Chicken Porridge with Yellowish Seasoned Broth (Bubur Ayam Kuah Kuning)

It is almost end of September and we definitely have to say good bye to summer. I am so not ready for winter, especially Canadian one. When the season changed kids easily get sick, runny noses is what you can expect. Well not only kids, but adults too. I was having sore throat and won't go for any fried foods. Since one of our good friends just got tooth extraction, she ordered some "soft and easy to chew" food. The choice went for chicken porridge. And this was what we have. (PS: the picture is an old file from last year though).

Ingredients:
For porridge:
- 3cups of jasmine rice
- 1 stalk of lemon grass, cut into 5cm in length, bruised
- dash of salt
- 2L water

For yellowish broth and chicken:
- 5 whole chicken leg
- 6 cloves of garlic
- 3 cloves of shallot
- 4 candle nuts
- 1tsp of coriander powder
- 1tsp of cumin powder
- 1tsp of turmeric powder
- 1 stalk of lemon grass, cut into 5cm in length, bruised
- 4 lime leaves
- 4 Indonesian bay leaves
- water
- 1Tbsp of vegetable oil
- salt
- sugar
- oil for frying

For egg satay:
- 3 can of quail eggs, discard the water
- 4 cloves of garlic
- 2 cloves of shallot
- 4 candle nuts
- 1tsp of coriander powder
- 1 tsp of cumin powder
- 2Tbsp of shredded palm sugar
- 1 stalk of lemon grass, cut into 5cm in length, bruised
- 4cm of galangal, bruised
- 3 Indonesian bay leaves
- 2Tbsp of sweet soy sauce
- 600mL water

Side dishes:
- Fried soya beans
- Chinese cruller/long doughnuts
- Fried onion
- Chopped fresh green onion
- Sweet soy sauce
- Chili sauce

Directions:
Making porridge:
In a big pot, mix the rice, lemon grass, salt and water all together. Cook until the rice soften and form porridge. Add some more water as needed. Keep it aside.

Making the yellowish broth and chicken:
In a blender, crush garlic, shallot and candle nuts until smooth. With a little bit of oil, saute it until fragrant. Add the rest of the spices and continue to saute for another minute. Add the chicken and water. Cook under low heat until chicken tender. Adjust the taste with salt and sugar. Take out the chicken, drain off the broth. Then fry the chicken until golden and crispy. Shred the meat and keep it aside.

Making the egg satay:
In a blender, crush garlic, shallot and candle nuts until smooth. Mix all of the spices in a pot with water, stir well. Bring to boil. Add the eggs and continue to cook under low heat for 20min. Take out and drain off the egg and arrange them in a skewer.

To serve:
Put the porridge in a bowl, add the shredded chicken on top of it. Pour some yellowish broth. Then sprinkle some fried onion and add other side dishes. Serve it warm.

"Me Style" Indonesian Fried Rice (Nasi Goreng Ala-ku) - Accidentally Created

I always run to fried rice for hunger rescuing. Simply because it is easy and fast to prepare and every body loves it. One of those days, when I did not have any idea of what to cook and had limited time to prepare dishes, I accidentally created this recipe. I stil l had some leftover crushed chili for eating with Soto. The crushed chili mainly consists of chili, candle nut and Soto soup/broth. Amazingly it gave richness to the flavor, color and taste of the rice. I fall in love instantly!

For next, I do not have to make crushed chili for Soto first, I just put all of the ingredients from scratch and add them all to make the seasoning.
Since this is my very own recipe, I would like to submit it to the Original Recipe - Monthly Round-Up Event. Thank you Sefa, for suggesting!


