Mi Goreng Kampung / Humble Fried Noodle

This mi goreng kampung was truly inspired by those super simple & humble fried noodle inside Nasi Campur Bali.
This is my ultimate #1 favorite nasi Bali of all time, it's Nasi Wangaya (the name of the small restaurant that sells it). I can't even start to explain how delicious is this nasi campur, there's nothing fancy about it, yet every single thing is absolutely to die for! maybe they put some magic on it...?? haha

The picture above is that magical nasi Wangaya...ugh...posting this picture makes me drools... T_____T
Anyway, this is my original recipe for the mi goreng kampung, it best serve as the side dishes for other foods. This noodle won't be the star among the other dishes. If the other dishes is the bride / the groom, then this mi goreng kampung is the maid of honor / best man.
Remember, the key of this mie goreng kampung is simplicity, nothing fancy.

Ingredients,
1 pack of thick egg noodles. Boiled them, then drain the water.
carrot & cabbage, with 1:1 ratio. shredded.
cooking oil

Sauce Ingredients,
5 shallots, thinly sliced
5 garlic, chopped
salt & pepper

Cooking Method,
1. Heat the pan, add the cooking oil then pan fry the shallots and garlic until they turn brownish.
2. Add the carrot and cabbage, stir until they wilted.
3. Season with some salt & pepper
4. Add the cooked egg noodle into the pan, mix everything together.
5. Serve them with your other favorite dishes.

This is me attempted to prepare some nasi Bali...including the betutu, plecing kangkung, mie goreng kampung and tempe goreng :)

Pindang Iga / Sweet, Sour & Spicy Ribs Soup

I remember that I cooked this food for my sister while she visited me in Seattle on December 2010, and I  she loved it a lot! and hubby also loves this dish. It's the perfect dish to eat for a rainy cold weather.
Unlike Balinese fishy pindang, this Javanese pindang is very different in taste. This Javanese pindang is sweet, sour and spicy, the unique combination of flavors will make your tongue dancing and keep wanting this food more and more.
This recipe was adapted from Masakan Indonesia Untuk Jamuan

Ingredients,
3 lbs pork neck bone + pork ribs
Olive oil

Sauce Ingredients A ---> blend all the ingredients in food processor
1 tbs galangal powder
1 tsp turmetic powder
1 thumb of ginger
1 handful of garlic

Sauce Ingredients B,
4 lemongrass, smash it.
1 handful bay leaves
2 handful of shallot, thinly sliced.
2 tsp dark tamarind paste, dilute it in 1 cup of hot water
5 ripe tomatoes, sliced large chunk
10 red jalapeno, halves
4 bird eye chili (optional, if you want it more spicy)
3 tbs sweet soy sauce
2 tsp Javanese brown sugar
salt

Cooking Method,
1. Wash the pork bone and pork feet, then soaked them in cold water for 20 minutes to drain the bloods. If you are in hurry, you can omit this step, I did it too sometimes.
2. Boil water on a big pot.
3. Put the pork bone and pork feet into the boiling water, let it sit for 15 to 20 minutes. Then you'll see the foam rise to the water surface. We don't want those dirty stuff.
4. Throw out the dirty water, rinse the pork bone one more time, rinse the pot, and put new water to the pot.
5. Boil the water with the pork bone in it one more time. Use High temperature
6. Add salt, half of the tomatoes, lemongrass and bay leaves, simmer until the pork bone is soft. Approximately 2 hours.
7. Heat another pan, heat the olive oil on medium high heat.
8. Add the sliced shallot into the new pan, pan fry until it get brownish. 
9. Add the sauce ingredient A and mix it with the shallot until fragrant.
10. Add the cooked mixture of shallots & sauce ingredients A into the soup.
11. Add the rest of the sauce ingredients B into the soup, simmer for another 30 minutes.
12. Keep tasting, the end result should be sweet, sour and spicy. 
13. Serve it with warm steam rice, the authentic Indonesian style :)

Kangkung Hotplate with Beef & Quail Eggs

We eat a lot of kangkung in Indonesia, in US, people call it "Morning Glory", you can find them at most of Asian grocery stores.
In Indonesia, kangkung hotplate is served on a hot stone plate. There's a lot of different style of kangkung hot plate, but most of them are stir fry kangkung topped with the gravy. Usually you can find them in Chinese restaurant in Indonesia, so I would put this dish under the Indonesian Chinese Food category :)
Today, I want to share with you all my very own style of kangkung hotplate, I use beef and quail eggs for this dish. It's very simple, slightly spicy and delicious!!
And no, you don't need to serve them on a hotplate if you don't have one. I serve mine on a regular plate.
This is one of the dish I cooked prior before I start my cooking blog, thus I don't use any measurement while cooking it. Remember, keep tasting it is the key of making a success dish.

