Colorful Stir Fried Lunch

One of these days, I stocked up a lot of vegetables in the fridge and felt like cooking them all at once, before they were going rotten. Thus, this is what I chose...easy to prepare, healthy and yummy. So happy to see the kids eating it fast..(patting my own chest..you know, how hard it is to get kids eating veggies).
Here is my "not so secret" recipe:

Ingredients:
300g chicken thigh, cut into strips
1/2 red bell pepper, cut
1/2 yellow bell pepper, cut
1/2 orange bell pepper, cut
some cauliflower
a bunch of asparagus, cut
some mini carrot
100g mushroom, cut into half
1/2 onion, chopped
4 garlic, chopped
3 cm of ginger, bruised
2 Tbsp soy sauce
2 Tbsp oyster sauce
1 Tbsp corn starch
1 Tbsp rice wine
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp sugar
Oil for sauteing
water

Directions:
Marinade chicken meat with soy sauce+rice wine+sesame oil+corn starch for 15min. Saute the meat with vegetable oil until changing color. Add chopped onion, garlic, and ginger and continue to saute until cooked. Add oyster sauce and some water (app. 100ml). Cook until boiling, stir occasionally, add sugar and stir well. Add the rest of ingredients accordingly (the hardest first). Cook until just barely cooked.

Stir Fried Red Veggies - I am all about RED!

I am all about red...yes I so do like this color. For me it is bright and cheerful and when it comes to clothes, they look good on my skin tone. I own red color kitchen utensils, and when I opened my fridge I saw bottles of seasonings/sauces mostly in red color. Found a whole of spiral sliced ham wrapped in shiny red on my fridge shelf, and in the cupboard there were some snacks with red packaging and cooking ingredients in red boxes or containers as well. Apparently I have purchased or received gifts of red color clothes and winter apparels too.

I was into red-orangy color food too last week...this one is easy to prepare and healthy!

Ingredients:
- 1 red bell pepper, cut into small pieces
- bunch of baby carrot, cut into 3 each
- bunch of mushroom, cut into 4 each
- 2 green onion, chop thinly
- 6 cloves of garlic, chop thinly
- 2Tbsp of oyster sauce
- 1Tbsp of fish sauce
- 1tsp of ground white pepper
- water
- 1Tbsp of corn starch, dissolve it with a little bit of water
- 1Tbsp sesame oil

Directions:
In a wok saute chop garlic with a little bit of sesame oil until fragrant. Add carrot and then bell pepper and cook for 2minutes. Add app. 200ml of water and cook until boiling. Add fish sauce, oyster sauce and pepper and stir it well. Add mushroom and cook for 2minutes. Add green onion and corn starch solution and stir it instantly until thicken. Serve it with steamed rice and meat menu.

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.

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).

Stir Fried Baby BokChoy

I personally like to cook baby bokchoy, since it is no need to be cut, meaning less preparation time needed. Moreover the cooking time is not that long and the result is fresh crunchy veggie. It is normally cooked with other veggies or meat. However, this time I just cooked it all by itself and added some ginger and oyster sauce. That's it...simple right?

Ingredients:
- bunch of baby bokchoy, wash to get rid of the dirt
- 5 cloves of garlic, chop thinly
- 4 cloves of small red onion, chop thinly
- 5cm of ginger, peel off the skin and slice thinly
- 2 Tbsp of oyster sauce
- 2 Tbsp of fish sauce
- oil for saute


In a wok, saute garlic, onion and ginger with a little bit of oil until fragrant. Add fish and oyster sauce, stir it. Add washed baby bokchoy, stir and cook for 4-5minutes. Serve with steam rice and other dishes.

Stir Fried Broccoli and Shrimp

Couple days ago I had no idea of what to cook, so I just gathered what had been left in my fridge-freezer and made up a recipe.

Ingredients:
- bunch of broccoli, separate each of flower head
- 250gr of matches-cut carrot
- 150gr of bean sprout
- 250gr of headless shrimp
- 6 cloves of garlic, chop thinly
- 4 cloves of small red onion, chop thinly
- 1 Tbsp of sesame oil
- 1 Tbsp of sweet soy sauce
- 2 Tbsp of fish sauce
- 1 tsp of ground white pepper
- salt
- sugar
- water

In a wok, saute garlic and onion with sesame oil until brownish. Add shrimp and continue to cook until change color. Add fish sauce, sweet soy sauce, pepper and app. 100ml water. Adjust the taste with salt and sugar. Add broccoli, continue to cook for another 4minutes. Then add carrot and bean sprout, stir it well and cook for another 2minutes. Do not overcooked.

