called delicacy.
Last couple week ago, I found the same flower in fresh market nearby. I called my mother to ask how to cook it. Below, there’s something I don’t use that my mother always use it. It is teri, salted tiny sea fish (anchovy).

Ingredients:
400 g papaya flower, wash, soak in water for about 15 minutes
3 cloves of garlic, sliced
5 shallots, sliced
1 salam leaf
1 pieces galangal root (about 5 cm), crushed
1 pieces ginger (about 3 cm), crushed
5 red chilies, sliced
5 green chilies, sliced
2 teaspoons cooking oil
2 teaspoons pepper
Sugar
Salt

Instructions:

To reduce the bitterness, we have to treat the flower first. Some people use baking soda. But my mother usually boils the flower in salted water.
So..boil the water, add 1 tablespoon salt, then add the flower.
When it gentle enough, half done (look fresh but not as fresh as when it still raw) take the flower out, drain it.

Set the heat in high, pour cooking oil.
Sauté sliced garlic, sliced shallots, sliced red and green chillies.
Then add crushed galangal root, crushed ginger, and salam leaf. Sauté until it is fragrant.
Then, add the half boiled papaya flower.
Don’t forget sugar and salt as necessary. Pepper..of course, don’t ever forget it.
This is another way to reduce the bitterness, make it as spicy as we can..:D
And done.

Klappertaart, A Dessert from Manado

2009-04-22T11:35:00.012+07:00

I’ve just made my very first klappertaart, kind of dessert from Manado, Indonesia. I thought it was difficult, at last I found that it is an easy one to try for beginner.

Actually, someone in my sport club gave me a klappertaart when I and my husband helped him figure out his laptop’s problem. I have the recipe at home but never been inspired to make it myself. A month later, I attended a cooking class, the subject was Italian Food. It was nice and very useful. I found out that the subject for tomorrow class (I didn’t register) was Klappertaart! I didn’t join it. I decided to make it myself at first. I told my tutor, “If I’m not success making my own klappertaart, I will make up my mind, I’ll join your next class.” :))

Ingredients:

Margarine, as necessary
Young coconut, rubbed down and get 500 g, marinated in coconut water
100 ml evaporated milk
100 ml water
110 g white sugar
10 cm cinnamon
30 g roasted walnut, minced
50 g wheat flour (all purposes/medium proteins), dissolve in 100 ml water
80 g egg yolks (organic eggs/ low cholesterol eggs)
60 g egg white (organic eggs/ low cholesterol eggs)

Topping:

60 g egg white
1 teaspoon lemon juice (I used jeruk nipis)
1 tablespoon white sugar
Raisins, as necessary
Ground cinnamon, as necessary

Instructions:

Preheat the oven in 180°C.
Cover aluminium cups (or you can use pyrex) with thin layer of margarine.

Beat egg yolks and egg white. Set aside.

Mix evaporated milk, water, sugar, and cinnamon stick. Boil them in medium heat.
In Low heat, pour dissolved flour and beaten eggs. Gently stir it until it get thick.
Take out the cinnamon stick. Pour rubbed young coconut, minced walnut. Stir it.
Pour into aluminium cups. Remain ⅓ left on top for topping.
Bake in the oven for about 15 minutes or until it ‘freeze’. Get them out. Set aside.

Beat egg white in high speed. Add lemon juices. Beat them until stiff and shiny.
Place it to the top of each cup, gently spread it out.
Put raisins on the top.
Bake in the oven for about 10 minutes or until it turn into gold color.
Take them out.

After they reach room temperature, sow ground cinnamon on them.
Serve it immediately or keep them in chiller to prolong the durability. You can keep them 4 days until a week in chiller.

(for 8 peoples)

Fun Gifts for Food Lovers

2009-04-08T12:04:00.004+07:00

Hi Guys, we have a guest writer here, Jon D, and expert at cookware.com
He gives us clues to decide what gift we are able to choose for our friends or relatives.
I hope you'll enjoy it.

Some people are easier to shop for than others. Luckily if the person you are shopping for happens to have a passion for food and drink, then you have a wide variety of fun options to choose from. Items like kitchen appliances, dinnerware, and cookware are somewhat impersonal gifts. Kitchen gadgets on the other hand are an ever popular gift choice for foodies because they are fun, useful, and relatively affordable. The key is to find a gift that is fun and practical, but also appeals to the person’s particular kitchen passions.

Anyone who is a fan of cooking with fresh ingredients would love to have their own indoor herb or veggie garden. The Aero Garden hydroponic growing system allows people to grow their own fresh herbs without all the hassle and dirty work of working with garden soil. You can even buy special seed pods to grow your own Italian herbs, lettuce, and salsa veggies. People that enjoy gardening can grow herbs year round in the comfort of their own home, which makes this a great gift for foodies who also have a green thumb.

Unique bottle, can, and wine openers also make excellent gifts as people are always looking for easier ways to open their favorite beverages. Modern openers and cork screws have options like pressurized handles that help take the pain out of uncorking a bottle or removing a bottle cap. These types of openers are especially helpful for elderly persons who may have trouble opening bottles by themselves.

