Nasi Tim Ayam (Chicken Steamed Rice)

Ingredients:
1 pound of ground chicken
2 cups of button mushroom
4 cloves of garlic (chopped)
3 cloves of shallot (chopped)
Pinch of salt &pepper
3 Tbs of sweet soy sauce (kecap manis)
1 teaspoon of soy sauce
1 teaspoon of oyster sauce
3 Tbs of sesame oil
jasmine rice
2 cans/boxes of chicken broth

How to make:
1. On a medium size saute pan; put the sesame oil, the garlic and the shallot.
2. Add the ground chicken, then the mushroom.
3. Add the seasonings; salt & pepper, soy sauce, sweet soy sauce, and oyster sauce. Stir them until it is cooked. Set aside.
4. Prepare a steaming pot on a medium heat.
5. On a small size ceramic or stainless steel bowls; put a couple table spoon of the cooked ground chicken & mushroom on the bottom of the bowls.
6. Then add rice up to 3/4 full of the bowls.
7. Pour the chicken broth until the bowls are full.
8. Cook them in the steaming pot until the rice is cooked.
9. Ready to serve.

Acar Kuning (Yellow Pickle)

 

Ingredients:

2 cucumbers

2 carrots
1 clove of chopped garlic
1 clove of chopped shallot
3 Tbs of olive oil
1 teaspoon of ground turmeric
Pinch of ground coriander
Pinch of ground cumin
Pinch of salt & pepper
4 - 5 Tbs of vinegar
2 Tbs of sugar


How to make:
1. Cut the cucumbers and the carrots into 2 inches long, then slice them. Set aside.
2. On a medium size saute pan; put olive oil, garlic, and shallot.
3. Add sliced carrot, then stir them about 2 - 3 minutes.
4. Add cucumber and all seasonings.
5. Stir about another 2 minutes, then it is ready to be served.

Sayur Gambas Oyong (Silk Squash Soup)

 

Ingredients:
1 to 2 Gambas Oyong (Silk Squash / Sin Qua)
1/2 to 1 cup of small peeled Shrimps
A handful of rice vermicelli
4 cloves of sliced garlic
1 clove of sliced shallot
Pinch of salt & pepper
2 to 3 Tbs of olive oil
4  - 5 cups of water

How to make:
1. Peel the squash and slice them about half inch. Set aside.
2. On a medium size pot; saute the sliced garlic and sliced shallot with the olive oil on a medium heat.
3. Add the shrimps, then the sliced squash into the pot.
4. After the squash is soft, add the water and salt & pepper.
5. After the water boiling, add the rice vermicelli.
6. When the rice vermicelli is soft, then it is ready to be served.

* Additional image is the picture of Silk squash/Sin qua/ Gambas Oyong.

Ikan Bumbu Bali

Ingredients:
1/2 to 1 pound of fish*
5 cloves of garlic
5 cloves of shallots
3 candle nuts (kemiri)
A size of a thumb of fresh ginger
1 tomato
1 teaspoon of ground chili paste/sambal oelek (add more/less as you desire)
5 Tbs of lime juice
2 - 3 Tbs of sweet soy sauce (kecap manis)
Pinch of salt
3 - 6 Tbs of olive oil (for cooking the sauce and the fish)

How to make:
1. On a food processor; put all ingredients, except the fish and sweet soy sauce. Puree them.
2. On a medium saute pan; pour the oil and the pureed ingredients. Cook them by stirring it once in awhile. When it is thick, add sweet soy sauce. This would be the sauce.
3. On a separated saute pan; pour the oil and cook/saute the fish (NOT a deep fry).
4. When the fish is cooked, put it on the other saute pan which has the sauce.
5. Stir gently and let the fish covered by the sauce. Ready to serve.

* I used mackerel for this recipe for its firm texture and less fish bones. However, you could use any other fish you prefer.

Cheese Twists

Ingredients:
Ready to use puff pastry sheets
Grated cheese*
Dry parsley

How to make:
1. Spread the puff pastry sheets on a cutting board.
2. Spread the grated cheese and sprinkle some dry parsley.
3. Cut and twist them.
4. Lay them on a baking sheet.
5. Bake for 400 F for 15 - 20 minutes. Then, ready to serve.