Ingredients,
kangkung
1 pack of sliced beef
1 can of cooked quail eggs
Olive oil

Sauce Ingredients,
garlic, chopped
2 bird eye chili, sliced
oyster sauce & soy sauce...with ratio 1:1
salt & sugar
1 cup chicken stock (liquid)
corn starch, diluted it in water

Garnish,
Sunny side up Eggs
Fried Shallots

Cooking Method,
1. Wash clean the kangkung, then cut them into 4 lengthwise
2. Separate the stems from the leaves, as they required different cooking time.
3. Heat the pan, heat some oil, then pan fry the kangkung. The stems will require longer cooking time, while the leaves cooked a lot faster. Then set the cooked kangkung aside.
4. Heat a new pan, heat some oil, then pan fry the quail eggs in medium heat until it slightly brown, set them aside.
5. Heat a new pan, heat some oil, add the garlic and bird eye chili. Stir them until the garlic turn brown.
6. Add the beef, stir them until the beefs are half cook
7. Add the oyster sauce and soy sauce, then drizzle some salt and sugar
8. Once the beef are cook, add the quail eggs and chicken stock, mixed them well.
9. Add the diluted corn starch to thickened the sauce.

They are 2 way of serving this dish,
1. As a dish to share: Put the kangkung on a plate, then topped it with the sauce.
2. As individual dish like the picture above: Mix the kangkung into the sauce, then serve it with rice and sunny side up, garnish it with friend onion.

Butter Sauteed Clam in Pear Sake

Butter sauteed clam featured in many many happy hours menus in fancy restaurants everywhere, and it got to be one of my favorite happy hour menu to choose.
Now that I'm a mom and I got no nanny, it seems impossible for me to go enjoying fancy happy hours anymore. Oh well, if I can't go to the happy hours, why don't I bring my favorite happy hours dish to my own kitchen :)
This dish is very easy and delicious, everyone can create their happy hours at home now!

Ps. I use the Asian Pear Sake because I had an open bottle already, you can use any sake that you like.

Ingredients,
1,5 lb clams
4 garlic
1 tbs salted butter
sake

Cooking Method,
1. Wash the clam clean, then put them in a bowl and steam them. This way, you'll get some clam broth.
2. Heat a pan, melt the butter.
3. Lower the heat to medium, add garlic, do not let them turn brown,
4. Add the steamed clam and the clam broth,
5. Drizzle some sake to the pan, close the lid for 3 minutes.
6. Enjoy your delicious butter sauteed clam, dip some bread to the delicious broth.

Potato and Leek Soup

If you love a smooth, creamy, hearty and simply delicious soup, you should try this one!
It was a cold rainy day and I was hungry... I wanted to cook a delicious soup that won't take forever to cook, so it can't be a meaty soup that would required hours and hours of simmering. Then I decided to try cooking this potato and leek soup, an American classic.
This recipe was adapted from Emeril Lagasse's potato and leek soup recipe.

Ingredients,
2 large leeks
4 large russet potatoes, diced.
6 strips bacon, chopped.
2 tbs butter
3/4 cup dry white wine
6 cups chicken stock
3/4 cup heavy cream
salt & black pepper


Sauce Ingredients A ---> tie them inside a cheesecloth / put them inside a large tea bag
4 bay leaves
20 peppercorn
2 tsp dry thyme
2 green leaves from the leek

Garnish,
chive, chopped

Cooking Method,
1. Cut the Leek, separate the white part from the green part.
2. Halve the leek, rinse them clean, then sliced thinly crosswise, set aside.
3. Heat the large soup pot, using medium heat, melt the butter.
4. Add the chopped bacon, stir until it soft for 5-7 minutes.
5. Add the sliced leek, stir until it wilted for around 5 minutes.
6. Add the wine and bring to boil.
7. Add the chicken stock, diced potatoes, sauce ingredients A.
8. Season them with salt and black pepper.
9. Bring to boil one more time, then lower the heat and simmer for 45 minutes.
10. When the potato are falling apart, it's time to puree the soup.
11. Puree the soup in food processor
12. Add the heavy cream to the pureed soup, the adjust the seasoning.
13. Serve the soup with sprinkle chive and some freshly ground black pepper.