Small kitchen gadgets like fruit slicers, cheese cutters, and pizza cutters can also make for a unique gift idea. Most kitchens are already stocked with traditional staples like pots, pans, and knives, but there is always room for more helpful gadgets. Lots of brands have unique takes on items like pizza cutters and cheese cutters and these tools can be a great way to add a little character to san otherwise traditional kitchen.

Urap Bali (Boiled Vegetables with Balinese Spices)

2009-03-31T22:22:00.005+07:00

I’ve got this recipe from Seri Masak Femina PRIMARASA (for beginner), Merebus dan Resep-Resep Terlezat.

I really enjoy this food. It is so simple, fresh, easy and fast to serve. So, fast food not always junk food, I guess. The recipe below is my modification, a little bit. If you want the original, just grab the book in bookstore :D

Vegetables:

150 grams spinach
75 grams long pea (kind of legume), diced
50 grams cabbage, sliced
75 grams bean sprout
(You can also use finely sliced carrot)
750 ml water
A pinch of salt

Instructions:

Boil the water. Pour some water into bean sprout. Soak for 1 or 2 minutes. Remove the bean sprouts and drain it.
Keep the heat in medium. Add long pea to the boiled water, add a pinch of salt, stir. Wait until gentle enough or about 5 minutes.
Add spinach, for about 3 minutes then add cabbage. Then take them out of the water and drain.
You can also boil the vegetables separately, one by one with different boiled water. You will take some extra time if you do this.
I mix them because at the end they will be mixed too, it is only for practical purposes.
Set them aside.

Spices:

100 ml thick coconut milk
2 chilies, sliced
5 shallots, peeled, sliced
1 inch Kencur (greater galingale, Kaempferia galanga), chopped
Jeruk purut leaves, chopped
½ teaspoon white pepper
1 teaspoon of salt
1½ teaspoons of sugar
3 tablespoons of hot cooking oil

Instructions:

Mix all spices, add hot cooking oil, stir well. Add coconut oil at last, stir.
Mix spices above with boiled vegetables.
Serve it immediately.

(for 2-4 peoples)

Sambal Tumpang (fermented soybeans cook with chili spices and coconut milk)

2009-01-29T15:27:00.003+07:00

This recipe came from my mother, apparently my grandmother who really mastered it. Originally people in East Java and Central Java serve Sambal Tumpang with boiled vegetables, just like Pecel. Some peoples come from West-East Java or East-Central Java call it Letok, say with thick ‘t’ (Lethok) .

Ingredients:

300 gTempe (tempeh, fermented soybeans), a bit over-fermented tempe would be better.
1 salam leaves
2 slices galangal root, crushed
250 ml thin coconut milk
500 ml water
3-5 Hot chili (cabe rawit)
3 cloves garlic
5 shallots
Kencur [Greater galingale (Kaempferia galanga)]
3 teaspoon salt
A pinch of sugar

Instructions:

Boil the water in a pan, add tempe, salam leaves, galangal root and hot chilies.
When tempe and chilies become tender, turn off the heat. Take both out of water.
Pound tempe in stone mortar. Put it back into the pan.
Grind chilies with salt, garlic, shallots, and kencur. Take into the pan.
Turn on the heat at low. Pour thin coconut milk, stir it well.
Add sugar.
Cook until quite thick.
Serve it with boiled vegetables, warm cooked rice and Kerupuk Puli (Lempeng from Madiun, East Java)

(for 4 peoples)

Rawon

2009-01-15T12:28:00.003+07:00

This is another Indonesian traditional food. This dish come from Surabaya, East Java, cook with special spice, which is keluwek or keluwak. Keluwek or keluwak is fruit from Kepayang tree. How to choose good Keluwak? Some people just shake the fruit and get two voices inside. But it doesn’t enough for me. I choose the heavier one, ‘antep’ in Javanese language. The larger is not always the heavier. When you do the right choice, you’ll get a perfect color of black keluwak inside the nut shell and its great smell. I can’t describe the smell but it is just like fermented fruits, you will get the smell of alcohol a little when the nut shell is cracked.

Actually, Rawon was my first experiment .Having capability to cook Rawon with good taste is a must for me, because this is one of my favorite foods. Rawon was my first experiment a couple years ago. This recipe is made after several tries.

Ingredients:
700 g beef (brisket, sandunglamur in Bahasa Indonesia), cut in cubical shape
2 L water
2 lemongrass, crushed
2 salam leaves
4 jeruk purut leaves
2 thick slices of galangal root, crushed
3 tablespoons cooking oil
7 teaspoon salt

Spices to Grind:
4 chilies, throw the seeds away
5 cloves garlic, peeled
7 shallots, peeled
1 teaspoon ground white pepper
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
7 keluwak/keluwek, cracked, use only the black inner
5 candlenut
2 teaspoon ground coriander
A pinch of tamarind
50 g palm sugar
2 tablespoons sugar

Complements:
150 g sprouts (the short one), soaked in hot water, then drained
2 tablespoon fried onion
Lime juice
Leek, chopped
Chili condiment
Salted eggs (duck egg), cut in two

Instructions:
Boil the water in a pan in high heat.
Set heat in low, add the beef, lemongrass, salam leaves, galangal root and Jeruk Purut leaves.
While tendering the meat in the pan, grind all spices in Spices to Grind above with stone mortar or processor.
Set the heat in medium. Sauté the ground spices with cooking oil until it is fragrant.
Then, pour the spices to the pan, stir it. Add salt.
Keep stewing until the meat is tender and the spices well absorbed.
Serve Rawon with warm rice and The Complements.