Stir Fried Mixed Veggies (Cah Sayur Campur)

Worrying that my bean sprout would turn bad, I decided to make this stir fried. It is quite simple yet easy to prepare. You may add any kind of veggies as you like.

Ingredients:
- 1 napa cabbage, cut into small pieces
- bunch of bean sprout
- 1/2 can of sweet green peas
- 200gr of headless shrimp, cut into 2 each
- 200gr of meat (chicken/pork/beef), boil and cut into small cubes, use a little bit of the broth
- 5 cloves of garlic, chop thinly
- 2 cloves of small red onion, chop thinly
- 1 Tbsp of sesame oil
- 2 Tbsp of oyster sauce
- 1 Tbsp of maizena or corn flour, mix it with a little bit of water
- salt
- sugar
- 1 tsp of ground white pepper
- oil for saute

In a wok, saute onion and garlic with a little bit of oil until brownish. Add shrimp and continue to cook until it changes color. Add meat and sesame oil and stir it well. Add oyster sauce and app. 200ml broth and cook until boiling. Add napa cabbage and cook for 3minutes (do not overcooked). Add bean sprout and sweet green peas. Pour in the maizena solution and stir it instantly until the water thicken. Adjust the taste with salt, sugar and pepper.

Stir Fried Tempeh-Tofu with Soybean Paste (Oseng Tempe-Tahu Bumbu Taoco)

Since I have tempeh in stock and drooled over bucil's Buto Ijo, last week I made this stir fried menu. It is simple yet delicious.

Ingredients:
- 1 package of tempeh, cut into small squares, fry until golden brown
- 1 block of medium hard tofu, cut into small squares, fry until half-cooked
- a bunch of haricot beans, slice
- 6 of big green chili, slice thinly
- 5 cloves of garlic, chop thinly
- 4 cloves of small red onion, chop thinly
- 8 chili paddy or bird's eye chili, slice thinly
- 4cm of galangal
- 2 Tbsp of soybean paste (Indonesian-taoco)
- 2 Tbsp of sweet soy sauce
- 1 tomato, cut into 12, you may replace it with tamarind juice
- water
- salt
- sugar
- oil for frying and saute

In a wok, saute garlic and onion with a little bit of oil for 2minutes. Add green chili, chili and galangal and continue to saute for another 2minutes. Add soybean paste, sweet soy sauce and app. 200ml water, mix it well and continue to cook until boiling. Add tomato and fried tempeh and tofu and mix it again. Adjust the taste with salt and sugar. Continue to cook until boiling again. Serve it with warm steam rice.

Stir Fried Bean Sprout and Carrot (Orak-Arik Taoge-Wortel)

I made this simple stir fried veggies to accompany the spicy anchovy for dinner yesterday. My mom used to make it when I was little, instead of using bean sprout normally she used cabbage. Since my husband and I are not a big fan of cabbage, I used bean sprout this time.

Ingredients:
- 200gr of bean sprout, wash
- 3 carrot, peel off the skin, wash and cut into matches-liked sticks
- 3 green onion, chop thinly
- 2 eggs
- 1 block of chicken broth
- 4 cloves of small red onion, chop thinly
- 4 cloves of garlic, chop thinly
- salt
- sugar
- 1 tsp ground white pepper
- water
- oil for saute

In a wok, saute onion and garlic for 2minutes. Add carrot and continue to saute for another 2 minutes. Add app. 150ml of water and continue to cook until boiling. Add chicken broth, salt and pepper and adjust the taste with sugar. Add bean sprout and chopped green onion and cook for another 2minutes. Drop the eggs and stir it instantly until cooked.

Stir Fried Spinach and Mushroom

This meal is a combination of two veggies that we like the most. It is very simple and easy to prepare.

Ingredients:
- a bunch of spinach, wash and cut
- 350gr mushroom, wash and cut into 4 each
- 6 cloves of garlic, chop thinly
- 1 Tbsp sesame oil
- salt
- 2 tsp ground white pepper
- water

In a pan, saute garlic with sesame oil until brownish. Add mushroom and cook until half-cooked. Add 1/2 cup of water and salt and pepper to taste. Add more sesame oil as needed. At last add spinach and cook for another 2minutes.

