Belzy's Kitchen

GRILLED LEMONGRASS CHICKEN WITH LEMONGRASS SWEET CHILLI SAUCE (GAI YANG DTAKRAI)

2011-10-13T23:04:00.000-07:00

If you like the aromatic of lemongrass, you should try this dish! Seriously. My hubby doesn't really into lemongrass, but when he tried this dish he likes it a lot.
Both chicken and the sauce are having lemongrass aromatic.

There are 2 kind of grilled lemongrass chicken. One is Vietnamese style and the other is Thai style. And I made the Thai style this time. The original name of this dish is Gai Yang Dtakrai (please correct me if I am wrong).

I love Thai foods, might be because Thai food's ingredients are similar with Indonesian food's ingredients. And plus, I love the combination of sweet and sour which is a common taste in Thai foods.

Better I stop talking and let's try this yummy grilled chicken :).....

Grilled Lemongrass Chicken with Lemongrass Sweet Chilli Sauce

Ingredients:
7 pieces chicken - legs and thighs, rinse and pat dry

Marinade Sauce:
2 stalks of lemongrass, finely minced the white part only (I used food processor to mince it)
1/4 cup fish sauce
1/4 cup shaoxing wine
4 tbsps soy sauce
5 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 inch fresh ginger, finely chopped
1 tsp galangal powder
1 tbsp blackpepper
1 tsp dried crushed chilli
3 tbsps brown sugar

Lemongrass Sweet Chilli Sauce:
1-1/2 stalks of lemongrass, finely minced the white part only (I used food processor to mince it)
4 cloves garlic, minced
4 tbsps shaoxing wine
1/4 cup fish sauce
3/4 cup rice vinegar
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 tbsp dried crushed chilli (you can reduce it if you dislike too spicy)
1/2 cup water
2 to 3 tbsp tapioca starch solution

Preparation:
For the Marinade Sauce:
Mix all ingredients. Put chicken in the ziplock bag and pour the marinade sauce over the chicken. Make sure all chickens are soaked in the sauce. Keep it in the refrigerator for at least 8 hours. Alot better if you marinate it for overnight.

For the Lemongrass Sweet Chilli Sauce:
Mix all ingredients except the tapioca starch solution. Boil it over high heat. Once the sauce is boiling, pour in the tapioca starch solution. Keep stirring until the sauce is thicken. Let it cool before you serve it.

Brush the grill pan with olive oil. Preheat it over high heat. Place the chicken on the grill pan. Reduce the heat into medium heat. Grill and brush the chicken with the marinade sauce. Grill it until both sides are browned.

-OR-

Preheat the oven over 375F.
Put the marinated chicken on the baking dish. Cover it with alumunium foil. Bake it for an hour. Don't forget to brush the chicken with the marinate sauce every 15 minutes. Uncover the chicken. Brush the chicken with the marinate sauce. Bake it for another 20 minutes.

Pour the sauce over the chicken when it is ready to serve.

CHEESEBURGER PIZZA

2011-09-24T22:20:00.000-07:00

My hubby and I are getting bored with Hawaiian Pizza. We are too often making Hawaiian Pizza in the past. Until one morning when my hubby bought cheeseburger from BK drive-thru before we went to church, and I helped him to open the burger's wrapper *yea, he is driving and eating to save time ;)* suddenly this crazy idea came across my mind....CHEESEBURGER PIZZA!

At that time, I was thinking why can't I transform a cheeseburger into a pizza? It must be taste good, especially cheeseburger is a common food in America and 99% people in this world like cheeseburger. I just can't wait to implement this idea into a real pizza *oh uh...don't worry I still pay lots of attention and concentration on the preaching ;)*

First of all, I listed down what is the ingredients are needed in a cheeseburger. Of course there will be beef patty, sweet pickles, lettuce, tomatoes, onion, mayonnaise and mustard. Then, to make it merrier I decided to add olives and pizza sauce as pizza without pizza sauce equivalent incomplete.

Surprisingly, it tasted really good! It just different than other pizza which is using canadian bacon, ham or pepperoni. I used ground beef instead of all those deli's meats.

My hubby's comments? He likes it! He said, "I never heard nor imagine of cheeseburger pizza before. And this is really good sweetie!". And I just simply smiling with satisfaction after I heard his comments and compliments :)

Cheeseburger Pizza

Ingredients:
1 homemade thin crust pizza (or store bought pizza crust)
1 lb ground beef
1 clove garlic, chopped
1/4 tsp of salt and pepper
Oil for stir frying
4 whole dill sweet pickles, thinly sliced
1 onion, diced
1/4 cup sliced olives
2 heaps tbsps mayonnaise
1 heaps tbsp mustard

Cheese Mixture:
1 cup Monterey Jack Cheese
2 cups Mozarella Cheese

Pizza Sauce:
3/4 cup ketchup
1 tbsp dill sweet pickles' juice
2 tbsps pizza seasoning
1 tbsp oregano
3 tbsps Splenda Sweetener (or 1 tbsp granulated sugar)

Fresh Toppings:
1 roma tomatoes, seeded and small diced
1 leave romaine lettuce, small shredded

Preparation:
For The Beef Topping:
Saute garlic with olive oil until fragrant. Saute in ground beef until brown. Add in salt and pepper, to taste. Set aside.

For The Pizza Sauce:
Combine all ingredients in a saucepan and boil it over medium high heat. Let it cool before use.

Finishing:
Preheat the oven at 500F. Grease a pizza pan 14". Lay the pizza dough on the pan. Prick it with fork. Spread the mayonnaise and mustard on the pizza dough evenly. Spread the pizza sauce evenly. Sprinkle it with 1/2 of cheese mixture. Add onion, olives, cooked beef, and the remaining cheese. Top it with dill sweet pickles.
Bake it for 12 minutes. Remove it from the oven. Sprinkle it with tomatoes and lettuce before you cut the pizza.

TELOR PINDANG (BRAISED EGG)

2011-09-22T16:48:00.000-07:00

This style of braised eggs are common in this universe. Of course, every country cook it differently. In Indonesia, we braise it with a bunch of shallot's skin and guava leaves. But in China, they will braise the egg with black tea and other chinese herbs.

The uniqueness of this braised egg is after the eggs are completely boiled into hard boiled eggs, we should crack the eggshell. Then, reboil it again so when we peel off the eggshell we can see the brown trails where the crack is. But some people wouldn't crack the eggshell, they just peel off the eggshell and reboiled the egg so the whole eggs will be brown instead of white color.

In Indonesia, this braised egg included in our traditional food. We can eat it as a snack, or as toppings for some traditional Indonesian foods such as Timlo Solo (Meat and Vegie Soup), Gudeg Jogja (Green Jackfruit Sweet Stew), etc. But, in China, they treat this egg as a snack. And it is pretty easy to find them, because they are sold as street foods. I remember when I was studied in China, at night along the way from my apartment to my campus were transformed into night market, so there were lots of people who are selling fruits, foods, clothes, toys, etc. And surely this chinese braised eggs is one of them who sold at the night market.

As for me, since I can't find guava leaves so I combine this 2 countries way of braising the eggs *that is the beauty of cooking by yourself, you can be creative as much as you want as long as the taste doesn't go too far from the original taste if you care the authentication :)*. For sure, I still put more "Indonesian herbs" in my recipe so it still legit to call it "Indonesian Braised Egg" :). I guess this recipe is helping you guys who lived in the country which doesn't have/hard to find guava leaves ;).The taste is similar than the one use guava leaves.

Telor Pindang (Braised Egg)

Ingredients:
6 large eggs
Shallot's skin from 8 cloves of shallot
4 cloves of shallot, finely sliced
1 cloves of garlic, chopped
5 bags of dark tea (any brand will do but should be dark)
1 liter boiling water
3 pieces bay leaves
3 tbsps Indonesian sweet soy sauce
2 tsps salt
1/2 tsp white pepper

Preparation:
In a saucepan, combine water and dark tea. Let the tea bags sitting in the boiling water for 5 minutes until the water become dark brown. Discard the tea bag. Add in shallot's skin, shallot sliced, garlic, bay leaves, Indonesian sweet soy sauce, salt and pepper. Boil it over high heat. Add in eggs. And boil it for 7 minutes or so and make sure the eggs are covered by the tea mixture so it will boiled evenly. Remove the eggs and crack the eggshell (Just crack it! Don't peel it!). Dump it back into the tea mixture. Reboil it for another 7 minutes over low heat.
Soak the eggs in the cold water for an easy peeling and smooth egg. Ready to serve.

PERI PERI CHICKEN

2011-09-21T21:34:00.000-07:00

Wow...wow...wow...what a cute name for a dish! Yep, a cute name with a good taste!
Peri Peri Chicken is the most famous menu from Nando's Restaurant. Nando's is originally from South Africa (thanks to my dearest blog friend, Anjuli who gave me the info, because all these times I always think Nando's is originally from Malaysia!!). They have several franchise all around the world. Well, I can't say all around the world, but few countries such as Indonesia, Malaysia, Australia and USA has it.

The first time I tried Peri Peri Chicken was when I lived in Indonesia. And, since that day I just simply love it. Especially I love spicy :). But don't worry, if you dislike spicy, you can choose the mild one, so it will not spicy at all! *oups...don't trust my judgement because I love SUPER EXTREME SPICY :)*.

Now, it's been ages I didn't eat Peri Peri Chicken because I can't find Nando's Restaurant at the area where I lived. Sadly, I almost forget about it!! Until, I saw a photo of my friend who ate at Nando's Restaurant and there were a photo of a full set Peri Peri Chicken. Suddenly, my mouth is watering and my jaw is almost drop looking at the chicken! And believe me, tho it just a photo but it looks good and really tempting.

So, I rushed to ask Mr. Google and there were loads of "Nando's" Peri Peri Chicken recipes. All the recipes are very similar one to another. So I decided to make my own Peri Peri Chicken recipe.

While the chicken was baked in the oven, I crossed my fingers hoping it will taste good. And.....voila.....it tasted good! My hubby liked it and I am happy cos I can eat Nando's Peri Peri Chicken anytime :).

PS: My Peri Peri Chicken is spicy tho I put "Mild" sticker on it :). So, you should reduce the chilli if you dislike spicy.

Peri Peri Chicken

Ingredients:
6 piece chicken drumstick

Marinade Sauce:
1/2 cup olive oil
1 red bell pepper, small diced
2-3 tsps salt
70 ml apple cider vinegar or white wine vinegar
1 red chilli pepper
5 green thai bird's chilli, sliced
4 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced
Lemon juice from 1/2 lemon
2 tbsps oregano

Preparation:
1. Saute garlic and red bellpepper until fragrant over medium high heat. Pour in vinegar and lemon juice. Reduce the heat. Let it simmer for 10 minutes. Add in the remaining ingredients. Stir it for about 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from the stove.

2. Pour the chilli-vinegar mixture into a food processor or blender. Process it until fine and smooth. Keep it in the refrigerator and let it cool.

3. Place the chicken in the plastic bag (food saver bag). Pour 2/3 the cold chilli-vinegar mixture. And reserve the rest for additional condiment after the chicken is baked.

4. Marinate the chicken for 2 hours. Bake the chicken over 350F until both sides are brown. Once in a while bash the chicken with the marinade sauce. Don't forget to turn the chicken so it can baked evenly.

5. Serve it with rice and salad. Also, you can pour the reserved sauce over the chicken on the serving plate. Enjoy

TOFU AND SHRIMP WITH TOMATO SAUCE (TAHU UDANG SAUS TOMAT)

2011-08-31T17:24:00.000-07:00

Easy. Simple. Delicious. Those 3 words are really described this dish. If you lack of idea or want to use the ingredients left in your fridge *obviously I am talking about my own experience :)* this simple dish is really an answer for you! :). Especially on summer. The tangy of fresh tomatoes and the sourness plus the sweetness of the shrimps are really freshen your day!

Then, since this is my new experiment, of course I need someone to test it and tell me how is it. As usual, my hubby becomes my food tester :). And.....he likes it! *phewww*

Tofu and Shrimp with Tomato Sauce

Ingredients:
1/2 lb shrimps, peel and devein
1 package firm tofu (you can use any kind of tofu as long as it is firm tofu)
2-1/2 cups water and salt solutions (2-1/2 cups water combined with 1/2 tsp salt)
3 cloves garlic, chopped
3 fresh tomatoes, sliced
2 tbsps soy sauce
3 tbsps cooking rice wine
2 tbsp ang ciu/shaoxing
3 tbsps thai sweet and sour sauce
150 ml water
1 stalk spring onion, sliced
Salt and pepper, to taste
2 tbsps tapioca starch solutions

Preparations:
Cut the tofu into the shapes you like. Soak the tofu in the water-salt solutions for about 10 to 15 minutes. Drain the tofu and pat dry the tofu with paper towel. Fry the tofu in the preheated oil until both sides are golden-brown color. Strain it and let the oil dripped.
In another pan, fry the garlic with 2 tablespoons oil until fragrant. Stir in shrimp until the shrimp change into pink color (remember stir fry it until pink color only, do not fry the shrimp too long if you don't want your shrimp becomes rubbery). Add in tomatoes, stir fry for about 1 minute. Add in soy sauce, cooking rice wine, shaoxing, thai sweet and sour sauce, salt and pepper, to taste. Stir for another 1 minute. Add in water, stir well. Add in fried tofu, stir well and let the sauce boiled. Once the sauce is boiled, pour in tapioca starch solution, stir fast until you see the sauce is a bit thicken (you can add more starch solution if you want thicker sauce). Remove it from the stove. Transfer to a serving plate. Sprinkle it with spring onion. Bon appetite! :)

REMPEYEK KACANG

2011-08-26T15:50:00.000-07:00

Long time ago there was a little girl who lived in Indonesia. And everytime her family went to a city called Bandung which was famous with their local snacks, they were always buy this one kind of snack that unfortunately she hated it. She was confused why her dad, mom and siblings like this un-scrumptious-at-all snack. For her, she loves all kind of snacks (and snacking) but not this one.

Now, she is a grown up woman and guess what? She still dislike this snack. Tho she lived in a far away country from Indonesia, she never miss that snack. Until few days ago, when she accidentaly saw a pic of it, she can't stop thinking about it. Out of nowhere, she can smell a good smell of fried key lime leaf from that snack right in her nose!

So, she determined to try to make herself the snack that she hated when she was a kid. After the snack was well fried, and ready to serve, she can't wait to let her husband to try it. Unfortunately, her husband doesn't really like it :(. But, she does! When she fried the snack, the smell of fried key lime leaf and fried food is flowing on the air. Now, she knows and understands why her family are all like it.

Okay.......I tried to become a novelist but I guess I am failed! :). The story is lame huh? Now, let me tell you the real one. Actually, the story above is talking about me :). And "the snack" we are talking about is rempeyek kacang (it is made of rice flour, coconut milk, key lime leaf and peanut). That's true, I recently like rempeyek kacang. When I was a kid, never ever ask me to try it. I don't know why I hate rempeyek kacang so much. But, after these years hate it I am starting to like it now :). The crispy-ness of the rempeyek kacang and the smell of fried key lime leaf are really made me realize that I missed this good snack!

You will have no problem to find it in Indonesia. I guess, almost all cities in Indonesia are selling rempeyek kacang. Some people make it thick and not that crunchy, but some people (including me) make it thin and crunchy. And I loved the one I made, thin batter with a little bit peanut.
I got the recipe from the old old old NOVA magazine (or newspaper? since it doesn't look like a magazine)

Rempeyek Kacang

Ingredients:
150 gr raw peanuts, peeled and panbroiled
200 gr rice flour
450 ml thin coconut milk
2 small eggs, whisk
8 pieces key lime leaves, finely sliced
2 tsps lime stone
Vegetable oil for frying

Spice Paste:
7 cloves garlic
6 candle nuts
3 tsps coriander
2 tsps cutcherry powder
2 tsp salt, or to taste

Preparation:
In a big bowl, combine spice paste, key lime leaves and rice flour. Pour in coconut milk, eggs and lime stone water gradually. Mix it until well combined.
In a small pan, brush the pan with oil. Scoope 1/8 to 1/4 cup batter. Sprinkle it with panbroiled peanuts (the amount of peanuts are as your desire). Pour the batter into the small pan. then move the pan into circular motion until the pan is covered by the batter. Don't worry about the shape, it doesn't need to be perfect). Cover the pan, and let it cook for about 2 minutes or until half cooked. When you didn't see any liquid batter, then it's the time to remove it from the pan and dump it into a prepared bigger pan with hot oil for deep frying. Fry the rempeyek over high heat until golden color and crispy dry.
Remove it from the pan, and let it dry from the oil on a strainer. Let it cool and keep it in a tight lid container. Ready to serve.

FRIED WONTON WITH SWEET AND SOUR SAUCE

2011-08-03T18:01:00.000-07:00

Who doesn't know Bakmi Gajah Mada (a franchise noodle restaurant in Indonesia)? I bet everyone who is Indonesian will know it. Bakmi Gajah Mada is a very famous noodle restaurant in Indonesia. You can found them easily in the malls. I remember, when I was a little girl (at 80's), the first and only restaurant of Bakmi Gajah Mada is at Jalan Gajah Mada (Gajah Mada Street). And it explained why they named it Bakmi Gajah Mada, because it is located at Jalan Gajah Mada.

I also remember, my mom and dad liked to bring us, the kids, to eat bakmi Gajah Mada. Besides noodle soups, they also sold the side dishes, such as fried wonton, wonton soup, meatballs soup, etc. For those who doesn't want eat noodle, they also sold rice and veggies or meats.

For me, who is a noodle lover of course I will order chicken noodle soup with beef meatballs *put a little bit of vinegar, hot chilli, and pepper....man....it's heaven!*. Usually, we will order fried wonton with sweet and sour sauce for the appetizer. And let me tell you, their fried wonton is sooooo delicious! The wonton is crispy and the sauce is very good and tangy! Grab one fried wonton then dip it into the sauce.....yummmmm!

So, from all those memories of the good foods and the fun eating out with the whole families inspired me to make my own 'Bakmi Gajah Mada' fried wonton with the sweet and sour sauce *minus the chicken noodles*. And.....the sauce is really good!

My hubby brought some to his work then he shared it with some of his colleagues....and they all like it! :). I am happy, not only because people like my food, but everytime people *especially my hubby's co-workers* gave compliments for my food, it always bring smiles on my hubby's face :). And I know, he proud of me :). That's the most great feeling that paid off all my tired-ness of cooking :).

Now, let's grab one fried wonton and dip it into the sweet and sour sauce........absolutely YUMMMM! :)

Fried Wonton with Sweet and Sour Sauce

Ingredients:
1/2 lb (250 gr) pork butt, minced
3/4 cup minced young bamboo shoot
4 stalks of green onion, chopped
5 cloves garlic, minced
3 cloves shallots, thinly sliced
3 tbsps sesame oil
2 tbsps rice wine
4 tbsps fish sauce
1/2 tsp blackpepper
1/4 cup tapioca starch
1 tbsp olive oil, for frying the shallots
Vegetable oil for deep frying
1 package of wonton wrapper

The Sauce:
1 clove garlic, minced
3 tbsps ketchup
1/2 to 1 tbsp sriracha chilli sauce
150 ml chicken broth
2 tbsps sugar
1-1/2 tbsps rice vinegar

Preparation:
For The Wonton:
In a small pan, fry the shallot with olive oil until fragrant. Set aside.
In a big bowl, combine pork, young bamboo shoot, green onion, garlic, fried shallots with the oil, sesame oil, rice wine, fish sauce, blackpepper, and tapioca starch. Mix it well. At this point, you should taste it by scooping 1 tsp pork mixture and microwave it for 20 seconds. And you can add more spices, as your desire.
Lay 1 sheet of wonton wrapper. Scoope 1 teaspoon of pork mixture in the middle of the wonton wrapper. Then fold the wrapper to form a triangle, then pull each corner down and glue it with water. Do it until all the wrappers are gone.
Fry the wonton into a 350F hot oil until crisp and brown. Drain it from the oil then place it on the paper towel. Keep it in the lock and lock container. Do not cover the wonton when it still hot, because it will make the wonton soggy!
Serve it with the sauce.

For The Sauce:
Combine all the sauce ingredients in a saucepan. Cook it over medium-high heat. Keep stirring until the sauce is thicken.

BBQ OXTAIL

2011-07-20T18:43:00.000-07:00

I know....I know....no one barbecued the oxtail before. But let me tell you the 'backscene' why I made it :).

I have plenty of oxtail, and got bored with oxtail soup :(. What should I do with those oxtails?!

Think, think and think! For some reason, I kept thinking that oxtail can be cook with soup only, and it is Indonesian food! So, my brain kept thinking that I should find any "Indonesian" spices to make this oxtail.

Suddenly, I remember when I was in Jakarta, I ate this Indonesian (Makassar) style grilled ribs. And they are so good! And at that time, Konro Karebosi is the only restaurant which is sold this yummy grilled ribs. But, I bet there are plenty of restaurant sold this Makassar style grilled ribs now.

So, from that memories of eating grilled ribs with my mom and siblings, I got an idea to make BBQ Oxtail :). Luckily, I have all the ingredients that I need to make my BBQ Oxtail :).

And, I'm so happy because it turned out so good. It is very tangy. Even when I grilled it, I smelled the tanginess already. It is a good choice if you are bored with oxtail soup!

BBQ Oxtail

Ingredients:
4 big pieces oxtail, trimmed
Vegetable oil for frying

Flour Mixture:
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tbsp nutmeg
1 tsp garlic salt
1 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp dried basil

BBQ Sauce:
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 cloves shallot, minced
1 yellow onion, sliced
1 inch ginger root, minced
1-1/2 jalapeno, minced (you can add or reduce the jalapeno as you like)
1 tsp nutmeg
1/4 cup ketchup
4 tbsps worcestershire sauce
2 tbsps cider vinegar
1/2 cup brown sugar
3 tbsps rice cooking wine
1 tbsp tabasco
1/2 lemon, squeezed
50 ml water
Salt and blackpepper, to taste

Preparation:
1. Heat the oil over medium high heat.
2. Combine the flour mixture. Dredge the oxtails in the flour mixture. Shake off the excess flour.
3. Fry the floured oxtails into the hot oil until the sides are browned and crispy look. Remove from the pan. Set aside.
4. Transfer the oil and excess fat from the pan. Add 3 tbsps olive oil into the pan. Stir in garlic, shallot, onion and ginger until the onion is caramelized. Add in ketchup, worcestershire sauce, cider vinegar, brown sugar, rice cooking wine, tabasco, lemon juice, water, salt and black pepper. Let it slightly boiled.
5. Put the oxtails into the sauce. Coat it up with the sauce. Turn down the heat to low heat. Cover the pan. Let it simmer for 2.5 hours or until you can easily pull the meat off from the bone with fork. Don't forget to turn the oxtails once in a while.
6. Remove the oxtails from the sauce. And grill it on a griller (you can use char-griller, BBQ-griller, any griller will works). Grill it until just enough to have a bit burnt texture. Don't forget to brush it with the sauce while you grill it. If you don't have a griller, you can broil it in the oven. Broil it for 2 to 3 minutes each sides or until there is a bit burnt texture on the oxtails. Or, you can use a non-stick pan and panbroil it until both sides have burnt texture.
7. Serve it with the BBQ sauce and warm brown rice. Yummmm!

GENERAL TSO'S CHICKEN

2011-07-19T18:40:00.000-07:00

Since I'd bought lots of chicken breasts fillet, this time I make General Tso's Chicken which is pretty famous in chinese cuisine. The story said that this chicken dish was the favorite dish of General Tso, that's why it called General Tso's Chicken.

Basically, it just chicken breasts cooked with soy sauce. It tasted good tho. Also, it is an easy dish :). The bad news is I don't have hoisin sauce so I added a little bit Indonesian sweet soy sauce, and surprisingly, it still tasted good :). The fried ginger is also the main key of the fragrance of this dish.

For me, it is a refreshing dish after I only cooked very simple dish these few last days :).

General Tso's Chicken

Ingredients:
4 pieces large chicken breasts' fillet, trim the fat and diced into bite-size
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 inch ginger root, peeled and julienned
3 pieces dried chilli, halved
3 stalks spring onion, julienned (or cut into matches size)
1/4 cup light soy sauce
3 tbsps shaoxing wine
2 tbsps sweet cooking wine
1-1/2 tbsps sweet soy sauce (hoisin sauce)
A pinch salt and white pepper
1-1/2 cups vegetable oil

Marinade Sauce:
4 tbsps light soy sauce
2 tbsps shaoxing wine
1 tbsp sweet cooking wine
1/4 tsp white pepper
1/4 tsp salt
4 or 5 tbsps tapioca starch

Preparation:
Combine the marinade sauce in a small bowl. In a medium bowl, place the bit-sized chicken breasts. Pour in the marinade sauce. Mix it until the chicken are thoroughly coated by the marinade sauce. Marinade it for 20 to 30 minutes.