(for 4 peoples)

Fried Broccoli

2009-01-05T21:50:00.006+07:00

Broccoli is a vegetable with a thick green stem and several dark green flower heads or florets coming from that one main stem. It looks like cauliflower but different in color.

Fried broccoli maybe not the healthiest way to cook broccoli, it just give us alternative when sometime we get bored with steamed broccoli or another choice for people who don’t like eating and smelling green vegetables.

The composition of flours and spices I wrote here is still kind of try and error experiment. The change of the ingredients below is quite possible.

Ingredients:

250 g Broccoli
4½ tablespoons wheat flour (high protein)
4 tablespoons rice flour
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons ground Coriander
2 teaspoons ground White pepper
2 large organic eggs
Cooking oil (deep frying is better)

Instructions:

Cut the florets, as big or as small as you want. But remember, the thinner you cut, the more they interact with cooking oil so that their nutrition remains less.

Wash in running water and soak it for about 5 minutes, clean it if there are some worms.

Crack the eggs in a bowl. Mix homogenously with ½ teaspoon ground coriander, ½ teaspoon salt, and ½ teaspoon ground white pepper.

Set a plate for mixing spicy flour. Pour rice flour and wheat flour into it. Mix both of them. Then add 1½ teaspoons salt, 1½ teaspoons ground coriander, and 1½ teaspoons ground white pepper. Mix it homogenously.

Immerse the floret with spicy eggs. Take it out then cover it with mix spicy flour. Dip in spicy eggs once more then cover it again with the mix spicy flour.

Set the cooking oil on the medium heat. Then just fry, take out from the oil when they turn into golden color. Drain the remaining cooking oil. Serve for snack or appetizer.

For 2 peoples

Es Kacang Merah (Red Bean with Shaved Ice)

2008-12-25T09:45:00.006+07:00

I like es kacang merah especially without any coconut milk in it. I’ve been searching for the recipe that suit on my taste. Fortunately, I’ve found a recipe from Seri Masak Femina Primarasa A la Resto Manado. I tried just the same as what the book said.

Ingredients:

200 g dried red bean, soaked for about 8 hours
1000 ml water
150 g palm sugar, grated
100 g sugar
1 stick of cinnamon
1 tablespoon chocolate powder, dissolve in a little bit of water
2 pandanus leaves
Sweet condensed chocolate milk

Instructions:

Boil the bean until tender but not so tender.
Put palm sugar, sugar, pandanus leaves, and cinnamon, stir well.
Keep boil until viscous enough, then pour dissolved chocolate, stir well.
Turn off the heat. Set aside and cool it down.
Then ready to serve with shaved ice and pour the top with sweet condensed chocolate milk.

(for 4 cups)

Thank you Femina...

Steamed Rainbow Sponge Cake (Bolu Kukus Pelangi)

2008-11-15T21:55:00.002+07:00

This cake is very famous kind of steamed sponge cake in Indonesia. People usually call it Bolu Kukus Pelangi. Pelangi or rainbow is presented by its colorful batter. I’ve seen people add various food coloring such as red, green, yellow, and blue. But, I choose to make it not so colorful and add some raisins.

Ingredients:

3 low cholesterol organic eggs
⅓ cups sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon cake emulsifier
½ cup wheat flour (medium protein/all purposes flour)
100 ml low fat milk
A drop of cocopandan pasta for red color as much as necessary
A drop of pandan pasta for green color as much as necessary
2 tablespoons raisin

Instructions:

Set the cake pan. Cover with thin layer of margarine. Set aside.
Set the steamer. Assure the steamer has enough steam before put the cake in.
Beat eggs and sugar until the sugar well dissolve and the color turn pale/white. Add cake emulsifier.
Add baking powder. Mix it until well improved or become smooth.
Set the mixer in low speed.
Add flour and milk little by little alternately. Mix it only for a while just to make sure the batter is mixed homogenously.
Separate the batter into 3 parts. Give part 1 the red color, part 2 the green color, and part 3 give it no color (I try to reduce using food coloring/additive).
Pour the part 1 into cake pan. Steam it for about 5 minutes in medium heat.
Pour the part 3 into it. Spread the raisin. Steam it for about 5 minutes.
Pour the last part, that green batter. Steam it again for about 20 minutes.
Turn off the heat. Take it out. Cool it in room temperature then unmold it
Slice it and ready to serve.

(fit for 8-10 slices)

Caution:
If you can’t use glass steamer cover, you need to wrap the cover with a clean napkin to prevent water flecks drop onto your cake surface. The flecks will cause your cake surface become billowy.

Urap (Boiled Vegetables with Chili Spiced Grated Coconut)

2008-11-12T14:37:00.005+07:00

This is very simple veggie food in Indonesia. Simple, if you have the ready cooked spiced grated coconut in your storage. I do not know where it originally comes from. I find this kind of salad in West Java, Central Java, Jogjakarta and East Java. I also find urap in Bali Island, but with different chili spiced. In Bali, people use spiced coconut milk. People use the similar spiced grated coconut in Java Island, however the taste and the appearance definitely differs from each other.

