Nasi Bakar Ikan Teri dan Daging Bakar saus Kecap Manis

Nasi bakar yang dihidangkan dengan sayur pepaya muda dan sambal bawang

Siapa sih yang ga demen sama nasi bakar? Wanginya itu loh, bikin jadi lapar. Kebetulan di kebun ada pohon pisang yang daunnya lumayan lebat untuk dibikin bungkus nasi bakar. Dan mumpung belum musim dingin, masa hibernasi buat kebanyakan pohon, dan pohon pisang kami ini, harus ditebang sampai sekitar 1 meter dari permukaan tanah, kemudian kami bungkus tanah sekitar dan batangnya, biar tidak beku.

Baiklah, tanpa bertele-tele, mari kita intip resep nasi bakar.

Daging bakar bumbu Kecap Manis

• 300 gr daging khusus untuk sate (has dalam atau jenis lainnya), cincang atau potong pipih tipis

Bahan rendaman daging:

• 1 sdm air jeruk lemon
• 2 sdm minyak
• 1 sdt jintan
• 1 sdt merica
• 2 sdm kecap
• 2 siung bawang putih haluskan
• 1 sdm ketumbar sangrai

Cara:

1. Dalam sebuah mangkuk besar, Campur semua bumbu, kemudian masukkan daging, aduk rata. Tutup dengan film plastik, masukkan kulkas, biarkan selama 1 malam.
2. Hari berikutnya, panggang daging hingga matang (atau bisa ditumis dengan sedikit minyak). Aku panggang dengan plancha.

Nasi Bakar

Bahan:

Rejang daun di atas api

• Daun pisang segar (atau bisa pakai produk frozen, harus dilunakkan terlebih dahulu), buang tulangnya dengan hati-hati agar tidak sobek. Cuci bersih, rejang di atas api agar lemas (Saya beri perhatian extra terhadap sisi luar daun pisang). Potong persegi panjang daun pisang sekitar 40cm.
• 100 gr Beras ketan 
• 200 gr Beras putih 
• 400 ml campuran Santan cair dan air kaldu ayam
• 1/2 sdt atau 1 sdt kapulaga 
• 1/2 sdt garam
• tusuk lidi (berhubung tidak ada yang jual lidi di sini, saya pakai tusuk gigi yang bersih dan simpel dari bambu)

Cara:

1. Campur beras ketan dan putih, cuci bersih. 
2. Panaskan santan, kaldu ayam, kapulaga dan garam. Panaskan sebentar (tidak perlu sampai mendidih).
3. Masukkan beras, masak dengan api sedang dan pasang tutup panci, jangan dibuka-buka selama proses memasak. Masak selama sekitar 10 menit. 
4. Matikan api. Biarkan tertutup sampai 5 menit kemudian. Tunggu sampai nasi tidak lagi panas.

Sambal Teri:

• 200 gr ikan teri medan goreng
• 4 siung bawang merah
• 2 siung bawang putih
• 2 sdt terasi
• 1/2 buah tomat, potong dadu
• 2 cabai merah (atau lebih)
• garam
• Daun kesum secukupnya (optional)
• 2 sdm minyak goreng

Cara:

1. Iris tipis bawang merah, putih dan cabai.
2. Potong-potong daun kesum
3. Panaskan minyak goreng, masukkan bawang merah dan putih, cabai, serta terasi, masak sampai wangi.
4. Masukkan tomat, aduk sampai matang (tomat lembek).
5. Matikan api, campur dengan teri goreng dan potongan daun kesum.

Menyusun Nasi Bakar:

1. Ambil daun pisang bagian tuanya diluar, lipat dua (tidak perlu sama rata, aku melipat bagian yang mengecil dari daun pisang ke tengah bagian dalam). Dibagian  tengah, sendokkan 2 sdm nasi, 1 sdm teri goreng, 1 sdm daging bakar. Besarnya porsi, disesuaikan dengan selera masing-masing.
2. Lipat ke arah dalam semua sisi daun pisang, sehingga nasi terbungkus dengan rapih.  
3. Sematkan tusuk gigi, hingga daun pisang terbungkus dengan sempurna.
4. Bakar di loyang untuk membakar hingga wangi.

