Excuses, excuses, excuses...I admit that I've been abandoning this blog for a while...thanks to all of you who keep checking in and sending messages =) I am still cooking, trying new recipes, taking lots of pictures and do blog walking... =)

Anyway, after searching for a new home, moving out and moving in, renovating and decorating, and going back to Indonesia for "mini vacation"...we have finally settled-in in our new home (which I LOVE btw....it's only 10 minutes away from work and a walking distance to an asian grocery store... =P )

So we invited our friends for "mangan2" (to eat together). I cooked nasi tumpeng lengkap (yellow rice shaped like a cone in a bed of banana leaves), which is a traditional food served to celebrate special occasion. I also made mie goreng (stir fry egg noodle), ayam & empal menado (fried chicken and fried meat), perkedel (potatoes cake), telur dadar (shredded omelette), sambel goreng tahu (stir fry tofu) and sambel terasi (shrimp paste chilli paste). Abon (shredded fried meat), dendeng (coriander beef jerky), timun (cucumber), krupuk udang & belinjo (shrimp crackers and padi oats crackers) are also served.

Nasi tumpeng and its side dishes symbolize good meanings in Javanese culture; Java is one of the many islands in Indonesia, where my husband and I come from.

Nasi Kuning - Yellow Fragrant Rice

Ingredients:

-Beras - Rice

-Ketan - Sweet Rice

-Santan - Coconut milk

-Sereh - Lemongrass

-Jahe - Ginger

-Laos - Galangal

-Jeruk Purut - Kaffir Lime Leaves

-Daun Salam - Bay Leaves

-Kunir - Tumeric

Instructions:

1. Masak semua bumbu dengan santan.

Combine all the ingredients above (except the rice and the sweet rice) and boiled with the coconut milk.

2. Masukkan beras dan ketan. Aduk terus sampai beras setengah matang.

Add the rice and the sweet rice. Constantly stir until the rice is half cooked.

3. Masukkan semuanya kedalam dandang dan kukus sampai matang.

Move everything on the steamer and steam until rice is cooked.

Posted by Caroline at 11:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | Printer-friendly version

I always wanted to make sushi but never get to make it until after one day my Japanese friend brought me the two Japanese Recipes Books from her vacation.

The recipe book on the left side (below) is very comprehensive with step-by-step instructions and picture. It's written in both Japanese and English and very explanatory.

I love this book better than the other one, but I recommend the recipe book on the right side (below) for anyone who is new to cooking as it provides an easy to cook japanese food.

CA Rolls

1.       The first thing to do to make sushi is to make the vinegared rice by combining sushi rice, mirin and rice vinegar.
2.       After the rice is cooked, it will take a while to cool off.. in the meanwhile, you can spread the rice on the wooden/bamboo bowl and top it with a wet napkin...
3.       Then you add different fillings to your preference, I never use more than three ingredients for my sushi, as Alton Brown said, your taste buds will get confuse if you have too many ingredients in your sushi, plus it's also make it harder to roll the rice.
4.       I usually use crab (imitation and sometimes real), cucumber and avocado and topped it with tobiko. Other times, I combine spam with omelet and cucumber.

This food is one of the many of my mom's signature dishes. Our family loves spicy food and I remember even when I was still 5-6 years old I couldn't get enough of it. My mom would sometimes made it with ox-tongue instead of salted fish and I loved both version. 

One thing for sure this food always reminds me of home. Enjoy!

Nasi goreng ikan asin (Spicy fried rice with salted fish)

~~~~~~ooOOOoo~~~~~~

- 3 cups nasi putih, cooked rice

- 10 biji lombok besar, big red chilli

-5 biji lombok kecil, red Thai chilli

-10 bawang merah, shallots

-1 sdt terasi, tsp shrimp paste

-Gula dan garam, salt and sugar as needed

-Kecap manis, sweet soy bean sauce

-Ikan asin potong kecil2, salted fish - fried and cut into small cubes

-3 biji tomat potong kecil2, tomato cut into 4 small pieces

-Bawang merah goreng, fried shallots

-Krupuk, fish or shrimp fried crackers

-Telur ceplok, fried eggs

-Ketimun potong2, sliced cucumbers

1.Ulek bawang merah, lombok merah dan terasi

   Grind shallots, chillies and shrimp paste

2.Goreng bumbu yang sudah diulek sampai wangi

   Heat 1 tbs of oil and sautee the ingredients above until fragant

3.Masukkan nasi, tambahkan kecap manis, tomat dan ikan asin terakhir

   Add rice, sweet soy bean sauce and tomatoes and the salted fish

4. Setelah tercampur rata, ditaburi bawang merah goreng. Paling cocok dimakan dengan ketimun dan krupuk putih atau krupuk udang. Bisa juga dimakan dengan empal goreng.

   Mix the rice well and top it with fried shallots. It’s good eaten with sliced cucumbers, fried crackers and fried marinated beef.

Posted by Caroline at 01:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | Printer-friendly version

I got this recipe from my brother's gf, siu fang. It's her favorite breakfast food. However, you can also eat it for lunch or dinner.

I modify her recipe by adding ginger and sesame oil, I also cook the rice with chicken stock.

Nasi Tim Ayam Jamur (Rice topped with Chicken & Mushroom)
~~~~~~~~ooOoo~~~~~~~~