Spaghetti Aglio e Olio with Salmon

There's so many different pasta style out there, but my favorite one got to be the very basic & simple one, Aglio e Olio. Aglio e Olio literally mean Garlic and Oil, which is the main ingredients for the pasta sauce here beside the salt and pepper.
Aglio e Olio is very delicious, without using a lot of different ingredient, it let every single ingredients shine on its own. You can add anything to this pasta style, and last time I was using salmon...just because that's what I had on my fridge at the moment. I love to cook this at any time, especially if I had friends came over and I don't have a lot of stuff on my fridge. It's easy, fast, delicious and really inexpensive!
This is one of the dish I cooked prior to writing this blog, I didn't use any measurement while cooking this dish. What important is : taste taste and taste, then keep adjusting the flavor to perfection.

Ps. I remember that I cooked this dish when my dear friend Vanessa visited me, and she made the Caesar salad...I miss her! :)

Ingredients,
spaghetti
garlic, chopped.
olive oil
salmon, cubed.
red bell pepper, cubed.
salt & black pepper
parsley flakes
parmesan cheese

Cooking Method,
1. Cook the spaghetti following the instruction on the box. I usually add some salt and olive oil into the boiling water.
Make sure that your pasta cooked al dente, and not too soft.
2. Meanwhile, heat a pan and drizzle the olive oil. Be generous.
3. Lower the heat to medium, add the garlic and red bell pepper...I like to use a lot of garlic!
4. Stir the garlic and red bell pepper, but don't let it turn brown.
5. Add the salmon, stir until the salmon is cooked.
6. Add the cooked spaghetti, season them with salt and black pepper.
7. Sprinkle some parsley flakes, mix well.
8. Served with with sprinkle of parmesan cheese

Sop Buntut / Oxtail Soup

Oxtail soup always reminds me of my younger brother. I remember that oxtail soup is one of his favorite dish and he always ask mom to buy him oxtail soup from a restaurant not far from our house. So, if we had oxtail soup at home, most likely it's because my brother requested it.
My mom doesn't cook oxtail soup, and even my master-chef grandma told me "if you want to cook oxtail soup, just use that instant spice pack, it's taste so good and so easy!". So I always been using the instant spice pack ever since. I even remember the very first time I cook oxtail soup, I didn't have any idea that I had to cook the soup for a long to achieve the tasty soup with tender meat. I only cooked it for 30 minutes, and the meat was so rubbery like sandals...lol. It was on 2006 in Seattle while I live together with my brother.
Last month, my friend Tess invite me over for dinner, and she cooked me oxtail soup. I asked her if she made the soup from scratch (not using instant spice pack", and she said yes. She told me that she only seasoned the soup with salt, pepper and nutmeg. Nutmeg is the key ingredient here.
Inspired by her oxtail soup, I recreate my own version of oxtail soup. It's very easy and delicious <3

Ps. I usually don't use measurement while I'm cooking, but for the purpose of writing this recipe, I measure every spices and ingredients used to cooked this soup. Enjoy!

Ingredients,
2.9 lbs fresh oxtail
5 carrots, peeled & sliced
3 stalk celery
1 big thumb of ginger, sliced
1/2 cabbage, chopped big sliced
1 tbs butter
2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
7 tsp nutmeg
1tsp sugar
1 tsp white pepper

Sauce Ingredients A ---> blend all the ingredients in food processor
1 big onion
1 handful of garlic
2 handful of shallot

Garnish,
tomatoes, sliced
green onion, chopped.
lime, sliced.
fried shallot (bawang goreng)

Cooking Method,
1. Wash clean the oxtail, the  boil them in 12 cups of water for 20 minutes until it for the dirty foam. Remove the water, rinse the oxtail one more time.

2. Add 10 cup of cold water into the pan.
3. Add the oxtail and ginger, then bring to boil in high heat for 20 minutes.

4. Low the heat to simmer.
5. Add salt, pepper, sugar, nutmeg and cinnamon powder.
6. Simmer for 1 hour, close the lid.
7. After 1 hour, add the carrots, celery and cabbage (the cabbage wasn't in the picture).