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Nasi Goreng Kambing

Bahan:

• 3 cup beras basmati (atau beras Indonesia standard).
• 300 gr daging kambing
• 3 siung bawang putih, diulek
• 3 siung bawang merah ulek
• 1 sdt jahe bubuk
• 1 sdm biji ketumbar bubuk
• 1 sdt jintan
• ½ sdt pala bubuk
• 2 cengkih
• 1 liter air
• salt
• minyak untuk menggoreng
• mentega untuk menumis secukupnya
• 1 sereh digeprek
• merica dan garam secukupnya. 

Cara:

1. Kukus nasi (masak seperti biasa), sisihkan.
2. Kecuali sereh, campur semua bumbu, kemudian bagi 2. 
3. Except the lemon grass stalk, mingle all the spices, and devide by 2.
4. Potong daging kambing dengan bentuk dadu. Rebus daging kambing hingga lunak, dengan satu bagian bumbu dan sereh. Tiriskan, ambil sekitar 150 ml kaldu.
5. Panaskan 1 sdm mentega, tumis sisa bumbu, hingga matang. Masukkan nasi matang, aduk rata. Tambahkan kaldu dan daging kambing. Teruskan masak hingga 5 menit dengan api sedang masukan garam dan merica sesuai selera.
6. Hidangkan. (saya pakai potongan nanas, boleh ditambahkan sambal cuka tentunya!)

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Opor hijau; Bikin Opor Mudah, Sederhana dan Cepat

Gue penggemar berat opor, dan menurut gue, opor bikinan nyokap gue itu enak banget. Akhir-akhir ini ngembangin resep opor, dan hasilnya malah lebih suka opor bikinan sendiri daripada bikinan emak (hihi.. sotoy).  Rahasianya hanya di bumbu dasarnya, kalau ayam mah standard aja. Rasa opornya beda karena ada terasinya!

Bahan bumbu dasar opor hijau :

• 2  sdt biji ketumbar
• 2 sdt jbubuk jintan
• cabai hijau sesukanya
• 2 siung bawang putih
• 3 siung bawang merah (aku pakai bawang merah eropa yang besar itu loh)
• 1 sdm sereh cincang (bagian putihnya)
• 2 lembar daun jeruk purut, diiris
• 1 ruas lengkuas cincang
• 1 cup daun ketumbar beserta tangkainya
• 1 sdt terasi
• Garam dan merica secukupnya

Bahan lain: minyak goreng

• 1 Ayam utuh (bersihkan  perutnya dan buang kulit serta lemak-lemaknya)
• 250ml Santain cair 
• 1 sdm Kecap (saus) ikan 

cara:

1. Haluskan bumbu dasar dengan blender (aku pakai cobek, biar tradisional sekali). 
2. Tumis dalam 3 sdm minyak goreng
3. Rebus ayam dalam air banyak di dalam kuali (aku pakai cast iron pan) sampai ayam terendam, hingga matang (ayam boleh dipotong-potong, aku biarkan utuh).
4. Masukkan 3 sdm bumbu dasar ke dalam panci rebus ayam, aduk rata.
5. Masukkan santan kental selama 30 menit terakhir. 
6. Hidangkan dengan nasi hangat, sambal bawang dan bawang goreng

Gampang khan? Selamat mencoba! 

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Resep Somay dibungkus Daun Kol

Seperti yang sudah aku bilang di postingan sebelumnya, aku ini paling suka dengan dumpling. Salah satu dumpling kesukaan keluarga kami, ya somay. Apalagi kalo somaynya dibungkus dengan daun kol, wangi banget deh. Pada dasarnya bikin somay itu gampang banget tinggal giling semua bahan, sendokin ke kulit somaynya, trus dikukus, jadi deh...kadang aku ga pake takaran pasti aja enak kok rasanya. Rahasianya, gilinglah ikannya dalam keadaan dingin. Atau tambahin es batu ketika menggiling ikan. 