Ingredients:
- 2 cups of cold cooked/leftover rice (I prefer Jasmine rice)
- 6 prawn balls, cut into 4 each
- 12 headless shrimp
- 1 cup of mix frozen veggie (corn, green peas, carrot)
- 3 cloves of shallot
- 5 cloves of garlic
- 4 chili paddy, thinly chopped
- 3 candle nuts
- 1tsp of ground turmeric
- 1 stalk of lemon grass, chopped
- 2Tbsp of fish sauce
- 1Tbsp of Indonesian sweet soy sauce
- 1Tbsp of ketchup
- sesame oil for sauteing

Side dishes:
- 3 eggs, scrambled
- cucumber and carrot pickles - Indonesian style (acar timun dan wortel-Indonesian)
- sliced tomato

Directions:
Crush garlic, shallot, candle nuts and chopped lemongrass in a chopper until smooth. Then sauteing it in a wok with a little bit of sesame oil until fragrant. Add turmeric and continue to saute for another minute. Add shrimp, prawn balls and mix veggie and stir it well. Cook until they are just done. Add fish sauce, sweet soy sauce, ketchup and then cold rice, mix them well. Adjust the taste with fish sauce and sweet soy sauce. (At this stage, I separate a little portion for Bianca). And then add the chopped chili. Mix them well again.
Serve it hot with scrambled egg, pickles and sliced tomato at the side.

To make Indonesian pickles:
Cut cucumber, carrot, shallot and garlic into small cubes (use only 2 shallot and 2 garlic, do not add too much of them). Chop some chili paddy to add spiciness. In a small pot, cook a cup of vinegar, half cup of water, half cup of sugar and a pinch of salt. When it is boiling, add shallot and garlic and cook for another minute. Pour it over the cucumber and carrot cubes. Add the chopped chili and mix it. Put the lid on and keep it refrigerated for at least an hour before consuming. It is good to keep in fridge for a month or so.

I also submitted this dish for Masak Bareng Yuuk event. Check it out for other fried rice creations!

Monthly Menu: Steamed Seasoned Rice with Chicken and Mushroom Topping (Nasi Tim Ayam Jamur)

Today is the last Thursday of the month and as we - some of Indonesian foodie bloggers agree that the last Thursday of every month is the time for us to post our monthly menu. It does not matter when we cooked it, but we are supposed to post it on the last Thursday of the month. And since my position in this globe is further up north-west, I will be the last to post this writing I believe...(the truth is I am a last minute person, I just cooked it for dinner last nite...hahaha..).
It is so good to see Indo foodie bloggers from all around the world post the same menu on the same date...



August menu is steamed seasoned rice with chicken and mushroom topping (Indonesian-nasi tim ayam jamur). And here comes my version of nasi tim ayam jamur, which is loved by my little family, especially my Bianca...



Ingredients:
To make the steamed seasoned rice:
- 1/2 portion of the broth from boiling chicken legs, app. 1lt
- 3 cups of jasmine rice
- 5cloves of garlic, chop thinly
- 1tsp of ground white pepper
- 1tsp of salt

To make topping:
- 5 whole chicken legs, boil until tender, shred the meat, discard fat and bones and keep the broth aside
- 2can of straw mushroom
- 8cloves of garlic
- 4cm of ginger, slice thinly
- 2Tbsp of sesame oil
- 2Tbsp of fish sauce
- 3Tbsp of oyster sauce
- sweet soy sauce as needed
- 1tsp of ground white pepper
- 3 green onion, chop thinly

To make soup:
- 1/2 portion of the broth from boiling chicken legs, app. 1lt
- 5cloves of garlic
- 2cm of ginger, slice thinly
- salt
- sugar
- 1tsp of ground white pepper
- 3 green onion, chop thinly
- oil for saute

Side dishes:
- fried wonton, see the recipe here
- chili vinegar (I skipped this one)



Directions:
To make the rice:
In a big pot, place the broth and boil. Add garlic which was previously sauteed with a little bit of oil. Add salt, pepper and stir it well. Add pre-washed rice and stir it for awhile. Close the lid and let it cook until all the water immersed. Keep it aside.

To make topping:
In a wok, saute chopped garlic and ginger with sesame oil until fragrant. Add fish sauce and oyster sauce and stir it well. Add shredded chicken meat and then sweet soy sauce and stir it well. Add pepper, mushroom and a little bit of broth and continue to cook until boiling. Add green onion and stir. Keep it aside.