Heat the oil over medium high heat. Add tapioca starch into marinating chicken. Make sure the chicken is coated by the tapioca starch. Fry the chicken into the prepared oil until browned and crisp. Drain the chicken over a paper towel.

Transfer the hot oil into a bowl, leave 3 tablespoons oil on the pan. Add in ginger and garlic, stir fry until fragrant. Add in dried chilli. Stir fry for 1 to 2 minutes. Add in light soy sauce, shaoxing wine, sweet cooking wine, sweet soy sauce (if you use it), salt and pepper. Let it boil for a while until the sauce slightly reduced. Add in the fried chicken. Stir fry until all chicken are coated by the sauce. Add in spring onion. Cook for another 2 minutes. Remove from the stove. Serve it with warm brown rice.

CHORIZO SPINACH STRATA

2011-06-19T21:13:00.000-07:00

I called this entry 'from getting frustrated to a good spinach strata'

Yes, last night I am really frustrated because I didn't know what I want to cook for our dinner. When I looked around my kitchen cabinets and hoping that I can find something to cook, I found a bag of hoagie roll (or I called it subway bun :)) on the corner of my cabinet, and.......*tring tring* spinach strata acrossed into my mind. Then I opened my refrigerator, I can't find any ham or bacon :(. But, I saw a bowl of chorizo. Aha....I'm getting excited because I know I will make up my own strata :).

When the chorizo spinach strata *I named it then* is baked in the oven, I can smell the good smell came out from the chorizo! Really made me hungry!.

Chorizo Spinach Strata

Ingredients:
6 Hoagie Rolls (Italian bread, french bread are work too), diced

Filling:
1 package of baby spinach, rinse, drain and chopped
1-1/2 cups pork chorizo
1 onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, small diced
2 tsps olive oil
Salt and blackpepper, to taste

Egg Mixtures (mix all):
6 eggs, lightly whisk
1 cup of fat free milk *a lot healthier I guess ;)*
Salt and blackpepper, to taste

Preparation:
The Filling:
Caramelized the onion with olive oil on a medium pan. Stir in chorizo and stirring until the red oil comes out from the chorizo. Stir in chopped spinach. Stirring until the spinach is soften. Add in bell pepper, salt and blackpepper, to taste. Let it simmering for 3 minutes. Remove from the stove. Set aside.

The Finishing:
Preheat the oven over 375F.
Spread a half of diced hoagie rolls evenly into casserole dish. Transfer the filling to the top of the bread, spread it evenly. Cover it with the remaining hoagie rolls. Pour the egg mixture evenly and make sure the bread are soaking the egg mixture before you put it in the oven.
Bake it for about 30 minutes. Serve it warm.

SPAGHETTI AND MEATBALLS

2011-06-08T20:27:00.000-07:00

Lately, I've been trying to bring my hubby's appetite back. Since he got sick last week, he is really lost his appetite :(. So, I kept trying to find new dishes that I never cook before, hoping that he will eat and enjoy it.
Once I found out that I can download lots of video recipes into my iPad, I became a downloader-freak. There lots of video were downloaded, one of them is Jamie Oliver's spaghetti and meatballs' recipe, but as usual, I really can't totally follow a recipe. I always tempted to change the recipe by adding some ingredients here and there :).

My hubby didn't say anything, I guess he still had not get his appetite back yet but at least he ate 2 bowls of the spaghetti and meatballs plus a bowl for his lunch at work.
Myself, I liked it alot. The sauce is a bit thick which is I like. I always think that spaghetti should come with a little bit thick sauce, weird huh?! :). Overall, it was tangy and tasty! :)

Spaghetti and Meatballs

Ingredients:
1 package of dried spaghetti
1 tsp salt
2 liter water

For the meatballs:
2 lbs ground beef
2 eggs
3 tbsps mustard
1.5 tbsps oregano
1.5 tbsps rosemary, crushed
4 tbsps grated parmesan
4 oz graham crackers, crushed
Salt and blackpepper, to taste
3 to 4 tbsps olive oil

For the sauce:
3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
2 cans diced tomatoes with juice
1 cup chicken broth
1 bottle marinara sauce
2 tsps basil
1 tsp thyme
Salt and blackpepper, to taste

Preparation:
Boil spaghetti in the boiling water and salt. Boil it until al-dente. Drain it and set aside.

For the meatball:
Mix all the ingredients except olive oil in a big bowl. Scoope 1 tablespoon meat mixture and shape it into a ball. Repeat it until the meat mixture are all in balls shape.
In a pan, heat olive oil over medium high heat. Fry all the meatballs until all sides are brown. Transfer it to a plate. Reserve the oil.

For the sauce:
Stir fry garlic with the reserved oil, until fragrant. Stir in diced tomatoes with juice, marinara sauce, basil, thyme, salt and pepper, to taste. Add in chicken broth, stir well. Add in the fried meatballs, stir continuously until the meatballs are coated with the sauce. Simmer it until the sauces are slightly thicken.

Serving:
Put spaghetti on a serving plate. Pour the meatballs sauce over the spaghetti. Sprinkle it with grated parmesan. Bon appetite!

PEKINESE DRUNKEN CHICKEN

2011-06-05T21:41:00.000-07:00

Let's get drunk with this chicken.....:). Nah, I'm just kidding :). This dish is really healthy *for me*. Yes, it used chinese wine called shaoxing, but it is far from making you drunk after you eat it.

This dish is famous for its name. In fact, it is a traditional dish at the time of Tang Dynasty. I like this dish because not only it is tasty and tangy, also it's very easy, fast and healthy dish which is a perfect gateway if you are tired and don't want to cook but you SHOULD cook for your family.

Pekinese Drunken Chicken

Ingredients:
1 lb chicken fillet, diced
3 tbsps olive oil
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1.5 cups chicken broth
4 green onions, chopped
4 carrots, peeled and sliced
3 tbsps soy sauce
1 tbsp sugar (Belzy -- I omitted)
1.5 cups shaoxing (Chinese rice wine or sweet sherry are ok)
2 bunches broccoli, wash and rinse
2 cups boiling water (mix with 1/2 tsp salt)
Salt to taste

Preparation:
1. Dice the chicken breasts into bite-sized cubes.
2. Heat the oil in a wok or fying pan. Add the garlic and stir fry for 1 minute.
3. Add the chicken pieces and stir-fry briskly for 2 to 3 minutes.
4. Add in the carrots and stir fry for 2 to 3 minutes.
5. Add the chicken broth and the sugar and bring to the simmer. Allow to simmer for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. The broth should reduce to about 3/4 cup without the chicken burning.
6. Add the shaoxing or Chinese rice wine and salt to taste. Bring to simmer for about 1 to 2 minutes. Add in green onion, stirring well.
7. Meanwhile, boil the broccoli in the boiling water mixture for 2 minutes. Remember, do not boil it too long time, you don't want to get a mushy broccoli. Drain it.
8. Arrange the broccoli on a serving plate, then add the chicken. Serve it.

HAM AND CHEESE ROLL BREAD

2011-05-19T23:40:00.000-07:00

Yap...Yap...after take more than a month without any update, I come back bringing up my new recipe *errr....actually half of my new recipe*. Remember my last entry? Cinnamon Roll Bread? After few times making this cinnamon roll bread, I'm kinda bored with it *but not my hubby ;)*. So, I made a little experiment and........tada.......Ham and Cheese Roll Bread which was gaining compliments from my hubby :). Suprisingly, it turned so good!

My hubby said that ham and cheese version is more into meal category when cinnamon roll version is more into snack category because it is sweet. I agree with him. A thick layer of ham with melted cheese and bread......it will make you full!

Ham and Cheese Roll Bread

Ingredients:
3-1/2 cups (16 ounces) unbleached bread flour
4 teaspoons granulated sugar
1-1/4 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons instant yeast
1-1/4 teaspoons garlic powder
1 large egg, slightly beaten
2 tablespoons (1 ounce) lard, melted and cooled
1/2 cup (4 ounces) buttermilk or whole milk, at room temperature
3/4 cup (6 ounces) water, at room temperature

For the filling:
1 egg, slightly beaten
1/2 lb ham, sliced
2 cups shredded cheese + 4 tbsps shredded cheese for toppings

Preparation:
Stir together the flour, sugar, salt, yeast, and garlic powder in a mixing bowl (or in the bowl of an electric mixer). Add the egg, lard, buttermilk, and water. Stir together with a large spoon (or mix on low speed with the paddle attachment) until the ingredients come together and form a ball. Adjust with flour or water if the dough seems too sticky or too dry and stiff.

Sprinkle flour on a counter, transfer the dough to the counter, and begin kneading (or mixing on medium speed, switching to the dough hook). The dough should be soft and pliable, tacky but not sticky. Add flour as you knead (or mix), if necessary, to achieve this texture. Knead by hand for approximately 10 minutes (or by machine for 6 to 8 minutes. Lightly oil a large bowl and transfer the dough to the bowl, rolling it to coat it with oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Ferment at room temperature for approximately 2 hours, or until the dough doubles in size (or leave the dough wrapped overnight in the refrigerator).

Roll out dough into a 12 by 10 inch rectangle, brush lightly with half of the egg, then sprinkle with the shredded cheese and top it evenly with the ham. Roll up the dough and form a loaf. Place loaf in a lightly oiled 10 by 5 inch loaf pan, and cover loosely with plastic wrap. Proof at room temperature for 60 to 90 minutes, or until the dough crests above the lips of the pans and is nearly doubled in size.

About 10 minutes before baking, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F with the oven rack on the middle shelf. Brush the top of the loaf with the rest of the egg wash. Sprinkle it with 4 tbsps of shredded cheese. Bake for another 15 minutes. Rotate the pan 180 degrees for even baking and continue baking for another 15 minutes. The finished bread should register 190 degrees F in the center and be golden brown on top and lightly golden on the sides and bottom. Allow the loaf to cool completely on a rack before removing from pan and cutting.

CINNAMON ROLL BREAD

2011-04-06T18:35:00.000-07:00

Are you getting bored with the cinnabon style cinnamon rolls? I do! That's why I'm so excited when Divine Baking posted cinnamon swirl bread. I purposely changed the name of the recipe became cinnamon roll bread, because to me it just like eating a cinnamon rolls, but the only diffferent is this one is a bread. Also, I changed a little bit of the ingredients.

I, especially my hubby, like it so much. He kept asking me when will I make the cinnamon roll bread again :).

Cinnamon Roll Bread

Ingredients:
3-1/2 cups (16 ounces) unbleached bread flour
4 teaspoons granulated sugar
1-1/4 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons instant yeast
1-1/4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 large egg, slightly beaten
2 tablespoons (1 ounce) vegetable shortening, melted and cooled
1/2 cup (4 ounces) buttermilk or whole milk, at room temperature
3/4 cup (6 ounces) water, at room temperature

For the swirl:
1 egg and 1 tbsp water, lightly beaten together
3/4 cup dark brown sugar mixed with 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon

Preparation:
Stir together the flour, sugar, salt, yeast, and cinnamon in a mixing bowl (or in the bowl of an electric mixer). Add the egg, shortening, buttermilk, and water. Stir together with a large spoon (or mix on low speed with the paddle attachment) until the ingredients come together and form a ball. Adjust with flour or water if the dough seems too sticky or too dry and stiff.

Sprinkle flour on a counter, transfer the dough to the counter, and begin kneading (or mixing on medium speed, switching to the dough hook). The dough should be soft and pliable, tacky but not sticky. Add flour as you knead (or mix), if necessary, to achieve this texture. Knead by hand for approximately 10 minutes (or by machine for 6 to 8 minutes. Lightly oil a large bowl and transfer the dough to the bowl, rolling it to coat it with oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Ferment at room temperature for approximately 2 hours, or until the dough doubles in size (or leave the dough wrapped overnight in the refrigerator).

Roll out dough into a 12 by 10 inch rectangle, brush lightly with half of the egg wash, then sprinkle with the cinnamon sugar mixture. Roll up the dough and form a loaf. Place loaf in a lightly oiled 10 by 5 inch loaf pan, and cover loosely with plastic wrap. Proof at room temperature for 60 to 90 minutes, or until the dough crests above the lips of the pans and is nearly doubled in size.

About 10 minutes before baking, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F with the oven rack on the middle shelf. Brush the top of the loaf with the rest of the egg wash. Bake for 15 minutes. Rotate the pan 180 degrees for even baking and continue baking for another 15 minutes. The finished bread should register 190 degrees F in the center and be golden brown on top and lightly golden on the sides and bottom. Allow the loaf to cool completely on a rack before removing from pan and cutting.

BAKED PARMESAN GARLIC CHICKEN WINGS

2011-04-03T19:19:00.000-07:00

It tasted good, tangy and easy to make. So, what more can you ask for a recipe? :). I added a little bit sugar in the dipping sauce, and all are set for finger foods *I took it as my entrees ;)*.
Also, I submit this recipe from Steamy Kitchen to cooking games hosted by Liza.

Baked Parmesan Garlic Chicken Wings

Ingredients:
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried rosemary
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon kosher or sea salt (1/2 tsp table salt)
2 1/2 pounds chicken wings
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil (or melted butter)
2 tablespoons minced fresh basil
2 garlic cloves, finely minced
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/2 teaspoon seasoning salt (like Lawry's)
1 cup blue cheese dressing
1-2 teaspoons Dijon mustard (or to taste)
1 teaspoon sugar (or to taste) --> added by me

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 425F. In a small bowl, mix together the oregano, rosemary, cumin and salt. Lay the chicken wings on a baking sheet and season the chicken wings with this mixture.
2. Bake the chicken wings for 20-25 minutes. While the chicken is baking, mix together the oil, fresh basil, garlic, parmesan cheese and seasoning salt.
3. In a separate bowl, mix together the blue cheese dressing with the mustard and sugar (this is your dipping sauce)
4. When the chicken is cooked through, toss the wings with the garlic/cheese/butter sauce. Serve with the blue cheese/mustard dressing.

THIN CRUST CHICKEN GORGONZOLA PIZZA

2011-03-16T12:03:00.000-07:00

Don't you feel bored making the same pizza all the time? I do. That's why after making hawaiian pizza with thick crust all the time, then this time *yesterday to be exact* I made some experiment. I tried to make a new crust and topping recipe.

Thin crust from Kitchen Simplicity was my choice this time. The original recipe was made from AP flour, then I changed it into half AP flour half whole wheat flour. And for the topping, I tried the combination of chicken, cilantro and gorgonzola cheese with mayonnaise and mustard sauce *honestly, those are the only ingredients left in my fridge :)*

Surprisingly, the outcome of my experiment is really good! The crust is perfect *my hubby liked the thin crust more than the thick one now :)*, and the topping and sauce really made a perfect combination. I guess, this recipe is my to-be-true-recipe :).

Thin Crust Chicken Gorgonzola Pizza

Ingredients:
Pizza Crust:
1 cup warm water
1 Tbsp. sugar
1-1/2 tsp. yeast
2 tsp. olive oil
1 tsp. salt
3 Tbsps. apple cider vinegar
2 cups all-purpose flour
1-1/2 cups whole wheat flour

Pizza Sauce:
1-1/2 cups mayonnaise
1/4 cup mustard
1 Tbsp. sugar (I used 2 tbsps. splenda)
1 Tbsp. garlic powder
1 Tbsp. garlic salt
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper
1-1/2 tsp. oregano
2 tsp. pizza seasoning

Toppings:
2 pieces chicken fillet, boiled and shredded
1/2 red onion, sliced
1 can black olives, sliced
3/4 cup cilantro leaves, rinsed and drained
3/4 cup crumbled gorgonzola cheese
1-1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Preparation:
For Pizza Crust:
Mix all-purpose flour and whole wheat flour in a medium bowl. Set aside.
Stir together water and sugar. Sprinkle yeast over top. Let proof for 10 min.
Stir in oil, salt, vinegar and 2 cups flour mixture until well incorporated.
Add additional flour mixture and knead until pliable and barely sticky. If you use standing mixer, set the speed at speed 2 and beat it with dough attachment until pliable and barely sticky.
Place in a greased bowl, cover and let rise for 1 hour or until doubled in bulk.
Once doubled, punch it down.
Roll and stretch the dough to cover a 14-inch ungreased pizza pan. Cover with pizza sauce and toppings of choice.
Bake at 500ºF for 10-12 min. until browned and bubbly.

For Pizza Sauce:
In a saucepan, combine all ingredients. Stir until well combined. Heat it over medium heat until bubbly. Turn off the heat and set aside.

For Assemble:
Lay the pizza dough to cover a 14-inch ungreased pizza pan. Prick the dough with fork. Cover the dough with pizza sauce and toppings. Bake in preheated oven at 500F for 10-12 minutes until browned and bubbly.

SPICY PORK PIROSHKI

2011-03-14T12:31:00.000-07:00

Sometimes, when you read a recipe book it is not just giving you the new recipe, also it gave you an idea to create a new recipe. It happened to me few weeks ago, when I borrowed a recipe book from a friend of mine, I saw a recipe that totally new for me. The name also was the first time I heard about. PIROSHKI *I know...I know...I'm not too familiar with western food tho I lived in US for almost 2.5 years*! Yes, piroshki is a name of pastry that originally from Russia.

Since I never see, taste or make it, I really blinded with what piroshki is. I can't tell the one that I made is the correct one or not. In my mind, pastry *as piroshki is catagorized in pastry fams by Russian* is always related with croissant, pie and flaky. But, to me, Russian pastry *at least piroshki* is same as mini bread *or we are Indonesian, called it roti unyil*.
When in the recipe book, it made eggplant piroshki, I made up my own piroshki which is made from pork, bacon and some herbs including chilli powder. It tasted good and my hubby and friends liked it :).

Spicy Pork Piroshki

Ingredients:
Pastry:
4 sachets (28 gr) dried yeast
2 tbsps sugar
315 ml lukewarm milk
3 cups (375 gr) all-purpose flour
1 tsp salt
125 gr butter, melted

Filling:
1 pound pork loin, minced
1/2 pound bacon, minced
1 small onion, finely chopped
1-1/2 tbsps Italian seasoning
1/2 tbsp oregano
1 tbsp tabasco
1 tbsp garlic powder
1 tbsp chilli powder
1 tbsp chilli flakes
1/2 tsp nutmeg
2 tsp garlic salt
1 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp black pepper
3 tbsps fresh parsley, chopped

Preparation:
For The Pastry:
In a medium bowl, combine yeast and sugar. Stir in the milk. Combine the flour and salt in a mixing bowl and make a well in the centre. Pour the yeast mixture and the melted butter into the centre of the flour. Stir with dough attachment at speed 2 until the dough is smooth and pliable. Place in a lightly oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap and leave in a warm place for 1 hour, or until the dough has doubled in size.
Remove the dough from the bowl. Knead the dough lightly (the dough will be very soft but should not be sticky). Then, divide the dough into 24 portions.

For The Filling:
Mix all ingredients in a big bowl. Divide it into 24 portions. Shape it into short log. Set aside.

Finishing:
Preheat the oven to moderate 350F (180C/Gas 4). Grease baking sheets. Set aside.
Flatten 1 portion of dough into a small disc and place 1 portion of filling in the centre of the dough. Wrap the filling and press the edges firmly and seal it tight. Place assembled pastries, sealed-side down on the prepared baking sheet. Set aside in a warm place for 20 minutes. Brush the piroshki with beaten egg and lightly sprinkle the sesame seeds over the top. Bake for about 10 to 12 minutes or until cooked through and golden.

KOREAN SEASONED FRIED CHICKEN (YANGNYEOM TONGDAK)

2011-03-02T19:07:00.000-08:00

I never try this Korean Fried Chicken before, but once I saw the pic of it at CG's blog my mouth just can't stop watering :). Fortunately, I have almost all ingredients except rice syrup or honey.

The preparation didn't take more than an hour, it's a perfect recipe when you don't feel like cooking. Also, the taste is good :). My hubby and I can't stop nibbled it til I need to hide it so we have something to eat for dinner :).

Korean Seasoned Fried Chicken (Nangnyeom Tongdak)
Source: Maangchi via Cooking Gallery

Ingredients:
Fried Chicken:
6 pieces (3 lbs) chicken fillet (you can use chicken wings or whole chicken as well), cut into chunks
1 tablespoon black pepper
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup potato starch powder
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup glutinous flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 egg
Oil for frying the chicken
Toasted sesame seeds for garnish

Sauce:
6 cloves garlic, minced
1/3 cup ketchup
1/2 cup hot pepper paste (use 1/4 cup if you dislike spicy)
4 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon apple vinegar
1 tablespoon olive oil

Preparation:
For The Fried Chicken:
Season the chicken chunks with salt and pepper. Mix well with your hands.
Add all dry ingredients: tapioca flour, glutinous flour, all-purpose flour and baking soda, plus the egg.
Mix everything well. When you notice that it's too dry, add some drops of water, just to make sure that the chicken chunks are well coated.
Fry the chicken over high heat until brown and crisp, about 10 minutes.

For The Sauce and Serving:
Heat olive oil in a pan and add the minced garlic. Stir fry until fragrant for about 30 seconds under medium heat. Add tomato ketchup, hot pepper sauce, sugar and apple vinegar. Cook until thoroughly mix, for about 1 minute. Toss in the fried chicken until well coated. Sprinkle the chicken with toasted sesame seeds. Serve it with lettuce and warm rice.

ROTI BOY (COFFEE BUN)

2011-02-28T19:09:00.000-08:00

Got the opportunity to try this famous coffee bun when I and my 2 colleagues went to Kuala Lumpur 2.5 years ago. In Malaysia, this coffee bun is famously called Roti Boy. It was very easy to find the bakery that sold this bun, you can tell by the smell of the coffee from 300 meters away from the bakery.

So, today while I'm waiting my hubby back from work I tried to make it and I'm so happy when I saw the buns were beatifully rised and the coffee 'topper' were melted as my expectation.

And same as the one sold at bakery, I can smell the coffee came out from the oven. Once, the buns came out from the oven, I can't wait too long to try it. The bun is soft with coffee flavor for the filling and the toppers. It is so good.....For all coffee lovers, you must try this. I guarantee you will like it :)

Roti Boy (Coffee Bun)
The Buns' Recipe are from Joy of Cooking
The Filling and Toppers are from Kitchen Corner *with a little change from me*

Ingredients:
Filling:
200g butter (softened)
1 tsp coffee mixture (1/2 tsp granulated coffee dissolve with 1/2 tsp water)
70g brown sugar

Topping:
100 gr butter
80 gr icing sugar
80 gr beaten eggs (2 small eggs)
2 tsp granulated coffee dissolve with 2 tsp water
A pinch of cinnamon powder
100 gr plain flour

Bun:
500 gr bread flour
2 sachets (@7gr) active dry yeast
35 gr granulated sugar
25 gr dry milk powder
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
50 ml evaporated milk
175 ml water
1/2 tsp salt
75 gr unsalted butter

Methods:
For the filling:
Using an electric mixer beat the butter and brown sugar until light and pale until the sugar totally dissolved. Add in the coffee mixture for the final beating. Place the mixture into the fridge until it harden. Divide the harden mixture into 10 portions and sit in the fridge until ready to use.

For the toppings:
Beat the softened butter with icing sugar until everything well combine. Gradually add in beaten eggs then the coffee mixture. Add in pinch of cinnamon powder with the flour and beat until everything well incorporate. Place the mixture into a piping bag and keep in the fridge until ready to use.

For the buns:
In a mixing bowl, mix all dry ingredients until well mixed. Add in egg, egg yolk, evaporated milk and water. Knead with hook attachment over speed 2. When the dough become a smooth dough add in salt and butter and continue the kneading process until the dough become smooth and elastic but not sticky. Let the dough rest for about 30 minutes or until doubled in bulk.
Pinch dough to let the air out. Divide the dough into 12 little doughs, shape it into balls. Fill it with the butter filling. Seal it tightly. Place each doughs on a greased baking sheet, leaving about 3 inches space between each one to avoid sticking to each other during the baking. Cover the doughs with cling film and proof for 50 - 60 minutes.
Before baking time, pipe out the toppings in a spiral start from the top center of each buns. Then, bake it for 12 minutes at 400F preheated oven.

BAILEY'S ICE CREAM

2011-02-26T08:56:00.000-08:00

Bailey's is the most alcohol drink that I like. For my tastebud, its not too alcoholy and not as bitter as other alcohol drink.