*Use any hard cheese you like. For the best result, use grated parmesan.

Semur Bola Daging (Beef Meatballs Semur)

Ingredients:

For the meatballs:
1 pound of ground beef
2 eggs
1/2 cup of all purpose flour
Pinch of salt & pepper

For the sauce:
1 sliced vidalia onion (bawang bombay)
3 cloves of chopped garlic
3 diced tomatoes
3 Tbs sweet soy sauce (kecap manis)
1 teaspoon of ground nutmeg (pala bubuk)
2 Tbs tomato ketchup
Pinch of salt & pepper
4 cups of water
3 Tbs olive oil

How to make:

The meatballs:
On a medium size mixing bowl; put ground beef, eggs, flour, and salt & pepper. Mix them. Set aside (see no. 4)

For the sauce:
1. On a medium size pot; put olive oil and chopped garlic. After the garlic is soft, add the sliced vidalia onion and cover the pot with a lid.
2. After the onion is soft, add the diced tomatoes. Then, cover the pot.
3. When the tomatoes are soft, pour the water into the pot. Let them boil.
4. With a couple of table spoons; scoop the meat and shape them into meatballs (do not be worry for not making a prefect shape meatballs). Add the meatballs into the pot.
5. Add all the seasonings;  nutmeg, tomato ketchup, sweet soy sauce and salt & pepper.
6. Then, cook the semur uncover on a small heat to let the sauce thickens.
7. When the sauce becomes dark and thick, then it would be ready to be served.

Enjoy this with jasmine rice or homemade french fries. Bon Appetit!

Kering Tempe Manis (Sweet Fried Tempe)

Ingredients:
2 medium packages of tempe
3 cloves of garlic
2 cloves of shallot
1/2 cup of palm sugar (can be substituted with brown sugar)
1/2 teaspoon of ground coriander (ketumbar)
1/2 teaspoon of ground cumin (jinten)
1/2 teaspoon of ground lemon grass
Pinch of shrimp paste (terasi)
2 Tbs of tamarind juice (can be substituted with lime juice)
2 Tbs of sweet soy sauce (kecap manis)
1 cup of sliced red chilies*
Vegetable oil (for frying)

Saved

How to make:
1. Cut tempe into medium strips. Then fry them with vegetable oil. Set aside.
2. Put all ingredients (except tempe, roasted peanut and red chilies) into a grinder (or you can use food processor). Chop them finely.
3. On a medium saute pan; pour 2 - 3 Tbs oil, then add all the chopped seasonings.
4. Add the tempe and stir them gently.
5. Add the roasted peanuts and the red chilies.
6. Ready to serve.

* On the picture, I use sweet red pepper for a mild taste. You are free to use any hotter red chilies as you desire.

Sayur Asem (Sweet & Sour Vegetable Soup)

 

Ingredients:
3 - 4 sweet corns
Long beans (can be replaced with green beans)
1 chayote (labu siyem)*
Eggplants/terong (optional)
3 diced tomatoes
5 chopped shallots
5 candle nuts/kemiri (can be substituted with macadamia nuts)
2 cut green mild chillies
Ground paste red chillies/sambal oelek (optional)
3 - 5 Tbs of granulates sugar (depends how sweet you like)
1/4 cup of tamarind juice (can be substituted with lemon juice)
2 Tbs of vinegar
Pinch of salt
1 teaspoon of shrimp paste (terasi)
1 teaspoon of galangal (lengkuas)
4 - 5 cups of water

How to make:
1. Cut the sweet corns and the long beans into shorter pieces. Cut the eggplant. Peel the chayote and cut it into small cubes.
2. In a food processor; put diced tomatoes, shallots, candle nuts, sugar, salt, tamarind juice, vinegar, galangal and shrimp paste.
3. In a pot; boil the water. Add sweet corns, long beans, chayote cubes, eggplant, red & green chillies and the mixture from the food processor. Cook them on medium heat until all the ingredients soften and absorb the seasonings.
4. Ready to serve.

