Empal Gepuk (Sweet Beef)

 

Ingredients:
1 pound of Beef
5 Shallots
3 Garlic
2- 4 Tablespoons of Sugar
1 Tablespoon of Palm sugar (or brown sugar)
2 Tablespoons of Tamarin juice (or lime juice)
1 teaspoon of  Lemongrass
1 teaspoon of Coriander
Pinch salt & pepper
Oil

How to make:
1. Cut the beef and wash it thoroughly. Dry them with paper towel, then tenderize them with meat tenderizer (it shapes like a hammer).
2. On a food processor; add all the seasonings and puree them.
3. Put the meat and the seasoning in a pot, cover it, and cook it on a very small heat. Do not add water, since the meat will produce some juice. Stir them once in a while.
4. When the meet is tender (test them with a fork), open the lid and let the juice evaporate. Keep stir them gently.
5. After the juice is almost gone, turn off the stove.
6. With a little bit of oil, fry the meet until it is a bit crispy.
7. Ready to serve.

Ayam Bakar (Grilled Chicken)

Ingredients* :
Chicken**
4 Shallots
2 Garlic
Pinch of Galangal
Pinch of Lemongrass
Pinch of cumin
1 teaspoon of Coriander
Pinch of Salt & pepper
1 - 3 tablespoons of Sugar
1 - 3 tablespoons of Tamarin juice (or lime juice)

How to make:
1. Cut the chicken and wash it thoroughly. Dry them with paper towel.
2. In a food processor; puree all the seasonings.
3. Marinate the chicken with the seasoning, cover it, then let it rest for a day/night in the refrigerator.
4. On the next day; grill the chicken.
5. If the meat is still uncooked in the inside, put them in the oven for 350 F until it is thoroughly cooked. You can cover them with aluminum foil to prevent the chicken from being too dry.
6. Add some sambal/chili paste, lime, and lalapan (fresh lettuce, cucumber, and/or tomato). Ready to serve.

* The bigger the chicken, the more measurement of the ingredients you need. Do not afraid of adding or minimizing the measurement of the ingredients, so that it can be balanced with the size of your chicken. 
** You can use a whole chicken, or use only parts of it (thighs, drumsticks, breasts, etc.). I used the Cornish game hen (on the picture) for the smaller sizes. Since I don't really like the skin, I also cut and throw away the chicken skin (but you don't have to do that).

Klepon

Ingredients:
2 cups of glutinous rice flour (tepung ketan)
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1/2 cup or more of water to dilute
A couple drops of Pandan extract 
1/4 teaspoon of gypsum powder (optional)
1/2 cup of palm sugar (crushed)
grated coconut

How to make:
1. On a medium size bowl; add glutinous rice flour, salt, gypsum powder.
2. Add water and pandan extract, knit the dough until it blends. The consistency should be tense as 'playdough (play-doh)'.
3. Prepare a pot filled with water. Boil the water, then set on a medium heat.
4. Take a table spoon of the dough, round them, pinch the middle part, fill them with crushed palm sugar, close and make a small balls of klepon.
5. Put them into the boiling water. When the klepon floats, pick them from the boiling water. Then, roll them into the grated coconut.
6. Ready to serve.

Yellow Cup Cakes

 

(makes for 24 regular size cup cakes)


Ingredients:
3 cups of flour
1 Tbs of baking powder
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1 cup of milk
4 eggs
1 cup of granulated sugar
1 cup of butter (= 2 sticks)

How to make:
1. Mix all dry ingredients. Set aside.
2. Mix butter and sugar until the batter is smooth.
3. Add eggs (one by one) and keep mixing it.
4. Slowly, add milk while mixing.
5. Add the dry ingredients. Mix them well.
6. On a cup cakes mold, pour the batter about 2/3 full.
7. Bake for 28 - 30 minutes on 350 F.
8. Decorate the cup cakes as you desire. Ready to serve.

Tahu & Tempe Bacem (Marinated Tofu & Tempe)

Ingredients:
2 packages of tempe
2 packages of white fried tofu
5 cloves of chopped garlic
3 cloves of chopped shallots
1/2 teaspoon of ground galangal
1/2 teaspoon of ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon of ground cumin
1/4 cup of tamarind juice (can be replaced with lime juice)
1 cup of palm sugar (can be replaced with brown sugar)
2 cups of water
Frying oil

How to make:
1. Cut the tofu and tempe into squares. Set aside.
2. On a wok/saute pan/pot; cook the water and the rest of the ingredients. Bring them to boil.
3. Add cut tofu and tempe. Simmer them until the liquid evaporates.
4. On a separated frying pan; fry the tofu and tempe on a small heat (Not a deep fry).
5. Ready to serve.

Nasi Goreng Telor (Eggs Fried Rice)

Ingredients:
4 - 5 cups of cooked rice
3 cloves of garlic (peeled)
5 cloves of shallot (peeled)
1 teaspoon of shrimp paste/terasi
1 teaspoon of ground chili paste/sambal oelek (optional)
Pinch of salt & pepper
1 teaspoon of soy sauce
3 - 4 Tbs of sweet soy sauce
2 - 3 eggs
3 Tbs of olive oil

How to make:
1. On a food processor*; puree garlic, shallot, salt & pepper, shrimp paste, ground chili paste, and water to dilute. Set aside.
2. On a medium size wok/saute pan; put olive oil and rice. Cook them in a medium heat.
3. Add the ingredients from the food processor into the rice. Stir them well.
4. Add the soy sauce and sweet soy sauce. Keep stirring the rice until all the seasonings absorb.
6. Lightly beat the 2 - 3 eggs and pour them into the rice. Scramble the eggs with the rice mix.
5. On a separate small frying pan; fry a sunny side up egg (or cook it as you desire) - optional.
6. Ready to serve.

* If you do not have any food processor, you can use mortar and pestle to grain or paste the seasonings.
* If you like to make a sunny side up egg shaped as the picture, use cookie cutter after the egg is cooked. Would it be fun to have an egg shaped like teddy bear, flower, triangle, etc? :0)

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.