Spring Roll with Vermicelli Filling (Lumpia Isi Bihun)

I have made these snacks before my second child was born, but did not get a chance to post it here. So here is the pics and recipe for it.

Ingredients:
- Spring roll skins (available frozen at Asian stores)
- 150gr of vermicelli, boil in water for 2min, drain, mix with sesame oil and sweet soy sauce
- 150gr of ground beef
- 100gr of shrimp, chop into small pieces
- 2 carrot, julliene cuts
- 2 green onion, chop thinly
- 4 cloves of garlic, chop thinly
- 2 cloves of small red onion, chop thinly
- 2Tbsp of fish sauce
- 1tsp of ground white pepper
- water
- frying oil



Directions:
In a wok, saute garlic and onion until fragrant. Add ground beef and shrimp and cook until changed color. Add fish sauce and pepper. Add cut carrots and cook for 2min. Add boiled vermicelli and mix it well. Add green onion and mix and turn off the stove.
To make the spring roll, place 1Tbsp of the filling on the centre of spring roll skin. Roll it and form an envelope-liked shape. Glue the margin with water. Deep fry it with hot oil under medium high heat until golden brown and crunchy. Place it on a plate layered with paper towel to absorb the excessed oil. Serve it with hot sauce or chili paddy.

Our New Bundle of Joy

Just a quick update to what happened to us these weeks...


Yup finally the baby has arrived on Sept 15 '2008 at 4.08am MT. We are super happy to introduce Jordan Ezekiel Edgardo Sianturi as new addition to our family. He was weighed 3.305kg and 53.5cm length at birth. We thankful for a healthy baby and easy-fast delivery.


God is good all the time! Praise Him!



Will post the detail later on my other blog...

Ketoprak

The name can be confusing to some of you...since there is same term for very different meaning. This ketoprak is a name for food, but the other one is for Javanese traditional life show.
Ketoprak in food term means mixture of bean sprout, tofu, rice dumpling and vermicelli served with peanut sauce, no green veggies - this is what make it different with gado-gado or pecel.

Ingredients:
- 1 package of instant rice dumpling, boil for 30min, let it cool down and then cut into small cubes
- 4 blocks of tofu, cut into small cubes, fry it until half cooked
- 150gr of vermicelli, boil for 5min, drain it
- 250gr of bean sprouts, boil for 5min, drain it
- fried onion
- Indonesian crackers
- sweet soy sauce
- lime

To make peanut sauce:
- 200gr of peanut, roast it in an oven until cooked, let it cool
- 5 chili paddy (you may add some more if you want it spicier)
- 4cloves of garlic
- 2 lime leaves
- 2Tbsp of palm sugar
- 1tsp of tamarind
- water
- salt
- sugar



Directions:
To make peanut sauce: crush all of the ingredient to make the sauce in a blender. Add some water as needed until you get the desired consistency.
To serve, place cut rice dumpling, tofu, vermicelli and bean sprout on a plate, then pour the sauce and sprinkle some fried onion on top. Add some sweet soy sauce and drizzle some lime juice over. Add crackers at the side.

Temro (Spicy Tempeh Filled Cassava)

Judith, my friend from the Switzerland have posted this cassava snack before and I was drooling over it. So the other day I decided to make it myself, but instead of making it from whole cassava like what she did, I made a shortcut by purchasing frozen grated cassava.

Ingredients:
- 450gr frozen grated cassava, thaw and discard the excessed water
- 3Tbsp of grated coconut, keep the excessed water for filling
- salt
- frying oil

To make filling:
- 1 block of tempeh, crush into small pieces
- 2cloves of small red onion
- 4cloves of garlic
- 2tsp of ground kencur
- 1Tbsp of soy sauce (I replaced it with fish sauce)
- 1Tbsp of palm sugar
- 4 chili paddy, chop thinly
- 2 green onion, chop thinly
- coconut milk
- bunch of lime basil leaves (I skipped these)



Directions:
Mix well grated cassava, grated coconut and salt. Keep it aside.
Crush garlic and onion and then saute it with a little bit of oil until fragrant. Add tempeh, chili and fish sauce and stir it well. Add coconut milk and continue to cook until boiling. Add ground kencur and palm sugar and stir it well. At last add green onion. Turn off the stove.
To make temro, using two of palm hands, form ball shapes from the cassava mixture. Then flatten it on the palm of hand, fill it up with a tea spoon of tempeh filling. Roll it back and form the whatever shapes you prefer. Do it again and again until all is done. Then deep fry it with oil under medium high heat until golden brown on each side. Serve it warm.