Bahan untuk isi, giling sampai halus:

• 500 gr ikan dengan daging putih
• 1 sdm saus tiram (oyster sauce)
• +/- 10 lembar daun chives iris
• 6 blok es batu
• 2 cm jahe cincang
• 2 bawang putih cincang
• 1 sdm minyak wijen
• 1 sdm saus (kecap) ikan
• 1 putih telur
• 3 sdm tepung kentang

Bahan lain:

• 1 buah  Kol
• Kecap manis secukupnya

Somay Daun Kol

Bumbu kacang:

• 4 sdm selai kacang
• gula merah secukupnya
• 1 sdt asam jawa
• garam
• Lengkuas geprek
• 500 ml air
• 2 siung bawang putih

Cara:

1. Rebus banyak air di dalam panci yang besar hingga mendidih, masukan secubit garam.
2. Potong bagian tangkai kol. Congkel (dongkel) bagian tangkainya, buang (kol tampak bolong di bagian tangkai). 
3. MAsukkan kol utuh  ke dalam panci air tadi. Rebus dan dengan capitan dapur, pisahkan daun kol satu sama lainnya. Tiriskan. Biarkan adem.
4. Kupas (tipiskan) bagian tulang daun kol tadi, dengan pisau, buatlah guratan-guratan sepanjang tulang daun agar daun kol lemas, hingga kita mudah mengisi kol dengan adonan somay.
5. Ambil sehelai daun kol, sendokkan 1 adonan somay ke ujung helainya. Gulung ke arah dalam sambil dipertemukan kedua sisi daun kol. 
6. Lakukan terhadap sisa daun kol.
7. Kukus hingga matang.
8. Buatlah bumbu kacangnya; Tumis bawang putih, masukkan sisa bahan. Biarkan masak di atas api hingga bumbu mengental.
9. Hidangkan somay dengan cara menyiramkan bumbu kacang (dan kecap tentunya).

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Kering Kentang

Question: What takes long to cook (longer than beef rendang), yet gone within 10 minutes?

Answer: Kering Kentang. 

Took me 6 hours in the kitchen making this dish, and i had to stop the member of the family to continuously eating it..otherwise there went my labour work spent in the kitchen... directly into... uh oh

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Sambal à la bu Rudy revisited, No MSG needed!

It's been awhile since my last post, I know!
I just want to update a little, telling the world that i recently made Sambal à la Bu Rudy, a famous condiment made by Ibu (Mrs) Rudy.

Ingredients:

• 50 gram Indonesian bird eyes chilies (cabai rawit - they have pretty colors, green/yellow/orange/red)
• 1 TBS of small shrimp
• 3 shallots thinly sliced
• 4 TBS canola oil 
• 3 tbs chicken stock
• Salt and sugar

Methods:

1. Fry shrimp and chilies together, strain them of oil. Grind using mortar (or blender). Add salt (and sugar if you like it a little sweet)
2. Using the same oil, fry  the shalllots until witter.  
3. Combine the fried shallots and ground chilies.
4. Add chicken stock and continue cooking for around 5 minutes. 
5. Serve (can last more than 3 weeks in the fridge)

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Sayur Asam - Indonesian sour veggies soup

Sayur asem litteraly means sour veggies. But it actually refers to a soup consists of veggies, which taste a little bit sour yet sweet and bitter at the same time. It uses kacang melinjo  – the fruit (gnetum gnemon) as well as the leaves for the bitter note. But okay, since my chance of finding the ingredient here in France,  falls down to zero, i actuallly never make this dish. Until last week, i went to visit a friend, Lita, in 93 region, and she made us this meal.

Apparently, this preggy momma has been cooking since petite. And that makes the difference between me and her... she is very good in the kitchen! And to weigh my argument, she is from Surabaya city, east of Java. Okay, this is just my theory, but I think Surabaya women are very good in the kitchen. I realy wonder why !!!

Even in Indonesia, i rarely tasted the best sayur asem. So rare! So the reason why i haven't really made sayur asem since my moving to France, was i think i can really live without it. I was not a big fan, and beside where can i find the melinjo? Sayur asam is merely the same without that one.... and even so, i remember that when my mom cooked the dish, i would not eat the chayote, neither the melinjo bean. But she always put old cooked knobs of corn.. and that was practically the one that i ate ! Never i like the rest, and even the taste of the soup. But gradually as i grow up, i begin to eat the melinjo leaves and the long beans too. But that is just it. Melinjo is the main ingredient of emping snack though. That i wouldn't mind eating.



But this Lita changed my life... i am now convinced that i have to try to make sayur asem too, even without the melinjo ingredient. She gave me a note about the ingredients she used, and i had to figure out how to cook it. I use my own measurements, and add kaffir lime juice to the soup. I like to have the soup a little bit too sour.