Actually, I am not the kind of person who can drink alcohol. The very first time I drank alcohol is when I was in high school, and that is Singapore Sling, and even though we (me and my 2 other girl-friends) shared it together yet I still fell sick the next morning. So, from that day I always refused to drink any alcohol drink.
But, Bailey's is a different story :). Tho I dare not drink a full glass of serving, but I like it *it isn't bitter at all*.

Since I made tiramisu ice cream which contained rum and kahlua, I've been craving bailey's ice cream. For some reason, I'm unable to make it until one day, I took *forced exactly* my hubby to buy bailey's irish cream at liquor store.

Then....here we are with this creamy rich bailey-ish ice cream which I changed the recipe here and there from the original recipe. I love love love it!

Bailey's Ice Cream

Ingredients:
600ml whole milk
450ml heavy cream (double cream)
150ml Bailey's Irish Cream
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 large eggs
5 large egg yolks
225g sugar
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Preparation:
Combine the milk and cream in a medium saucepan. Stir in vanilla extract.
Bring the mixture to a simmer over medium heat. Boil it until barely boiling.
Combine eggs, egg yolks, and sugar in a medium bowl. Beat on medium speed until the mixture is thick, smooth, and pale yellow in colour (similar to mayonnaise).
Measure out 1 cup of the hot liquid. With the mixer on low speed, add the cup of hot milk/cream to the egg mixture in a slow, steady stream. When thoroughly combined, pour the egg mixture back into the saucepan with the rest of the milk/cream mixture and stir to combine.
Cook, stirring constantly, over medium-low heat until the mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Transfer to a bowl through a sieve, stir in Bailey's, cover with a sheet of plastic wrap placed directly on the custard, and chill completely. Process custard according to the ice cream machine manufacturer's directions.
The ice cream will have a soft, creamy texture. Transfer the ice cream to an airtight container, cover ice cream directly with plastic wrap to prevent a skin from forming and place in freezer. Alcohol contained ice cream will take about 10 hours to freeze.

FOUR-FLAVOR DUMPLINGS

2011-02-23T14:57:00.000-08:00

I'm interested with the shapes of this dumplings when I saw it at my talented friend's blog, Sinta from CG. Then, from her blog too, I found this wei-chuan's cookbook that convinced me to order it. So, after took a while, at last I received my dimsum book a week ago.

Once I got it, I made lots of plans already for which dim sum from the book that I want to make :). And this four-flavor dumpling is my first project. So, don't be surprise, I spent 2 hours to make it! The shaping process took me for ages! It's not bad for a beginner like me, right? :).

All my time that I spent and my energy to make it are paid off when I heard my hubby compliments me, "The look is great and the taste is good!". I love cooking, I love baking, and I love making people smiling when they eat my foods, just as simple as that :).

Four-Flavor Dumplings

Ingredients:
Skin:
2-1/2 cup AP flour
1/2 cup boiling water
1/4 cup cold water
1 cup lard or shortening

Filling:
1 lb ground pork
1-1/2 cup shrimp, deveined, shelled, ground.
1 cup bamboo shoots, coaresly chopped
4 stalks green onion, chopped
1 tbsp ginger, chopped
2 tbsps tapioca starch
3 tbsps cooking wine
2 tbsps sesame oil
1 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

Garnish:
Green onion, chopped
Carrot, chopped
4 egg yolks, stir fry to half solid, chopped
4 egg whites, stir fry to solid, chopped

Preparation:
For Filling:
Combine all ingredients and mix it thoroughly. Set aside

For Skin:
In a mixing bowl, combine flour and hot water and mix. Add in cold water and lard, mix it with hook attachment and set on speed 2. Mix it until all ingredients are well mixed.
Dust a flat surface board with flour. Transfer the dough on to the prepared board. Knead it for 2 minutes until smooth. Roll the dough into a long log shape, then cut it into 24 pieces. Use a rolling pin to roll each piece of dough into a thin 2 inch circle. Repeat for the rest of the dough.

Finishing:
Place 1 tbsp or 1 portion of 24 of the filling in the center of a dough circle. Pinch together the opposite edges at the midpoint. Bring the other opposite edges to the midpoint and squeeze together to form four loops. Shape the loops into pockets. Fill each pocket with one of garnish ingredients. Steam the dumpling over boiling water, over high heat for 7 minutes. Remove and serve it.

ANGSIO CEKER AYAM (BLACK BEAN AND GARLIC CHICKEN FEET)

2011-02-16T14:57:00.000-08:00

The looks are not as good as the taste. That's true! I loved chicken feet dimsum style since I was a kid. I always ordered chicken feet everytime my family and I went to dimsum restaurant in Jakarta. And, there were times when I craved chicken feet then I just bought it in to go box and ate it at home :). But the funny thing is I only like chicken feet in dimsum style. I would refuse to eat chicken feet if it is not cooked in the way dimsum style cooked.

When my hubby saw chicken feets in our slow cooker, his face changed suddenly became 'yuck' face....hahaha. I know he dislike chicken feet. He always said,"It is disgusting, the feets were digging dirty things!" I explained to him that of course those feets are clean cause I washed it over and over again. But still he refused to eat it tho it smells good.

Believe me or not, in Indonesia, when a baby is starting to eat rice porridge, we will use chicken feet's broth and to cook the porridge. I don't know now, but that was happened long time ago at my mom's era :). When I told this to my hubby, again, he showed me funny faces :)). Then he said,"This is America, we will not feed our babies that kind of foods" :).

Ok, let's back to the food. This is my first attempt to make it. I got the recipe from here. The recipe is easy, but you just need to be careful when you fry the feets, the oil will splash all over your kitchen. So, the best way is cover the skillet with a lid and let it fried. Also, prepare a big container full of very cold water, so once the feets are fried, you can dump it to the prepared cold water immediately.

For me, I am so satisfied with my first homemade chicken feet dimsum style :).

Angsio Ceker Ayam (Black Bean and Garlic Chicken Feet

Ingredients:
2 lbs chicken feet, deep fried until dried. Soak it in the very cold water and keep it in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours or overnight.

Spices A:
8 cloves garlic, bruised
6 pieces star annise
2 tbsps oyster sauce
3 tbsps Indonesian ABC salty soy sauce (or any other brand)
3 tbsps mushrooms soy sauce
3 tbsps shaoxing wine
3 tbsps cooking wine
4 tbsps sugar
1-1/2 tbsps salt
1 tsp white pepper
1 liter water
Red Yeast Rice (or you can use 1/4 tsp red coloring food)

Spices B:
2 tbsps chopped garlic
2 red chillis, coarsely sliced
3 tbsps salted black bean
3 tbsps sesame oil
2 tbsps tapioca starch dissolved with 1 tbsp water

Preparation:
Step A:
Place the fried chicken feets in the slow cooker. Set aside.
Heat 2 tbsps oil in a skillet, stir in garlic until fragrant. Pour in shaoxing wine, cooking wine and water. Add in the rest of spices A, well stirred and let it boiled.
Pour the whole sauce into chicken feets in the slow cooker. Set the slow cooker at low heat, and cook it for 8 to 10 hours until the chicken feets are tender.

Step B:
In a skillet, stir in garlic until fragrant, then add in salted black bean and red chillis, well stirred. Transfer it to the chicken feets in the slow cooker, stir well. Pour tapioca starch solution, stir it until thicken. Drizzling with sesame oil. Set the slow cooker at warm heat.

DURIAN CHEESECAKE

2011-02-11T18:41:00.000-08:00

Whoever dislike durian, they don't know what they are missing out :). Most Asian people love durian, including me!
So, when I found this durian soft cheesecake recipe, I am so excited and can not wait to make.
In the math method, cheese plus durian equivalent HEAVENLY! That's true! Additional of soft sponge *when normally you put crushed crackers* really made this cake is delightful! Overall, it just melts in your mouth.
For the recipe, I modified a bit from the original recipe and put more seedless durian in it.....so YUMMY!

Durian Cheesecake (Soft version)

Ingredients:
Sponge Cake 9" round pan:
3 tbsps (40 gr) unsalted butter, melted, cooled
6 egg yolks (100 gr egg yolk)
2 tbsps (20 gr) caster sugar
160 gr egg white
1/2 cup (75 gr) caster sugar
2 ounces (55 gr) all-purpose flour

Durian Cheesecake:
1 slice 9" sponge cake
16 oz (500gr) cream cheese
4 egg yolks
200ml fresh milk
2 cups (400gr) seedless durian
4 egg whites
2/3 cup (120 gr) caster sugar

Directions:
For The Sponge Cake:
1.Prepare a baking tray lined with baking paper.
2.Whisk the egg yolks with sugar in a double boiler until thicken and pale in color.
3.In another bowl whisk the egg whites with caster sugar until peak foam.
4.Fold the egg yolks into the egg whites then gently fold in the shifted flour.
5.Pour some egg's mixture into a clean bowl then mix in the melted butter until well combine. Pour back into the mixture of no.4 and mix gently until everything well combine.
6.Pour the batter into prepared baking tray and spread evenly.
7.Bake at 375F (190C) for 10 - 12 minutes. Do not over bake it.
8.Remove the cake from the baking tray immediately when it come out from the oven and place on a wire rack to cool. Tear out the side of the baking paper and let it completely cool down and ready to use.

For The Durian Cheesecake:
1.Preheat the oven to 350F (180C). Line a 9" round cake pan with greased and floured baking paper (or wax paper) and put in a slice of prepared sponge cake
2.Beat cream cheese, egg yolks at low speed until well mixed. Add fresh milk, seedless durian and mix well.
3.In a clean mixing bowl, whisk egg white and caster sugar at high speed until soft peak is formed. Mix into durian-cream cheese mixture in 3 batches.
4.Pour mixture onto sponge cake.
5.Steam bake the cheesecake at 350F (180C) for 20 minutes. Reduce the heat to 250F (130C), cover the pan loosely with alumunium foil and bake for another 1-1/2 hours. Remove the alumunium foil and continue to bake for another 1 hour.
6.Leave cake to cool in the oven with ajar door for 1 hour. Chill in the fridge for overnight.

TALAM EBI (INDONESIAN DRIED SHRIMP RICE CAKE)

2011-01-26T11:42:00.000-08:00

Talam ebi is one kind of many Indonesian rice cakes. Tho talam ebi is not my fave, but it was my mom's fave. She loved talam ebi. And, this time I made it to honor and remember my mom. If only I know how to make it when she still alive, she will definitely be happy.

Basically, talam ebi is made from rice flour and coconut milk, then dried ebi fried as toppings. It tasted good. The rice cake is a bit chewy with savoury dried shrimp.
If you never eat it before, I guess you should try it ;).

I changed some ingredients. You can go to this link for the original recipe.

Talam Ebi

Ingredients:
For Rice Cake:
200 gr rice flour
50 gr tapioca flour
700 ml thick coconut milk
1/2 tsp salt
1 sheet pandan leaf

For Topping:
100 gr dried shrimp (so called ebi), soaked and chopped
1 stalk green onion, thinly sliced
4 piece dried red chilli, rinse, sliced
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1.5 tsp sugar
100 ml olive oil

Preparation:
For the rice cake:
In a bowl, combine rice flour and tapioca flour, dissolve with halve coconut milk. Set aside.
IN a saucepan, boil the remaining coconut milk, sugar and pandan leaf until boiling. Pour the boiling coconut milk mixture into rice flour mixture. Stir until well combined.
Pour the rice cake batter into small bowl until the bowl is full. Steam the rice in preheated steamer for 20 minutes until thoroughly cooked.
Transfer the bowl to a plate. Remove the rice cake from the bowl. Place it at serving plate. Top it with the toppings. Serve it.

For the toppings:
In a small pan, heat olive oil over medium heat. Stir in red chilli and garlic until fragrant. Add in dried shrimp, stir until half cooked. Add in green onion, cook for another 3 minutes or until the dried shrimp is well done. Ready to use.

MIE AYAM JAMUR (CHICKEN MUSHROOMS NOODLE SOUP)

2011-01-24T11:29:00.000-08:00

I've been craving chicken mushrooms noodle long time ago. Yea I made it once few weeks ago when my hubby's friends came to visit us, but at that time, I am on my 'eating apple only' program. So, I'm unable to fill my craving.

Then few days ago, I made it again :). The benefit you got when you cook by yourself is you can put toppings as generous as you wish :). But, if you buy it from the restaurant, some of them are not too generous.

The recipe is based on my memory of chicken mushrooms noodle that I used to eat when I was living in Indonesia. It tasted so good, especially the hot soups are so great in this winter time :).

Chicken Mushrooms Noodle Soup

Ingredients:
1 package egg noodle
3 pieces chicken breast fillet
1 cup whole button mushrooms, sliced
3 cloves garlic, minced
6 to 10 tbsps Indonesian sweet soy sauce (it called Kecap Manis, brand: ABC)
2 to 3 tbsps oyster sauce
5 tbsps fish sauce
1 tbsp Indonesian salty soy sauce (it called Kecap Asin, brand: ABC)
1 tsp white pepper
2 tbsps sesame oil
1000 ml water
A bunch of yuchoy (or other green veggies)

Preparation:
For Toppings:
Boil chicken with water until the chicken is completely cooked. Drain the chicken from the broth. Shred the chicken. Reserve the broth for soup.
In a skillet, stir fry garlic until fragrant. Stir in mushrooms, cook until the mushroom thoroughly cooked. Add in shredded chicken. Season with Indonesian sweet soy sauce, oyster sauce, fish sauce, Indonesian salty soy sauce and white pepper, stir in until well combined or until the chicken and mushrooms are coated with the sauce. Pour in 1 to 2 laddlespoonful chicken broth. Cook it for another 5 minutes or until boiled. Two minutes before you turn off the heat, stir in sesame oil. Set aside.

For Serving:
In a saucepan, combine water and chicken broth. Once it boil, add in egg noodle, boil it until the noodle is cooked. Do not overcook if you don't want have mushy noodle.
Meanwhile, in a serving bowl, combine 1/8 tsp white pepper, 3/4 tsp sesame oil and 1/2 tsp fish sauce. After the noodle is well cooked, drained it then put it on the serving bowl immediately. Stir the noodle with the sesame oil mixture until well combined.
Back to the saucepan that used to boil the noodle, boil the yuchoy (or any other green veggies) until well cooked. Drained it. Transfer it onto prepared egg noodle. Top it with the toppings. Pour the chicken broth, or you can do it in a separate bowl. Serve it immediately.

PEANUT BUTTER COOKIES

2011-01-22T10:23:00.000-08:00

Suddenly, my hubby asked me to make peanut butter cookies. I guess peanut butter cookies became their traditional cookies which everyone here knows and likes it.

Since he knew I never make any of it, he is the one who looking for the recipe and printed out and handed the recipe to me and drove me to WinCo to buy a big jar of peanut butter *so you can imagine how he really wanted this cookies ;)*.

When I was shaping the cookie dough into a 3/4-inch ball, I'm kinda worried because the dough is little bit crumbly, so I need to press it to make a solid ball. Then, after the cookies came out from the oven, I know the crumbly dough made this cookies crunchy and very moist. No wonder 99% people in America like this cookies :).

I can say this is a good yet cheap cookies to make ;) *I like it! :p*

By my hubby's request, I made 4 times of the recipe. So now we have a big container of peanut butter cookies....anyone wanna join us?

Peanut Butter Cookies
Source: about.com

Ingredients:
1 1/4 cups flour, sift or stir before measuring
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup shortening
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg

Preparation:
Sift together flour, salt, and baking powder; set aside. Cream shortening, peanut butter, and sugars; beat in vanilla and egg. Stir in flour mixture, blending well. Shape mixture into 3/4-inch balls; place on greased baking sheets. Flatten each cookie with the tines of a fork *if the fork is sticking to the dough, dip it in flour periodically*.
Bake peanut butter cookies at 375° for about 10 to 15 minutes.

BBQ PULLED PORK WITH FRESH HOMEMADE BURGER BUN

2011-01-21T12:18:00.000-08:00

What the best thing in the morning other than a pair of BBQ Pulled Pork and fresh homemade burger bun? Yep, BBQ Pulled Pork Burger :).

Lately, since we bought a crock-pot slow cooker, I am just like a kid who has new toy and can not stop play it :). So, I kept searching and looking for any recipe that cooked or can be cooked in slow cooker.

The thing I like cooking with slow cooker, I just dump everything in it, turn on the electric and leave it until it is cooked without worrying it will burnt. But, really, you need to cook it at early morning or the night before, so you are able to enjoy the food at the right time.

So yesterday, I asked my hubby which one he prefers, paella or bbq pulled pork. Without hesitated, he chose bbq pulled pork which is I wished he choose it ;).
The preparations are really simple and easy, also, the ingredients are not too complicated *which is good if you are not in the mood of cooking ;)*

Meanwhile, when I am waiting for my bbq pork is tenderized. I prepare the ingredients to bake this wonderful moist burger bun, which I got the recipe from epicurious *I made the dog bun before*.
This combination is just purrrrr....fect ;).

BBQ Pulled Pork

Ingredients:
3 lbs pork loin
2 to 3 yellow onion, sliced
2 cloves garlic, pasted
2 bottles (@18 oz) hickory smoked bbq sauce
Salt, to taste
Burger buns

Preparation:
Put the pork loin in the slow cooker bowl. Top it with sliced onion and bbq sauce. Sprinkle it with salt.
Cover and cook on low for 8 to 10 hours or until meat is tender.
Remove pork from the slow cooker bowl, and shred it with fork. Transfer the pork back into the bowl, and coat it with sauce. Cook for another 20 minutes.
Serve it on burger buns or rolls.

Burger Buns

Ingredients:
For dough:
1 1/4 cups whole milk
1 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup warm water (105—115°F)
1 (1/4-ounce) package active dry yeast
1/4 cup sugar
5 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons salt

For tops of hamburger buns:
1 large egg, lightly beaten
2 teaspoons sesame seeds

Preparation:
Make dough:
Bring milk and cream to a bare simmer in a small saucepan over medium heat. Cool mixture to 105 to 115°F.
Meanwhile, stir together warm water and yeast in mixer bowl and let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes. (If mixture doesn’t foam, start over with new yeast.)
Add warm milk mixture, sugar, flour, and salt to yeast mixture and mix at low speed, scraping down side of bowl as necessary, until flour is incorporated. Increase speed to medium and beat 6 minutes. (Dough will be sticky.)
Transfer dough to a lightly oiled large bowl and turn to coat with oil. Cover with a kitchen towel (not terry cloth) and let rise in a draft-free place at warm room temperature until doubled, about 2 hours.

To make hamburger buns:
Butter 2 large baking sheets. Punch down dough, then roll out on a floured surface with a floured rolling pin into a 14-inch round (about 1/2 inch thick). Cut out as many rounds as possible with floured cutter, arranging 3 inches apart on baking sheets. Gather and reroll scraps once, then cut out more rounds.
Loosely cover buns with oiled plastic wrap and let rise in a draft-free place at warm room temperature until they hold a finger mark when gently pressed, 1 1/2 to 2 hours.
Preheat oven to 375°F with racks in upper and lower thirds.
Brush buns with some of egg and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Bake, switching position of sheets halfway through, until tops are golden and undersides are golden-brown and sound hollow when tapped, 20 to 25 minutes. Transfer to racks to cool completely.

LAPIS BERAS

2011-01-18T18:12:00.000-08:00

Hohohoho......I made it!! After I saw my dear blog friend Jenny made this Indonesian sweet dessert *or snack?*, I tempted to make it as well :).

Frankly speaking, I forgot did I ever eat this Indonesian layered rice cake or not. So, I really wondering how's the real texture and taste of this rice cake. Then, I asked my other blog friend, Chizzy, she said that the texture supposed to be a little bit hard because of the rice flour. And, she gave me a little tips if I want to make a soft and elastic rice cake are using all purpose flour or combine all purpose flour and rice flour. Her tips made me want to try to re-make it ;).

However, the preparations are not that hard. The only thing that you need to have is PATIENT ;), because you need to steam it layer by layer. But it worth enough to make, especially if you lived in a country where Indonesian food become something precious :D.

Lapis Beras

Ingredients:
800ml coconut milk
3 pieces fresh pandan leaves, cut into 2-inch
1/2 tsp salt
200 gr rice flour
100 gr mung bean flour
250 gr sugar
1-1/2 tsp cocoa powder (dissolved with 1 tsp warm water)

Preparation:
Boil coconut milk, pandan leaves and salt over medium heat. Stir it continuously. Once it boiled, remove it from the stove, strain it from the leafs.
In a big bowl, combine rice flour, mung bean flour and sugar. Pour in the warm coconut milk slowly, keep stirring until the mixture has no more lumps. Let it rest for 30 minutes.
Divide the batter into 2 bowls. Add cocoa mixture in one half.
Preheat loaf pan in the steamer, then brush it with oil. Pour in 2 ladle-spoonfuls plain batter. Steam it for 5 to 7 minutes. Then pour in 2 ladle-spoonfuls brown batter. Steam it for another 5 to 7 minutes. Do it until all batters are used up.
End it by steam it for another 30 to 45 minutes until the cake thoroughly cooked.
Cut the cake when it is cooling down already.

JALAPENO POPPERS

2011-01-17T13:25:00.001-08:00

Most of Americans know and like jalapeno poppers, even those who dislike spicy, they would like jalapeno poppers.

My hubby is the first one who introduce me to this finger food. I who love chilli and spicy of cos am willing to try. And, I needn't think twice to not fall in love with this finger food.

What is jalapeno? Jalapeno is mexican type chilli and spicy. Yep, literally so. But don't worry, it is not as spicy as thai chillis. Then, it named jalapeno poppers, because the chilli is filled with cheese and seasonings. Dip it into flour batter and bread crumbs and deep fry it.

Tho it tasted good, do not eat it too much, besides its kinda spicy if you eat it alot, also, it is high cholesterol because of the cheese and deep frying :).

The preparation is easy and didn't take too long time. But, be careful, you need to wear gloves when you removing the chilli's seeds and membranes. The rests are safe prep :).

For the recipe, I used feta cheese with bacon bits for the filling, and flour-brown beer batter. It is really good...

Jalapeno Poppers

Ingredients:
12 piece jalapeno, seeded
2 slices bacon, bits sliced
1/2 package feta cheese
5 tbsps shredded monterey jack cheese
1 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp tabasco
1/2 tsp Italian Seasoning
1/4 tsp cayenne powder
1/4 tsp black pepper
A dash of garlic salt

For dipping batter:
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup brown beer (I used Guiness Stout Beer)
1 egg
A pinch of salt and black pepper
Bread Crumbs

Preparation:
Rinse the jalapeno, wipe it with paper towel. Cut lengthwise. Remove the seeds and membranes. Leave the stem.
In a small bowl, combine feta cheese, monterey jack cheese, oregano, Italian seasoning, tabasco, cayenne powder, blackepper and garlic salt. Well mixed.
Fry the bacon until crispy. Transfer the bacon into the cheese mixture, fold it until the bacon spread evenly.
Fill the jalapeno with cheese mixture. Do it until all jalapeno filled with cheese mixture.
For the batter: in a bowl, mix all ingredients except bread crumbs. Put the bread crumbs in a separate bowl or plate.
Coat the jalapeno with beer batter until thorougly coated. Roll it into the bread crumbs. Then fry it in a very hot oil until both sides are brown. Once it browned, transfer the jalapeno onto a flat plate covered with paper towel. Let it rest for 1 or 2 minutes to let the paper towel soaked the oil, and to make it crispy. Serve it.

TAKOYAKI

2011-01-13T11:17:00.000-08:00

Got a chance to make it few days ago after I bought the grill. My first experience with takoyaki was when I visited Singapore. There were a food court stall sold takoyaki at Takashimaya Food Court, and for me, until now, the best takoyaki ever is the one sold at Takashimaya which is unfortunately Singapore becomes a very very far country to visit now :(. Therefore, I tried to make my homemade takoyaki since I can't find takoyaki shops in my neighborhood yet.

The difficulties I found are when the time for the takoyaki to be turned over. Tho when I saw the demonstration in youtube I told myself, "ah it's piece of cake!" *too arrogant huh!?*.

However, after the second round making this takoyaki, I'm getting smoother and my takoyaki are nice round looking :).

I'm really happy with my takoyaki, but my hubby dislike it because I put octopus in it. Yea, he is a big enemy of octopus, squid, clams....you name it. He said, "It just like I'm eating a rubber!". Dang.....I am octopus and squid fan :(. Oh well, there must be a sacrifice rite ;).