Rawon

This is a typical beef soup from East Java, which characterized by dark color of kluwek (Pangium edule). The taste is combination of many spices added to the broth. This time, I just made it by adding instant seasoning, coz it is so hard to find kluwek in Canada.

Ingredients:
- 1kg of lean beef meat, boil until tender and then cut into small cubes
- 1 package of Munik brand Rawon seasoning
- beef broth from boiling the beef
- salt
- sugar

Side dishes:
- 4 boiled eggs
- 1 lime
- bean sprout
- crushed chili
- krupuk/Indonesian crackers
- steam rice
- fried onion



Directions:
In a pot, boil beef broth and then add beef cubes and instant seasoning. Stir it well and continue to cook for 15min until the seasoning immersed. Adjust the taste with salt and sugar.
To serve, place the soup in a bowl and add raw bean sprout on top. Sprinkle some fried onion and drizzle some lime juice. Add boil egg, crackers, and crushed chili at the side. Serve it with warm steam rice.

Oseng Tempe

This is one of our family favorite dishes for it is simple yet delicious. OK, just straight to the point of how to make it...here is the recipe...

Ingredients:
- 2 blocks of tempeh, cut into small cubes and fry it until half cooked
- 250gr of haricot beans, cut into 4cm in length
- 6cloves of garlic, chop thinly
- 3cloves of small red onion, chop thinly
- 2Tbsp of sambal oelek (crushed chili, available in jar at Asian stores)
- 3cm of galangal, cut into 3
- 3 Indonesian bay leaves
- 1Tbsp of palm sugar (you may replace it with brown sugar)
- 2Tbsp of sweet soy sauce
- 2Tbsp of fish sauce
- 1 tomato, cut into 12
- water
- oil for saute



Directions:
In a wok saute garlic and onion with a little bit of oil until fragrant. Add fish sauce, bay leaves and galangal and stir it while continue to saute for 2minutes. Add sambal oelek/crushed chili and some water (app. 100ml), stir it well. Add tempeh and beans and stir it well and cook until boiling. Add palm sugar, sweet soy sauce and tomato, continue to cook for another 4minutes. Adjust the taste with fish sauce and sweet soy sauce. Serve it with warm steam rice.

Pisang Molen (Crispy Wrapped Banana)

Again, to kill the time of waiting for my husband to be home, I made these pisang molen. It is a variation of fried banana and made by wrapping the banana with layers of dough. In Indonesia, usually it is sold on street.

Ingredients:
- 5 banana, cut into 4 each
- frying oil

To make skin:
- 360gr of all purpose flour
- 50gr of granulated sugar
- 1tsp of vanilla essence
- 1/2tsp of salt
- 125gr of soft margarine
- app. 150ml of water

Directions:
Mix well flour, sugar, vanilla, salt and margarine in a mixing bowl. And then gradually add water while mixing it with hand. Continue to mix it until it does not stick. Spread a quarter of the dough on a cutting board and then roll on a rolling pin until you get a very thin layer (you may use a pasta maker too, it is easier!). Cut app. 3cm in width. Then roll over the cut dough to wrap the banana. Keep it aside. Do it again and again for all of the banana. Deep fry them with oil under medium high heat until golden brown and crunchy.
The recipe is good to make app. 20 molen.

Batakese Seasoned Tilapia (Arsik Ikan) - Apology

Last Thursday I cooked this Batakese meal for my husband to bring for lunch at work. Normally people added long beans, but since I did not find any long beans at Asian store, I just added haricot beans instead. You can find the recipe here, I have posted it before.
These days I can not sit in front of the computer for a longer period of time, since my due date is approaching. Therefore I apologize for any inconvenience I've created by posting short writing. I am still trying to update my blog as time and my condition permit. Thank you!

Korean BBQ

All of a sudden my husband wanted to do bbq-ing at home, so one of those quite evening we did it on our balcony...just us, my husband-my Bianca-and me..
The menu was simple...but it was soooooo good!

Ingredients:
- 1kg of pork ribs
- 450ml of Korean bbq sauce with sesame seeds
- 100ml of red wine (we used fine ruby porto)

Side dish:
- tomato
- lettuce, cucumber (I did not have it that day)
- hot chili sauce
- baked potato or steam rice



Directions:
Mix the bbq sauce and red wine in a big container, and then marinate the ribs for at least an hour. Grill it for 25minutes or until it is done the way you like...
Better to eat right after it is done, do not keep it for the next day, it won't taste as good. Serve it with baked potato or steam rice, hot chili sauce and some veggies.