Ingredients:

• 2 marrow bones
• 1,5 l water
• 2 Indonesian bay leaves
• 2 pieces of dry Galanga
• 10 gr tamarind 
• 50 gr palm sugar 
• a handful of French beans (or Asian long beans, cut 3cm each) 
• 1 chayote, peel and cut in cubes
• 1 tsp raw peanuts (i did not have any)
• ¼ of cabbage, cut the leaf in square
• cooking oil

Crunch the following :

• 1 tomatoes 
• 1 tsp of sugar
• 2 tsp of salt
• 1 big chili (or you can eventually add more or omit this) 
• 3 shallots 
• 2 garlic 
• 3 candelnut pecan
• 3 tsp of shrimp paste

 Method:

1. in a skilet pan, sauté the coarsed ingredients, galanga, and bay leaves, until fragrant, transfer to a big pan. Add water, marrow, tamarind and palm sugar. Cook until the center of the bones soften.
2. Add the vegetables and peanut. Cook until tender.
3. Serve.

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Ayam Gota (Batak Tribal chicken)

Ayam Gota (Chicken Gota) is a recipe from Batak Toba, a big tribe in Sumatera island. The first time i tasted a dish similiar to it, was given by a dear friend in Paris a couple of months ago, who comes from a muslim Batak family (ayam Mangupa - South Batak tribal chicken). While her mother in law's recipe is made with "goseng" (grated coconut, dry-fry with ground corriander, and then pressed to liberate the oil), Ayam Gota's recipe is using blood. No wonder that the colour of the dish looked very dark. The recipe that i used is from a blog, saying that you can use mixed chicken liver with water as goseng/blood substitute.

Ingredients :

• 4 chicken livers (i used heart part, because my convinient store was running out of liver) – blend with a glass of water
• 6 chicken drumsticks
• Oil for cooking

Ground spices :

• 2 tsp of corriander seeds (just because i yearn for them)
• 3 shallots
• 2 cloves of garlics
• 1 tsp of ginger powder
• 2 green chilies (actually red chilies and you can add more, i just love green chilies more than the red counterpart. For me they just taste better).
• 2 stalks lemongrass , sliced 
• 1 cm of galanga
• salt
• sugar

Method :

1. Heat oil in a pan, and add the ground spices, until they turned golden brown and become fragrant.
2. Add the chickens and livers. Cook until water is absorbed. (I added more water until i was assured that the chicken is tender ).
3. Served.

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Bawang Goreng (Indonesian style deep fried shallots)

When we eat soto, bakso or other Indonesian cuisines, we often sprinkle Bawang Goreng or deep fried shallots on it. It reveals another fine taste that the food has. So, bawang goreng, though looking so petit, holds an enormous role in our cuisine.

There are only two ingredients to make Bawang Goreng; Shallots, and all purpose flour (don't ask about the quantity of the ingredients, as we hardly take it into account). It is so difficult to find asian type shallot here in Paris, which is smaller than its European counterpart. I will have to go to Indian store to find it, but it is so far from where i live, and it is not my favourite neighbourhood either over there. So i use normal common shallots here.

Just slice the shallots as thin as possible (i admit i am not good at it), and make sure that every surface covered by flour. Don't be affraid of being royal on giving the flour. I notice that the flour helps the shallots becomes heat resistant when deep fried, thus slower the burning process. Therefore you have you enough time to gather them when they've turned golden brown.

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Stir Fry of Sator (stinky beans) with dried anchovies and asam sunti

Hey it has been soooo long since i posted something here..oh well, what can i say, the world keeps me busy. So many injustices in here, so i was busy making comments about it on my twitter, haha... And i stopped facebook and starting with google plus instead... what an amazing latest trend it is. Thank you google, i can still keep a little bit of my privacy for my close friends and relatives (what privacy? once you are on social media, you are bare naked!)

Lets see, what have i been doing ever since, hmmm.. we went back home to Indonesia, to family. So that parents could see what their métisse grand child look like. And we got the chance to smell the indonesian kretek cigarette (disgusting), and went to climb gunung Agung mountain in Bali (what a precious experiences). Then we went to la rochelle to attend my cousins marriage, she weds a french guy (huh poor girl!). During the party dinner, i had an awekening experience about french food.. i almost forgot how good it was, and being reminded again, hehe.