This urap below is my mother recipe. Maybe this is urap from East Java, but I don’t know exactly. If someone know its story, please tell me..okay :)

Ingredients:

150 grams spinach
75 grams long pea (kind of legume), diced
50 grams cabbage, sliced
75 grams bean sprout
(You can also use finely sliced carrot)
750 ml Water
A pinch of Salt

Instructions:

Boil the water. Pour some water into bean sprout. Soak for 1 or 2 minutes. Remove the bean sprouts and drain it.

Keep the heat in medium. Add long pea to the boiled water, add a pinch of salt, stir. Wait until gentle enough or about 5 minutes.

Add spinach, for about 3 minutes then add cabbage. Then take them out of the water and drain.

You can also boil the vegetables separately, one by one with different boiled water. That will take some extra time, of course.

I choose to mix them because at the end they will be mixed too, just for practical purposes.

Spiced Grated Coconut:

½ coconut, grated
4 Chilies
3 Cloves onion
5 Shallots
1 inch Kencur (greater galingale, Kaempferia galanga)
2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon palm sugar
Jeruk purut leaves
1 teaspoon sugar
Banana leaves

Intructions:

Boil water in steamer.
Grind all spices with stone mortar or processor. I prefer to use stone mortar.
Mix with grated coconut.
Wrap in banana leaves.
Steam it for about 30 minutes.

Serve urap by mix boiled vegetables with spiced grated coconut.

(for 2-3 peoples)

Fried Rice with Lemongrass, Fast Food Homemade

2008-11-06T13:35:00.003+07:00

One day, the rain was falling so hard and I found my food storage box (the refrigerator) was empty. Not really empty actually. There were a tomato, frozen mixed vegetables (carrots, sweet corns, green beans), and a wrapped frozen minced beef. I was confused thinking what I have to serve for dinner. I just couldn’t go out and do some shopping in that hard rainy day. Call delivery order for food, no..no..I just couldn’t feel appetizing when thinking of some fast food or traditional food I could order at that time.

I just got stuck in the kitchen and didn’t know what to do until my hands did it :D

Ingredients:

2 cups cooked rice
2 cloves garlic, peeled, chopped
3 chilies, diced
1 cup frozen mixed vegetables, set in room temperature
½ cup minced beef
2 lemongrasses, crushed
1 teaspoon salt
A pinch of sugar
2 teaspoons sweet soy sauce
A tomato, sliced
2 tablespoons olive oil or cooking oil

Instructions:

In high heat, sauté chopped garlic, crushed lemongrasses and diced chilies with a tablespoon olive oil until fragrant.
Add minced beef. Add a tablespoon olive oil. Stir until the red beef turn into brown color.
Add mixed vegetables. Stir it.
Add cooked rice. Stir well.
Add salt, sugar, soy sauce, and ... a little bit fish sauce to enhance the taste.
Stir well.
Turn the heat off. Finish.
Serve with sliced tomato.

(for 2 peoples)

Hmm, and about the picture, I’m not satisfied with this, lack of light and blur. I’ve tried my best to get good picture, yeah..but unfortunately this only I’ve got in that night.

I do apologize to the readers

2008-11-04T10:20:00.007+07:00

I brought to you unpleasant conversation in this blog yesterday. I am sorry for doing that thing and bother you all. I feel really unwell.

That's true I left a comment in someone's (that anonymous guy) when I found my articles (Soto Kudus) in his/her blog. The way that man put my article (I saw only that Soto Kudus but later that man said there are two articles) was very irritating. I saw all the contents are someone else's articles. I guessed that he/she did it only for adsense. That man got those articles from Ezine and submitted that blog for Google adsense. That man said that he/she learned it from a book. LOL. A friend of mine said, that’s might be a book whose author just copied without regards to peoples who had the articles. I’ve found later that the book finally blocked by publisher. Yes, maybe that 'inspiring' book.

I submitted my articles in Ezine free articles not for people using like that, not for very unpleasant commercial only. I want to speak out about Indonesian Food and of course I want to get some back-links from others. That's free articles of course, but the way that man monetized that blog in such an easy way without any regards for other people's stuff (not only at me) very disappointed me.

I know (that man always note to me about this) there are many people in Indonesia do that. I do really know that. And I feel sick about it. I think they never think deeper than human can do. Just follow and follow without thinking the consequences for their surrounding, other peoples, their country, and their world they living. They just think how to get money in an easy way and fast forward. That was very makes me sad, when I knew that man is an Indonesian too.

I emailed Ezine about this. And Ezine said that the man apparently gives no credit for me and for others. They said I can contact Google for this case. But that's all up to me. My friends said so.

I choose to contact that man instead of send a report to Google (how could that man say I don't have an empathy, that's so ridiculous). Unfortunately, that man hides the profile and no such a contact address I could find. Why?? I felt that hiding profile is one of bad manner, irresponsibility. So that, I left (what that man called disrespectful comment). I am East Javanese, who always speak right to the point. I am sorry if what I'm thinking was straight words is not polite one for others. I keep wait for the responses but never coming to my email/ messenger. But yesterday, He left such a long self defenses and still keeps hiding the profile. If that man did nothing wrong why keep hiding the profile, even refuse to contact me personally? That was the bad story goes and ends (for me).