Pandan Sponge Cake

One of those nights, when I was waiting for my husband to get home from work, I felt like baking something simple. The choice went for pandan sponge cake. I copied the recipe from Shinta's Little Kitchen. But I did not make the custard cream filling, since I do not really into sweet. I made a bit of modification and added some sliced almond on top. Thank you Shinta for sharing the recipe....

Ingredients:
- 5 egg yolk
- 3 egg white
- 100gr granulated sugar
- 100gr all purpose flour
- 10gr baking powder
- 60gr soft margarine
- 2Tbsp of fresh milk (I replaced it with 2Tbsp of coconut milk)
- 1tsp of pandan paste
- 1tsp of vanilla essence
- sliced almond



Directions:
Using a mixer, mix eggs and sugar at medium high speed until fluffy and reaching good overrun. Add vanilla essence. Lower the speed of the mixer and add the flour and baking powder gradually. Add coconut milk and pandan paste and continue to stir at low speed. Add soft margarine and stir it well. Preheat the oven at 370F. Pour the dough into a 20 x 20 cm baking tin which was previously layered with margarine and flour, and then sprinkle some sliced almond on top. Bake for 25-30minutes.

Stir Fried Meat and Veggies with Black Beans Sauce

Another lazy day for me...so I just made this simple meal for my family...Easy and quick to prepare, still full of nutrition.

Ingredients:
- 400gr of ground beef
- 200gr of washed mini carrot, cut in half
- 1 green bell pepper, wash and cut into small chunks
- 150gr of mushroom, slice into 4 each
- 1 onion, chop thinly
- 3Tbsp of black beans sauce (available in a jar at Asian stores)
- water
- 1Tbsp of sesame oil
- salt and sugar



Directions:
In a wok, saute onion with sesame oil until fragrant. Add ground beef, stir and cook until change color. Add carrot and cook for 2minutes. Add black beans sauce and a little bit of water, stir it well. Add green pepper and cook for 2minutes. Add mushroom and cook for 1minutes. Adjust the taste with salt and sugar. Continue to cook until boiling.
Serve it with warm steam rice.

Kroket Isi Ragout (Ragout Filled Croquette)

When I attended the heritage festival here in Edmonton in the beginning of August, I had a chance to taste the real croquette at the Netherlands stall. It was so good... So my husband and his friend asked me to make it. And I did make it two weeks ago before my potato gone bad.

Ingredients:
- oil for frying
- bread crumbs/panko
- 3 egg white, whisk briefly

To make potato skin:
- 7 potato, peel off the skin, wash and cut into small chunks, deep fry it with hot oil until cooked
- 5Tbsp of cheese spread
- 2Tbsp of fresh milk (you may skip)
- 1 egg

To make ragout:
- 200gr of ground beef/boiled chicken thigh and cut into pieces
- 2 carrot, peel of the skin and cut into small cubes
- 2 potato, peel of the skin and cut into small cubes
- 4 cloves of garlic, chop thinly
- 1 cloves of shallot, chop thinly
- 2 green onion, chop thinly
- 250ml of fresh milk
- 2Tbsp of all purpose flour/wheat flour, dissolve it in water
- 1tsp of ground white pepper
- salt
- sugar
- oil for saute

Directions:
Prepare ragout by sauteing garlic and onion until fragrant. Then add ground beef/chicken pieces and stir and cook until change color. Add cut carrot, potato and cook until done. Add milk, pepper, salt and sugar, stir and continue to cook until boiling. Add green onion and then the wheat flour mixture and stir it instantly until thicken. Keep it aside.
To make the potato skin, mash the fried potato while it is still hot until smooth. Add the cheese spread and milk and mix it well. Let it cool down to room temperature and then add the egg. Mix it well.
To make the croquette: take a scoop of the skin and roll it on hand to form a ball and then flatten it on the palm of hand. Fill it with a spoon of ragout and then roll back the potato skin to cover the filling. Dip it in bread crumbs and then in egg white and again in bread crumbs. Deep fry it with hot oil under medium high heat until golden brown and crispy at the outside.
Serve it warm with hot sauce or mayo.

Note: the recipe is good to make 15pieces of medium sized croquette.