To make soup:
Boil the broth in a pot and add sauteed garlic, ginger, salt, sugar and pepper and stir it well. When it is boiling, add chopped green onion and immediately turn off the heat.

To cook/steam:
Put the topping in a heat resistant bowl until 1/3 high. And then top it up with the half-cooked seasoned rice. Place bowls in a steamer and steam it for 15-20minutes until the rice cooked.

To serve:
Place the bowl upside down on a plate and carefully remove the bowl, so that the chicken topping will be on top of the rice now. Serve the soup in a small bowl at side. Add fried wonton and chili vinegar at the side too if you like. Serve it warm.

Chicken Opor with Rice Dumpling (Ketupat Opor Ayam)

This is what I do when I feel like spending more time in the kitchen to prepare complete menu for my little family. That particular day, I made instant rice dumpling, chicken opor and spicy tempeh-chocho-haricot beans.

For chicken opor recipe you may find it here.
For spicy tempeh-chocho-haricot beans recipe may be seen here.
The rice dumpling is made from an instant package, and I just boiled it for 30minutes and let it cool off and then cut it into small pieces.
To serve, place the cut rice dumpling in a bowl, add the chicken opor and spicy tempeh-chocho-haricot beans and sprinkle some fried onion. It is good to eat it warm. And you may add some crackers if you like.

Chicken Congee-Chinese Rice Porridge

All of a sudden I craved for chicken congee, the name for Chinese rice porridge that has a lot quantity of water. Normally it is eaten for breakfast or late supper. Usually we got it from a Chinese restaurant, but since we are new to this town, we do not know yet where to find this porridge. Thus 4 days ago I gathered my courage to make it myself. I browsed around on the internet for some online recipes and at the end come up with my own version of recipe.

Ingredients:
- 1 whole chicken leg, to make broth
- 2 chicken breast fillet, cut into thin slice
- 2 cups of rice (I used jasmine rice)
- water (I did not measure, but it was a lot)
- 2.5Tbsp of cooking wine (I used the one that has sugar, salt and rice spirit in it)
- 5cm of ginger, cut into thin slice
- 5 cloves of garlic
- salt
- sugar

Side dish:
- soy sauce with chili
- fried onion
- fresh cilantro
- you char kway or Chinese cruller or cahkwe (I did not have it)



In a pot, boil chicken leg with a lot of water until tender. Take it out and let it cool off. Shredded the meat and put it aside. In a container, marinate the chicken breast meat with cooking wine, garlic, ginger and sugar for at least 20minutes. Meanwhile, use the chicken broth to cook rice. Add ginger and salt. Continue to cook until it becomes porridge. Add more water as needed. Pour the chicken breast with all the marinating juice into the porridge and continue to cook for another 8minutes or until the meat tender. Stir it occasionally to avoid burning. Add the shredded chicken leg meat and then adjust the taste with salt and sugar.
To serve, pour the porridge in a bowl. Sprinkle some fresh cut cilantro and fried onion. Eat it hot with chili soy sauce and Chinese cruller/cahkwe.

Savory Rice Plus Plus (Nasi Uduk Komplit)

After talking to my mom in law on the phone Saturday morning, I felt like making nasi uduk for my little family. It happened since she mentioned that she was given some nasi uduk by friend and had it for breakfast that day. So in the afternoon, I just made myself comfortable sitting in my kitchen preparing this nasi uduk. And since I still had some tempeh/tahu bacem and empal goreng, they would be good to go with the nasi uduk, I supposed.