And lately, instead of recipes testing, i was busy socializing, and raising my kid: busy making her food. I have been making hundred containers of these, composing many ingredients...pfff... but i love cooking for my little lady especially she seems to adore it very very much!

I have been thinking of selling bakso (indonesian meat balls soup), to my friends. I found a fail proof Bakso recipe, and perfected it. I tested it a couple of days ago to my indonesian circle (oh this is so google plus language!), and they told me that they like it a lot! (i am over the moon, my bakso stall will launch soon, haha). Sorry since it has something to do with my future business, i cannot share the recipe here, hihi... I can make Fish Bakso and Meat Bakso.. bye bye stupid looking and funny taste bakso from the past....

Fish Bakso

And yesterday, i was just chating with a friend about the ingredients that i have in my fridge, and then i asked her what to do with it, and she suggest me this sauté food... But i just made it like that, without precise quantities of ingredients.

• Fried Stinky beans (haha...it is actually not that stinky when it is in your plate, but your mouth becomes smelly -just right after you chew it, feel the odour exploses in your mouth- ..and not to mention your...hehehe..toilette..beware beware!).
• Asam sunti (sun dried- sour star fruit alike, common of Aceh province), blended very smoothly. If you don't have this just replace it with tamarind pulp.
• Fried small anchovies
• shallots, crushed
• Chillies thinly sliced
• garlic, crushed
• ginger powder
• Cooking Oil to saute

Directions:

So just like any other indonesian sauté cookings, heat oil in the wok, put your crushed asam sunti, shallots, chilies, garlic and ginger powder together. And after, you put the rest of the ingredients. Et voilà...eat it as a compagnion of white rice!!!

By the way, i made this dish too..Let's see the ingredients, beside the shallots, garlic, and big chillies (to avoid tongue burning when eating it...en effet, big red chillies are not spicy at all!), alongside those mackerel, i put kaffir lime leaves, lemongrass, ginger and galanga. So simpel, so good.

Oh by the way, my mom gave me her easy recipe how to make a good fried shallots! But lets wait for my next post for the recipe.

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Sambal Goreng Udang

Previously, I posted Nasi Langgi recipe. One of the side dish of nasi langgi is Sambal Goreng Udang (Fried Shrimp savored with spices). Yesterday evening i cooked this delicious sambal, and ate it as a side dish to the normal white rice. Here is my recipe.

Ingredients:

• 250 gr shrimps, omit the head, wash, and marinate with lemon juice and salt for 15 minutes.
• 2 kaffir leaves
• 1 salam (indonesian bay) leaf
• 2 big shallots (thinly sliced)
• 2 gooses of ail, crushed and sliced
• 1 tsp white sugar (optional)
• 1 tsp shrimp paste, coarsed
• 4 sliced chili (you can eventually add more)
• salt, depending to your liking
• Cooking Oil

Method:

1. Deep fried the shrimps for around 5 minutes (or less), oozed.
2. Saute the rest of the spices, add the salt and sugar before droping the shrimps.
3. Continue cooking for another 1 or two minutes.
4. Serve for two.

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Rujak Bali

Rujak is generally an Indonesian word for fruits salad, with spicy palm sugar sauce. In most parts of Indonesia, we use crushed peanuts as part of the sauce's ingredients. But in this recipe, there is no peanut at all and it has shrimp paste (terasi) inside , and I was really wondering if it is very typical of Bali's rujak that the sauce is without sauce. It is too late to call home now, to ask my mom (she is balinese) about it, well anyway, I still enjoy the taste, although I prefer the sauce with peanuts, of course!

I added dry shrimp and dried chili inside, and for fruits, i used pamelo (jeruk bali), pineapple, but i was so wrong to use green papaya because you really have to use ripe papaya for this kind of sauce (however green papaya for the peanut rujak, tastes very good).

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Bolu Kukus

It is so difficult to make my husband to love Asian desserts. I notice that the French are chauvinist when it comes to their dessert and wine, they think that theirs are the best. Mr. Gorilla does not like something with jelly such as pudding, or agar-agar thing, and then he is not a big fan (or i can say dislike?) the relish of glutinous rice flour in the dessert, so only pisang goreng, kolak pisang, kue lapis legit (i have never tried making this, i heard it is sooooo difficult!) which stay as my chance to make him to like Indonesian dessert. But there is another dessert that he likes when i made it a year ago, Bolu Kukus muffin, one of the famous snack cake in Indonesia, which resembles a lot to muffin or cup cake. You can always easily find this cake everywhere in Indonesia.

