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.

Gulai Daun Kale - Kale in Spiced Coconut Sauce

I always wanted to make this veggie meal, the original version normally using Cassava leaves. This food is widely known in Sumatra, Indonesia. Since I am not able to find fresh Cassava leaves here, I replaced them with Kale. And the taste was as good as the original version.

Ingredients:
- Kale (a bunch), trimmed and boiled, drained
- 75g fried/baked anchovies
- 1 stalk of lemongrass
- 2 Indonesian bay leaves
- 1/2 can of coconut milk
- water as needed
- salt
- sugar
- oil for sauteeing

To crush:
- 8 cloves of garlic
- 4 cloves of shallot
- 5 candle nuts
- 4cm of galangal
- 8 chili

Directions:
Saute the smooth spices with oil until fragrant. Add lemongrass, bay leaves, anchovies and coconut milk. Cook until boiling. Add salt and sugar to taste. At last add the boiled kale and mix them well.

Pecel Sederhana (Simple Indonesian Mixed Veggie Salad with Peanut Sauce/Dressing)

I have been busy with settling in our new house and my days are occupied with tidying, cleaning up and decorating this place. The weather has been so great too, that makes us doing more outdoor activities and almost every day we went home exhausting. I almost have no time to spend in front of my computer that I missed some of monthly event hold by foodie blogger, which I regret. Today is the last day to post our menu for Masak Bareng Yuuk event. I am so happy to be able to join this monthly event again this time, even though I only have old pictures from my file which matched to this month theme. I cooked this menu quite a while ago. So here is my way to prepare Pecel (Indonesian Mixed Veggie Salad with Peanut Sauce/Dressing).

Ingredients:

- bunch of long beans, cut into 6cm in length
- bunch of spinach, cut into 6cm in length
- bunch of bean sprout

For peanut sauce/dressing:
- bunch of peanut, oven roasted, dehulled
- 6 cloves of garlic
- 6 chili paddy or bird's eye chili
- 1tsp of tamarind
- 4 lime leaves
- 1 block of palm sugar
- 2tsp of ground kencur
- salt
- sugar
- water

Side dishes:
- tempe, tahu bacem
- krupuk aci (Indonesian crackers-see pictures)

Directions:
Steam all of the veggies until half-cooked.
To make dressing:
Grind peanut, chili, garlic and lime leaves until smooth. In a pot boil some water, when boiling add the smooth mixture and stir well. Add tamarind and palm sugar and stir well until all sugar dissolved. Add kencur and then salt and sugar to taste.
To serve, place all of the steamed veggies in a serving plate then pour some of the dressing on top of it. Add some Indonesian crackers, tempe and tahu bacem at the side. You may add some steamed rice too.

Chinese Mustard with Oyster Sauce (Bokchoy Saus Tiram)

How do you like your veggies? As for me, I like my veggies half done and crunchy. I hate those soggy and overcooked ones. And simply adding some oyster sauce will be perfect. So here is what we normally have at home..

Ingredients:
- bunch of bokchoy, cut 8cm in length, washed
- 3 Tbsp of oyster sauce or more
- water

Directions:
In a pot boil some water. Add the bokchoy and continue to boil for 2-3minutes (do not overcook). Drain it and place it on a plate. Pour the oyster sauce on top of it.

Garden Salad - Our (Almost) Every Day Ritual

I believe that every body has their own ritual through every day of their lives. Starting from turning off the alarm clock and getting back to sleep in the morning, reading newspaper and sipping a cup of coffee, eating lunch in front of an office computer, jogging to home while going back from work, enjoying very sweet dessert after dinner, and finishing the day with putting on a fresh washed pajama and saying a little prayer before going to bed. No no..I am not talking about my habit though... For us, consuming salad with our meal is a ritual. This one is our typical salad, we do love it so much. Just call it garden salad.

Ingredients:
- bunch of any greenies, could be romaine lettuce, any lettuces, spinach
- bunch of baby carrots
- 1 big tomato, washed and cut or cherry tomato
- celery, washed and cut
- any dressing, we love ranch, italian or thousand island
- bacon bits (optional)

Directions:
Toss all of the veggies in a salad bowl. Pour some salad dressing and sprinkle the bacon bits. Mix it well. Serve it immediately.

And today is my daughter's birthday. Happy 2nd Birthday Bianca, mommy, daddy n Jordan loves you!

Buncis Bumbu Taoco (Stir Fried Haricot Beans with Soybean Paste) - My Just in time Idea

I was doing a quick shopping on a very cold day while my husband and kids waiting in our car. Having no idea of what to cook, I just grabbed some wonton and haricot beans and some others. It was really really quick, no more than 15minutes shopping, including the checking out at the cashier. I had never thought of combining the two before, not until I got home that day and needed to prepare something quick and easy. I looked up in the fridge and found some soybean paste...hmm...why not combining the three of them. So here is the quick and easy recipe, oh yeah..btw, my Bianca loves it!