Got the recipe from Bento.com and this recipe is really recommended! :)

Takoyaki

Ingredients:
200g chopped boiled octopus
Cooking oil for brushing
Benishoga (pickled ginger), bonito flakes and chopped scallions (to taste)

For Batter:
450cc water
1 piece konbu (kelp), 10cm square
15g powdered katsuo-bushi (shaved dried bonito)
200g flour
2 eggs

For Sauce:
Mayonnaise (I prefer Kewpie brand)
Bulldog Tenkatsu Sauce

Directions:
For Batter:
Clean the konbu by wiping it lightly with a cloth. Cut it into 2 cm length.
In a saucepan, combine the water and konbu, and cook uncovered over low heat. Just before the water starts to boil, remove the konbu from the pot. The liquid should be a light yellowish or greenish color. Add shaved katsuobushi (bonito flakes) to the water as it starts to boil. After the liquid has been boiling a minute or two, turn off the heat.
Quickly remove the shaved katsuobushi from the liquid with a filter or strainer or cloth. Try to remove the katsuobushi while it's still floating on the surface, before it has a chance to sink.
Allow the liquid to cool, then add the liquid, flour and eggs to a bowl and mix.

For Takoyaki:
Make a small test batch of 4 or 5 takoyaki at first, to check the consistency of the batter. Add more flour or water as needed.

1. Oil the takoyaki pan.
2. Pour in the batter.
3. Add pieces of chopped octopus to each cup.
4. Add pickled ginger, chopped scallion and bonito flakes, to taste.
5. Cook the takoyaki pieces until they achieve the desired degree of firmness, turning them over frequently.
6. Remove from the pan and serve with bulldog sauce, mayonnaise and sprinkle it with bonito flakes.

Or, you can see this steps of how to make takoyaki.

FAUX 'McD' APPLE HOT POCKETS

2011-01-10T11:43:00.000-08:00

My hubby who gave this name to my new recipe. Actually, this recipe was found when I cleaned my refrigerator. I want to use all the ingredients that I had before I go to get our weekly groceries, so when I saw a pack of spring roll's wrapper laid alone in the freezer I told myself that I should use this wrapper before the wrapper getting hard and can not be use anymore. Then, I looked into my kitchen top drawer and there they are 3 apples are sitting nicely. Luckily the weather are super cold now so it made those fruits stay fresh.

This is a very very easy recipe, no fancy ingredients needed to make this faux hot pockets and it didn't take long time to prepare it. So, let's give a try ;)

Apple Hot Pockets

Ingredients:
1/2 package of spring roll's wrapper
3 medium apples, peeled and diced
1 cup of sugar
200 ml water
1 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tbsps tapioca starch solution
1 liter of vegetable oil

Preparation:
Boil water and sugar in a saucepan over high heat until boiling and the sugar is dissolved. Add in apples and cinnamon, stir it well. Turn down the heat into medium heat. Cover the saucepan and keep stir it occasionally.
Once the apples are tender and the sauce are reduce to 1/3, add in tapioca solution. Keep stir it until the sauce are thick.
Cool it down before use.

Finisihing: lay one sheet of spring roll's wrapper on a flat surface. Scoope 1 spoonful apple mixture and put on the wrapper. Wrap it as you wrap spring rolls. Do it again until the wrappers and apple mixtures are finished.

Frying: heat the oil in a big frying pan over high heat. Once the oil is hot, fry the apple pockets until brown and crisp. Serve it immediately.

Also, I made banana hot pockets since we had 'the forgotten' small-fingersize banana ;)

Banana Chocolate Hot Pockets

Ingredients:
1/2 package of spring roll's wrappers
1 cup of semi sweet chocolate chips (or you can use milk chocolate chips)
1 tbsp unsalted butter
12 small-fingersize banana
1 liter vegetable oil

Preparation:
In a bowl, combine chocolate chips and butter. Steam it in the steamer until melted. Stir it until the chocolate are thoroughly melt and shiny.

Finishing: lay one sheet of spring roll's wrapper on a flat surface. Put 1 banana and 1 spoonful chocolate sauce. Wrap it as you wrap spring rolls. Do it again until the wrappers are finished.

Frying: heat the oil in a big frying pan over high heat. Once the oil is hot, fry the banana pockets until brown and crisp. Serve it immediately.

B-S-M-E ENGLISH MUFFIN

2011-01-08T12:05:00.000-08:00

When BLT *Bacon Lettuce Tomatoes* is the signature sandwiches at many restaurant, I made my own abbreviation for my english muffin burger *or sandwich?*.

Using the left ingredients we have *yea...we still not go get groceries this week :(*, here is my first homemade BSME (Bacon Shallots Mushrooms and Egg Benedict) English Muffin and a very handy hollandaise sauce....yum yum...

B-S-M-E English Muffin

Ingredients:
6 pieces homemade english muffin, halved and toasted
1/4 lb bacon (choose the thick cut bacon)
6 fresh mushrooms, sliced
1 red onion, thinly sliced
6 large eggs, poached
Blender Hollandaise Sauce *recipe below*

Preparation:
In a non-stick fry pan, saute bacon until a little bit brown. Drain it from the oil. Set aside. Use the grease from bacon to fry mushrooms and shallots *fry it separately*. Poach the eggs once at a time.
Finishing: make layers of half of english muffin - bacon - shallots - mushrooms - egg benedict - hollandaise sauce - top it with another half of english muffin.
Serve it immediately.

Blender Hollandaise Sauce

Ingredients:
3 egg yolks
1/4 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 dash hot pepper sauce (e.g. Tabasco™)
1/2 cup butter
Salt and sugar, to taste

Preparation:
1.In the container of a blender, combine the egg yolks, mustard, lemon juice, hot pepper sauce, salt and sugar. Cover, and blend for about 5 seconds.
2.Place the butter in a glass measuring cup. Heat butter in the microwave for about 1minute, or until completely melted and hot. Set the blender on high speed, and pour the butter into the egg yolk mixture in a thin stream. It should thicken almost immediately. Keep the sauce warm until serving by placing the blender container in a pan of hot tap water.

WHOLE WHEAT ENGLISH MUFFINS

2011-01-08T11:06:00.000-08:00

With a bunch of my colleagues, we were sitting in McDonald and eating their breakfast meals which are sausage english muffins and harshbrown while the rests of our colleagues (including the big boss) were walking down the stairs *from 25th floor* after the fire sirene from our fire training was ringing.

After the training was done, we who were sitting in McDonald and enjoying the breakfast meals before got an email from our big boss which said, "MEET ME IN MY OFFICE!".
Oh boy!! My cubicle friend and I just look at each other on the eyes, the worry eyes!

Then, all of us *who enjoyed the sausage muffins before* walked slowly to our boss' office, and when we stood in his office, we tried to stood as invisible as possible *aka standing behind the other colleagues :)*

That was the funny and thrilled story of my first english muffin :). Now, its been few years after I resigned from that office to be marry my long time bf :).

Since I'm married, I always want to make homemade food, or at least try to make it. And, english muffin is in my list since long time ago. However, at the end I made it :). Whole wheat muffins are my choice. I am really satisfied with this homemade english muffin, not only the muffin's texture is soft, the muffin was beautifully rised :).

You can fill the muffin with jams, cheese or treat it as a burger-muffin. They are all good! :).

Whole Wheat English Muffins

Ingredients:

1 cup whole wheat flour
3 cups bread flour
1 1/4 cups lukewarm water
2 1/2 teaspoons instant yeast
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
2 small egg whites
fine cornmeal or rice flour

Preparation:

In a medium bowl combine whole wheat flour and bread flour, divide it into 2 small bowls (2 cups each). Set aside.

In a large bowl pour in lukewarm ( 110F ) water. Add instant yeast, baking soda and 2cups of flour mixture. Mix till smooth. Allow to sit for 5 minutes uncovered.

In the meantime, add egg white into a separate bowl and beat with an electric mixer until stiff and moist. Once the egg white have formed stiff peaks; add to dough batter. Using a rubber spatula fold in egg whites till incorporated into the batter.

Start to add in the rest of the flour, a 1/4 cup at a time. After the first 1/4 cup mix in salt. When the mixture becomes to hard to mix in the bowl. Pour out onto a flat surface. Knead for about 5 to 6 minutes till it becomes smooth and silky.

Add a little oil to a clean bowl and place the dough into the bowl. Turn dough over till all sides are very lightly coated. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to rest till double in bulk, about 1 hour.

Afterwards, pour out onto a flat surface. Press to release some of the air from the dough. Using a rolling pin roll out to a 1/2 inch thick. Allow dough to rest for 3 minutes to relax. Using a 3 inch cookie cutter, cut out circles. Place the cut out pieces onto some cornmeal. When you have left over dough just gather together and cut out a few more circles.

Sprinkle the tops with more cornmeal. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to rest for 45 minutes. About 5 minutes before you are ready to cook the english muffins turn on your griddle or fry pan to 350F or medium heat. Spray with a little oil spray and once the griddle is hot. Place the muffins on and fry. If you are using a fry pan you may only be able to fry 3-4 at a time. Fry on one side for about 4 minutes. Then turn over and fry for another 4 minutes. Serve it warm with jams, cheese or bacon.

CHOCO CHIPS OATMEAL COOKIES

2011-01-06T18:29:00.000-08:00

Got a chance to taste it last Thanksgiving when I visited my high school friend at SF. These cookies are really good!! It is crunchy yet chewy. My hubby and I liked this oatmeal cookies.

The preparation didn't take too long time, and it is not hard at all! I bet your little one will like it *my hubby and I liked it so much ;)*.

Choco Chips Oatmeal Cookies

Ingredients:
2 sticks unsalted butter
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp baking powder
3 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
Chocolate chips as much as you like

Preparation:
Preheat the oven at 300`F.
In a mixer bowl, combine butter and brown sugar, mix them over high speed until creamy.
Mix in eggs and vanilla, until the eggs are thoroughly mixed. Pour in flour, baking powder, cinnamon and oats, continue to mix with low speed (speed 1 or 2 if you use stand mixer). Add in chocolate chips and fold it evenly.
Grease the baking sheet, and fill the baking sheet with a spoonful of oatmeal batter. Bake it about 20 minutes and/or until the bottom of cookies are browned.

SPINACH STRATA WITH BACON AND CHEESE

2010-12-31T12:14:00.000-08:00

My first time making and tasting spinach strata. One day, I saw a cooking show at createtv channel, and they showed this recipe. Actually, they showed it for christmas dinner, and I thought to make it for our Christmas dinner, but since I cooked loads of foods already, so I cancelled it.

Now, few days after Christmas and our Christmas leftover are all gone. I was thinking it is the time to make spinach strata. Since I know my hubby doesn't really like spinach, so I thought this dish is the perfect dish to force him eating the spinach ;).

So, here I am experimanting spinach strata recipe. I added chopped bacon to add some extra bacon-kick on the strata. The result......It is so good! Good taste and good smell which were exposed our appetite :).

My hubby liked it so much. The first time he heard there is spinach in this dish, he showed me 'eww-ie' face, but after he tasted it, he said, "This is really good hun. I like it". :)

So, let's make it for our loved ones who dislike spinach, I guarantee they will love spinach ;).

Spinach Strata with Bacon and Cheese

Ingredients:
2 packages fresh baby spinach
1 cup bacon, cut into 1-in width
1 1/2 cups (or 1 large) finely chopped onion
1 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
8 cups cubed (1 inch) French or Italian whole wheat bread
6 oz coarsely grated Gruyère (2 cups)
2 oz finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano (1 cup)
2 3/4 cups milk
9 large eggs
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

Preparation:
Boil spinach in boiling water until the spinach changes into dark green color. Drain it from the water. Rinse it with cold water. Squeeze handfuls of spinach to remove as much liquid as possible, then finely chop.

Cook bacon in olive oil in a large heavy skillet over moderate heat, stirring, until almost brown, 4 to 5 minutes. Stir in onion, stirring until soft. Add 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, and nutmeg and cook, stirring, 1 minute. Stir in spinach, then remove from heat.

Spread one third of bread cubes in a buttered 3-quart gratin dish or other shallow ceramic baking dish and top evenly with one third of spinach mixture. Sprinkle with one third of each cheese. Repeat layering twice (ending with cheeses).

Whisk together milk, eggs, mustard, and remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper in a large bowl and pour evenly over strata. Chill strata, covered with plastic wrap, at least 8 hours (for bread to absorb custard).

Preheat oven to 350°F. Let strata stand at room temperature 30 minutes.

Bake strata, uncovered, in middle of oven until puffed, golden brown, and cooked through, 45 to 55 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

EGGNOG

2010-12-30T19:37:00.000-08:00

This time, I made the famous Christmas beverage in US which is eggnog. I knew there is a drink called eggnog since I was a kid, of course from movies ;). Then, I wondered how's the taste?

Once I moved to US, for some reason, I forgot about eggnog. Until, last thanksgiving my MIL bought 2 carts of eggnog and that was my first experience with eggnog :).
When I tasted it for the very first time, honestly, I didn't really like it. But then, after few drinks, I started to like it.

That's why this Christmas I tried to make homemade eggnog....and...voila...it tasted alot better than the one my MIL bought at store. Why? Because I can control the sugar. So, the sweetness of this homemade eggnog is just right for my hubby and me.
Some eggnogs are using alcohol, but mine, I omitted the alcohol. It's alot healthier, don't you think?

Lots of people posted the same eggnog's recipe in the internet, so I don't who invented this recipe. But the important thing is this eggnog is good :)

Don't worry, the process is not hard at all. The thing you should keep in mind is cook the milk-egg mixture over low heat and keep stirring it constantly. Then, the rest is just a piece-of-cake ;). Do you dare to try?

Eggnog

Ingredients:
6 eggs
1/2 cup sugar
2 cups milk
2 cups whipping cream
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
2 tbsps dark rum

Directions:

In large saucepan, beat together eggs and sugar. Stir in the milk.

Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until mixture is thick enough to coat a metal spoon with a thin film and reaches 145 F and is held there for 3 1/2 minutes. Remove from heat.

Stir in whipping cream, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg and rum.

Cover and refrigerate until thoroughly chilled, several hours or overnight. Serve garnished with whipped cream and nutmeg.

CHRISTMAS SOUP

2010-12-30T13:38:00.001-08:00

Another appetizer on our Christmas dinner this year. My Christmas soup has kielbasa sausage, bacon, celery and potatoes. Its really different than the other soups I ever made.

This soup is more likely western-kind-soup which is thick soup. I looked around in the internet and I found lots of christmas soup's recipe, until I decided to make my own Christmas Soup. And fortunately it tasted really good, tasty and tangy. My hubby and I loved it :).

Christmas Soup

Ingredients:
1 lb kielbasa sausage (or you can use italian sausage)
1/2 lb bacon
8 large red potatoes, peeled and diced
7 stalks western celery, thinly sliced
1 large onion, peeled and diced
1 cup heavy cream (or whipping cream)
1-1/2 tbsps italian seasoning
1 tbsps oregano
1 tsp thyme
1 tsp rosemary
1 tbsp olive oil
Salt, sugar and blackpepper, to taste
Minced fresh parsley for garnishing

Directions:
In a 5-quarts saucepan, boil the potatoes and celery over medium heat for about 20 minutes or until the potatoes are tender.

Meanwhile, in a teflon skillet, fry bacon in olive oil until the bacon is almost crispy. Drain the bacon from the grease. Using the same skillet with bacon's grease, fry the sausage. Drain the sausage from the skillet, thinly slice it and set aside. Put the onion on the skillet immediately. Caramelized the onion. Set aside.

Scoope about half of the potatoes into prepared blender. Blend it until smooth and sticky. Then, put it back into the saucepan.

Transfer the onion and the oil into the boiling potatoes, stir it well. Add in sausages, bacon, italian seasoning, oregano, thyme and rosemary. Season it with salt, sugar and blackpepper, to taste.

Pour in heavy cream, stir it well and boil it for 2 minutes. Serve it hot and garnish it with minced fresh parsley.

HERB-BAKED POTATOES

2010-12-30T12:46:00.001-08:00

After I baked broccoli, bacon and cheese potatoes as side dish for many times, this time I chose herb-baked potatoes for the Christmas side dish.

Surprisingly the potatoes came out good! It is tangy, zesty and sweet. My hubby really liked it, so do I :). Plus, the preparations are alot easier and more simple than the broccoli, bacon and cheese baked potatoes.

Again, I made up my own recipe for this herb-baked potatoes ;)

Herb-Baked Potatoes

Ingredients:
1 lb new potatoes
2 tbsps olive oil
2.5 tbsps herbs de provance
1 tbsp oregano
1.5 tbsps thyme
1 tbsp dill
1 tsp italian seasoning
1 tbsp salt (you can add more salt if you like salty)
1 tbsp blackpepper

Directions:
Preheat the oven into 350F.
Wash the new potatoes until clean. Then dry and wipe it with paper towel. Spread the potatoes in an 8-in baking dish evenly. Drizzle the potatoes with olive oil, fold it until the potatoes are coated with olive oil. Sprinkle it with salt and pepper.
In a small bowl, mix herbs de provance, oregano, thyme, dill and italian seasoning. Sprinkle it onto the potatoes. Cover the baking dish with alumunium foil.
Bake it for 30 minutes. Then, uncover the potatoes. Continue to bake it for another 30 minutes or until the potatoes are soft and tender. Serve it immediately.

DEVIL'S EGG

2010-12-30T12:15:00.000-08:00

This was one of our Christmas appetizer. For the first time, I ate devil's egg at MIL's house on thanksgiving last year. Actually my sister-in-law who made it. On my first bite of devil's egg I liked it already.

So, this Christmas I tried to make homemade devil's egg. Also, I found the egg's platter. This plate is really helpful to make the shape of the eggs are nice.

The recipe is made by me based on the taste that I remember from my sister-in-law's devil's egg.

Devil's Egg

Ingredients:
12 large eggs, hard boiled
1/4 cup mayonnaise
3 tbsps mustard
5 tbsps sweet relish
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsps lemon juice
1/4 tsp cayenne powder
Fresh parsley for garnishing

Directions:
Hard boiled the eggs one day before, then keep it in the refrigerator. The refrigerated hard-boiled eggs are alot easier to cut. Then halved it lengthwise.
Scoope out the yolks and transfer it to a small bowl. Add in mayonnaise, mustard, sweet relish, sugar, salt, cayenne powder and lemon juice, mash it with a fork. Fold it until thoroughly mixed. (don't forget to taste it and you can add more ingredients as your desire)
Place the halved hard-boiled white eggs on the platter. Fill the white egg's cavities with the yolks' mixture. Garnish it with fresh parsley. Serve it cold.

DDUKBOKKIE (HOT AND SPICY KOREAN RICE CAKE)

2010-11-13T18:05:00.000-08:00

I saw ddukbokkie *hot and spicy korean rice cake* in the Korean drama series for the first time. It looks good, but at that time I didn't know what is that. Then, two years ago when I passed the food courts at Bugis Junction, I saw this hot and spicy korean rice cake. Of course without think twice I bought it. But, after the first bite, I am really dissapointed :(. Because it didn't taste good :(.

Few days ago I saw ddukbokkie recipe at maangchi.com. I guess I will give a shot to make it. Guess what? It tasted really good!! Absolutely different taste than the one I bought before. I love it love it love it!! I guess Maangchi's recipe is the best recipe for Korean food :).

For Korean food lovers, you have to try this recipe. The recipe is highly recommended! :)

Ddukbokkie (Hot and Spicy Korean Rice Cake)

Ingredients:
1 package (450 gr) rice cake
4 cups water
3 tbsps small dried anchovies
6 tbsps hot pepper paste (Belzy - use 4 tbsps if you dislike to spicy)
1 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp hot pepper flakes
6 stalks scallion, sliced

Directions:
Boil water and dried anchovies in a pan for 10 minutes over medium heat.
Remove the anchovies and add hot pepper paste, sugar and hot pepper flakes. Stir it until the hot pepper paste is thoroughly mix in the water. Add the rice cakes. Stir it constantly. Add in green onions. Keep stirring until the sauce is thick and the rice cake is shiny. Serve it hot.

HOMEMADE CHOCOLATE SPREAD

2010-11-12T17:34:00.000-08:00

I have nothing to do today, so I tried to make homemade chocolate spread and it tasted good!! Easy recipe and easy process :).

Homemade Chocolate Spread
Source: cdkitchen

Ingredients:
1/4 cup unsalted butter // 125 gr mentega tawar
3 tbsps cocoa powder // 3 sdm bubuk coklat
1/4 cup cream cheese // 125 gr cream cheese
1/4 cup sugar, or to taste // 125 gr gula, (gula bisa ditambah kalau ingin lebih manis)

Directions:
Melt the butter in a small saucepan. // Cairkan mentega di panci kecil.

Add the cocoa and cook, stirring, for 3 minutes over low heat. // Tambahkan bubuk coklat dan aduk2 selama 3 menit dengan api kecil.

Remove from the heat and leave to cool for 5 minutes. // Angkat panci dari api dan istirahatkan selama 5 menit.

Stir cheese into the cocoa, then mix in the sugar to taste. // Masukkan cream cheese dan aduk rata, kemudian campurkan gula, aduk rata.

Chill the spread in a covered container for up to 3-5 days in the refrigerator. // Dinginkan selai coklat, pindahkan ke kontainer, tutup rapat dan simpan di kulkas. Selai tahan 3 - 5 hari.

BISCUITS AND HAM GRAVY

2010-11-11T12:45:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, my hubby talked about his childhood biscuits and gravy which made by his mom. He said that it tasted good but very greasy. I who never eat or see what this biscuits and gravy look like wondering hows the taste of it.

So, I looked the recipe and found this 2 recipes, and I tried both :). One recipe is using buttermilk and cold butter. The other recipe is using milk and melted butter. For the texture the first recipe made a bit harder than the second recipe. But for the looks, the first recipe is alot nicer :). My hubby liked the second recipe, because the biscuits are soft.

I will post both recipe, so you can have more choices based on my experience :).

Biscuits and Ham Gravy

Biscuits Recipe 1 (Recipe courtesy of Darlene B.)
Ingredients:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon butter or margarine, melted

Directions:
In a bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt. Combine milk and butter; stir into dry ingredients just until blended. Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls onto a greased baking sheet. Bake at 450 degrees F for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown.

Biscuits Recipe 2 (Recipe courtesy of Emeril Lagasse)
Ingredients:
2 cups flour, sifted
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup plus 2 teaspoons buttermilk

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. In a large bowl, combine dry ingredients and blend thoroughly. Using your fingers or a pastry blender, cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add buttermilk and quickly blend in, making sure to not overwork the dough.
3. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough with a rolling pin to a thickness of 1/2-inch. Use a biscuit cutter or the rim of a glass, press out as many biscuits as possible. Gather up scraps and quickly knead back together, then cut out as many additional biscuits as possible. Place biscuits on prepared baking sheet and bake until golden brown, about 15 to 20 minutes. Serve immediately.

Ham Gravy Recipe
Ingredients:
300 gr ham slices
2 tablespoons butter
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 tablespoons flour + 1 tablespoon flour
1/4 cup white wine
3/4 cup milk
3/4 cup chicken broth
3 tbsps chopped parsley
1/4 cup heavy cream
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions:
Heat a large skillet over high heat and saute ham slices4 to 5 minutes on each side. Remove to a plate, then diced it. Set aside.

Add butter and onions to skillet and cook until onions are softened, scraping up any browned bits on pan bottom. Add flour and stir well to combine. Cook for 1 to 2 minutes, then add milk, chicken broth and the mixture of 1 tbsp flour + white wine. Whisk well to combine, then allow sauce to cook until thickened, about 6 minutes. Add chopped parsley and heavy cream and cook 5 minutes longer. Season with salt and pepper, to taste, and serve over the biscuits.

SPICY PORK AND ONION JIAO ZI

2010-11-08T13:45:00.000-08:00

Lately, I'm in love with Cooking Gallery's blog, because not only there are plenty of dim sum recipe *everything are all homemade, from the basic recipe til the advanced one*, also her buns are really cute!

I have lots of new recipe idea by seeing CG's blog. One of them was jiao zi, and kimchi and other korean recipes are in line still ;). When I saw this jiao zi recipe, it really brought back the old memories when I lived in China as a student 10 years ago.

However, there are loads of good food in China *tho some of them are too oily*. I remember, there were a shui jiao *chinese people called jiao zi* restaurant, and you need to be patient for the long lines there, especially at winter time. This restaurant has lots of kind of shui jiao with different filling. Usually, me and my ex bf ordered 5 kind of shui jiao and each kind came in 5 pieces. So, we ate 25 pieces of shui jiao *no wonder I gained few kilos there!*. No need to mention the black chinese vinegar with minced ginger and chilli oil as the condiments because those condiments are a MUST :). Without those condiments, the shui jiao will not as tasty as if you eat it with the condiments.