I try to be patient, that man the same as I am..Indonesian. I just want that man to be a little bit aware about the consequences. Instantly, what he done is breaking someone's spirit to write, giving an example that 'if there's an easy way why we have to choose the hard way' (what that man said, so Indonesian). Search engine will be full of junk if everybody do what that man do. I think, that man have not realized the consequences yet.

Now I think, my friend’s suggestions are right.

There is such a long journey to make people in Indonesia realized, money is not GOD. There are so many things have to be respected beside of money. I have no power to change what people’s thinking here.

I am sorry to bother you all with this kind of unpleasant things. Sorry, Guys..

Making Cakes, Tips I’ve Learned

2008-11-01T23:10:00.003+07:00

1. At first, make sure the ingredients are all ready to use, all are not passing the expired date, and all are in good shape which mean in good conditions.

2. Making cake, we always use egsg. So we have to take more attention about eggs we use, and how we handle them. Never use eggs direct from refrigerator. We have to set them aside in room temperature before crack and whisk them.

3. Do not whisk the egg too long or too short in time. The longer, our cake more crumby. The shorter, our cake wouldn’t expand well. It will be deflated as immediately as we take them out from the oven. Practices make perfect, we’ll find a perfect time to stop whisk it. I did it.

4. When you need to stir the batter with spatula, stir it in one direction. Don’t be too long, it will make it down. Mix others ingredients first before pour them to the batter/whisked egg.

5. Never leave the batter too long. Bake it immediately after you finish prepare the batter.

6. Set in the middle rack of your oven to avoid over heating in the bottom or in the top rack.

What is Coconut Milk?

2008-11-01T22:42:00.002+07:00

If there are somebody get curious about what exactly coconut milk is (maybe), that's the reason I write this then. Coconut milk or santan (in Bahasa Indonesia) is made from grated coconut fruits. That fruits must be old enough to produce juice. Of course, it is juice not milk like cow’s milk or sheep’s milk. People in Indonesia use the coconut milk almost in everyday cooking (and baking). There are many recipes using this coconut milk.

How to produce this kind of juice? You know what, it is not fresh juice inside the young coconut. First the fresh coconut fruits are peeled. Then we find the hard shell of coconut, crack it. We will get an inner of coconut fruit which is white. Grate this part. Add water to the grated coconut, squeeze it, use strainer to get the juice.

Thick coconut milk made from 1 grated coconut fruit (400-500 grams) and 120 ml water. It produces 250 ml thick coconut milk.

After this add water little by little. Next squeeze will produce the thin coconut milk. Until we get about 800-1000 ml thin coconut milk.

For me, I never measure the water level. I just see what it looks like. If it is thick so it is THICK. When I need the thin one I just pour some water into the thick one.

I prefer to use fresh coconut milk that I bought from market. However, I always have several packs of coconut milk, powder and liquid, just in case I need coconut milk when I couldn’t find the fresh one. Of course the powder will last longer than the liquid one.

Soto Betawi (Batavian Beef Soup)

2008-10-29T14:59:00.006+07:00

This is one of my favorite Soto. I really enjoy its taste. Yes, certainly it comes from Betawi, so it is named Soto Betawi. But, where Betawi actually is? Betawi or Batavia is the old name of Jakarta, The Capital City of Indonesia.

Coconut milk and cow’s milk in its gravy is unique to this Soto. Other Soto never put milk in its gravy. Besides that, Soto Betawi uses various spices to build its taste. The origin recipe uses cow’s innards such as intestines, livers, and lungs. For health reason, I choose not to use cow’s innards. And for simplicity, I also choose not to use cow’s milk. However, it is all up to you, prefer to the origin or the modification..:)

Ingredients:

500 g beef, sliced in cube formed
½ nutmeg, grated
4 cloves
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
4 Jeruk Purut leaves
2 teaspoons salt
250 ml coconut milk from ½ coconut fruit
1500 ml water for boiling
1 tablespoon cooking oil

Ground Spices:

4 cm ginger
3 cloves garlic
8 shallots
1 teaspoon ground coriander
½ teaspoon ground white pepper
A pinch of ground caraway
A pinch of sugar
Grind them all with stone mortar or processor

Complements:

1 tomato, sliced
2 leek, chopped
3 celery leaves, chopped
4 tablespoon fried onion
Lemon juice
Sweet soy sauce
Bitter nut crackers
Condiment
Cucumber and Carrot Acar

Instructions:

Set the high heat, boil the water in the pan
While the water already boiled, set to medium heat, put the beef into it, keep boiling
Add nutmeg, clove, cinnamon, salt, and Jeruk Purut leaves
Keep boiling until the meat is mild enough, then set into lower heat

Sauté the ground spices until fragrant, low the heat
Then pour coconut milk into it, stir, turn off the heat

Pour that spiced coconut milk above into boiling pan, stir until well cooked, then ready to serve with all the complements

(for 6 peoples)

Ikan Acar Kuning (Fish cooked in Yellow Spicy and Sour Spices)

2008-10-28T12:38:00.004+07:00

Caesio erythrogaster or Yellow Tail Fusilier Fish is very easy to find in Indonesian fresh market. There are some ways to make it delicious, such as simply fry it or steam it in banana leaves. My favorite way is cooking this fish with acar (yellow and sour) spices.