Ingredients:
- 2.5c of jasmine rice, wash and drain
- 1/2 can of coconut milk
- water (as much as needed)
- 3 pandan leaves
- 5 Indonesian bay leaves
- 1 lemon grass, cut into 4cm in length and crack it with pestle
- salt

Side dishes:
- tempeh/tahu bacem (see the recipe here)
- empal daging (see the recipe here)
- kering kentang-teri (see the recipe here, I did not have it on the picture since my husband ate it all up before I took the picture)
- omelet/dadar telur: beat 4 eggs, then fry with a little bit of oil, make a very thin layer until done. When it is warm, cut into thin slices.
- spicy peanut sauce, I used the recipe here
- crushed chili
- fried onion

Bring to boil all of the ingredients to make the savory rice except the rice in a pot. Stir it well while boiling. After boiling, add the rice. Make sure that the water is enough to cover all the rice. Stir it again. Put the lid on. Cook for 20-25minutes under medium low heat, stir it occasionally to avoid burning on the bottom.
To serve, place the rice in the middle of a plate, add the side dishes and pour some peanut sauce on top.

Tinutuan (Manadonese Mixed Porridge)

When I went to a university in Yogyakarta, Indonesia I had many friends from other provinces. It was a great time to know other cultures, including their foods. My first impression of this Manadonese porridge was not that appealing...seemed like they just put everything in a bowl...However, when I tasted it, I felt in love with this food. Lucky me, I got a chance to learn how to cook it from a friend when we lived in a boarding house together.
Last week, when I made it..surprisingly enough, my 1y old daughter loved it, of course without the side dishes...

Ingredients:
- 2 cups of rice
- water
- bunch of spinach (or water morning glory)
- 1 lemon grass, cut into 5cm in length then crack it with pestle
- 5 cloves of garlic
- 3 green onion, chop thinly
- bunch of lime basil leaves
- 2 medium sized sweet potato (or squash), peel off the skin and cut into small chunks
- 1 can of corn (sweet and peaches)
- 1 tsp of ground white pepper
- salt
- sugar
- oil for saute

Side dishes:
- fried onion
- fried tofu or anchovy fritter (this time I only had fried anchovy and veggie fritter)
- fried salted fish (I did not have it this time)
- Manadonese chili paste-dabu-dabu or sambal terasi

In a big pot, boil rice, lemon grass and water until cooked and become porridge. Add some more water as needed. Add sweet potato and continue to cook until soft and then crush the sweet potato. Add corn and green onion and continue to cook until boiling again.
Meanwhile, in a pan saute garlic with a little bit of oil until brownish and then add it to the pot. Adjust the taste with pepper, salt and sugar.
At last add spinach/other veggies and basil leaves and continue to cook until boiling again.

To make dabu-dabu:
- 10 chili paddy or bird's eye chili
- 5 cloves of garlic
- 5 cloves of small red onion
- 1 tomato, cut into small chunks
- 1 lime
- salt
- sugar

In a chopper chop chili, garlic and onion until coarsely smooth. Place it in a small bowl. Add cut tomato, salt and sugar. Drizzle some lime juice and mix it well.

To serve, place the porridge in a bowl and add the side dishes. Sprinkle some fried onion on top.

Note: Please bear with the blurry picture, since I was shaking when taking it...too starving maybe!

Chop Chop Fried Rice

It was snowing so hard on Saturday, therefore we did not go out anywhere. My husband chose to have instant noodle for breakfast and I wanted something more filling, so I decided to make fried rice. However, since I was very hungry, I made it on a very quick way, yes I just chopped all of the seasoning, instead of grinding it. It tasted good...or maybe coz I was really really hungry..

Ingredients:
- 1 plate of leftover steam rice
- 1 fistful of mix veggies
- 2 beef balls, slice into 4 each
- 2 prawn balls, slice into 4 each
- 1 egg
- 3 cloves of small red onion, chop thinly
- 3 cloves of garlic, chop thinly
- 4 chili paddy or bird's eye chili, chop thinly
- 1 Tbsp fish sauce
- 1 Tbsp sweet soy sauce
- salt
- oil

In a pan, make thin egg omelet, add a little bit of salt. When it is cool, cut thinly and put it aside.
In a wok, saute onion and garlic with a little bit of oil until brownish. Add chili and continue to saute for 2minutes. Add beef balls and prawn balls and cook and stir for another 5minutes. Add fish sauce and sweet soy sauce. Add the mix veggies and stir well. Add the steam rice and mix it well, until all of the seasoning distributed evenly. Adjust the taste with salt.
To serve, place the fried rice on a plate and then sprinkle cut omelet on top of it. Add some fresh tomato or cucumber as preferred.