So, after my shui jiao was boiled, I ate it with memorizing those old days when I was in Nanjing, China.......what a day! :)

Spicy Pork and Onion Jiao Zi

Ingredients:
WRAPPER:
300 gr all-purpose flour
1 cup (250 ml) boiling water

FILLING:
250 gr ground pork
3 stalks spring onion, sliced
4 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
2 tbsp rice wine
2 tbsps oyster sauce
1 tbsp fish sauce
1 tbsp hot pepper powder
1/2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp pepper

CONDIMENTS:
1/3 cup black chinese vinegar
1 tbsp minced ginger
3 tbsps chilli oil

Methods:
For the wrapper: combine flour and boiling water, knead it until elastic and not sticky anymore. Shape it into long log. Cut it into small evenly pieces. Cover it with a kitchen towel to keep it moist.

For the filling: mix all ingredients until thoroughly mixed.

Finishing: take one piece of the wrapper dough, roll it as thin as possible. Scoope 1 spoonful filling, then fold the wrapper into jiao zi. You can go to this link to see the folding process.

Meanwhile, boil 1 liter water in a 5 quarter pan until boiling. Once it is boiled, dump all the jiao zi and boil it until the jiao zi is floating. Drain in from the water. Reserve the water for soup. Serve it hot with black chinese vinegar and chilli oil.

THE SECOND FONDANT: FOR AND FROM ME

2010-11-06T16:37:00.000-07:00

Yea....it was my birthday cake that I made by myself :). Sad? Nope, just felt a little bit weird, cos this is my first experience making my own birthday cake. It was exciting tho :). My hubby complained,"Why your cake are more fancy than mine?" hahahaaha.....yea because I made Black Forest for his birthday cake last time :). Myself liked it so much because it was the most colorful cake I ever made :).
I made Red Velvet with Cream Cheese Icing and Daisies Go Crazy as the theme :).

Red Velvet with Cream Cheese Icing
Source: Wilton Recipe

Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons cocoa
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine , softened
1-1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 eggs
1 tablespoon Red-Red Icing Color
1 cup buttermilk
1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 tablespoons white vinegar
Cream cheese icing (recipe below)

Methods:
Preheat oven to 350ºF. Spray two 8 in. pans with vegetable pan spray.

In a medium bowl, stir together flour, cocoa and salt; set aside. In large bowl, beat butter, sugar and vanilla until light and fluffy. Add eggs and red icing color; mix well. Add flour mixture alternately with buttermilk to butter mixture, beating until well blended. Stir baking soda into vinegar and fold carefully into batter. Pour batter into prepared pans.

Bake 30-35 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely.

To Ice: Spread a thin layer of cream cheese icing on bottom cake layer. Top it with the second cake. Icing cake with the remaining cream cheese icing. Cover it with rolled fondant and decorate as your desire.

Cream Cheese Icing

Ingredients:
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
2 packages (8 ounces each) cream cheese , softened
8 cups confectioners' sugar (about 2 lbs.)
1 tablespoon milk

For Cream Cheese Icing:
In large bowl, beat butter and cream cheese with electric mixer until light and fluffy. Gradually add confectioners’ sugar and milk. Beat on high until smooth (30 – 60 seconds). If icing seems too thin, add confectioners’ sugar 1 tablespoon at a time. If it seems too thick, add more milk 1 teaspoon at a time until icing reaches desired consistency

Also, on my birthday I received an award from my dear blog friend, Cooking Gallery :). Thank you dear! :).

HOT DOG BUNS

2010-10-31T13:13:00.000-07:00

Who dislike hot dog? I bet, 99% people in this world like hot dog including myself :). The fact that I like hot dog made me challanged myself to make the hot dogs' bun. Ian Knauer's recipe is my choice this time and the recipe is really recommended for hot dog and burger buns.

Also, I used homemade bratwurst bramberger sausages. It is just so good and tasty!This time, I will share the recipe in English and Bahasa Indonesia.

Hot Dog Buns

Yield: 16 hot dog buns

For dough:
1 1/4 cups whole milk
1 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup warm water (105—115°F)
1 (1/4-ounce) package active dry yeast
1/4 cup sugar
5 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons salt
16 pieces homemade bratwurst bramberger sausage

Equipment: a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment and 2 (13- by 9-inch) baking pans (for hot dog buns)

Make dough:
Bring milk and cream to a bare simmer in a small saucepan over medium heat. Cool mixture to 105 to 115°F.
Meanwhile, stir together warm water and yeast in mixer bowl and let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes. (If mixture doesn’t foam, start over with new yeast.)
Add warm milk mixture, sugar, flour, and salt to yeast mixture and mix at low speed, scraping down side of bowl as necessary, until flour is incorporated. Increase speed to medium and beat 6 minutes. (Dough will be sticky.)
Transfer dough to a lightly oiled large bowl and turn to coat with oil. Cover with a kitchen towel (not terry cloth) and let rise in a draft-free place at warm room temperature until doubled, about 2 hours.

To make hot dog buns:
Butter baking pans. Punch down dough, then divide into 16 equal pieces (about 3 oz each). Roll each piece of dough into a 6-inch-long log on a lightly floured surface. Space 8 logs evenly in each pan so that there are 2 columns of logs that run parallel to long sides of pan.

Loosely cover buns with oiled plastic wrap and let rise in a draft-free place at warm room temperature until buns just start to touch, 1 1/2 to 2 hours.

Preheat oven to 375°F with racks in upper and lower thirds.

Bake buns, switching position of pans halfway through, until tops are golden and undersides are golden-brown and sound hollow when tapped, 20 to 25 minutes. Cool in pans 10 minutes, then transfer to racks to cool completely. Before using buns, pull apart and cut lengthwise down center of each (but not all the way through).

Notes:
•If you don’t have a stand mixer, stir ingredients together in a large bowl with a wooden spoon until a dough forms. Turn out dough onto a floured surface and knead, incorporating only enough flour to keep dough from sticking, until smooth and elastic, 7 to 8 minutes.
•Buns are best the day they are made but can be frozen in sealable bags up to 2 weeks.

In Bahasa Indonesia:

Roti Hot Dog

Untuk: 16 buah

Untuk Dough:
300 ml susu cair
250 ml heavy cream (krim kental)
62,5 ml air hangat (40-46`C)
1 paket (7 gr) active dry yeast
500 gr terigu protein sedang
2 sdt garam
16 buah sosis bratwurst bramberger

Peralatan: 1 buah stand mixer dengan paddle attachment dan 2 buah loyang kukis.

Cara Membuat:
Di panci kecil, rebus susu cair dan krim kental dengan api sedang hingga hampir mendidih (jangan sampai mendidih banget). Dinginkan sampai bersuhu 40-46`C.
Kemudian, aduk rata air hangat dan yeast di mangkok mixer, istirahatkan hingga berbusa, selama 5 menit. (kalau campuran yeast tidak berbusa, bikin lagi yang baru).
Tambahkan campuran susu, gula, terigu dan garam ke mangkok mixer yang berisi yeast, kocok dengan kecepatan rendah hingga terigu tercampur rata. Naikkan kecepatan mixer menjadi kecepatan sedang dan kocok selama 6 menit (tekstur adonan lengket).
Pindahkan adonan ke mangkuk yang sudah diolesi minyak, balikan adonan hingga bagian atas adonan teroles minyak juga. Tutup mangkuk dengan serbet (jangan gunakan serbet yang berpori) dan istirahatkan selama 2 jam di tempat yang hangat dan kering hingga mengembang.

Membuat roti hot dog:
Olesi loyang dengan mentega. Tonjok turun adonan, kemudian bagi menjadi 16 bagian (@85 gr). Ambil satu bagian adonan, kemudian roll adonan di atas talenan yang ditaburi terigu menjadi bulat panjang (gelondongan) berukuran 15 cm panjangnya.
Letakan adonan roti ke atas loyang secara memanjang, kasih jarak sedikit.
Tutup loyang berisi roti dengan plastik wrap yang diolesi minyak dengan longgar. Istirahatkan di tempat yang kering dan hangat selama 2 jam.
Panaskan oven dengan suhu 180`C dengan rak di bagian atas dan ketiga dari bawah.
Panggang roti selama 20 sampai 25 menit. Ganti posisi loyang di tengah2 waktu memanggang. Panggang hingga atas roti berwarna keemasan dan bagian bawah berwarna coklat keemasan dan jika roti di tepuk2 akan terdengar suara bergema.
Dinginkan roti di atas loyang selama 10 menit, kemudian pindahkan ke atas rak hingga benar2 dingin.

Cara Penyajian:
Belah roti hot dog secara memanjang, kemudian olesi dengan mayonnaise dan mustard, taruh sosis di atasnya. Sajikan.

Catatan:
1. Jika tidak memiliki stand mixer, aduk semua bahan di mangkok besar dengan sendok kayu sampai berbentuk dough/adonan. Uleni adonan ke atas talenan yang bertabur terigu. Uleni selama 7 sampai 8 menit sampai halus dan kalis.
2. Untuk hasil yang baik, sebaiknya langsung gunakan roti di hari pembuatan. Tapi bisa juga di simpan freezer di wadah kedap udara hingga 2 minggu.

SAVORY EN CROUTE

2010-10-23T16:54:00.000-07:00

When I saw this braided pastry from Elra's Cooking, I fell in love right away. So, I made this savory en croute. I used the apple struddle's puff pastry recipe and I made a simple savory filling. Believe me or not, it turned so good. The pastry is so light with thick filling. My hubby liked it so much, and so do I :).

How to braid the puff pastry? Don't worry, it is not hard at all. You can check here on how to braid the puff pastry.

Savory En Croute

Ingredients:
Puff Pastry:
200 gr of all-purpose flour
1 tsp of granulated sugar
1 tsp of salt
1 egg
2 tbsps of olive oil
2 tbsps of warm water
100 gr of butter

Filling:
3 pieces chicken fillet, diced
1 cup (250 gr) corn
1 cup (250 gr) frozen green peas, defrost
2 big size carrot, peeled and diced
2 yellow onions, peeled and diced
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1/4 cup (65 gr) fresh parsley, chopped
1/2 cup (125 gr) button mushrooms, sliced
1 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp sugar
50 ml white sauce or heavy cream
1/2 cup (125 gr) grated cheese
2 tbsps olive oil
Salt and blackpepper, to taste

Egg Wash:
1 egg yolk
1 tsp milk

Methods:
For the Puff Pastry:
In a big bowl, combine flour, salt and sugar until thoroughly mixed. Add in egg, oil and warm water, mix it well with spatula. Knead it with your hands until the batter form a dough. Shape it into ball form. Wrap it with plastic wrapper. Keep it in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour (better if you refrigerate it overnight)

Prepare a board or any clean surface and dust it with flour. Take the dough from the refrigerator, and unwrap it. Roll the dough on the floury work surface into 1/2 cm thickness, and roll it into long square form. Place the butter on the upper side of the dough, then fold the empty side up so the edge of the empty side meet the edge of the other side. Roll it a bit just to stick the edges only. Wrap it with plastic wrapper. Keep it in the refrigerator for 20 minutes. Repeat it until 7 times.

Roll the dough into 2 mm thickness in square form. Ready to use.

For the Filling:
In a skillet, caramelized garlic and onion with olive oil. Stir in chicken until the color changed. Add in carrot, corn, green peas and mushrooms, chopped parsley and nutmeg saute it for 10 minutes. Season it with sugar, salt and blackpepper, to taste. Set aside to cool. When the filling is cool enough, pour in white sauce or heavy cream and cheese.

To assemble:
Roll out the puff pastry to 17 by 17-inch square, transfer to a piece of parchment paper. Make a series of 1-inch slanting cuts on both side (between the filling). Place the filling in the middle of the pastry. Start braiding the pastry by over lapping each of the slice on top of the filling to enclose it. Transfer the pastry to a baking sheet. Refrigerate at least 30 minutes (I skipped this step)
Preheat oven to 375`F. Brush the pastry with egg wash mixture. Bake it for 30 minutes or until golden brown. Serve it warm.

APPLE COBBLER

2010-10-21T20:26:00.000-07:00

A very simple and easy recipe but tasty!! Believe me, you'll like it. I topped it with a scoope of roasted banana ice cream, and it made perfect match for a dessert! You can use other kind of fruits such as peach or pineapple for the cobbler.

I got the recipe from my dearly friend, Selly.

Apple Cobbler

Ingredients:
6 medium sized apples, peeled, cored and diced
3 tbsps granulated sugar
1 tbsp cinnamon powder
1 tbsp lemon juice
Roasted banana ice cream

Topping:
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 egg
2 tbsps butter, melted

Methods:
Mix apples, sugar, cinnamon powder and lemon juice in a big bowl, toss it well. Transfer the apples into 2 quarts (17 x 28cm) ovenproof dish. Set aside.

For topping: In another bowl, combine sugar, flour, egg and melter butter, knead it until melted butter thoroughly absorbed (at this point, the texture of the mixture is crumbly).

Pour the toppings on top of the apples evenly. Bake it in preheated oven (350F/180C) until the topping is golden brown.

Square-cut the cobbler (3x3-inch) and top it with a scoope of roasted banana ice cream. Serve it immediately.

KUE SERABI

2010-10-16T16:05:00.000-07:00

One kind of my childhood sweet dessert. Kue serabi is pancake drizzled by sweet sauce (we called it kinca). It just like western pancake but Indonesian version.
It's been ages I never eat kue serabi, because I can't find it anywhere except in Jakarta.

There is two kind of kue serabi, one with sweet sauce and another kind we called serabi solo which is without sweet sauce. In Jakarta, the well-known kue serabi is the one with sweet sauce. But, if you go to Bandung, the famous kue serabi is serabi solo. The seller will put chocolate and cheese, or even sweet condensed milk and raisin for the sweet toppings. And, ham-cheese and mayonnaise or oncom and chilli for the salty toppings. Both are good though for my taste bud kue serabi with sweet sauce is a lot better :).

So, this time I made kue serabi with sweet jackfruit sauce (some people like to put durian instead of jackfruit, but unfortunately my hubby is an enemy of durian). I got the recipe from here and I modified the sauce by adding jackfruits.

Kue Serabi

Ingredients:

Green (Pandan) Serabi:
200 gram all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
300 cc coconut milk (Belzy - I used Chaokoh brand)
50 cc pandan juice (Belzy - I used 50 cc water + 2 drops of pandan essence)
1 egg
1/4 tsp salt
Olive oil for brushing the pan

White Serabi:
200 gram all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
350 cc coconut milk (Belzy - I used Chaokoh brand)
1 egg
1/4 tsp salt
Olive oil for brushing the pan

Sauce:
400 cc coconut milk (I used Chaokoh brand)
1/2 log Indonesian palm sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 pandan leaf, knotted

Methods:
For the serabi:
Combine flour and baking powder then sift on a big bowl.
Whisk egg and salt until foamy. Whisk in coconut milk and pandan juice until well combined (Belzy - for the white serabi, omit the pandan juice and add 50 cc coconut milk *as per the recipe above*)
Gradually pour egg and coconut mixture into flour bowl, fold it until the batter is soft and lumps free.
Let it rest for 2 hours.
Brush serabi pan (Belzy - I don't have serabi pan so I used a very small pan) with olive oil. Heat it over low heat (Belzy - depend on the pan, I used teflon so I set medium heat). Once the pancake surface is pored then put the lid on. Cook it until the pancake is set. Serve it with the sauce.

For the sauce:
In a saucepan, mix all ingredients and boil it until the palm sugar is melted. Keep stirring to avoid coconut crumbled.

MOO SHU PORK

2010-10-14T19:54:00.000-07:00

Moo shu pork is a well-known chinese dish here. First time I heard it, I thought it is same as peking duck, because the way it served is same. You put the filling on a chinese pancake, add some sauce, roll it then eat it. But suprisingly, they are different. Basically, moo shu pork is stir fry meat and veggies wrapped in chinese pancake.

Frankly speaking, I never heard about moo shu pork before, I guess moo shu pork doesn't really famous in asian countries (correct me if I'm wrong please).
Well, this time I tried to make moo shu pork, and I got the recipe from here.

Moo Shu Pork

Ingredients:
Pancake:
3 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup boiling water
1/2 cup cold water
Sesame oil
Olive oil for frying

Filling:

1.5 lbs pork loin, trimmed and thinly sliced.
4 tablespoons light soy sauce
4 tablespoons Shaoxing wine
1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/2 ounce dried Chinese black mushrooms (also known as black fungus or wood ear mushrooms; about 2/3 cup)
3 tablespoons oyster sauce
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon sesame oil
2 large eggs, lightly beaten

To cook pork:
1/4 cup peanut oil
1 (1/4-inch) piece fresh ginger, minced (about 1 teaspoon)
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 scallions (white and green parts), thinly sliced on diagonal
8 ounces Napa cabbage, quartered lengthwise, cored, and cut crosswise into 1 1/2-inch triangles (about 5 cups)
4 ounces fresh shiitake mushrooms, stems discarded and caps thinly sliced (about 1 1/2 cups)
1 English or kirby cucumber, cut crosswise into 2-inch lengths, then thinly sliced lengthwise (about 1 cup)
2 pieces young bamboo shoot, thinly sliced
1 teaspoon Asian toasted sesame oil
2 large eggs, lightly beaten

Methods:
Make pancake dough:
In large bowl, stir together flour and 1 cup boiling water until water is absorbed. Add 1/2 cup cold water and knead until smooth dough forms. Cover bowl tightly with plastic wrap and let rest 1 hour.

Prep stir-fry:
In large nonreactive bowl, toss together pork, 2 tablespoons soy sauce, 3 tablespoons rice wine, pepper, and cornstarch. Let marinate 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, in small bowl, combine dried black mushrooms and boiling water to cover. Let stand until tender, about 10 minutes. Drain, squeezing out excess liquid, rinse to remove any grit, discard stems, and coarsely chop caps. Set aside.

In small bowl, stir together remaining 2 tablespoons soy sauce, remaining 1 tablespoon rice wine, oyster sauce, and sugar. Set aside.

In small sauté pan over moderate heat, heat sesame oil until hot but not smoking. Add eggs and scramble until softly set, about 1 minute. Transfer to small bowl and set aside.

Cook pancakes:
On lightly floured work surface, roll dough into long, even cylinder 1 to 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Using sharp knife, cut cylinder crosswise into about 30 (3/4- to 1-inch) slices. Using rolling pin, roll each slice out to 3 1/2-inch-diameter circle (about 1/8 inch thick). Brush 1 circle with sesame oil and top with 2nd circle. Repeat with remaining circles to form 15 "sandwiches." Roll each "sandwich" out to 6-inch diameter. (Pancakes can be made ahead up to this point and frozen, layered between parchment or waxed paper, up to 1 month.)

Heat wok or heavy large sauté pan over moderate heat. Brush pan lightly with peanut oil and cook pancake "sandwiches" in batches until lightly golden, about 3 minutes per side, brushing pan with oil between each batch. Transfer each "sandwich" as done to large plate and immediately peel apart 2 halves. Cover with moist towel while cooking remaining pancakes. Keep warm until ready to serve.

Cook stir-fry:
In wok or heavy large sauté pan over moderately high heat, heat peanut oil until hot but not smoking. Add ginger, garlic, half of scallions (reserve remainder for garnish), and pork and stir-fry until pork is cooked through and caramelized, about 5 minutes. Add black mushrooms, cabbage, shiitake mushrooms, young bamboo shoot and cucumber and stir-fry until vegetables are tender, 2 to 3 minutes. Add eggs and soy sauce-rice wine-oyster sauce mixture and stir-fry until heated through, about 1 minute.

Transfer to serving bowl and garnish with remaining scallions. To serve, divide pork mixture among pancakes and roll up to enclose mixture.

CHICKEN CORDON BLEU WITH HOLLANDAISE SAUCE

2010-09-16T13:35:00.000-07:00

Yap, Tamani Kafe at Jakarta is my first place ate cordon bleu. And, their cordon bleu was really good! The things I always remember from Tamani Kafe are chicken cordon bleu, fish 'n chips and they always served the foods on a very big plate with big amount of foods! *but I dunno now. Hopefully nothing change ;)*

Last time, I made fish 'n chips and this time I made chicken cordon bleu based on Ramona Cafe recipe, courtesy Sonja Vanderveen. The only change I made was I reduced the breading measurements because it is too much :).

The taste? No doubt, because it tasted really good! I served it with buttery mix veggies stir fry.

Chicken Cordon Bleu with Hollandaise Sauce

Ingredients:
6 (10-ounce) chicken breasts, pounded out to 1/2-inch in thickness
12 ounces thin-sliced ham
6 ounces Gruyere cheese

Breading:
1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup wheat flour
1/2 cup rice flour
2 cups ground bread crumbs (panko or italian bread crumbs are ok)
1/2 tablespoon garlic powder
1/2 tablespoon salt
1/2 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 tablespoon paprika
1/2 tablespoon Cajun seasoning
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Egg Wash:
4 eggs, well beaten

Hollandaise Sauce:
4 egg yolks
Pinch fine salt
Pinch white pepper
Pinch paprika
1/4 teaspoon lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon hot sauce
1 pound clarified butter, warmed until soft
Oil, enough for deep-frying

Buttery Mix Veggies:
3 pieces carrot, diced
1 cup frozen green peas, defrost
1 cup frozen corn, deforst
1 piece onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tbsp butter (or olive oil)
Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Take a piece of chicken and place 2 ounces ham and 1-ounce Gruyere cheese in the middle. Roll up the chicken breast tightly and place toothpicks in the ends and middle. Place the chicken breasts in an oiled baking dish and bake at 350 degrees F for 18 minutes.

For the breading:
Combine all ingredients, mix well, and place on a large platter.

To prepare the Hollandaise sauce:
Gently place 4 egg yolks in a food processor and add a pinch of salt, white pepper, paprika, the lemon juice and hot sauce. Place the warmed clarified butter into the food processor very slowly until it thickens. To thicken the sauce, add an egg yolk and to thin it out add warm water.

Place the baked chicken cordon bleu in the egg wash and then coat evenly with the breading mixture. Repeat process again.

Deep-fry the breaded chicken at 325 degrees F for 3 minutes. Drizzle the Hollandaise Sauce over top of chicken. Serve it with buttery mixed veggies and rice, if desire.

For the buttery mixed veggies:
Stir fry all ingredients until the carrots are tender.

MOCHI ICE CREAM

2010-09-14T22:09:00.000-07:00

My hubby loves mochi ice cream *kona coffee mochi ice cream to be precisely :)*. And all these times we liked to buy it at 99 ranch or any other asian market that sold this mochi ice cream.

And, since we have an ice cream maker, my hubby asked me, "why don't you make mochi ice cream for me?". His question gave me this idea.....homemade mochi ice cream!
So, I googled the original recipe of how to make mochi ice cream. And I found this recipe that I like to recommend it to all of you. Because, the ingredients and the methods are not too hard. Also, the mochi wrapper is really soft and it just like the one sold in the asian market!

Unfortunately, we have raspberry cheesecake ice cream only so the kona coffee mochi ice cream in line now ;).

For the way of cooking, I used on stove cooking instead of microwave, and its worked!! :). Please go to the original recipe if you want to use microwave.

Mochi Ice Cream

Ingredients:
50 gr glutinous rice flour (or sweet rice powder or mochiko)
100 gr sugar
100 ml water
200 gr raspberry cheesecake ice cream, or any flavor as your desire (Belzy - make sure the ice cream is half frozen)
Cornstarch as needed

Methods:
Place the glutinous rice flour, sugar in a saucepan. Pour gradually the water until it is mixed well.

Bring it simmer over medium heat. Keep stirring the flour mixture until the mixture turns into shiny and smooth sticky dough.

Spread generously cornstarch onto a cutting board (use plenty so the dough does not stick to the board).

Dip your wooden spoon in water then spread the mochi dough onto the floured cutting board as flat as possible. Sprinkle the top of the dough with corn starch then flip it over. Pull and stretch the edges and make the dough thinner as your desire, or 2 to 3 millimetres thin (Belzy - I don't like thin wrapper on my mochi ice cream). Let it cool a bit before cutting.

Meanwhile, scoope the ice cream with cookies scooper and shape it into a little ball shape. Place it on a plate, then freeze it while waiting you do your mochi wrapper.

Back to the mochi dough, cut the dough into round shape using round cookies mold.

Place an ice cream ball onto the center of the mochi sheet. Fold and joint the edges, then shape it with your hand into nice round mochi.