Well this post is an old post, that i have on my old blog (in Indonesian) more than a year ago. Someone told me that she did not succeed making it, so i visited my old blog. It was my first time and I hope it is not my last time making it. Apparently it is quite difficult to make it, as many people does not have the blooming cake result in the end, but there is only one secret: do not open the lid of your steamer during the steam process. I used Melani's, (my friend) recipe to make it. I repost here and translate it into English. You will need the special molds to make it, (which picture she posted on her site) i bought 'em on the net, but i forgot which site. It was a Dutch site, quite expensive, but i was so eager to make it thus it was worth it!

Ingredients:

• 5 egg yolks
• 1 white egg
• 250 gr sugar
• 250 gr flour
• 125 ml sprite
• chocolate powder or other colourant
• bread paper, cut in squares (size enough to be put inside the mould)
  

Directions:

1. mix the eggs together with sugar until thick and well developed
2. Add the flour and the soda, part by part (not all once), and stir well.
3. Take half (or less) of the dough, and add the chocolate powder.
4. Pose the bread paper inside the moulds
5. Fill them with the white dough, and end it with the chocolate dough on top
6. Heat your steamer until the water boiled.
7. Cover it with a napkin, let it steam during 20 minutes (at this point i dont really remember if i really follow the recipe like it is written, because you know that i don't like doing it.... i don't remember if i just cover it with napkins, or i used the lid of the steamer to cover it and had it wraped with a napkin to avoid the steam fall down to the dough - however vaguelly i remember that i really followed the recipe).
   

Update March 2010:
I made this cake again, just before i went to Belgium to visit an Indonesian friend who lives there. I made her this, and i made it just having the casserole closed with napkins, with no lid above it. And it works.

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Fragrant Fish Soup

This recipe is a combination of periplus recipe and tom yam goong in general. Et voilà, it is not bad at all...(am happy, mam!)

Ingredients

• 700 gr Fish (fish with white chair)
• 5 cm of turmeric, peel and minced
• 1 tps ginger powder
• 1 tps galanga powder
• 1 tps shrimp paste
• 2 lemon
• 1 lemongrass bruised
• 2 kaffir leaves
• 2 shallots, thinly sliced
• 2 chilli sliced
• 700 ml water
• a bunch of asian basil
• 2 tomatoes, sliced
• 2 green fresh plum, (bruised)

Method

1. Marinate the fish with lemon juice, set aside.
2. In a big wok, heat 2 tbs of cooking oil, and saute the turmeric, ginger, galanga, shrimp paste, lemon grass, chilli and kaffir leaves.
3. Add the fish inside, cook for 5 minutes.
4. Add water and shimmer it. Add tomatoes and young plum, cook until they are tender.
5. Add the lemon juice and basil, continue cooking for another 3 minutes.
6. Serve.

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Acar Kuning

Acar or pickles was never my favorite. But so were many other Indonesian food when i was still young.

I found this Acar kuning (yellow pickles) on the net, and i am very willing to try since i have all of the ingredients in the cupboard. You can eat acar as your grilled fish companion, salty martabak, or nasi/mie goreng (fried rice or noodles).

Ingredients:

• 1 cucumber, cut as you like (i followed the original recipe)
• 2 carrots, cut
• 200 gr pineapple
• 300 ml water
• 1 tbs vinegar
• lemon juice from ½ lemon

spices, using your pestle, ground the following:

• 2 cm curcuma, grilled,
• 2 shallots
• 1 garlic
• 2 chillies
• sugar
• salt

Methods:
boil the water together with the spices
Add the pineapple, carrots, cucumber, vinegar and lemon juice.
Simmer until the veggies go tender.

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Pindang Ikan and Ayam Betutu

Periplus is a name of a publisher based in Singapore (i think), which produce good books. When i was still in Jakarta, i collected some of their recipe books, that i keep dearly and use as top reference even today. I could not be happier when i realized that someone posted some of Indonesian recipes coming from Periplus on the net (who said that piracy is a bad thing?!).