 *For those who do not know how the Chayote looks like, above is the picture attached.

Pepes Tahu

Ingredients:
1 pound of white firm tofu
2 eggs
3 cloves of garlic
3 cloves of shallots
5 candle nuts (kemiri)
Pinch of galangal (lengkuas)
Pinch of salt & pepper
1 teaspoon of chillies paste (sambal oelek - optional)
1/2 to 1 cup of sliced red chilly pepper*

Wrappers: 
Banana leaves**
Toothpicks

How to make:
1. In a food processor; put eggs, garlic, shallots, candle nuts, galangal, salt & pepper and chillies paste. Puree them.
2. In a medium size bowl; mash the tofu.
3. Pour the mixture from the food processor into the mashed tofu. Mix them to blend.
4. Heat a steaming pot in a medium heat.
5. Scoop a couple spoons of the mixture and lay them on the banana leaves. Roll the banana leaves and close the edges with toothpicks.
6. Then put them in the steaming pot until they are cooked. Ready to serve (do not eat the banana leaves).

* I used small sweet red peppers in this recipe for a mild taste. You can use hotter red chillies if you like. 
** If you could not find any banana leaves, you could substitute them with corn husks (like making Tamales). You could also cook this recipe with simply using small ceramic bowls for steaming the pepes.

Tempe Penyet

Ingredients:
1 medium package of Tempe*
1 tomato
2 cloves of shallots
2 cloves of garlic
Red chillies (as much/less as you desire)
1 candle nuts (kemiri)
1 teaspoon of teaspoon of Terasi**
1 Tbs of vegetable oil
1 teaspoon of granulated sugar
Pinch of salt

How to make:
1. Cut tempe into medium squares, then fry them. When it is cooked, set aside.
2. In a food processor; put all the ingredients (except the tempe) and mix them.
3. On a medium heated small saute pan or pot, pour the mixture from the food processor. Cook them until they thicken.
4. On a plate; put the fried tempe. With a big spoon; gently crushed the fried tempe.
5. Put the thick sauce on the top of tempe . Ready to serve (serve the best when it is just made).

* Tempe is fermented soy bean cake. It can be founded at some Asian groceries or at organic food stores or at vegetarian food stores.
** Terasi is thicken shrimp paste that can be founded at some Asian groceries.

Bakwan Malang

Ingredients:
1 pound of ground beef
4 eggs
Beef broth*
3 cloves of fine chopped garlic
2 cloves of fine chopped shallots
1 Tbs of sesame oil
1 Tbs of oyster sauce
Pinch of salt & pepper
1 1/2 cup of tapioca starch
1 cup of chopped green onion
1 small package of Chinese fried tofu
1 small package of Chinese meatballs
Wonton wrappers
A handful of rice vermicelli/bihun or noodles (as you desire)

How to make:
1. On a medium size mixing bowl; put ground beef, eggs, garlic, shallot,sesame oil, oyster sauce, tapioca starch, green onion and salt & pepper. Mix them to blend. This will be the mixture for the bakwan.
2. Heat the steaming pot on a medium heat.
3. With a spoon; scoop the bakwan mixture and wrap them with wonton wrappers. (I used small  condiment bowls to mold them so that they had appealing shapes).
4. Cook them in the steaming pot until they are cooked.
5. Add the fried tofu and the meatballs into the steaming pot to cook.
6. Boil the rice vermicelli or noodle. Drain them when they are cooked.
7. On a separated pot, boil the beef broth.

How to serve:
1. Put the rice vermicelli or noodles, bakwan, fried tofu, and meatballs in a bowl.
2. Pour the hot beef broth.
3. If you like; add some chopped green onion, fried shallots, and chillies paste. Ready to serve.

* For this recipe, I used a ready to use beef broth from the market. It is pretty practical. They come in boxes or cans. Just boil them and it would be ready to be consumed.
** You can make fried bakwan (as picture shown) by frying the cooked bakwan. This frying process should be done after the bakwan is cooked from the steaming pot, otherwise they would not be completely cooked if you only fry them.