Stir Fried Beef Broccoli with Oyster Sauce (Cah Brokoli Sapi Saus Tiram)

It is good to be home again after almost two weeks vacationing with the Sianturi's. Well, the vacation was great, but when you got back you will feel a lot more tired even though during the holiday you did not do any job, most of time you did not have enough sleep either.
It's been a while I did not post anything to this blog. We are back to our routine niche, so hopefully I will have enough time to cook and to post it here.

Ingredients:
- 1lb lean meat, slice thinly
- a bunch of broccoli, wash and cut
- 5 cloves of garlic, chop
- 4cm of ginger, crack it with pestle
- 2 Tbsp oyster sauce
- 1 tsp ground black pepper
- salt
- sugar
- water
- oil for saute

In a pan, saute garlic with a little bit of oil until brownish. Add the ginger and continue to saute for another minute. Add thinly sliced meat and continue to cook until done. Pour the oyster sauce and add a little bit of water. Add ground black pepper and adjust the taste with salt and sugar. At last add the broccoli, stir for couple minutes. It may be served together with steam rice.

Stir Fried Long Beans with Sweet Soy Sauce

Yesterday I made this meal to eat with fried steamed mackerel fish. Kinda missing home....

Ingredients:
- a bunch of long beans, wash and cut into 5cm in length
- bean sprout
- tofu, cut into small pieces, deep fry until half cooked
- 1 tomato, cut into 8
- 5 cloves of garlic, chop thinly
- 4 cloves of small red onion, chop thinly
- 5 chili paddy's or bird's eye chili, chop thinly
- 1 Tbsp fish sauce
- 1 Tbsp oyster sauce
- 2 Tbsp sweet soy sauce (you may add more as you like)
- 4cm of galangal
- oil for saute
- water

In a pan, saute the garlic and onion until brownish. Add the chili and galangal and continue to saute for another 1 minute. Add long beans, cook until done. Add the three sauces and some water. Continue to cook until boiling. At last add the beans sprout, fried tofu and tomato.

Stir Fried Bean Sprout and Tofu

My husband and I really like bean sprout, especially for stir frying. So this time I made stir fried bean sprout and tofu. It is very easy to make and almost no-time preparation needed.

Ingredients:
- 1 bag of bean sprout (app. 1lb), wash
- 3 block of tofu, cut into small pieces, and fry until half cooked
- 4 cloves of small red onion, slice thinly
- 6 cloves of garlic, slice thinly
- 5 chili paddy or bird's eye chili, slice thinly
- 3cm of galangal, cut into 3
- 1 tomato, cut into 8
- salt
- pepper
- sugar
- water
- oil for frying

In a pan, saute the onion, garlic and galangal for 1-2 minute. Add the chili and continue to saute for another 1 minute. Add the bean sprout and fried tofu. Add some water and tomato. At last add salt, pepper and sugar. Bring to taste.

Note: I added some spinach too, since I got some left-over in the fridge. You may find it as greeny in the picture.

Stir Fried Egg-tofu with Soybean Paste (Telur-Tahu Bumbu Tauco)

To eat with crunchy tempeh-anchovy, I made this stir fried egg-tofu with soybean paste. I intentionally added more water to it, so that our meal is not too "dry".

Ingredients:
- 6 eggs, boil and peel
- 4 tofu, cut into small pieces, fry until half cooked
- 4 Tbsp soybean paste
- 4cm of ginger, cut into 4 and crack it with pestle (Indonesian-keprek dengan ulekan)
- 6 cloves garlic, slice thinly
- 5 cloves small red onion, slice thinly
- 2 Tbsp sweet soy sauce
- sugar
- oil for frying
- water (as much as you like)

In a pan, saute garlic and onion with a little bit of oil for 1-2 minutes. Add ginger, continue to saute for another 1 minutes. Add the soybeans paste and sweet soy sauce, mix it well. Add the water. Add eggs and fried tofu. Stir it and taste it, adjust the taste with sugar. Continue to boil until cooked.

Note: normally it is already salty enough from the soybean paste. However if you think it is not salty enough, you may add some salt. Keep it in fridge and eat it for the next day is better than eat it on the same day as you cooked, because all the spice will penetrate to the eggs and make them brownish, harder and tastier.