Ingredients:
- bunch of haricot beans, cut into 6cm in length
- 10 wonton (I chose pork and chinese mushroom ones), boiled
- 4Tbsp of soybean paste
- 6cloves of garlic, chopped thinly
- 2Tbsp of dried small shrimp (Indonesian-ebi), soaked in water and drained
- sesame oil for sauteeing
- water

Directions:
In a wok, saute garlic with sesame oil, then add presoaked dried shrimp and stir. Add soybean paste and continue to cook for another minute. Add haricot beans and stir well until changed color. Add some water as desired. Add the boiled wonton and stir it well. Remove it from stove. Serve with steamed rice and other dish.

Asinan Sayur (Indonesian Mixed Veggie Salad)

When I went to Calgary last July, I purchased these special Indonesian Noodle Crackers (Indonesian-krupuk mie) which good to go with specific veggie salad. However, I did not have time to prepare the salad. Last week I blogwalked and visited Judith's page where she has this asinan sayur. Since then, I really wanted to prepare it myself, so yesterday I made it and kept it in fridge for a day. Here is my version of asinan sayur.

Ingredients:
- 200g of coleslaw mixed veggie (a great shortcut for lazy people like me...)
- bunch of lettuce, slice thinly
- 1/2 cucumber, slice thinly
- 150g of bean sprout
- 2 blocks of fried tofu, cut into small squares
- 3cloves of garlic, coarsely crushed
- 150g of coconut sugar
- 2Tbsp of Sambal Oelek
- 1/2 lime
- salt
- sugar
- water
- 150g of peanut, fry it with a little bit of oil
- Indonesian noodle crackers

Directions:
In a pot, bring water into boiling. Add coconut sugar and stir until all dissolved. Add garlic, Sambal Oelek, salt and sugar to taste. Continue to cook until boiling again. Remove it from stove, drizzle the lime juice and keep it aside until cooling. Meanwhile mix all of the veggies and tofu in a big container with a lid. Then pour the cool liquid sauce over. Put the lid on and keep it in a fridge overnightly. To serve, place it in a bowl, sprinkle some fried peanuts on top and add the crackers at the side. Serve it cold.

Left-over Files of 2008 Series, Tumis Buncis (Stir Fried Haricot Beans)

For several days from now, I will be posting some left-over files of my stored pictures from last year, since I have quite a bit. I will start it with a veggie menu as if normally people have resolution for new year, and loosing weight and being healthy are at the top rank. Hopefully veggie menu is good to start up this year.
Stay healthy!

Ingredients:
- bunch of green haricot beans, wash and cut into 2-3 each
- 3cloves of small red onion, chop thinly
- 6cloves of garlic, chop thinly
- 8 chili paddy or bird's eye chili, chop thinly
- 4cm of galangal, cut into 2
- 1Tbsp of fish sauce
- 1 tomato, cut into 8
- sweet soy sauce
- water
- salt
- sugar
- oil for saute

Directions:
In a wok, saute garlic, onion, chili and galangal until fragrant. Add fish sauce and beans, continue to cook and stir for 2minutes. Add some water, app. 200ml and cook until boiling. Add tomato and sweet soy sauce and stir. Adjust the taste with salt and sugar. Cook for another 5minutes. Serve it with steamed rice and meat dishes.

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.

Double Trouble-King Oyster Mushroom with Oyster Sauce

We love to eat any kinds of mushroom, and king oyster is our favorite one. It has a thick meaty white stem and when it cooked it releases typical mushroom umami flavor (wikipedia).
I called it double trouble, since when it is cooked with oyster sauce (so double oyster) it gives fantastic taste and it goes so fast!

Ingredients:
- 3 big stalk of king oyster mushroom, slice it thick
- 5cloves of garlic, chop thinly
- 1Tbsp of sesame oil
- 3Tbsp of oyster sauce
- 2tsp of ground white pepper
- water



Directions:
In a wok saute garlic with sesame oil until fragrant. Add cut mushroom and stir it. Add some water (app. 150ml) and cook until boiling. Add oyster sauce and pepper, continue to cook and stir for another 4minutes. Serve it with steam rice and other dishes.

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.

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).

Garlic-Basil Stir Fried Ribs n Veggies

Another Thai cuisine which is easy to make and you may throw any meats or veggies as you like.

Ingredients:
- 600gr of pork ribs
- 250gr of peeled washed carrot
- a bunch of yu choy (Indonesian: sawi hijau or caisim)
- 4Tbsp of Thai garlic-basil stir fry paste
- water



Directions:
In a wok, saute for 2 minutes the garlic-basil paste without oil since it contains oil already. Throw in the ribs and stir it until change color. Add some water, approx. 150ml and stir it well. Continue to cook until boiling and the meat tender. Add carrot, stir and continue to cook for 4minutes. Add yu choy, stir and continue to cook for 3minutes.
Serve it with warm steam rice.

Water Morning Glory with Blackbeans Sauce

I made this veggie menu to eat with the spicy mackarel which I've previously posted. Quite simple yet tasty.

