Kolak Pisang (Sweet Banana Dessert with Coconut Milk)

First of all, I would like to extend my greetings to my dear moslem friends from all around the world, who will soon be entering the month of fasting. Wishing you a blessed month and happy fasting!
I remember when I was still in Indonesia, during the fasting month, people like to have sweets to break the fasting. And only during this month, I noticed a lot of small stalls opened on street selling foods, mainly fresh, cold and sweet dessert. Kolak was one of many things they sold. So to remind me of the feeling of that fresh afternoon air, I made kolak myself 3 days ago...

Ingredients:
- 3 banana, cut into 1.5cm thickness
- 2 sweet potato, peel off the skin, cut into small chunks
- 1 can of jackfruits
- 1 can of palm seeds
- 1/2 can of coconut milk
- water
- 1 block of palm sugar
- dash of salt
- 9cm of pandan leave, cut into 3



Directions:
In a pot, boil the sweet potato in water until almost tender. Add palm seeds, pandan leaves and palm sugar and stir until all the sugar dissolved. Add jackfruit, banana and salt and stir it well. Continue to cook until boiling. Add coconut milk and stir it instantly. Wait until boiling again and turn off the heat by then.
Keep in fridge before serving, or add some ice cubes if you like.

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.

Another Steamed Cupcakes

I think I am just addicted to make steamed cupcakes...to eat it? I just leave it up to my husband and my lil' one....hehehe...
This time around, instead of adding cocoa powder, I added green food coloring. You can find the recipe here.
Just enjoy the pictures!

Pecel Lele (Deep Fried Cat Fish with Chili Paste)

I used to have this meal when I was going to a university in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. It was sold on street stalls. Normally they do not only sell it, they also sell deep fried chicken, pigeon, etc. Last week I was craving for it and decided to prepare it myself.

Ingredients:
- frozen cat fish (available at Asian stores)
- 4 cloves of garlic
- 1Tbsp of ground coriander
- salt
- water
- oil for frying

To make sambal/chili paste:
- 4 cloves of garlic
- 3 cloves of small red onion
- 12 chili paddy
- 1 tomato
- 1tsp of shrimp paste
- 1Tbsp of palm sugar
- salt
- frying oil



Directions:
I like to buy cat fish which was cleaned before, so I do not need to clean it myself. In a chopper, crush garlic until smooth and then transfer it into a big container. Add coriander, salt and water (app. 250ml) and mix it well. Marinate the fish in it at least for 30minutes (you may make a shallow cut on its stomach, so that the spice will immerse quickly).
Deep fry it in hot oil under medium high heat until brown and crunchy.
To make chili paste: place all of the ingredients in a microwaveable bowl and microwave it for 2min. Then transfer it into a chopper and crush until smooth.
Eat it with warm steam rice and some fresh veggies. You may add some sweet soy sauce into the sambal if you like.

Semur Daging Betawi (Batavian Spiced Beef)

My husband loves this meal and had asked me to make it since 2 week ago, so 3 days ago I prepared it and he thanked me so many times...(even the next day before it's all gone, he said he wants me to make another portion of it...). I did not have any idea he loves it that much...I am sorry dear for postponing for some days...

Ingredients:
- 800gr of beef meat, cut into small chunk
- 400gr of washed mini potato
- 2 block of tofu, cut into 8 pieces each, deep fry until half cooked
- 3cloves of small red onion
- 7cloves of garlic
- 4cm of ginger
- 5 candle nuts
- 4 dried cloves flower bud (I skipped this one)
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1tsp of ground coriander
- 1tsp of ground white pepper
- 2tsp of ground nutmeg
- 1 tomato, cut into 8
- 4Tbsp of sweet soy sauce
- sugar
- salt
- oil for saute
- water, app. 700ml



Directions:
Grind onion, garlic, ginger and candle nuts in a blender until smooth. Saute it with a little bit of oil until fragrant, then add coriander, pepper, nutmeg, cloves and cinnamon stick, continue to stir for 2minutes. Add the beef and continue to cook and stir until color changed. Add some water and stir again. Cook until the meat tender. Add mini potato and cook for 10minutes. Add fried tofu and at last add tomato, sweet soy sauce, salt and sugar and stir well. Serve it with warm steam rice and chili paste (if you like).

Sego Gandul/Nasi Gandul

Sego Gandul or Nasi Gandul, literally means hanging rice...but do not expect that you will find the way it means by words. It is a traditional meal from Pati, Central Java. Somebody told me that because it is served with a piece of banana leaf lining the plate, it does not touch the plate, that's why they call it "Gandul", whereas "sego/nasi" means rice.
I was born in Pati, but I confess I had never made this meal before until the other day when I saw Titi and Ayin made and posted it on their blogs.
A year ago, my sister sent me the recipe through email and last week I went through my old inbox to find that particular message with the recipe in it, and I was happy to find it was still there. My sis got the recipe from a lady that lives in Pati, so I trust it is a genuine recipe.

Ingredients:
- 800gr of beef meat with a little fat (I do not like it too much fat)
- 4cloves of small red onion
- 8cloves of garlic
- 5 candle nuts
- 4cm of ginger
- 1tsp of shrimp paste
- 2tsp of ground coriander
- 1tsp of ground white pepper
- 1tsp of ground cummin
- 1tsp of ground kencur
- 4cm of galangal
- 4 lime leaves
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 10 of blanched chili paddy
- salt
- sweet soy sauce
- 1Tbsp of palm sugar
- 1/2 can of coconut milk
- oil for saute



Side dish:
- fried onion
- fried tempeh
- shrimp crackers (I did not serve it this time)

Directions:
Boil the beef with water until tender, keep the broth a side for later use, and cut the beef into small cubes. Crush onion, garlic, candle nuts, ginger and shrimp paste in a blender until smooth. Saute it with a little bit of oil for 2minutes. Add coriander, pepper, cummin, kencur, galangal and lime leaves and stir it well. Add the meat and stir it. Add blanched chili, cinnamon stick, salt, sweet soy sauce, broth and palm sugar. Cook and stir until boiling. Continue to cook for another 10-15min, until all the seasoning immersed. Discard the cinnamon stick and then add coconut milk. Cook until boiling again and turn off the stove.
To serve, line a plate with a piece of banana leaf. Place a scoop of warm steam rice and then pour Gandul over. Sprinkle some fried onion and add some fried tempeh at side. Originally instead of spoon, they used "suru"-a small long piece of banana leaf to eat (see the first picture).