Marinated Spices for Fish:

3 cloves garlic, ground
½ teaspoon ground turmeric
A pinch of salt
1 teaspoon lime juice
1 tablespoon fresh water

Ingredients:

500 g (1 or 2) Yellow Tail Fusilier Fish (Bahasa Indonesia= ikan ekor kuning), cleaned, sliced in two chunks, marinated with spices about 15 minutes
Cooking oil

Ground Spices:

5 candle nut
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
2 cm ginger
½ teaspoon white pepper
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoon white sugar

Acar Spices:

10 shallots, thick sliced
3 red chilies, sliced
10 red hot chilies (Don’t cut them if you don’t want a hot taste)
1 lemongrass
3 Jeruk Purut leaves
2 tablespoon lime juice
2 tablespoon cooking oil
300 ml fresh water

Instructions:

Use high heat. Fry the marinated fish until turns into golden brown colour. Set aside.
Then change to medium heat.
Sauté the ground spices with small amount of cooking oil, add lemongrass and Jeruk Purut leaves until fragrant. Pour some water into it. Stir.
Add lime juice. Stir and wait until it turns into thick liquid.
Add sliced shallot, sliced red chilies, whole red hot chilies, stir well. Wait until they become wilted.
Add the fried fish. Let the fish absorb the spices.
Then ready to serve with warm cooked rice.

(Served for two people)

Rendang (Beef in Chili and Coconut Milk)

2008-10-27T12:44:00.007+07:00

Rendang is an Indonesian beef stew dish with coconut milk and very complicated spices. I make it simpler and easier. Actually, this recipe below is adapted from my mother recipe. So that, my Rendang (I am sure) is different than Rendang from Padang (A city in West Sumatera- Indonesia where Minangkabau community come from, which has the origin of this recipe). Rendang (as I wrote before) usually serve with ketupat and other dishes in Hari Raya (Iedul Fitri Celebration Day). However, if you just eat it with warm cooked rice it would be very nice too.

Ingredients:

1 kg beef, sliced into 10-15 chunk, in the same direction with its fiber
3 jeruk purut leaves
1 lemongrass, crushed
2 salam leaves
500 ml thick coconut milk from 4 coconuts
2 turmeric leaves (my mother used it, but I didn’t)
5 ml cooking oil (I replaced it with olive oil)

Ground Spices:

10 chilies, or as necessary (depend on you like hot or not)
4 cloves of garlic
7 shallots
1 teaspoon turmeric powder
2 pieces galangal root (2 cm per piece)
2 pieces ginger (2 cm per piece)
1 tablespoon salt, or as what you think necessary
1 teaspoon white sugar, or as what you think necessary
1 tablespoon palm sugar, or as what you think necessary

Instructions:

Grind all spices in Ground Spices above with stone mortar or processor
Set the heat in medium
Sauté the ground spices with cooking oil, add lemongrass, salam leaves, jeruk purut leaves, and turmeric leaves if you use it. Sauté them together until it is fragrant
Then, add the beef, sauté until the red color of beef turns into brown
Set the heat in low
Add the coconut milk, stir well
Boil about 1 hour or until the beef are mild enough or turn into dark brown color
Don’t forget to stir it well occasionally
If it runs dry meanwhile the beef are still hard to chew (use fork to make sure), you can just add the boiled water into it and do the same process again

Refrigerate it, if you want to keep this dish for any longer use for 1 week or more. When you need to serve a meal, you can simply warm it.

Ketupat (Cooked Rice in Woven Coconut Leaves Pouch)

2008-10-05T17:25:00.009+07:00

Ketupat is the most favorite food in festive occasions such as Idul Fitri (the day right after a month of Ramadhan fasting) In Indonesia.

Javanese people believe that ketupat is one of Sunan Kalijaga’s Islamic preaching medium. Remembering about telupat (similar sound with ketupat) telu ( third) and papat (fourth) in 5 Pillars of Islam, paying zakat and Ramadhan fasting. If you do your fasting well and also paying your zakat you will get the light, a holy light. Light in Arabic means nur (light) so Javanese choose jaNUR (young yellow coconut leaves) to make this ketupat pouch. I got this information from this site, Prof. DR. Damardjati Soepadjar said about philosophy of ketupat. He is a tremendous philosopher from Gadjah Mada University in Jogjakarta.

Hmm..okay let’s talking about making this food. Ketupat sometimes are boiled in thin coconut milk and spices to enhance the taste, but this time I’d rather make the plain one.

Ingredients:

5 ketupat pouches
A cup of rice, washed
A teaspoon of salt

Instructions:

Boil the water

Fill the rice into ketupat pouch . Add the rice until a half of the entire ketupat’s volume
Add salt to the boiled water
Put the ketupat in the pan with the boiled water. Set them all under water
Keep boil them with medium heat for about 2 hours or until the rice become densely tight and the yellow turn into brown coconut leaves
Keep watching the water level. Pour hot water into the pan if the water level becomes lower
Take ketupat out of water, drain and hang them
Slice the ketupat, and serve it with various dishes
In Lebaran day or Hari Raya Iedul Fitri, Indonesian people usually combine it with Opor Ayam (Chicken in Coconut Gravy) and Sambal Goreng Hati (Beef Liver in Chili and Coconut Milk), Rendang and Sate(Satay).