Put it in the freezer for 30 minutes or until the mochi is settled, but don't too long if you won't your mochi as hard as stone. Enjoy!

CHAWAN MUSI

2010-09-10T18:23:00.000-07:00

Yumm...yumm.....who is dislike chawan musi? I think most people like it, and my hubby is included into those people who dislike chawan musi :(. But, I love it! The first time I tried chawan musi was when I lived in Singapore. I liked to go to Sakura with my dear friend Debby *ahhh I miss her alot!*.

Also, this recipe was given by her on my last day in Singapore. The recipe is quite simple but the taste is rich of flavor!

Chawan Musi

Yield: 4 portions

Ingredients:
3 eggs, beaten and drained
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp sugar
1 tbsp soy sauce Kikkoman brand (Belzy - I guess the brand of the soy sauce is very crucial, it will affect the taste)
500 cc chicken broth
200 gr chicken fillet, boiled and diced
12 pieces shrimp, peeled, leave the tail on
3 pieces shiitake mushroom, soaked and sliced
24 pieces soy bean (optional)

Directions:
Combine eggs, salt, sugar, kikkoman soy sauce and chicken broth, mixed well.
Prepare 4 hotproof bowl. Put in soy beans, chicken diced, shrimp and shiitake into each bowl. Pour in the egg mixture until 3/4 size of bowl.
Steam the egg mixture into a preheated steamer (preheat for 15mins). Steam it until cooked well and the surface of the egg shiny. Serve immediately.

VIETNAMESE CHICKEN SANDWICH (BANH MI)

2010-09-09T12:48:00.000-07:00

This is my first time eating and making this asian sandwich. And, surprisingly vietnamese sandwich is pretty famous in the states. For some reason, I never know or heard it when I lived in asian countries before.

As usual, my dear friend Selly didn't hesitate to share the recipe of vietnamese chicken sandwich to me. *thank you Sel!*

It tasted really good! The freshness of daikon and carrot pickles became the secret of this sandwich. Also, cilantro made the taste rich of flavor. You have to try this asian sandwich if you never have one! I bet you will like it ;).

Vietnamese Chicken Sandwich (Banh Mi)

Ingredients:
6 pieces of soft baguette (Belzy - either buy or homemade baguettes)

For the pickles:
3 cups of daikon (Japanese White Radish), julienned
3 cups of carrot, julienned
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup white vinegar
1/4 tsp salt

For the filling:
4 pieces chicken fillet (or you can use skinless boneless chicken thigh), marinated*
1 cup of cilantro leaf
1/2 cup of red onion, thinly sliced
1 piece of cucumber, thinly sliced
1/4 cup of mayonnaise
Soy sauce and blackpepper

For the chicken marinate:
1/4 cup soy sauce
6 garlic gloves, pasted (you can use mortar&pestle, or food processor)
4 shallots, pasted (you can use mortar&pestle, or food processor)
2 tbsp fish sauce
2 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tbsp sugar
2 tsp five spice powder
1 tsp star anise powder

Directions:
For the pickles:
Combine sugar, white vinegar and salt, stir until dissolved. Place daikon and carrot in a separate bowl. Pour in the vinegar mixture to each bowl. Marinate for 2 hours or more (or it can be made 1 day ahead and chill it in the refrigerator). Drained well. Set aside.

For the chicken:
Mix all marinade ingredients, then marinate the chicken for an hour or overnight.
Before grilling the chicken add 1 tbsp vegetable oil in the chicken marinate.
Grill the chicken until cooked through, transfer to plate, slice it then cover with foil to keep warm.

To Assemble:
Grill or broil baguette for 1 to 2 minutes (Belzy - since my husband is not a fan of crunchy bread I used microwave to warm the baguette), split lengthwise, scoope out some of soft center.
Spread mayonnaise on bottom half of the baguette. Top with cucumber slices, then top with chicken, daikon and carrots pickles, red onion and cilantro. Season with soy sauce and blackpepper. Place top baguette piece over, pressing to compact and serve immediately.

FISH 'n CHIPS with TARTAR SAUCE

2010-09-01T21:21:00.000-07:00

It's been long time since I never eat fish n chips, even though I stayed in the states which fish n chips are sold everywhere. So after I am done with the knowledge test for my driving license, I came home and prepared everything while my hubby went to a gun store with his friend.

Alton Brown's fish n chips is my choice this time, and as usual I made a little changes in the recipe. He used brown beer instead of water. You can't taste the beer tho. Also, I made my homemade tartar sauce ;). Overall, it tasted really good!! Do you wanna try? ;)

Fish 'n Chips with Tartar Sauce

Ingredients
For the fries:
1 gallon oil
5 large Russet potatoes
Kosher salt

For the batter:
2 cups flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1 bottle brown beer, cold
1 1/2 pounds firm-fleshed whitefish (tilapia, pollock, cod), cut into 1-ounce strips (Belzy - I prefer basa fillet or dori)
Cornstarch, for dredging

For the Tartar Sauce:
5 tablespoons mayonnaise
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon chopped parsley
1 teaspoon onion, thinly diced
1-1/2 teaspoons sugar (or if you like sweet, you can add more sugar)

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 200`F.

Heat the oil in a big skillet over high heat until it reaches 320 degrees.

Slice the potatoes with the skin on into big chunks. Place in a large bowl with cold water.

In a bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, cayenne pepper, and oregano. Whisk in the beer until the batter is completely smooth and free of any lumps. Refrigerate for 15 minutes. (The batter can be made up to 1 hour ahead of time)

Drain potatoes thoroughly, removing any excess water. When oil reaches 320 degrees, submerge the potatoes in the oil. Working in small batches, fry for 2 to 3 minutes until they are pale and floppy. Remove from oil, drain, and cool to room temperature.

Increase the temperature of the oil to 375 degrees. Re-immerse fries and cook until crisp and golden brown, about 2 to 3 minutes. Remove and drain on roasting rack. Season with kosher salt while hot and hold in the oven.

Allow oil to return to 350 degrees. Lightly dredge fish strips in cornstarch. Working in small batches, dip the fish into batter and immerse into hot oil. When the batter is set, turn the pieces of fish over and cook until golden brown, about 2 minutes. Drain the fish on the roasting rack. Serve with tartar sauce.

Tartar Sauce: mix all ingredients and stir them well.

FRENCH APPLE TARTE

2010-08-30T20:02:00.000-07:00

No egg, simple ingredients and simple methods :). I love this kind of recipe. My perfect recipe when I am lazy but want to make something for dessert.
I got the recipe from my dearly friend, Selly. She became my exchange-recipes-friend now :).

Don't worry, tho it didn't use egg, the tarte tasted good! If you are bored with sponge cake, I recommend this-without-egg-tarte. And, if you dislike apple, you can substituted it with blueberry, strawberry, chocolate chip or plain.

French Apple Tarte

Ingredients:
1-1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup fresh milk
2/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp vanilla powder
1 tsp cocoa powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 piece apple, peeled, cored, diced.

Methods:
In a mixing bowl, mix all ingredients except cocoa powder and apple. Mix until smooth and no more lumps. Mix 2 tbsps batter with cocoa powder until thoroughly mixed.

Add apple into the main batter, toss well. Pour cocoa mixture in the center of the batter, then swirl it with a chopstick (as you made marble cake)
Pour the batter into 8-inch baking pan, sprinkle it with cinnamon. Bake it in the preheated oven 350`F (180`C) for 30 to 40 minutes or until the toothpick inserted in the center of the cake come out clean. Cool it first before cut it.

TONGSENG KAMBING

2010-08-28T20:05:00.000-07:00

When we went to 99 ranch market, suddenly, my hubby asking me can I cook goat meat. Then, after I assured him that I can cook the goat meat, he left me at the vegetables' aisle and came back with a pack of raw goat meat.

At home, I was thinking to make goat satay but unfortunately, my hubby chose the meat with bone, so I chose tongseng kambing (goat stew) to introduce the taste of goat meat to my hubby.

Some tongseng using coconut milk, but my hubby is not a fan of coconut milk soup or curry, so I used the recipe without coconut milk. And.....he liked the taste but he dislike the meat texture. He said, "It is too stringy, and it stucked between my tooth!"

Myself, I am not a big fan of goat meat because this meat is good for people who has low blood pressure only. For those who has high blood pressure and any other diseases such as, high cholesterol, diabetic, etc please do not eat this meat. And for healthy people, don't eat goat meat too much if you want to have a long life :).

Anyway, the tongseng itself is good, especially at cold/winter season. I got the recipe from Dapur Bunda, and I add some herbs to avoid the goat smell :).

Tongseng Kambing

Ingredients:
300 gr goat meat, with or without bone
1/2 piece napa cabbage, thinly sliced
3 pieces tomato, sliced
50 cc Indonesian sweet soy sauce
2 cups water
4 tbsps butter/margarine
2 piece lime, squeezed
4 cloves shallot, sliced
3 cloves garlic, sliced
2 pieces red chilli, sliced
10 pieces thai chilli
Salt and pepper, to taste

Spice Pasted:
2 cloves garlic, pasted
2 tbsps ground coriander, panbroiled
1 tsp ground cumin

Directions:
Drizzle goat meat with half of lime juice. Put the meat and water in pressure cooker, then tenderize it for 25 to 30 minutes.
In a big pan, stir fry spice pasted, shallot and garlic with butter until fragrant. Pour in the meat altogether with the broth. Bring to boil. Add in cabbage, cook until a big soft. Add in Indonesian sweet soy sauce, red chilli, thai chilli and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Add tomato 3 minutes before you turn the heat off. Drizzle it with lime juice. Serve it with hot rice and sambal oelek.

YOU TIAO (CRISP CHINESE CRULLER)

2010-08-26T15:34:00.000-07:00

The best companion of rice porridge or just eat it with garlic-chilli sauce. In Jakarta, we liked to eat it by dip it in garlic-chilli sauce only, it tasted good! I taught my hubby to eat it with garlic-chilli sauce and he like it :). He said the texture became so soft. Indonesian people called it cakwe.

Actually, lots of asian markets sold you tiao, but it didn't as crunchy as if you buy fresh you tiao, and the you tiao sold at asian market is too oily. Perhaps, the you tiao doesn't fresh anymore.

Honestly, until now I still can't believe that I made you tiao, because when I saw the lady who sold you tiao is frying it, it seemed really hard. But, when I tried make it, it was not that hard.

So, are you dare to try?

You Tiao / Cakwe
Source: Melrose Flowers

Ingredients:
YOU TIAO:
500 gr all-purpose flour
400 cc water
1 tbsp baking powder
2 tsps baking soda
1-1/2 tsps salt
Vegetable oil for frying

GARLIC-CHILLI SAUCE:
6 cloves garlic, pasted
2 tbsps sambal oelek (or you can use 3 pieces red chilli, pasted)
2 tbsps vinegar
1 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
100 cc warm water

Directions:
For the you tiao:
In a big bowl, combine baking powder, baking soda and salt. Pour in water and stir it until free of lumps. Add in flour and stir it well. Let it rest 15 to 20 minutes. The dough's texture is little bit wet and sticky at this point.

Take the dough from the edge and fold it to the center of the dough, let it rest for 15 to 20 minutes. Repeat it until 3 or 4 times until the dough smooth and elastic.

Flip the dough over and brush it with oil. Let it rest for 1 hour.

Remove the dough into plastic wrap which is greased with oil. Form it into long square. Let it rest for 4 hours. If you make more than 500 gr, you should divide it and wrap it based on 500 gr only.

On a floured surface, using your hands, pull the dough slowly. The dough will be formed into very long square (length: 25 cm; width: 6 cm). Sprinkle it with flour.
Cut the dough into 1 cm width. Stack 2 pieces dough and press dough (middle length area) with a skewer. Then, pull it into 20 cm length. Dump it in a very hot oil and deep fry it until swell and brown on both sides. Serve it with rice porridge or garlic-chilli sauce.

OR, you can see this link for the steps of making you tiao.

For the garlic-chilli sauce:
Mix all ingredients, stir well.

CHOI PAN

2010-08-25T19:38:00.000-07:00

Choi pan....choi pan....how I miss you!! That's true, since I lived in the states choi pan became something expensive. Why? Because the only way I can buy it by going back to Indonesia :).

Luckily, there is google and all the good technologies where everything is on your fingertips. So, I found the recipe of choi pan. Actually, I found 2 recipes that have similarity on the ingredients and the methods, the only different is the first recipe is using rice flour and the other recipe is using tang mien flour. And, I tried both recipe.

For the choi pan wrapper, it is better to use tang mien flour than rice flour. The texture of the dough is softer if you use rice flour, and very fragile *easy to tear up when I tried to wrap the choi pan filling*.
The filling and the chilli sauce are incredibly good!! I like it.....also my hubby :).

Choi Pan
Source: Ci Stella

Ingredients:
WRAPPER DOUGH:
180 gr tang mien flour (aka wheat starch)
50 gr corn starch
50 gr all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
450 cc water
50 cc olive oil

FILLING:
2 tbsps olive oil
6 cloves garlic, chopped
300 gr jicama, coarse shredded, squeeze if there is water in the shredded jicama
150 gr fresh shrimp, diced
100 gr dried shrimp, soak in the hot water for 10 minutes, chopped
1 tbsp sugar

GARLIC SAUCE:
20 cloves garlic, chopped
50 cc vegetable oil

CHILLI SAUCE:
50 gr red chilli, seeded, boiled and pasted
250 cc warm water
1 tbsp sugar
2 tbsps vinegar
1 tsp salt
4 cloves garlic, pasted

Directions:
For the filling:
In a pan, stir fry chopped garlic until fragrant. Stir in the rest of ingredients until cooked. Remove from the heat, let it cool before using it.

For the wrapper dough:
In a saucepan, combine all dry ingredients, stir in gradually warm water while keep stirring until free lumps. Bring to simmer until the mixture turn into an elastic dough.

On a floured surface, shape a 35 grams dough into a flat disc, fill it with the filling, then wrap it into half-moon shape or shape it into pastel goreng shape.
Steam the ready choi pan over high heat for 10 to 15 minutes or until the choi pan is cooked thoroughly. Serve it warm with garlic sauce and chilli sauce.

For the garlic sauce:
In a small pan, stir fry garlic with olive oil over medium high heat until the garlic browned.

For the chilli sauce:
In a small bowl, mix all chilli ingredients. Ready to use

KIELBASA IN BRAIDED BREAD

2010-08-23T17:01:00.000-07:00

This bread reminds me to a bakery shop in Jakarta. They sold braided sausage bread where other bakeries sold a classic sausage bread. Usually, I made the classic sausage bread (aka pig in the blanket), but this time, I tried to make the fancy sausage bread.

Since the fancy sausage bread is unusual, so I tried hard to find the way how they made it. And I saw ci Stella's blog which is posting this braided sausage bread, but unfortunately, she didn't post the steps of braiding. I asked her and she replied me, but I still can't picture it well.

At last, I made it based on 6 strands braided bread and insert the sausage pieces in the braided bread, and the result was not bad at all, tho it is not as nice as ci Stella's braided sausage bread.

For the bread, I used soft bread recipe from NCC which is became my favorite bread recipe. And, for the sausage, I made Polish-Type sausage or also known as Kielbasa. Originally this sausage is made of pork and beef mix, but I made it of beef only, and spicy ;). It tasted good tho :).

Let me share it with you...

Braided Sausage Bread

Yield: 4 big size sausage bread

Ingredients:
1 soft bread recipe

For Kielbasa:
3/4 lb beef sirloin
1/4 lb beef chuck
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp mustard powder
1/8 tsp ground white pepper
1/2 tsp marjoram
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 tbsp chilli flakes, optional (skip it if you dislike spicy)

Egg Wash:
1 egg yolk
3 tbsps milk (or evaporated milk)

Directions:
For the kielbasa:
Cut meat into small cube, freeze it until a half frozen.
Mix all spices, toss it into the meats. Grind with coarse (1/4-inch) grinder plate. After all meats are grinded, mix the meat mixture using paddle attachmentfor for approx.3 minutes.
Using sausage stuffer, stuff the meats into sausage casings. After that, simmer in 180F water for 15 minutes.
Pan fry the sausage until both sides are brown. Slice it into 1/2 cm wide. Set aside.

For the braided bread:
Weigh dough 30 gr each, and shape it into a small ball shape. Make strand from the small ball dough. Braid it base on 6 strands braided bread. Please go to this link for the braiding steps.
Insert sausage pieces all over the braided bread. Brush it with egg wash. Then, bake it into preheated 350`F oven for 20 to 30 minutes or until the breads are brown.

CINNAMON ROLLS with CREAM CHEESE ICING

2010-08-23T08:09:00.000-07:00

My second attempt after the first one I made it without icing, and it gained complains from my hubby :).

And now I know why did he complain before, because cinnamon rolls were born to eat with icing, so without icing, it's like eating food without salt.

Just try this....;)

Cinnamon Rolls with Cream Cheese Icing
Source: Alton Brown

Ingredients:
Dough:
4 large egg yolks, room temperature
1 large whole egg, room temperature
1/4 cup (2 ounces) sugar
6 tbsps (3 ounces) unsalted butter, melted
6 ounces sour cream, room temperature (you can use buttermilk or plain yogurt)
4 cups (20 ounces) all-purpose flour, plus additional for dusting
2-1/4 tsps (1 package) instant dry yeast, approximately 2 1/4 teaspoons
1 1/4 tsps kosher salt
Vegetable oil or cooking spray

Filling:
1 cup packed (8 ounces) light brown sugar
1 tbsp ground cinnamon
Pinch salt
1-1/2 tbsps (3/4-ounce) unsalted butter, melted

Icing:
1/4 cup (2 1/2 ounces) cream cheese, softened
3 tbsps milk
1-1/2 cups (5 1/2 ounces) powdered sugar (Belzy - I used 1 cup Splenda Sweetener)

Directions:
For The Dough:
In the bowl of a stand mixer with the whisk attachment, whisk the egg yolks, whole egg, sugar, butter, and buttermilk. Add approximately 2 cups of the flour along with the yeast and salt; whisk until moistened and combined. Remove the whisk attachment and replace with a dough hook. Add all but 3/4 cup of the remaining flour and knead on low speed for 5 minutes. Check the consistency of the dough, add more flour if necessary; the dough should feel soft and moist but not sticky. Knead on low speed 5 minutes more or until the dough clears the sides of the bowl. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface; knead by hand about 30 seconds. Lightly oil a large bowl. Transfer the dough to the bowl, lightly oil the top of the dough, cover and let double in volume, 2 to 2 1/2 hours.

For The Filling:
Combine the brown sugar, cinnamon and salt in a medium bowl. Mix until well incorporated. Set aside until ready to use.

To Assemble:
Butter a 9 by 13-inch glass baking dish. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. Gently shape the dough into a rectangle with the long side nearest you. Roll into an 18 by 12-inch rectangle. Brush the dough with the 3/4-ounce of melted butter, leaving 1/2-inch border along the top edge. Sprinkle the filling mixture over the dough, leaving a 3/4-inch border along the top edge; gently press the filling into the dough. Beginning with the long edge nearest you, roll the dough into a tight cylinder. Firmly pinch the seam to seal and roll the cylinder seam side down. Very gently squeeze the cylinder to create even thickness. Using a serrated knife, slice the cylinder into 1 1/2-inch rolls; yielding 12 rolls. Arrange rolls cut side down in the baking dish; cover tightly with plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator overnight or up to 16 hours.

Remove the rolls from the refrigerator and place in an oven that is turned off. Fill a shallow pan 2/3-full of boiling water and set on the rack below the rolls. Close the oven door and let the rolls rise until they look slightly puffy; approximately 30 minutes. Remove the rolls and the shallow pan of water from the oven.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

When the oven is ready, place the rolls on the middle rack and bake until golden brown, or until the internal temperature reaches 190 degrees F on an instant-read thermometer, approximately 30 minutes.

For The Icing
While the rolls are cooling slightly, make the icing by whisking the cream cheese in the bowl of a stand mixer until creamy. Add the milk and whisk until combined. Sift in the powdered sugar, and whisk until smooth. Spread over the rolls and serve immediately.

FUDGE ROASTED BANANA ICE CREAM

2010-08-21T15:57:00.000-07:00

Since there 4 containers of ice creams with various flavor are sitting quietly in our freezer, I promised myself that I will not make any ice cream until those ice creams in our freezer are gone. But, promise is just a promise, when I saw very ripe bananas in the kitchen, I rushed find roasted banana ice cream recipe in The Perfect Scoop by David Lebovitz that I bought few weeks ago. I made a little changes on the recipe, but that is not too significant on the taste.

And.....voila......this roasted banana ice cream is really tasty and rich of banana flavor. With few slices of banana and few drops of classic chocolate fudge on top of the ice cream, it just created a perfect pairing and a strong flavor of this ice cream.

My hubby and I just love it! :)

Fudge Roasted Banana Ice Cream

Yield: 1 quart (1 liter)

Ingredients:
4 medium-sized ripe bananas, peeled
1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
1 tbsp butter,cut into small pieces
1 cup half and half
1/2 cup whole milk
2 tbsps Splenda sweetener
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1-1/2 tsps freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/4 tsp salt

Garnish:
1 medium-sized ripe banana, peeled and sliced into 1/2-cm
Classic Chocolate fudge

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 400`F (200`C).
Slice the bananas into 1/2-inch (2cm) pieces and toss them with the brown sugar and butter in a ovenproof baking dish. Bake for 40 minutes, stirring just once during baking, until the bananas are browned and cooked through
Scrape the bananas and the thick syrup in the baking dish into a blender or food processor. Add the milk, granulated sugar, vanilla, lemon juice and salt, and puree until smooth.
Chill the mixtrue thoroughly in the refrigerator, then freeze it in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions. If the chilled mixture is too thick to pour into your machine, whisking will thin it out.

To assemble:
In a serving glass, put banana slices, top it with banana ice cream, then layer it with another banana slices, and top it with a ball shape banana ice cream. Drizzle it generously with classic chocolate fudge. Serve it immediately.

BAKSO BIHUN KUAH

2010-08-20T11:39:00.000-07:00

For some reason, to me, Indonesian meatballs are different than any other meatballs I ever ate. From the texture and the taste are all different. That is why I forced myself to make the meatballs by myself.

And, I found the recipe from NCC. It is good!! The meatballs' texture is a little bit chewy, really reminds me to 'abang bakso' near my home in Jakarta. I made 2 kinds of meatballs, meatball with egg filling and regular meatball. So, I used 3 times recipes from the original recipe.

Now, let's try it....

Bakso Bihun Kuah

Ingredients:
750 gr beef leg
300 gr cubed ice
2 tbsps salt (Belzy - if you like salty, you can add another 1 tbsp)
120 gr tapioca flour or sago flour
4 eggs, hard boiled
2 liter boiling water
A half pack rice vermicelli, soak in the water until soft and boiled
A bunch of yu choy (or choy sum), cut and boil
2 tbsps fried shallot
2 tbsps spring onion, sliced
4 cloves garlic, paste it with mortar&pestle
Salt, sugar and pepper, to taste

Condiments:
Chilli sauce (recipe below)

Directions:
Blend beef and cubed ice in food processor until smooth. Blend in salt until thoroughly mixed, and add in tapioca flour, mix until thoroughly mixed.
In a big bowl, prepare a very cold water.
For regular meatballs, squeeze the meat mixture through your thumb and index fingers, and shape it into ball shape. Or, using 2 spoons and form the meat mixture into ball form. Dump the meatballs everytime you done with the forming.
For meatballs with egg filling, wrap the egg with meat mixture, and shape it into a ball shape. Dump it into cold water.
After you done the forming thingy, boil 2 liter water until boiled. Then, dump all the meatballs into the boiling water, boil them until the meatballs' color changed and they are floating. Season with garlic, salt, sugar and pepper, to taste.

To assemble:
In a serving bowl, put boiled rice vermicelli and yu choy. Pour in the meatballs and the soup. Sprinkle with spring onion and fried shallot. Serve it with chilli sauce

Chilli Sauce

Ingredients:
4 cloves garlic
5 - 10 thai chillis or bird's eye chilli
Salt and sugar, to taste
1 piece lime
1 tbsp water

Directions:
Pound the garlic and thai chilli with mortar & pestle until almost smooth, pound in sugar and salt until mixed. Add in water and squeeze in lime. Ready to serve.

LUPIS

2010-08-13T18:25:00.000-07:00

When I was a kid, there was an auntie in our neighborhood who sold kue lupis. Hers was so good, the lupis was so soft and I never found that kind lupis at other place. Some shops were selling lupis too, but theirs weren't that soft. So, to me the auntie's lupis is the best.

