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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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!