Buncis Masak Belacan (Spicy Haricot Beans with Shrimp Paste)

My first encounter with this meal was back then when I was still living in Australia. There was a Chinese restaurant closed to my apartment which sells this menu and it tastes soooo good. The restaurant was always full, even though the waiters mostly were not friendly. It's just because they served delicious food at affordable price for students like me.
Then last month, after taking my daughter to swim on a very hot day, we stopped by at a Malaysian restaurant and had dinner there. We ordered this buncis belacan and it tasted as good as the one I used to have in Sydney.
So last week, I convinced myself to prepare it on my own.

Ingredients:
- 350gr of haricot beans (Indonesian=buncis), cut into 8cm in length
- 6 cloves of garlic
- 4 cloves of small red onion
- 12 chili paddy or bird's eye chili
- 1 tomato, cut into 8
- 2tsp of shrimp paste, grill it
- 1Tbsp of fish sauce
- salt
- sugar
- oil for saute



Directions:
In a chopper, crush all of the ingredients, except beans, tomato, fish sauce and oil until smooth. Then saute it with a little bit of oil in a wok for 3 minutes. Add fish sauce and the beans and stir while continuing to cook until done. Add tomato and cook for another 2minutes. You may add a little bit of water if you like to make it watery (I prefer it dry).

Fish Fritter (Perkedel Ikan)

This is what happened if you did not apply the knowledge you have... *grin*...it happened for me though...
Well, I studied food technology before, even I taught this subject for 2years...I know it very well that frozen food can not be frozen back if it has been thawed completely, since the sharp ice crystals would ruin the texture of the food.
Last week, I bought a pack of Pollock fish fillet and defrosted it when I got home, thought that I would have enough time to battered fry it later on that day. However it did not happen the way I expected...I did not have enough time and energy that day and I needed to keep the fish back in my fridge...After 2 days, I still did not make time to fry it. Worrying of the fish might gone bad, I put it back to the freezer...even though I knew that it was not a good idea.
So after another 2 days, I made my time to fry it...And as I thought so, the fish became so fragile, the fish fiber all cut off short by the sharp ice crystals, so the fish crumble into small pieces when I battered it with bread crumbs...oh dear...
Well, after some minutes of pondering...I just decided to make fritters...I did not want to throw the fish in a garbage, coz the fish was still good, it's only the texture that was ruined. So here is the accidentally became fish fritter recipe...

Ingredients:
- 6 pieces of Pollock fish fillet
- 1 egg
- 2 green onion, chop thinly
- 3Tbsp of bread crumbs
- 1Tbsp of tapioca flour
- 1Tbsp of rice flour
- water as needed
- 1Tbsp of ground coriander
- 1tsp of ground white pepper
- salt
- oil for frying

Directions:
In a mixing bowl, mix well all of the ingredients except the frying oil. Add some water as need to make good consistency of dough. Using two spoon, make balls out of the dough and then deep fry it with hot oil under medium high heat until golden brown.

Rempeyek Kacang (Traditional Javanese Peanut Crackers)

I made these two weeks ago for the sake of snack lovers...(not for eating with meals)...It went fast...even my 17mo daughter loves it...

Ingredients:
- 200gr of roasted peanuts, split into half each
- 100gr of rice flour
- 50gr of tapioka flour
- 1/2 can of coconut milk
- 1 egg
- 4 cloves of garlic, crush until smooth
- 1Tbsp of ground coriander
- 1tsp of turmeric powder
- 2tsp of ground kencur
- 5 lime leaves, slice thinly
- water as needed
- salt
- sugar
- oil for frying

Directions:
In a big mixing bowl, mix all of the ingredients and stir it well. Adjust the taste with salt and sugar. Mix well again. Preheat the frying oil and then fry the mixture under medium high heat. Try to pour the mixture at the side of the pan, so that it will form a thin layer. If you find that it is too hard to form a thin layer, you may need to add some more water to the mixture until you get a perfect consistency. Fry until golden brown and transfer it on a plate which has been layered with paper towel. Wait until it is cool enough to keep in a jar or other airtight container.

Award Fever...

Got these awards from my dear friend in Malaysia, Mat Gebu...
Thank you so much...



Would like to pass it on to my dear friends:
- Deetha
- Ayin
- Judith
- Elsye
- Rita Hk
- Rita Indo
- Widya
- Lia
- Melanie
- Lia Loranty
- Sefa
- Mindy

Love you all!