Then, when I was about at junior high school, we never buy kue lupis from the auntie anymore. I heard from my mom, the auntie was fallen sick and noone regenerated her kue lapis.

Yesterday, out of nowhere, I really want to eat kue lupis, perhaps it's because I saw lupis at My Kitchen. But, unfortunately, I lived in this far far away country, so I'm unable buy it. The only way is making it by myself. I searched the recipe and I found it here.

The recipe is really simple and needn't too much ingredients. The only struggle thing for me is wrapping. You need to make sure the glutinous rice are tightly wrapped with banana leaves. It's alot easier than wrapping bacang tho! :).

On my first bite.....gosh....it reminds me to auntie's kue lupis. The texture of the lupis is so soft and the taste just like auntie's kue lupis. I'm just so happy to find this recipe :)......

Lupis

Ingredients:
For Lupis:
500 gr glutinous rice
1/2 tbsp lime stone water
Banana leaves

For sugar sauce:
150 gr Indonesian palm sugar, shredded
75 cc water
1 piece of pandan leaf

For coconut coating: (steamed)
150 gr grated coconut
1 tsp salt

Directions:
LUPIS:
Soak glutinous rice in the water for 1 hour. Then, wash and rinse it. Drain it from the water. Drizzle with lime stone water, toss it evenly. Ready to use.
Cut banana leaves into 3-inches (7.5cm) wide, then wrap the glutinous rice with the banana leaves into triangle shape. Please go to this link to see the steps of glutinous rice wrapping.
Place all the uncooked lupis in a deep stewpan then pour water until all the uncooked lupis is covered by water. Boil it for 2 to 3 hours over medium high heat.
Cool it first before the lupis is ready to unwrap. After the lupis is unwrapped, dump it into steamed coconut and coating the lupis with the coconut.
Place the coated lupis on a serving plate and pour the sauce. Then....let's eat :0

SUGAR SAUCE:
Heat the Indonesian palm sugar, pandan leaf and water over high heat until the palm sugar is melted. Remove from the heat, ready to use.

PORTUGUESE EGG TART

2010-08-11T17:40:00.001-07:00

We are talking about the famous egg tart from Macau....Yup...yup....the crunchy shell mixed together with the softness egg curd just brought back those romantic scene at Ruins of St. Paul's.....*haaaa....if you know what I mean, so you watched F4 movie :)*.

I ate and tasted this famous egg tart when I visited Macau two years ago. Macau is an Asian Las Vegas with those casinos and clubs everywhere, and the city looked 'alive' at night and nothing special at daytime.

Since Macau was under Portuguese before don't be surprised with their portuguese name on the road also some building was portuguese-look-alike tho the local people there are speaking Mandarin *or hokkian language*. But don't worry, some of them can speak English as well.

Well, if you visit Macau, you should go to Senado Square where that place becomes a tourist place, not only for shopping but also for the 'museum'. You'll find Ruins of St. Paul's there and other old buildings which were built by Portuguese at that time.

I tried to make portuguese egg tart at home, just wondering will my hubby like it? Of cos he like it because egg tart is sweet :), tho I used Splenda we still taste the sweetness on the curd.

It is different from 'tart susu' *Indonesian egg tart I guess*. I used pie crust recipe for the shell, and I got the egg curd recipe from here.

Shall we try now? ;)

Portuguese Egg Tart
Yield: 17 pieces (standard muffin pan)

Ingredients:
For Crust:
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for rolling
1 cup (2 sticks or 8 ounces) unsalted butter, very-cold, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
4 to 8 Tbsp ice water

For Egg Curd:
10 egg yolks
2/3 cup of sugar
1 cup of heavy whipping cream
2/3 cup of milk
1 tsp of vanilla extract

Directions:
Egg Curd:
Use a mixer, blend egg yolks, sugar, heavy whipping cream and milk until thoroughly blended.
In a separate bowl, put a strainer over the bowl. Strain the egg mixture with a strainer and mix in vanilla extract. Ready to use. (keep it in the refrigerator if you don't want to use it immediately)

Pie Crust:
Combine flour, salt, and sugar in a bowl; toss it with a pastry cutter. Add butter and toss it again, until mixture resembles coarse meal, with pea size pieces of butter. Add ice water 1 Tbsp at a time, tossing until mixture just begins to clump together. If you pinch some of the crumbly dough and it holds together, it's ready. If the dough doesn't hold together, add a little more water and toss again.

Remove dough from bowl and place in a mound on a clean surface. Gently shape into a disc. Knead the dough just enough to form the disc, do not over-knead. You should be able to see little bits of butter in the dough. These small chunks of butter are what will allow the resulting crust to be flaky. Sprinkle a little flour around the discs. Wrap each disc in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 1 hour, and up to 2 days.

Preheat oven to 400`F and grease muffin pan, set aside.

Remove one crust disk from the refrigerator. Let sit at room temperature for 5-10 minutes in order to soften just enough to make rolling out a bit easier. On a floured surface, roll the dough and cut it into 17 balls. Flatten the balls into small rounds and fit them well into the muffin pan by pressing firmly on bottom and side (do not over stretch). Fill the pie crust dough with the egg mixture (about 80% full).

Bake the Portuguese Egg Tarts at 400F for about 15-20 minutes or until the filling turn brown. Enjoy!

FISH KATSU BALL

2010-08-09T19:26:00.000-07:00

My first plan was making kushikatsu, but then in the middle of chopping the fish, there was a little tiny thinking accross into my mind that 'hey, why don't I make something different?'

And........voila.....I introduced my new recipe that I named Fish Katsu Ball. Why did it name so? Fish....because the main ingredient is fish. Katsu.....because it is deep fried and covered with bread crumbs just like chicken katsu except the ball shape. Ball.....because the shape is round like a ball :).

Do you wanna try?....

Fish Katsu Ball

Ingredients:
1 lb fish fillet (I used pangasius fish), grind
3 cloves garlic, chopped
2 stalks spring onion, thinly sliced
5 tbsps all-purpose flour
2 egg whites
2 tbsps fish sauce
Salt and pepper, to taste
150 gr bread crumbs (I used Panko bread crumbs)
150 ml oil

Directions:
Mix ground fish, garlic, flour, spring onion, and egg whites, season with fish sauce, salt and pepper, to taste. (the fish batter is little bit wet, so you need 2 spoons to shape it into ball form)
In a frying pan, heat the oil over medium high heat. Once the oil is hot, reduce the heat into medium heat.
Using 2 tablespoons, form the fish batter into small ball form. Dump the fish ball into the bread crumbs, make sure the balls fully covered by the bread crumbs.
Fry it until cooked and golden brown. Serve it with chilli sauce.

LONTONG SAYUR

2010-08-04T17:49:00.000-07:00

It's been ages I don't eat lontong sayur, I think since I left Indonesia I never taste lontong sayur anymore. Though I moved to Singapore which is easy to find lots of malay foods there, but for some reason I can't find it. I might never missed it too.

Suddenly, last few days ago I do really want to eat lontong sayur. But, in America where can I find lontong sayur? So, I tried to make by myself. And it tasted good to me, but not for my hubby.

The first time he saw the lontong's gravy, he asked me,"Is that curry?" and giving me sick-face-looking :(. Tho I told him it wasn't, he still not a fan of it. He ate a bowl tho, but then everytime I asked him, "Do you want lontong sayur?" He shaked his head :).

Now I know, after all this time I thought he liked almost all Indonesian food, lontong sayur is an exception :).

However, I still like lontong sayur ;).

Lontong Sayur

Ingredients:
4 pieces lontong, cut into square
5 chayote squashes, cut into strips
A bunch of green bean or chickpeas, cut it
500 ml coconut milk
2 cm galangal, smashed
1 stalk lemon grass, the white only
3 pieces bay leave
3 pieces red chilli, slice
Salt and pepper, to taste

Spice Paste:
7 cloves shallot
5 cloves garlic
50 gr Indonesian palm sugar, grated
3 tbsps sambal oelek
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp salt
1-1/2 tbsps dried shrimp (aka ebi)

Additional:
Telor Balado
Shrimp Crackers

Directions:
Stir fry spice paste over medium-high heat until half done. Add in lemon grass, galangal, bay leaves and sliced chilli, stir fry until fragrant. Pour in coconut milk, stir well and until the coconut is bubbling. Add in chayote squash, green bean, season with salt and pepper, to taste. Bring to boil. Turn off the heat.

Serving: place lontong into a serving bowl. Pour in the gravy. Add in telor balado and crackers. Serve it immediately.

COOKIES 'n CREAM ICE CREAM

2010-08-03T13:32:00.000-07:00

Wooohoooo.......I'm so in love with ice cream now, emmmm....more in love to the ice cream making process :). Since I have an ice cream maker, this is my second ice cream that I made....errr actually my first ice cream because the previous one is sorbet.

Making ice cream is not that easy, even though I can't say it is hard either. Most of time when we make our homemade ice cream, when we keep it in the freezer the ice cream will become hard. So, we need to know the secrets if we want to make softer ice cream *like the one that sold in the market* and less-icy texture when we keep it in the freezer.

Luckily, there is a guy named David Lebovitz who is willing to share the tips/secrets to make our homemade ice cream softer, just like those commercial ice cream.

And guess what? My homemade ice cream is just as soft as those commercial ice cream, though I kept it few days in the freezer. Also, I used splenda as the sweetener, and it didn't change the texture :).

So....are you ready to make your own homemade ice cream?

Cookies 'n Cream Ice Cream
Yield: 20 servings (120ml per serving)

Ingredients:
2-1/2 cups (590ml) half-and-half
8 egg yolks
1 cup (235ml)sugar (Belzy -- I substituted to Splenda Sweetener)
2-1/2 cups (590ml) whipping cream (Belzy -- or heavy cream)
4 tsps (20ml) vanilla extract (Belzy -- I used vanilla essence clear Wilton)
1/8 tsp (.5ml) salt
2 cups chopped cream-filled oreo

Directions:
In medium saucepan over medium heat, heat half-and-half until very hot but not boiling, stirring often. Remove from heat. Set aside.

Place egg yolks and sugar in mixer bowl, then mix about 30 seconds, or until well blended and slightly thickened (If you use standing mixer, attach the wire whip to whip the egg yolks and sugar. Turn to speed 2).

Gradually add half-and-half, mix until blended. Return half-and-alf mixture to medium saucepan, cook over medium heat until small bubbles form around edge and mixture is steamy, stirring constantly. Do not boil.

Transfer half-and-half mixture into large bowl. Stir in whipping cream, vanilla and salt. Cover and refrigerate until thoroughly chilled.

Prepare and assemble your ice cream maker (according to your manufacturer's book). Using a container with a spout, pour mixture into freeze bowl, and do the rest of the steps according to your manufacturer's book. (Belzy -- normally churning for 15 to 20 minutes). Add chopped oreo during last 2 minutes of churning time. Immediately transfer ice cream into serving dishes, or freeze in an airtight container.

STRAWBERRY SORBET

2010-08-02T17:13:00.000-07:00

Ayayayayay.......at last my generous hubby bought me an ice cream maker! I am sooooo happy, because I want this ice cream maker long long long time ago. Everytime I asked him to buy me one, he always said no to me. But, suddenly after lots of begging, he took me to Frys and bought it for me. Also, after we bought the ice cream maker, we continued to watch Dinner with Schmucks .... yaaayyy what a day!

So, to let him think that it is not a wasting thing to buy me this ice cream maker, I tried to make sorbet. Since this is summer when all the berries are cheap, I chose to make strawberry sorbet. And the sorbet turned so good! I like it.

When I asked my hubby to taste it, his comment was,"make real ice cream next time". hahahaha, yeaaa sorbet is not his fave. He is more to creamy milky ice cream person, but me, I am more to fruity ice cream person.

So, here it is my first homemade sorbet ever.....

Strawberry Sorbet
Yield: 8 servings (1 cup/235ml per serving)

Ingredients:
6 cups (1.5 liter) fresh strawberry
1/4 cup (60 ml) plus 2 tbsps (30 ml) water (Belzy -- use drinking water)
1-1/4 cup (295 ml) simple syrup (recipe below)

Directions:
In a juicer/blender/food processor, mix strawberries and water, blend it until smooth. Pour through fine mesh strainer. To extract as much liquid as possible press down lightly on solids trapped in strainer. Discard solids.
Keep liquid into airtight container/bottle and refrigerate until thoroughly chilled.
Prepare and assemble your ice cream maker (as per manufacture). Combine chilled strawberry juice and chilled simple syrup. Pour mixture into ice cream maker bowl, and do the rest of the steps as per your ice cream maker's manufacture book.
Once the sorbet reaches desired consistency, immediately transfer sorbet into airtight container and freeze at least 2 hours before serving.

Simple Syrup
Yield: 3 cups (710 ml)

Ingredients:
2 cups (475 ml) sugar (Belzy -- I used Splenda)
2 cups (475 ml) drinking water

Directions:
Combine sugar and water in saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Cook and stir until sugar dissolves completely. Transfer to ice bath, stirring until well chilled. Refrigerate until ready to use.

PISANG MOLEN (INDONESIAN BANANA FRITTERS)

2010-08-01T19:01:00.001-07:00

Who doesn't know pisang molen? I bet 100% of Indonesian people know this fried snack which is made of banana wrapped in flour dough. Usually, we bought it from a vendor so called 'abang gorengan' (or frying man?).

In Jakarta, there are plenty of 'abang gorengan' who sold all kind of fried foods, such as pisang goreng (or fried banana), bakwan goreng (vegie fritters), tahu goreng (fried tofu), singkong/ubi goreng (fried cassava/yam), and pisang molen.
The way of making the pisang molen's wrapper is really unique. You just cut the dough into strips (of course after you roll it), then wind it around the banana. Mostly we used small bananas rather than a normal size banana. But, some people (including me) are using the normal size banana then cut it into 3. From my experience, using small bananas are alot easier on the winding.

My hubby like it so much until he kept coming back to the kitchen when I am still frying it :).

Also, I want to submit it to Masbar Edisi Juli 2010.

Pisang Molen
Source: AGs Food

Ingredients:
375 gr all-purpose flour
75 gr sugar powder
150 gr butter/margarine
150 cc water
2/3 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla powder
14 pieces small banana (Belzy -- I used del monte), peeled

Directions:
In a big bowl, combine flour, sugar, salt and fanilla powder, mix well. Knead in butter. Pour water gradually while continuously kneading the dough.
Remove dough into a clean surface work. Roll the dough with rolling pin into 6 to 10mm thickness. Cut it into strips 1-inch wide. Then, winding each dough strips onto banana.
In a pan, deep fry the banana over medium high heat until golden brown. Serve it warm with a cup of hot tea...yummm..

HONGKONG PORK CHOP BAKED RICE

2010-07-29T12:52:00.000-07:00

I saw baked rice from Rita's blog, then it made me wondering how's the taste of cheese, soy sauce and rice in one plate. So, I sourced the recipe, and from all the recipes, I chose this one.

I never eat hongkong pork chop baked rice before, and honestly to think of eating rice with cheese somehow made me lose my appetite. But, I can't judge the taste of food by my imagination only, right. So, this morning after my hubby left for shooting with his friends, I prepared everything needed to make baked rice.
The recipe itself is simple, only the amount of ingredients are alot! But luckily, I have almost all the ingredients :).

As usual, I mixed and matched the ingredients that I don't have. Also, I added carrots and mushrooms. Actually the changes were not too significant.
Suprisingly, this cheesy-chinese-baked-rice is turned so good! No wonder, this dish are very famous in Hongkong *you should try it then you'll know what I meant*.

And the funny thing is happened. When I snapped the photos, there was one photo that I want to show the inside of the baked rice, so I scooped one tablespoon of baked rice. Since I don't want to waste it, so i ate it, and it tasted really good!! Then, after I am done with the photos, I scooped another spoons and another and another....until I realized I ate almost half of the baked rice!! Luckily, I made enough for the rest of the day, so my hubby, for sure, has a chance to taste it ;).

So, are you wondering like me when I saw the pics' of this cheesy baked rice? Then, let's make it... :)

Hongkong Pork Chop Baked Rice

Ingredients:
4 cups cooked rice
8 pieces pork chop (Belzy - pork butt, pork shoulder are all ok)
1 large onion, cut into wedges
1 bell peppers, julienned
2 big carrots, julienned
3 tomatoes, diced
Cheese

Marinade:
1 tsp salt
1 tsp white pepper
1 tbsp light soy sauce
2 tbsps fish sauce
2 tbsps corn starch

Sauce:
4 tbsps shaoxing wine
2 tbsps tomato paste (Belzy -- tomato sauce is ok)
3 tbsps sweet Thai chilli sauce
2 tbsps worcestershire sauce
2 tbsps chilli sauce
2 tsps light soy sauce
1 tsp white pepper
2-4 tbsps water
Olive oil

Directions:
For pork:
Marinade the porks for approx. 30 minutes or more.
Pan fry the pork slices until brown on both sides. Set asied for later use.

For sauce:
Stir fry mushrooms until the water comes out. Drain the mushrooms from the water. Set aside.
Heat oil over high heat,stir in onions until soft. Stir in carrots, stir fry until half soft. Stir in mushrooms, bell pepper and tomatoes. Lower heat to medium, then mix in shaoxing wine, tomato pasta, sweet thai chilli sauce, chilli sauce, worcestershire sauce, light soy sauce, fish sauce and white pepper. Stir fry until the sauce is bubbling.

To assemble:
In an ovenproof dish, spread over cooked rice. Then arrange fried pork chop on the rice. Pour sauce on the pork chop. Sprinkle it with cheese generously. Bake in the preheated 350`F oven for 20 to 30 minutes or until the cheese is melted.

AYAM KALASAN

2010-07-28T15:44:00.000-07:00

Chatting with my long-lost-friend Selly did result homemade food! That's cool, isn't that? We really sound like 'emak2' :).

One day, she made ayam kalasan based on her mom's recipe, and shared the recipe to me. And I am too happy to not make it, because I loved ayam kalasan since I was a little girl.

The taste is really good *to me, a lot better than the one which sold at Indonesian resto here. No offend tho*. Just reminds me to those old days when I lived with my parents and siblings...... *miss you alot guys!*
This time, I tried to bake it instead of fry it. Think, bake is alot healthier than fry, isn't it? ;)

Ayam Kalasan
Source: Selly

Ingredients:
A whole chicken, rinse and cut into 8 pieces
1 log of Indonesian palm sugar
4 pieces of bay leaves
2 cm of galangal, smashed
500 cc of coconut milk
Salt and pepper, to taste

Spice paste:
7 cloves shallots
5 cloves garlic
3 pieces candlenut
1-1/2 tsp cumin powder

Directions:
Boil coconut milk, Indonesian palm sugar, bay leaves, galangal, spice paste, season with salt and pepper, to taste. Add in the chicken, stir well. Bring to simmer until the coconut milk is reduced *thick-alike*.
Separate the chicken from the coconut milk. Place the chicken in a baking sheet. Bake it in the preheated 350`F oven until golden brown. Serve it with yellow saffron rice and sambal bajak.

Sambal Bajak ala Ayam Kalasan

Ingredients:
3 tbsps sambal oelek
3 cloves shallots
2 cloves garlic
1 tomato
1/2 tsp belachan
Salt and sugar, to taste

Directions:
Boil the tomato, then pasted with pestle&mortar together with the rest of ingredients. Bring to simmer the chilli paste, then add in the remaining coconut milk from the ayam kalasan. Simmering until the chilli produced oil.

LEMON-LIME TARTLETS

2010-07-28T15:15:00.000-07:00

Got this recipe from a magazine while I'm waiting my hubby at the doctor's waiting room. It tasted fresh, but too sour *for me*. But I like the tartlet texture. I might change the lemon-lime curd with chocolate curd next time :).

Lemon-Lime Tartlets
Makes: approx. 24

Ingredients:
Crust:
4 tbsps chilled unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1 cup flour
1 tbsp sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 egg yolk
1/4 cup sour cream

Curd:
4 yolks
2 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 tsp grated lemon zest
1 tsp grated lime zest
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
1/3 cup fresh lime juice
1 stick unsalted butter, cut into slices

Directions:
1. Place butter, flour, sugar and slat in bowl of mixer fitted with paddle attachment or in a food processor, mix to form coarse crumbles.
2. In a separate bowl, mix together egg yolk and sour cream. Add to flour mixture and blend until dough just comes together.
3. Shape dough into a round flat disk and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least three hours or overnight.
4. Place egg yolks, eggs, sugar, lemon zest, lime zest and juices in medium saucepan. Heat mixture over medium heat. Whisking constantly until sugar h as dissolved and mixture has reached 150`F. Remove from heat and stir in butter, one piece at a time, stirring until the butter has completely melted.
5. Run curd through a fine sieve to remove any large clumps (best to do this while it's still hot or slightly hot). Cover with plastic wrap placed directly on surface to prevent skin from forming. Refrigerate until ready to use.
6. Preheat oven to 375`F. Rool out dough on a lightly floured surface to 1/8-inch thickness, then cut into individual crusts using a 2-inch biscuit cutter or a 2-inch diameter jar. Press each crust gently into mini cupcake or muffin pan and prick the bottom of each with a fork. Bake until light golden brown, about 10 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.
7. To assemble, fill each shell with 1-1/2 tsp lemon-lime curd and garnish it with a slice of strawberry.

SPICY BEEF MISO RAMEN

2010-07-28T12:46:00.001-07:00

My neglected blog....I'm here!! :). This time I wanna share my experience also experiment on making spicy beef miso ramen from scratch. Yep, scratch for everything, the ramen and the broth for the soup.

In this very hot weather, I don't think it's wise enough to make hot soup, but the urge of making ramen was so huge til it vanquished these hot-sweaty-day! Fyi, I made this ramen few days ago, because current weather is quite cold (to me).

I saw this simple ramen recipe from Astrid's blog, and I wanted to submit it for Cooking Mama #1 : Ramen, so I decided to make it.

I made the ramen with 3 kind of flours (bread flour, cake flour and whole wheat flour) with ratio 2:1:1. For the soup, I made broth of bonito flakes, konbu (dried seaweed) and beef ribs, and it tasted very good! The flavor of the soup remains me of those japanese ramen! I think the bonito flakes and konbu which are gave a different flavor. Beside, I read an article about ramen few months ago that the secret of good ramen is in the soup.

At the end, eating this flavorful hot soup on hot-sweaty-day are forgiven....:)

Spicy Beef Miso Ramen

Ingredients:
3 cups homemade ramen *recipe below*
2 pieces of carrot, julienned
1/2 cup corn kernel (Belzy -- I used frozen corn)
1 piece of uzumaki (japanese fish cake, white-pink in color), sliced
Roasted seaweed

For Miso Soup:
1000cc water + 500 cc water
3 sheets of konbu (dried seaweed)
1 cup bonito flakes
250 gr iga sapi
150 gr sukiyaki)
1-1/2 tsp cayenne powder
1-1/2 tbsp white miso paste
Fish sauce or salt, to taste

Directions:
1. In serving bowl, place blanched ramen, carrot and corn. Set aside.
2. In pressure cooker, boil ribs, konbu and bonito flakes with 1000cc water for 20 to 30 minutes. Or, you can boil them in a regular saucepan, and boil them until the ribs are tender.
3. Drained the ribs, konbu and bonito flakes from the broth. Place the broth in the saucepan, add 500cc water, boil over high heat. Stir in white miso paste, cayenne powder. Season with fish sauce or salt, to taste. Stir well.
4. When the soup starts to boiling, add in sukiyaki, boil until the meat is well done (if you like it medium done, you can skip this step and put the raw sukiyaki on the serving bowl, then pour in hot soup).
5. Take the ready serving bowl, pour in the hot soup. Garnish with sliced uzumaki and sprinkle it with roasted seaweed. Serve immediately.

Homemade Ramen
Yield: 4 portions

Ingredients:
1-1/2 cups bread flour
3/4 cup cake flour
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
4 tbsps water
4 eggs
1 tsp salt

Directions:
1. By hands:
In a big bowl, mix the dry ingredients, make a well in the center, and beat the eggs and water inside. Then slowly combine the ingredients together. Once the ingredients are combined, remove it to a clean counter or bowl, and knead it until the dough a little stiffer than bread dough. In case your dough is too sticky, add some flour and knead it in. If it doesn't stick at all, add some water a few drops at a time.

By standing mixer:
In a mixer bowl, mix the dry ingredients, make a well in the center, and add in the eggs and water inside. Then attached hook attachment, then use speed 2 to mix the ingredients until the dough a little stiffer than bread dough. In case your dough is too sticky, add some flour and knead it in. If it doesn't stick at all, add some water a few drops at a time.