Indonesian Fried Rice (Nasi Goreng)

This is one of known Indonesian foods which you may find in Indonesian restaurant worldwide. In Indonesia there are lot of food stalls that have this fried rice in their menus. As for me, fried rice sold at street vendor is the best.

Ingredients:
- 2 plates of steam rice, keep it in fridge for one night to make it dry
- 100gr lean meat/beef/chicken, boil in water and shred it into small pieces
- 2 beef/chicken sausage/hotdog, cut into small pieces
- 8 beef balls, cut into 4 pieces each
- 2 egg
- 2 green onion, wash and chop thinly
- 4 cloves of garlic
- 5 cloves of small red onion
- 5 red chili, you may add more chili if you like spicy
- 1 tsp shrimp paste
- 1 Tbsp tomato paste
- 1 Tbsp fish sauce
- 1 Tbsp sweet soy sauce
- salt
- oil

In a pan scramble the egg with a little bit of oil until dry. Put it aside. In a blender, blend garlic, onion, chili and shrimp paste until smooth. Then saute it with oil in a big nonstick frying pan. Add the meat, beef balls and sausage and continue to fry for 3minutes. Add tomato paste, fish sauce and sweet soy sauce. Add steam rice and mix it well. Adjust the taste with salt and sweet soy sauce. At last sprinkle chopped green onion and scrambled egg. Serve while hot. Garnish it with cut fresh cucumber and/or tomato and/or lettuce.

Note: Basically you can use any kind of meat for fried rice and you may add mixed vegetable (corn, carrot, peas) to it too.

Chicken Porridge (Bubur Ayam)

I remembered when I still worked in a university in Jakarta, Indonesia. I used to have this kind of chicken porridge for breakfast together with my colleagues before we started the day at work. Enough to keep our energy up until lunch time. Oh...how I missed those old days....

Ingredients:

To make porridge:
- 2,5 cups of rice, rinse and drain
- 2lt of chicken broth
- 10cm of ginger, peel off the skin, cut into 2 and crack it with pestle (Indonesian-keprek dengan ulekan)
- 6 cloves of garlic, chop thinly
- salt
- sesame oil

To make chicken topping:
- 4 whole chicken leg, boil with water until tender, take out the chicken and put it aside, use the broth for making porridge. Shred the chicken meat, discard the bones.
- 200gr mushroom, wash and slice
- 3 green onion, wash and chop thinly
- 5 cloves of garlic, chop thinly
- 4cm of ginger, peel off the skin, cut into 2
- 2 Tbsp oyster sauce
- 4 Tbsp fish sauce
- 4 Tbsp sweet soy sauce
- 2 tsp ground pepper
- sesame oil
- water

Side dish:
- 3 boiled eggs, half cut
- crushed chili
- soy sauce (Indonesian-kecap asin)
- preserved cabbage (tongcai)
- fried onion
- freshly chopped green onion

In a pot, boil rice with the chicken broth at low heat. Stir occasionally and add ginger and salt. Continue to boil until the rice cooked. Add some more water if needed.
Fry the garlic with a little bit sesame oil until brownish. Pour the fried garlic together with the rest of the oil into porridge. Stir it.

In a pan, saute garlic and ginger with sesame oil until brownish. Add fish sauce and oyster sauce. Add the shredded chicken meat. Add some water (if the porridge is liquid enough, do not add water to the topping, however if the porridge is thick, water may be added to the topping). Add sweet soy sauce and pepper. Lastly add the mushroom and chopped green onion.

To serve, in a bowl put the porridge first and add the topping on top of it. Sprinkle fried onion, fresh green onion and preserved cabbage. Add half cut boiled egg (is not shown on the picture). You may add soy sauce and chili if you like.

Note: Sometimes I add fried soybeans and crackers (Indonesian-kerupuk) as side dish. This time I did not have any soybeans nor crackers.