Related Link:

If you want to know how to weave ketupat from coconut leaves you can go here

Soto Ayam Magetan (Magetan Chicken Soup)

2008-10-05T17:18:00.009+07:00

My grandmother who lived in East slope side of Mount Lawu, used to cooked this kind of Soto when Lebaran Idul Fitri to serve her hundreds of guesses. She wasn't living in Magetan, but her Soto was very similar to what Seri MAsak Femina said about this kind of Soto.

So, it doesn’t matter at all what its name actually. I just want to remember my beloved deceased grandmother’s soto, which was so yummy.

This dishes is inspired by my grandmother’s recipe, combine with Seri Masak Femina

Ingredients:

1 free range chicken/ organic chicken, cleaned and cut into frying pieces
1,5 L fresh water
1 teaspoon of salt
2 tablespoons cooking oil
2 salam leaves
2 lemon grasses
4 jeruk purut leaves
¼ teaspoon cinnamon powder
2 cm galangal root, crushed

Spices to Grind:

3 cloves garlic
8 shallots
2 cm ginger
½ teaspoon turmeric powder
5 candle nuts
½ teaspoon white pepper powder
A pinch of caraway powder
½ teaspoon tamarind
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar

Complements:

50 g rice vermicelli, boiled for 2 minutes, then poured by cold water, drained
150 g bean sprouts, soaked in hot water, then drained
3 hard boiled eggs, peeled, sliced
100 g cabbage, finely sliced
2 tablespoon celery
2 tablespoon fried onion
Potato crisp
Chili condiment
Sweet soy sauce
Lime juice

Instructions:

Grind all spices in Spices to Grind above with stone mortar or processor

Boil the chicken with salt in water, until the chicken is tender enough, and the broth is about 1000 ml
Take the chicken out of pan and drain it well, shred it

Sauté the ground spices with salam leaves, lemon grasses, jeruk purut leaves, galangal root, cinnamon powder
Pour the chicken broth little by little, stir, boil it again

Set the shredded chicken and all the compliments in a bowl, and then pour them with hot spiced broth

Sambal Goreng Hati (Beef Liver in Chili and Coconut Milk) ala Diana Novita

2008-10-05T17:14:00.008+07:00

Ingredients:

400 g beef liver, boiled, cut into cube shape, fried
250 g potatoes, peeled, cut into cube shape, fried
10 g peas
2 salam leaves
Galangal root, crushed
2 tablespoon cooking oil to sauté spices (grind)
250 ml cooking oil to fry potatoes and beef liver
400 ml light/thin coconut milk

Spices (Grind):

8 chilies, halved, seeded
3 cloves garlic, peeled
8 shallots, peeled
One or two pinch of terasi (shrimp paste)
1 tablespoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar

Instructions:

Grind chilies, garlic, shallots, salt, sugar, and shrimp paste with stone mortar or processor
Sauté that ground spices with salam leaves and galangal root
Pour the coconut milk, stir it and boil it
Add the fried beef liver, stir
Add the fried potatoes, stir
At last add peas into it, stir until it becomes a little bit drained

Adapted from my mother’s, Ibu Djoko Sutrisno’s, recipe

(A healthier) Cheese Cake ala Diana Novita

2008-10-05T17:07:00.011+07:00

Ingredients:

5 Egg yolks (from Organic eggs/ low cholesterol eggs)
3 Egg whites (from Organic eggs/ low cholesterol eggs)
½ cups sugar
½ tablespoon cake emulsifier (I used VX)
⅓ cups wheat flour (medium protein/all purposes flour)
20 ml low fat liquid milk
50 ml canola oil
Cheddar, grated, as necessary
Butter cream instant, as necessary
Raisins, as necessary

Instructions:

Beat sugar, egg yolks, egg whites, VX with high speed for about 10 minutes or until it well improved
Add wheat flour, stir it with spatula
Add low fat liquid milk, stir
Add canola oil, stir
Pour the batter into non-sticky cake pan, so you don’t need butter to cover it with
Place the pan in the the middle rack. Bake in 185°C for 40 minutes or until it is baked well, risen and firm. Take it out from the oven
Mean while, prepare the butter cream, whisk or mix it for about 20 minutes or until it doubles its volume
Cool the cake in a room temperature, and then unmold it
Cut into 10-14 slices
Beautify the cake with butter cream, grated cheddar, and raisins

Opor Ayam (Chicken in Coconut Gravy)

2008-10-05T16:59:00.009+07:00

Ingredients:

1 free range chicken or organic chicken, clean and cut into 8 parts
3 cloves garlic
8 shallots
2 teaspoons of coriander seed
2 teaspoons of salt
2 teaspoons of sugar
2 lemongrasses, crushed
A pinch of caraway powder
2 cm galangal root, crushed
2 Salam leaves
4 Jeruk Purut leaves
300 ml thin (light) coconut milk
200 ml thick (heavy) coconut milk