8. Take another pan, heat the butter.

9. Pan fry the blended sauce ingredient A with the butter. Then add it into the soup.

10. Simmer for another 2-3 hours or until the meat is tender and easily falls off from the bone.
11. Put slices of fresh tomato on the bowl, then pour the oxtail soup.

12. Garnish the soup with some green onions, squeeze some lemon and sprinkle the fried shallot...bon apetit!!

Salmon Dumpling

Salmon dumpling? a lot of people were surprised when I told them that I made salmon dumplings...why not, right? I was craving for dumplings, but I don't have any at home, and we haven't went for grocery shopping, so we don't have much stuff in the fridge...it's time to be creative!
This was my very first trial making salmon dumpling, using a few ingredients I could find in my fridge...I can't even remember the amount of the stuff I use because really, it was all like the last stuff I could find...haha.
anyway, here's the original recipe <3

Ps. They are endless possibilities of dumpling style, what is your favorite one?

Ingredients,
salmon belly
green onion, thinly slice.
some green vegetable I found at the fridge, chopped
light soy sauce
white pepper
wonton wraps

Cooking Method,
1. Put the salmon belly in microwave for 1 minutes, then you can easily flakes them.
2. Mix the salmon with green onion and the green vegetable.
3. Season them with light soy sauce and white pepper.
4. The way I taste it is to make a small ball (like meatball), and put them in boiling water. Keep tasting until you satisfied with the flavor. You want a mild flavor for dumplings

5. Put one teaspoon of meat into each wonton wrap, use water as the adhesive.

6. Boil the dumpling.
7. I love to eat my dumpling with my own sauce combo: chili garlic sauce + red vinegar + light soy sauce + sesame oil + Indonesian sweet soy sauce (ABC brand)

Korean Chicken & Eggplant Salad

At my Church, after the service ended, we always have lunch together. We have 2 different cooking team that take turn to cook for everyone, and sometimes it's potluck too. One day, my friend Hiromi made this light and delicious chicken and eggplant salad, and this dish is inspired by her delicious dish.
She wrote me a recipe with the precise measurement, but I don't really use measurement for my salad, I keep tasting and season, tasting and season my food, until I satisfied with the taste. This dish is very easy, healthy and  delicious <3

Ingredients,
1/2 pack of boneless skinless chicken tight. Trim the fat.
2 big eggplants, halves then and cut into 4.

Sauce Ingredients,
Aji-Mirin / sweet cooking rice wine
Korean red pepper powder
light soy sauce
sesame oil
roasted sesame seeds
black pepper & sugar
4 garlic, chopped.
5 green onion, chopped medium length

Cooking Method, 
1. Boil the chicken meat, then chopped into smaller pieces. set aside.
2. Steam the eggplants, then set aside.
3. Mix the sauce ingredients in a large bowl. I like mine taste tangy / sour, so pretty much my comparison for the mirin : soy sauce : sesame oil = 2 : 2 : 1. You can adjust the sauce to your own personal taste.
4. Add the Korean redd pepper powder, roasted sesame seeds, chopped garlic, then dash some black pepper and sugar.
5. Taste Taste Taste!
6. When you already satisfied with the sauce, toss in the chicken, eggplants and green onion. Mix them well.
7. it's ready to eat.

Sop Kacang Merah / Pork Bone Soup with Kidney Beans

I remember growing up eating a lot of this soup. My maternal grandma is the best cook in our family, she passed this recipe to my mom and my aunt, so our big family pretty much growing up eating this dish :)
This dish is one of those Indonesian Chinese type of food.
Indonesian Chinese foods are foods that is commonly cooked by Chinese immigrant who lived in Indonesia, so it's not traditional Indonesian food, nor it is authentic Chinese food, there's a lot of awesomely delicious Indonesian Chinese foods that I will share later. The though of Indonesian Chinese foods always reminds me of hometown and my childhood...and writing about them now makes me cry...hehe... :')
I got the original recipe from my aunt, Ikme, thank you for the recipe Ik <3
I edit the recipe according to my own personal taste.
My aunt use the same amount of the pork and the kidney beans, and she also uses carrot on her soup, other that that, it should taste the same :)
Note from my aunt: if you use the dry kidney beans, after you soaked it in the water for one hour, you can cook it together with the pork bones, but if you use the ready to use canned kidney beans, wait until the pork became tender before you put the kidney beans into the soup.