Ingredients:
- bunch of water morning glory, wash and cut into 7cm in length
- 3 blocks of tofu, cut into small cubes, fry until half cooked
- 150gr of beef, cut thinly
- 3Tbsp of blackbeans sauce
- 6 cloves of garlic
- 3 cloves of small red onion
- 8 chili paddy or bird's eye chili
- sugar
- oil for saute
- water



In a wok, saute garlic and onion until fragrant. Add the beef meat and cook until changed color. Add chili and blackbeans sauce and continue to cook for 2minutes. Add a little bit of water as needed. Stir it well. Add water morning glory and stir it to distribute the heat evenly. Add fried tofu and continue to cook until the veggie changed color. Adjust the taste with a little bit of sugar. Do not overcook, turn off the stove as soon as the veggie changed color.

Green Jackfruits Gulai

My husband loves this gulai and I just found out that my 15month old daughter is after her father in liking this meal. I did not have to wait for her to ask for the next bites, she said "mau..mau.." which means "I want".
This time around I did not use beef and bones, I added some shrimp instead. Here is the recipe:

Ingredients:
- 300gr of shrimp
- 2 can green jackfruit, drain and cut into small pieces
- 6 pieces of tofu, cut into triangle shapes, fry until half cooked
- 1/2 can coconut milk
- 1 lemongrass, cut into 4cm length
- 4 Indonesian bay leaves
- 4 lime leaves
- 6 cloves garlic
- 4 cloves small red onion
- 4 chili paddy or bird's eye chili
- 5 candle nuts
- 4cm of galangal
- 3cm of ginger
- 3cm of turmeric
- 1Tbsp ground coriander
- 1 tsp tamarind (without seed)
- 1/2 block/cylinder of coconut sugar
- 3lt water
- salt
- sugar
- oil for frying



Put garlic, onion, chili, candle nuts, ginger, turmeric and coriander into a blender, and blend it until smooth. Saute it in a wok with a little bit of oil. Add the shrimp and stir it until changed color. Add water and the rest of ingredients except coconut milk and chili. Cook until the jack fruits tender. Lastly add the coconut milk and bring it to boil, stir occasionally. Taste and adjust it with salt and sugar. (I added the chili at last, after I separated some out for Bianca, since she is still too young to eat spicy food).

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.

Indonesian Veggie Salad with Peanut Sauce Dressing (Gado Gado)

According to Wikipedia, Gado-gado is a traditional dish in Indonesia cuisine. It is a vegetable salad served with a peanut sauce dressing. In Indonesia, you may find it served in big restaurants or just in small food stalls or street vendor. Even it is widely served in Indonesian restaurants overseas.
I made this gado gado using instant peanut sauce dressing available in Asian stores. You may need to add some seasoning if you like.

Ingredients:
- bunch of water morning glory (Indonesian-kangkung), cut into 6cm in length
- bunch of long bean, cut into 6cm in length
- 2 chocho, peel off the skin, discard the core and cut into small cubes
- bunch of bean sprout
- 3 potato, boil, peel off the skin and cut into small chunks
- 3 eggs, boil, peel off the shell and cut into 8 each
- 1 block of tempeh, cut into small squares and fry until golden brown
- 2 blocks of tofu, cut into small squares and fry until half-cooked
- 1 package of instant peanut sauce dressing
- water
- oil for frying

Side dishes:
- rice dumpling
- shrimp crackers
- gnetum gnemon crackers (Indonesian-krupuk melinjo)
- fried onion


Boil all the veggies in water until cooked (do not overcooked), then drain the water and put it aside. Meanwhile, make the dressing by dissolving the instant peanut sauce dressing with hot water until the desired consistency, or you may boil cold water and then cook the dressing and mix it well. Add any other seasoning, ex. chili, palm sugar, salt, etc...as you wish.
To serve, arrange rice dumpling, cooked veggies, boiled egg and potato, fried tempeh and tofu on a plate. Then pour the peanut sauce dressing on top of it. Add crackers and sprinkle some fried onion.

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.

Spicy Eggplant/Aubergine (Balado Terong Ungu)

Yesterday was my husband's birthday. Instead of asking me to cook fancy foods, he asked me to make balado terong the spicy one. So yes, I made this specially for him and I made it really really spicy.

Ingredients:
- 3 eggplant/aubergine, cut it in the middle longwise, and then cut into 5cm in length, put it in an oven for 30min at 350F, flip it over in the mid way.
- 16 chili paddy/bird's eye chili (consider to reduce the number please...)
- 6 cloves of garlic
- 5 cloves of small red onion
- 1 tsp of shrimp paste
- 1 tomato, cut into 12
- 3 lime leaves
- salt
- sugar
- 100ml water
- oil for saute

In a chopper, chop chili, garlic, onion, tomato and shrimp paste until coarse smooth. Saute it with a little bit of oil for 3minutes. Add salt and sugar and continue to cook and stir constantly. Add some water and continue to cook until boiling. Add the lime leaves and stir it well. Add the baked eggplant, stir it and cook for another 10minutes.

To accompany this spicy food, I also made fried vermicelli (see the recipe here). In Chinese's belief, consuming any kind of noodles on your birthday is a symbol of long-life wish. Happy birthday dear!