I tried their recipe Fish simmered in Fragrant Soy, today. I remember that when i was still living in Jakarta, my mom made very rarely this dish because my father does not like fish (because of the strange smell, he says), while at that time, i don't like any soup based on fish meat (i don't know if sisters and brother really like it, but anyway, we did not live in the same roof for so long, so i don't know well their favorite food).

Anyway, today i wanted to make a simple soupy dinner, since it is very cold outside (bad weather experience in Paris), and i also remembered that i still have mahi-mahi (dorade coryphène in French),fish fillet in the freezer. I don't know what mahi-mahi means but it seems that this fish lives in pacific ocean, and the taste is very distinguish while the meat is quite firm.

This recipe is just perfect to make the used of the mahi-mahi fish, and unlike usual, i have curcuma roots (normally i use powder - works just fine for me, i don't complain). I replaced the carambola fruit with green acid plum.Now, about ayam betutu (roast chicken in banana leaf), it is a balinese (and lombok) dish that is very famous. I found the recipe posted here, which i tried several time, and i am never bored with the result. Of course, i replaced the duck with chicken. I cooked this when father in law came to visit us because he had a business trip in our neighbourhood about 3 months ago, and he said it was delicious. Now that is a compliment, considering he is a very difficult man when it comes to food.

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Oseng Teri

Oseng means sauteing in English (or is it in France?), while teri means the small anchovy fish. In the past, I made sambal lada mudo, which is not that different from this one. The recipe is just my creation, and I love the taste of the lemon juice in it.

Ingredients:

• 200 gr deep fried anchovies
• cooking oil
• juice from ½ lemon

Spices:

• 2 shallots sliced
• 2 garlics crushed
• 2 chillies (discard the seeds and the white inside part), sliced thinly
• 2 kaffir limes
• 1 Indonesian bay leaf (omit if you don't have it)
• 1 tsp galanga powder
• 5 cm curcuma root, blend smoothly
• 1 lemon grass crushed

Method:

1. heat oil in a pan and cook the spices until wilt.
2. Add the anchovies, stir well.
3. Add the lemon juice, and stir once again.
4. Serve with steamed rice.

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Lamb Satay

I loooove lamb, especially when they still have that greasy part attached to it. And if you grill the meat, oh, it is melting inside your mouth... i am loving it!

Anyway, this is another quick and easy recipe. In my youth days, i did not like Sate, (except Sate Padang), as i hate their peanut sauce... It started one day, my house mate in Bandung introduced me to a restaurant in Cipanas Puncak area, called Sate Sinta. Ever since i could not forget their juicy lamb sate, and i could slowly, but sure, start eating lamb sate, as long as the sauce is not made of peanut sauce. In my small brain, i thought that every satay tastes the same, including their sauce; the companion sauce is no other than the peanut. But it is also weird, because i do like gado-gado, or somay, other Indonesian food which use peanut as their sauce.

A couple of years ago, i accidently discovered this site, i also found out that the owner has the lamb satay recipe which tastes the same as Sate Sinta Restaurant's (but of course, the ingredients are not that various either, how much taste bud combination that you can have from it?). I was jumping of joy to find out that it is very very simple to make it, and Mr. Gorilla loves it very much (oh yeah i took him to the restaurant in Cipanas the last time we visited Indonesia last year, it seems that they are doing very well judging from the number of branch they have, 3 restaurants in the same area, and one branch in Bandung...wow).

This recipe is like my lender of the last resort; whenever i am too lazy to cook, i make this sate...

You will need:

• Bamboo skewers
• 500 gr lamb meat, cut in dices
• 1 tbs olive oil
• Indonesian soya sauce enough to marinate all of the meat ( around 4 tbs)

Kecap Sauce, mix the following, before serving in a small bowl:

• 1 tomato cut in dice
• 1 shallots and 2 chillies, thinly sliced

Let's bring it on!!

1. Soak the bamboo skewers in water for a couple of hours
2. Marinate the meat, olive oil, soya sauce, during 1hour (or overnight, as you like).
3. Pass the meat through the bamboo skewers (around 4 pieces)
4. Grill.
5. Serve with the Kecap Sauce.