Instructions:

Grind coriander seed. Add salt and garlic. Then add shallot
Sauté grinded spices, salam leaves, galangal root, lemongrasses, jeruk purut leaves, and also a pinch of caraway powder
Whenever it smells good, add the chicken, stir
Pour the thin coconut milk, lower the heat. Stir until it boiled. Then add the thick coconut milk. Stir it until boiled
Then…ready to serve

Ibu Djoko Sutrisno’s, my mother’s recipe
(for 4 peoples)

Related Posting:
Common Indonesian Herbs And Spices For Daily Cooking

Common Indonesian Herbs and Spices for Daily Cooking

2008-09-20T05:45:00.025+07:00

Common Indonesian Herbs and Spices for Daily Cooking

Indonesian cuisine is popular with its variety spices and herb use in cooking process. It makes Indonesian cuisine has a very rich on taste. Here there are. I tried to collect them in the list.

If I find another spices or herb which is not included in this list, I’ll add them later.

English	Bahasa Indonesia
Onion	Bawang
Garlic	Bawang putih
Shallot	Bawang merah
(red/green) Chilli	Cabe (merah/hijau), cabe keriting
Hot Chilli	Cabe pedas(rawit)
White pepper	Lada putih
Black pepper	Lada hitam
Green onion	Daun bawang
Turmeric root	Kunyit
Galangal root	Lengkuas
Greater galingale (Kaempferia galanga)	Kencur
Ginger	Jahe
Candle nut	Kemiri
Leek	Daun bawang
Spring onion/green onion	Daun bawang
Turmeric leaf	Daun kunyit
Salam leaf	Daun salam
Cardamom	Kapulaga
Caraway *(Carum carvi)*	Jinten
Star Anise	Bunga Lawang, Peka
Nutmeg	Pala
Clove	Cengkeh
Fruit of Kepayang Tree	Keluwek/keluwak
Flowering garlic chives	Bunga bawang
Lemongrass	Serai
Lime leaf	Daun jeruk purut
(A kind of) Indonesian very sour lime	Jeruk nipis
Lime	Jeruk limo
Coriander seed/ground	Biji/bubuk ketumbar
Coriander leaf	Daun ketumbar
Curry leaf/ground	Daun kari/ bubuk kari
Lemon Basil leaf	Daun kemangi
Celery leaf	Daun seledri
Cumin (Cuminum cyminum ) seed/ground	Biji/bubuk jintan
Garlic chives	Kucai
Sesame seed	Biji Wijen
Tamarind	Asam Jawa

A Classic Steamed Brownies

2008-09-20T05:45:00.024+07:00

Brownies is a dark brown sweet and sticky cake. People usually bake the batter. However, people in Bandung, West Java, Indonesia, popularize the brand new brownies, Steamed Brownies. This recipe below adapted from Ny. Liem’s recipe book. To reduce its calory I have made some modifications.

Ingredients:

3 large organic eggs
110 g granulated sugar
½ teaspoon Vanillin powder
¼ teaspoon cake emulsifier (I used VX)
65 g wheat flour (medium protein)
25 g chocolate powder
6 tablespoon canola oil
1 teaspoon maizena flour
50 ml low fat liquid milk, thickened (add maizena flour, simmer and stir well, when it is thickening, cool it down)
50 g dark cooking chocolate, melted, mix with canola oil

Instructions:

Set the brownies pan (4 x 10 x 15) cm, cover it with cake paper (silicon paper is necessary and long term reusable)
Set the steamer. Assure the water is boil and has enough steam before put the brownies in
Whisk eggs with hand mixer in low speed
Add sugar. Mix until the granulated sugar is well dissolved
Add VX , continue to mix it until well improved
Add wheat flour and chocolate powder, stir with spatula gently and slowly

Pour the mix of melted dark cooking chocolate and canola oil to the batter. Stir with spatula gently and slowly
Pour ⅓ part of the batter to different bowl. Add thickened liquid milk to it. Stir well with spatula (let’s call it batter A)
Pour another ⅓ part of the batter into brownies pan. Steam this first layer for about 7 minutes on medium heat
Pour batter A onto first steamed layer for about 7 minutes.
Finally, pour the left batter you have onto those two steamed layer. Steam it for about 15 minutes or until it well risen and firm
Turn off the heat. Take it out. Cool it in room temperature then unmold it

Slice it and ready to serve

Caution:

If you can’t use glass steamer cover, you need to wrap the cover with a clean napkin to prevent water flecks drop onto your brownies surface. The flecks will cause your brownies surface become billowy.

Common Indonesian Flours used for Daily Cooking and Baking

2008-09-20T05:45:00.002+07:00

1. Wheat flour, there are 3 kinds level of protein in branded packages flour: high protein (contains at least 10.5% gluten), all purposes flour/medium protein (7-10%), low protein (4-7%).

2. Rice flour, made from rice.

3. Sago flour, made from sago or sagu tree.

4. Maizena /corn flour.

5. Tapioka flour, it is made from cassava tuber.

6. Glutinous rice flour/ Sticky rice flour, really common usage for traditional food.

7. Bread flour, usually people use it for coating before frying.