2. Wrap tight the dough with cloth, let it rest for 30 minutes.

3. After 30 minutes, divide dough into 4 portions. Sprinkle some flour generously over the dough, then start to rolling and stretching. You have to roll it super thin (about 1mm), because the dough will be alot swollen when you boil it. If it starts sticking, get some more dry flour onto there. If it starts springing back to its original shape, let it rest for a minute or two.

4. Fold those sheet dough into three, then cut it as your desire (if you like wider noodle, then you cut it a little wide, but if you like thinner noodle, cut it super thin). Repeat the steps until you have no more dough left.

5. Boil water over high heat, dump salt, a pinch or two in it (or you can use olive oil). Let it boiling before you start blanching the noodle.

6. Sprinkle the noodle over the boiling water. DO NOT dump the noodle, they will stick together. Use chopsticks and blanch the noodle until cooked.

7. Ready to use.

BIJI SALAK

2010-07-08T19:39:00.000-07:00

Gosh....I missed Indonesian dessert so badly!! It's been long time I never go back to Indonesia, and it means, the last time I ate Indonesian dessert was 3 yrs ago......heezzz.... Since I arrived Seattle, I can't really find a good Indonesian Restaurant. Yeaaa...there is some of Indonesian Restaurant at downtown, but not all Indonesian dessert that I want sold by them, and it's pretty expensive, also a bit far from my home. So the only way I can enjoy it at my own kitchen, means I have to make it by myself which is I have to search, find or ask my sister in law for the recipe. As you know, when I was in Indonesia, I never make any Indonesian dessert such as onde-onde, ketan item, biji salak or kacang telor.

When I woke up this morning, my mind kept thinking of Indo's dessert, and after I looked around my kitchen drawer, my choice fell on biji salak *yea of course, the only ingredient I have for Indo's dessert is yam (ubi)*. The right choice cos my hubby loved it so much. It tasted sweet on the soup and chewy on the biji salak (but I reduced the sugar, cos both of us dislike it too sweet).
So, here it is Biji Salak from Belzy's Kitchen. Enjoy! :)

BIJI SALAK

Ingredients:
4 pieces yam
150 gram tapioca flour (you can use corn flour as well)
1/2 tsp salt

Sweet Soup:
250 gram palm sugar
200 cc coconut milk (I used Kara)
2 sheets pandanus leave
1 ltr water

Directions :
Steam yam until soft (you can use pressure cooker), softened.
Mix yam and tapioca flour until thoroughly combined.
Make dough become a little round/ball form. Do it until the dough finish.
Boiled water, then add sugar, stir well. Add the yam balls one by one and boil until the ball floats.

Serving:
Placed cooked biji salak in a bowl, then pour in coconut milk.

BEBERUK TERONG

2010-06-28T10:28:00.000-07:00

Beberuk Terong
Source: here

Bahan:
10 btg kacang panjang, potong 2 cm
1 bh tomat
3 bh terung ungu bulat
1 sdm minyak jelantah/ minyak goreng
1 bh jeruk limau

Haluskan:
3 cabe merah keriting
2 bh cabai rawit
1 siung bwg putih
4 siung bwg merah
1 mcm kencur
1 sdt terasi bakar
1 sdt gula pasir
½ sdt garam

Cara Membuat:
Potong terung ungu dadu 1 cm dan potong tomat menjadi 8 bagian.
Letakklan di atas piring saji bersama potongan kacang panjang.
Campur bumbu halus dengan minyak jelantah atau minyak goreng.
Siram di atas sayuran, tambakan perasam jeruk limau di atasnya.

PELECING KANGKUNG

2010-06-28T10:23:00.000-07:00

A friend of ayam taliwang :). Whenever you eat ayam taliwang, you must eat pelecing kangkung and beberuk terong, if you do not eat one of them, the taste of ayam taliwang wouldn't as good as usual. The key of this dish is on the sauce, because you just steam the vegies only.

Pelecing Kangkung
Source: InfoResep.com

Bahan:
150 gr kangkung, siangi
50 gr kacang panjang, siangi
50 gr taoge, siangi
3 sdm kacang tanah, goreng
1 liter air

Bumbu Pelecing Kangkung:
10 buah cabai rawit
1 buah tomat
1/2 sendok teh terasi
Garam secukupnya
1/2 sendok teh gula pasir
1/2 sendok teh
Air jeruk limau

Cara Membuat Pelecing Kangkung :

1.Didihkan air, rebus sayuran bergantian hingga matang dengan urutan taoge, kacang panjang dan kangkung. Angkat dan tiriskan.
2.Haluskan sema bumbu hingga rata.
3.Atur kangkung, taoge, kacang pancang dan kacang tanah di atas piring saji. Tambahkan bumbu halus dan bumbu kelapa di atasnya.
4.Sajikan.

Tips :
Bumbu kelapa dibuat dari kelapa sedang parut yang dibumbui bawang putih, cabai merah, cabai rawit, kencur, daun jeruk, dagarm dan gula. Dimatangkan dengan cara dikukus

AYAM TALIWANG

2010-06-28T05:54:00.000-07:00

Who doesn't know ayam taliwang, the famous dish from Lombok (also, you can find it at Bali as well). The original taste is super spicy, so if you dislike spicy, don't even try this dish, this dish will burnt your tongue!

The last time I ate ayam taliwang was 8 years ago. That time my mom and I went to Bali, and we did 'wisata kuliner'. Beside bebek bengil, nasi bali and roast pork, we challenged ourselves to try ayam taliwang, and it tasted really good! We love spicy food, that's why we like ayam taliwang so much.

Yesterday, for some reason, I want to make this signature dish of Lombok, *that's why I love live in America, cos lots of asian herbs and spices are available here*. but of cos I made it mild, if I made it super spicy, then I am the only one who should eat the whole portion. It tasted good tho, my hubby liked it. Also, I made 'best friends of ayam taliwang' pelecing kangkung (steamed ong choy and bean sprout with spicy tomato garlic sauce) and beberuk terong (fresh thai eggplants with spicy shrimp paste). And, guess what, my hubby's fave was ayam taliwang *yea he isn't a fan of vegies!*

Where can I find this kind of Indonesian traditional dishes in this far far away country? My kitchen is the answer ;).

Ayam Taliwang
Source: Info Resep

Ingredients:
1 whole chicken medium size (Belzy -- I used 2 hens)
150 ml thick coconut milk
2 tbsps olive oil

Spice Paste:
5 cloves garlic
3 pieces candlenut
3 pieces dried red chilli (Belzy - I used 1 tsp dried chilli flakes)
7 pieces bird eye's chilli
1/2 tsp shrimp paste
Salt, to taste

Serve it with (optional):
Pelecing Kangkung
Beberuk Terong

Directions:
1. Wash, rinse and pat dry chicken, cut into 2 pieces (from breast area) and clean out the inside of chicken.
2. Rub the chicken with a pinch of salt.
3. Fried the chicken until medium done (half cooked). Drain it from the oil, set aside.
4. Grill it on a charcoal grill (or you can grill it in the oven), until well done. Set aside.
5. Spices: stir fry spice paste over medium heat until fragrant. Pour in coconut milk, bring it to simmer. Set aside.
6. Slightly smash the chicken (do not smash it too hard, because you don't want your chicken smashed into pieces). Brush the chicken with cooked spice paste, thoroughly brushed.
7. Grill or bake the chicken until it is soaking the spices, continue brush the chicken with spices until no more spice left.
8. Dish it out and serve it hot.

In Bahasa Indonesia

Bahan :
1 ekor ayam kampung
150 ml santan kental
2 sdm minyak olive

Bumbu Halus:
5 siung bawang putih
3 butir kemiri
3 buah cabe besar kering (Belzy -- gue pake 1 sdt cabe kering bubuk)
7 buah cabe rawit
1/2 sdt terasi
Garam secukupnya

Sajikan bersama:
Pelecing Kangkung
Beberuk Terong

Cara Membuat:
1.Bersihkan dan keringkan ayam. Belah bagian dada dan keluarkan isi perutnya.
2.Lumuri ayam dengan sedikit garam hingga rata.
3.Goreng ayam hingga setengah matang. Angkat dan tiriskan.
4.Panggang di atas bara api atau panggang di dalam oven hingga matang sambil sesekali dibalik. Angkat dan sisihkan.
5.Bumbu : Panaskan minyak, tumis bumbu halus hingga harum. Tuang santan, masak hingga mendidih dan matang. Angkat.
6.Pukul ayam hingga memar jangan sampai hancur. Oles permukaannya dengan bumbu hingga rata.
7.Panggang ayam hingga bumbu meresap sambil sesekali diolesi bumbu. Angkat.
8.Sajikan dengan nasi hangat

CANADIAN BACON PINEAPPLE-HAWAIIAN PIZZA

2010-06-25T06:41:00.000-07:00

Last week, when my hubby and I went to late shopping at Walmart, we saw this pizza pan. It said, by using this pan, it will make your pizza crust alot crispier. So, we (especially me) were tempted to buy one. And, it's true. I baked this-time-pizza with this new pan, and the crust is really crispy! I like it *also my hubby*.

I copy and paste the photo of pizza pan from here

The best thing making pizza by yourself is you can put lots of toppings which you can't find it if you buy it at pizza restaurant. So,since I like pineapple alot, I made Hawaiian pizza which is using pineapple as topping. Also, I used pastrami-bacon as the only meat :). For the crust, I combined all-purpose flour and whole wheat flour. I love cooking, so I tried to make it as healthy as possible :).

Don't worry, this pizza crust recipe is easy to make. You don't need extra energy to slam it down (which usually needed when you knead bread dough) on kneading process. You just make sure the dough is fully rise before you bake it :).

So, dare to try? ;)

Canadian Bacon Pineapple-Hawaiian Pizza

Ingredients:
For Pizza Crust:
2 cups of all-purpose flour
1 cup of whole wheat flour
1 cup of luke-warm water (110F)
1 tbsp of salt
1 tbsp of sugar (Belzy -- I skipped it)
1 tbsp of yeast
2 tbsp of oil (the best less fat oil: olive oil, canola oil, sunflower oil)
Extra oil to grease the bowl
Parchment paper
Pizza pan

Topping:
Pastrami/Salami bacon ham, sliced
Button mushroom, sliced
1 can of pineapple, sliced and separate it from the juice (we will use the juice for sauce base)
Homemade hawaiian style pizza sauce base*
Bell pepper, diced
Onion, diced
Shredded mozarella or cheddar cheese

Homemade hawaiian style pizza sauce base:
1 can of pineapple juice
150ml to 200ml of tomato ketchup
1 tbsp of oregano
1 tbsp of pizza base mix (you can find it at herbs aisle)
Sugar and salt, to taste (hawaiian sauce base is sweet)

Directions:
For Pizza Crust:
Mix all purpose flour, whole wheat flour, salt and sugar (if desire) in a bowl, mixed well. Mix in water and oil, until dry ingredients are all wet, then add in yeast. Knead the dough until elastic or until the dough rise up again when you pinch it.

Brush a new bowl with oil slightly, then move the dough into the greasy bowl. Cover it with clingwrap plastic or a clean towel. Let it rest until double size. Do not put the bowl near the stove!!

After the dough doubled in size, slowly push the dough down to let the air go. Shape the dough into round form and cover it with clingwrap plastic or clean towel again. Let it rest for 1 hour.

Then, if you want to make big pizza, roll the whole dough on the greasy parchment paper into square or round form, but if you want to make small pizza, you need to divide the dough into 3 round of crust base).

Finishing:
Spread the homemade hawaiian style pizza sauce base on the rolled dough, sprinkle it with mozarella cheese and make sure the cheese cover the whole dough's surface, then followed by bell pepper, onion, mushroom, pineapple and pastrami bacon ham. Then, top it with more mozarella cheese.

Bake it in the preheated 350F oven for 20 to 25 minutes or until the crust a little bit rised and brown. Dish it out and cut it into 8 pieces pizza. Enjoy!!

Note:
1. The thinner you roll the crust, the crispier your pizza will be.
2. For the pizza sauce base, you can buy a ready pizza sauce base at supermarket.

ROTI SOSIS (PIG IN THE BLANKET)

2010-06-24T20:23:00.000-07:00

Why it called pig in the blanket? I guess, pig is the pork sausage and the blanket is the bread. The name is really cute right? Everytime I read it, my mind is always think of a cartoon movie title more than a sausage bread :).
I used homemade italian sausage for ms. piggy, and soft bread from NCC for the blanket. And, guess what? The taste is as good as the name too. Don't you trust me? Let's try it...;)

Roti Sosis (Pig In The Blanket)

Ingredients:
500 gr bread flour
100 gr granulated sugar
100 gr butter
11 gr instant yeast
1/2 tsp bread improver (Belzy -- skipped)
4 egg yolk
300 ml cold water
1/2 tsp salt
6 pieces sausage

Egg Wash:
1 egg yolk
1 tbsp evaporated milk

Directions:
By Hand:
Mix all dry ingredients, except salt until thoroughly mixed. Mix in 200ml cold water and egg yolks, mix and knead well. Knead in butter and salt until elastic. Shape dough into log, cut into six, then shape each dough into ball form, cover it with clingwrap or kitchen towel. Let it rest until double size.
Take one dough, and roll it with roller pin on a flat surface workplace, place 1 sausage on the edge of the dough, then roll it as log shape. Place the pig in the blanket on a greased baking sheet. Brush it with egg wash. Bake it at preheated oven (350F) until brown. Ready to serve.

By Standing Mixer:
Mix all dry ingredients, except salt until thoroughly mixed with spatula. Pour in 200ml cold water and egg yolks, mix it with hook attachment at speed 2 for about 1 minute, then add in butter and salt. Mix it until elastic and the dough doesn't stick at the bottom of mixer's bowl. Shape dough into log, cut into six, then shape each dough into ball form, cover it with clingwrap or kitchen towel. Let it rest until double size. The next steps are same as above.

Note: use the remaining water to soften the dough only.

In Bahasa Indonesia

Bahan :
500 gr tepung terigu protein tinggi
100 gr gula
100 gr mentega
11 gr ragi instant
½ sdt bread improver
4 btr kuning telor
300 ml air es
½ sdt garam

Bahan Olesan:
1 kuning telur
1 sdm susu evaporated

Cara membuat:

Campur semua bahan kering, kecuali garam, aduk rata
Masukkan air 200ml dan telur, aduk dan uleni sampai rata.
Masukkan mentega dan garam, uleni lagi sampai kalis elastis.
Bentuk dough memanjang, lalu potong jadi 6 bagian, kemudian bulatkan. Tutup dengan clingwrap ato serbet, istirahatkan hingga mengembang 2 kali. Roll dough memanjang, lalu beri sosis, gulung. Olesi dengan egg wash. Panggang di oven yang sudah dipanasi dengan suhu 180C hingga matang. Sajikan.

Catatan: sisa air 100ml buat jaga-jaga aja kalau adonan kurang lembek tambahkan sedikit demi sedikit.

MARTABAK MANIS

2010-06-21T00:26:00.000-07:00

At last, I can make it without burnt it. Yea, it is not 100% perfect as I want it, but considering I don't have a martabak pan, it is good enough :). I will keep trying to make it perfect tho :).

Despite of the imperfect skin, the taste is really good! Meanwhile, when the martabak is cold, it doesn't change the texture, you'll bite the soft pancake.
My hubby like it so much. Everytime I made this martabak, he will waiting impatiently :).

Many thanks to Dita for this great recipe :)....

Martabak Manis
Source: Dita W.

Ingredients:
Ingredients A:
125 gr cake flour, sifted
25 gr granulated sugar
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
175 ml water
1/2 tsp instant yeast

Ingredients B:
2 eggs
1/8 tsp baking soda
25 gr granulated sugar

Filling:
1 to 2 tbsps granulated sugar (Belzy -- I skipped it)
1 tbsp butter
2 tbsps or more sweet condensed milk
Chocolate and roasted peanut, chopped

Directions:
Mix ingredients A except instant yeast with a mixer until smooth and free lumps. Mix in instant yeast, thoroughly mixed. Let it rest for 2 hours.

In a separate bowl, whisk ingredients B for 2 to 3 minutes, until the ingredients are thoroughly mixed only. Combine ingredients B mixture with ingredients A mixture, mix well.

Grease a martabak pan (or teflon) with butter. Heat the pan over medium heat (the pan should really hot and fizzled when you pour in the batch). Pour the batch into martabak pan, low the heat, wait until the batch is bubbling and pored, dust it with sugar, if desired. Put the lid on. Do not leave the pan when it's cooking. Cook the martabak until the top is yellow shined.

To Assemble:
Remove the martabak to a flat surface board. Halve it, then spread the butter over the martabak. Pour in chocolate chopped and roasted peanut chopped (or other filling such as grated cheese, if desire). Top it with the other half of martabak. Grease the martabak skin with 1/2 tsp butter. Serve it hot.

In Bahasa Indonesia

Bahan A :
- 125 gr tepung terigu protein rendah, ayak
- 25 gr gula pasir
- 1/4 sdt baking powder
- 1/4 sdt garam
- 175 ml air
- 1/2 sdt ragi instant

Bahan B :
- 2 butir telur
- 1/8 sdt soda kue
- 25 gr gula pasir

Bahan tambahan :
- gula pasir (Belzy -- I skipped it)
- Margarin untuk olesan
- Susu kental manis (Belzy -- I skipped it)
- Meises, kacang tanah sangrai cincang kasar

Cara Membuat

1. Kocok dengan mixer bahan A (kecuali ragi) sampai lembut, masukan ragi, aduk rata, diamkan selama 2 jam sampai berbuih

2. Kocok lepas bahan B, lalu masukan kedalam adonan A, aduk rata.

3. Olesi loyang martabak/teflon, panaskan dengan api sedang (loyang harus benar2 panas, dan berdesis ketika adonan dituang), tuang adonan, kecilkan api, ratakan pinggirnya, biarkan adonan mengeluarkan buih, membentuk rongga, taburi dengan gula, tutup loyang dengan tutup panci, biarkan matang. Sering-sering ditengokin, sampe bagian atas martabak mengkilap (mateng bener).

4. Angkat martabak, pindahkan ke tempat datar (talenan), belah 2 sama rata, panas2 olesi pake margarin atau butter, tabur dengan isian sesuai selera, tutup dng bagian lainnya. Olesi kulit martabak dengan mentega. Siap saji.

ITALIAN SAUSAGE

2010-06-19T04:34:00.001-07:00

It's been ages I want to make homemade sausage. Unfortunately, it is not easy to find sausage casing here *or I dunno where to buy it*, until few days ago, my hubby found it at a butcher store.

This is my second attempt to make homemade sausage. My first attempt, I used pork leg without casing. And, yesterday, I used pork butt with casing. For some reason, I like pork leg more than pork butt (the original recipe is using pork shoulder). The sausage texture is little bit different. Both are good tho :).

And for me there is nothing best than a homemade sausage :)

Italian Sausage

Ingredients:
3 lbs pork shoulder, cut into 1-inch cubes (Belzy -- choose the pork with 85% fat to avoid dry sausage)
4 tsps crushed fennel
2 tsps ground coriander
2 tsps crushed red chilli flakes
1 tbsp kosher salt
1 tsps fresh ground blackpepper
Sausage casings

Directions:
Toss together pork with spices and salt in a large bowl or ziplock bag. Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours.
Using a 1/4-inch meat grinder, grind the pork mixture. It's ready to use.

NOTE: if you use ground meat, combine the spices with 2 tbsps water first, then toss the ground meat with spices mixture.

SCALLION PANCAKE

2010-06-06T18:00:00.000-07:00

This food reminds me of those old days when I was studied in Nanjing, China. Along the way from my apartment to the university, there were plenty of food shops, also stalls. So, while I'm walking to my university, for sure I'll stop by at one of those shops. And, there were one little shop which was selling this scallion pancake (there is a mandarin name for this dish, but unfortunately I forgot already! Oh my oh my, my mandarin is getting worse now!), and I loved to buy this scallion pancake for my breakfast. This dish is really simple yet tasty. especially if we eat it while its hot still.

Then one day, I found scallion pancake from a disney magazine!! Woghhhh.....a traditional chinese breakfast recipe was published at a western magazine!?!? That's cool :). Also, all of us know that disney magazine is a kids' magazine. Oh my oh my, the recipe must be an easy one.

To make the story short, I make it for our breakfast. The funny thing was my husband. When I asked him does he want scallion pancake for breakfast? Right away he refused it. Until one day, I made it and told him that is chinese style pancakes. Guess what? He ate it, and he liked it!! Hahahahah......at last, I told him that is scallion pancake.

So, this dish became another fave breakfast for us.......yummmm.....

Scallion Pancake

Ingredients:
For Pancake:
3 cups flour, plus more for rolling
3/4 tsp salt
1 cup water, plus more for mixing
1 bunch scallions (Belzy -- I add more scallions)
1/2 cup plus 2 tbsps vegetable oil

For Dipping Sauce: (whisk all ingredients together)
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup rice vinegar
1 tbsp sugar
1 tsp grated or minced fresh ginger
1 tsp crushed red pepper, or to taste
1/4 cup chopped scallions

Directions:
1. In large bowl, stir together the flour and salt, then form the mixture into a mound. Make a well in the center and add the water, first filling the well, then pouring what remains around the sides of the bowl. Use a large spoon or rubber spatula to combine the ingredients into a soft, raggedy dough. If it doesn't pull together after about a minute of stirring, add water, one tbsp at a time (up to 4 tbsps), to help the dough take shape.

2. Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured surface and shape it into a ball. Working with floured hands, knead the dough until it's smooth and apringy, about 2 to 3 minutes. Shape it back into a ball and set it aside to rest for 5 to 10 minutes.

3. While the dough rests, prepare the scallions, then set aside.

4. Roll the dough into a log. Halve it crosswise, then cut each half into three pieces. Place five of the portions in a large bowl and cover it with a kitchen towel or plastic wrap.

5. Dust your hands and work surface with flour. Roll the sixth dough portion into a fairly round (1/4-inch-thick pancake). Spoon 1 tbsp of the vegetable oil onto the dough and spread it evenly over the pancake. Scatter 2 generous tablespoons of chopped scallion on top, leaving a 1-inch border.

6. Roll the pancake into a log. Beginning at one end, wind the log into a spiral as if shaping a cinnamon roll, then tuck the loose end underneath. Use your palm to gently press the dough into a disk. Dust the dough lightly with flour, then roll it into a pancake 6 to 7 inches in diameter.

7. Warm a medium-size skillet over medium-high heat, then coat the pan with 1-1/2 tsps of vegetable oil. Use a scallion slice to test the temperature of oil. If it sizzles at once, th eoil is ready for frying. If it doesn't, wait about 30 seconds and retest the oil with another scallion slice, repeating as necessary until the oil is hot.

8. Carefully lay the pancake in the skillet and fry it until its edges puff up and the bottom is golden brown, about 3 minutes. Flip the pancake, drizzle another 1/2 tsp of oil around the edges of the pan, and continue frying until the second side is golden brown, about 3 minutes more. Transfer the pancake to a serving plate. Repeat the steps 5 through 8 for the remaining dough. Serve it hot or warm with dipping sauce.

KELEPON

2010-06-05T20:40:00.000-07:00

Most of Indonesian knows kelepon. Kelepon is an Indonesian traditional dessert which is made of glutinous flour and rice flour with palm sugar's filling. The best is when you eat it while it's hot. But, be careful when you bite it, the melted palm sugar will splash out, and this is the unique of this dessert :).

In Indonesia, there are plenty of 'abang gerobak' who sell kelepon, mostly they will sell it with 'kue putu' which has same filling but different texture.
Let me share the recipe with you....

Kelepon
Source: Fatmah Bahalwan

Ingredients:
250 gr glutinous flour
50 gr rice flour
100 ml pandan juice (Belzy -- I used the combination of 1 tsp pandan paste and 100 ml water)
2 tsp lime stone water
100 gr Indonesian palm sugar (Belzy -- palm sugar powder is ok)
1 package of frozen grated coconut
1/4 tsp salt
1 litre of water

Directions:
In a big bowl, combine glutinous flour and rice flour, whisk it until thoroughly mixed. Set aside.
In a plate, mix grated coconut and salt. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, mix pandan juice and lime stone water.
Pour the pandan juice mixture into flour mixture, whisk and knead it until no longer sticky.
Take a little dough (enough to make a small ball), fill it with palm sugar, and form it into a ball. Repeat it until no more dough left.
Boil kelepon in boiling water over high heat. Boil it until the kelepon floats. Drain it from the water, and coat it with salty grated coconut. Ready to serve.

Note: steam the grated coconut for 15 minutes before coating to avoid spoiling.