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Beef Rendang

Rendang is a typical dish from west Sumatra which travels all over the world that even several countries in South East Asia adopted it and think that it is their original dish. The delicious dish is quite long to be made, stays in bottom of the heart of 220 million Indonesian population, therefore it becomes one of our national dishes alongside Nasi Goreng, and make it as one of our national treasures. We are even thinking of taking care its Sumatran originality be guarded in an international museum, thus that everybody recognize it as Indonesian's.....hehehe...jokking.

There are several types of Rendang recipe, where every house has its own. I have made several Rendang beefs during my stay in France, but this recipe that i found from Masakan Indonesia book, Yasa Boga, Gramedia, 2008, is the simplest and tastes quite fine too. I added the star anise to the original recipe.

As I said, it is easy to make Rendang, but you need to be patience to stand in front of the stove when cooking it, as it takes at least 3 to 6 hours to make it, and you will always have to stirr it occassionally.

I made this one using the curcuma's leaf, which we planted in a small pot in our apartment, and the end result is superbe...my rendang is more fragrant, and taste very fin. But of course, if you don't have the curcuma's leaf, you can always omit it. I also cook my beef rendang using my claypot, that way, the beef and spices don't stay on the bottom or easily burnt.

My ideal of Rendang is made the day before you serve it, thus the spices are very well absorbed into the beef. I do not believe the words of a great chef who once said that "If you say that a dish tastes better the following day, you don't know how to cook.!" Well, if by that he meant that you have to prepare it long time before, then for me it is just the same as prepared a day before and he is a dork, hehe. Rendang is preferable to be eaten as rice's or ketupat's (rice cake) companion.


Beef Rendang (for 2)

• 500 gr beef, cut 4x4cm
• 1 turmeric leaf, clean and make a knot
• 3 kaffir leaves
• 1 lemon grass, bruised
• 1 pinch of tamarind
• salt
• pepper
• 500 ml coconut milk
• 1 star anise

Ground Spice:

• 3 big shallots
• 3 garlic
• 2 tsp ginger powder
• 3 red chillies (you can eventually add more)
• 1 tsp turmeric
• 3 tsp galangal

Method:

1. In your clay pot (or you can just use any casserole with heavy bottom), boil all the ingredients, except the beef. Stir occasionally. Lower the heat, and add the meat.
2. Using small heat, cook the beef until the sauce is dry (it takes minimum 3 hours until it really dries. Don't forget to stir it every now and then to avoid burnt /stickiness at the bottom).

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Kolak Pisang

it's a habit that the Indonesians eat Kolak Pisang (Banana) to break their fasting during Ramadan month, therefore, Ramadan equals kolak pisang, as it equals to many other things actually. There are so many things that we do or dishes that we eat only during Ramadan, so that we actually try to avoid to eating 'em otherwise, just to have a deeper meaning and the real Ramadan ambiance. I made kolak for the first day of Ramadan. It makes me think of home; the smel of boiled coconut milk mixed with pandanus, just several minutes before the iftar time arrives.

There are several recipes of Kolak Pisang existing in the world, and i am sure this is one of the best, the most well spread south east Asian dessert. I was just lucky enough to find a can of jack fruits and palm seed fruits in my cupboard on the first day of Ramadhan. Hmmm..i must have bought it looong time ago, a yea a go maybe? Bahaha....i never learn, i always forget what i bought until i discover it months later. (and got poisoned just after eating it).

By the way, I actually hate French (surely imported from elsewhere) big banana (plantin – large ones) as they are too hard, and not sweet enough; i always have to cook them a little bit longer, hoping that they will melt in the end. Nice try Jackie, it happens very rarely, instead, i have my coconut milk broken, because it is too 'well done'.


Ingredients:

• 2 big/large bananas (plantin) chose the ones which ripe, slice.
• 1 can of jack fruit slices and palm-seed fruits (wash and discard the heavy syrup)
• 1 pandanus leaf, make a knot
• 50 gr of sugar palm (less or more according to your liking)
• 400 ml of coconut milk
• ½ tsp of salt.

Methods:

1. In a saucepan, bring the coconut milk to boil together with the pandanus leaf, sugar and salt. continue stirring slowly to avoid the milk cracked (use medium heat). Cook until the sugar is completely dissolved.
2. Add the banana slices, continue cooking until the bananas absorb the milk (turning mushy).
3. Add the jack and palm seed fruits, continue cooking until a little while.
4. Serve warm or cold (according to your liking).

Kolak Pisang Recipe in French, click here

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