Ps. You can make this soup with pork bone / pork tail / pork feet, according to your own liking. I was using pork bone + pork feet for my soup. The skin from the pork feet is very soft and chewy (not in a bad way), it's so delicious!

Ingredients,
2 lbs pork bones + pork feet
1 pack of dry kidney beans. soaked in warm water for 1 hour prior to cooking.
2 large leeks, sliced thinly. American leek are huge, if you are using the smaller leek, you might need 4 or 5 of them.
green onion for garnish.
salt, pepper & sugar

Cooking Method,

1. Wash the pork bone and pork feet, then soaked them in cold water for 20 minutes to drain the bloods. If you are in hurry, you can omit this step, I did it too sometimes...haha
2. Boil water on a big pot.
3. Put the pork bone and pork feet into the boiling water, let it sit for 15 to 20 minutes. Then you'll see the foam rise to the water surface. We don't want those dirty stuff.
4. Throw out the dirty water, rinse the pork bone one more time, rinse the pot, and put new water to the pot.
5. Boil the water with the pork bone in it one more time. Use High temperature
6. Add the kidney beans.
7. Wait until the kidney beans became soft.
8. Add the leek.
9. When the kidney beans start to split open, season the soup with salt and pepper, and add couple pinch of sugar to elevate the taste.
10. Your soup is ready when the pork meat is tender, the kidney beans are soft & some of them are split open, and the soup get thickened.
11. Garnish the soup with green onion, it's ready to eat.

For me, I love to put a handful of chopped green onions for a small bowl of soup :D

Vanilla Crepes

If you are a reader of my other blog, then you already saw this delicious crepes pictures on it. I love how fun this crepe are, this is more of the dessert / sweet crepe that is suitable with fresh fruits / ice cream toppings. Easy to make, fun and delicious, even my Bebe loves it too <3

Ingredients,

1 cup of milk

1 cup of AP flour

2 eggs

2 tbs unsalted butter

2 tsp vanilla extract (I sometimes substitute the vanilla with pandan...voila, it became pandan crepes!!)

salt & sugar

Cooking Method,

1. Melted the butter on the microwave.

2. Beat the eggs, then put in all other ingredients, a pinch of salt, and a dash of sugar and whisk it. You can also use food processor to mix them.

3. Heat the pan using medium-high heat

4. Spray the pan with cooking oil. I use Pam.

5. Pour 3/4 cup of the batter to the pan, it should be evenly nice and thin. Flip once.

6. Repeat until you used up the batter

7. Enjoy your delicious vanilla crepes with fresh fruit, honey, whipped cream, ice cream or any other toppings

Ayam Sambel Matah / Shredded Chicken in Balinese Sauce

Ayam sambel matah, it's really hard to translate this one...but the direct translation is Chicken in Raw Chili Sauce...lol...sounds too funny!! but all the sauce in this dish is literally raw :D
Anyway, I would like to introduce to you, one of the most authentic Balinese food. Usually you will find this dish in Nasi Campur Bali, Balinese style rice topped with various toppings, my favorite food!! Nasi campur Bali that we like to call Nasi Bali, is super delicious, they have different types of toppings depending on where you bought them.
The funny thing is, while I live in Bali, I never ever like this dish. Whenever I order my nasi Bali, I always told them not to put this dish on it. Now that I think about it, I didn't like the dish because they were made out of chicken breast...and I don't like chicken breast, it's dry.
So why I love this dish now? the story began (and actually the same story also started my cooking journey) when I was on my 1st trimester of pregnancy around the end of 2009. The one and only food I craved was...guess what!! it was nasi Bali!! the only thing I couldn't find here in Seattle.
One of my Balinese good friend, Ira, was also pregnant at the same time, and she was also lived far away from home and also was craving for Balinese foods. So we began to try out recipe and shared recipe to each other...this recipe was given to me by her <3

Ps. Usually this dish is cooked using chicken breast, but since I don't like chicken breast, I always use chicken tight or chicken wings. You can use chicken breast if you want.
I like it with skin, if you don't like chicken skin, you don't have to use it, just make it according to your personal taste.

Ingredients,
1 pack of dark chicken meat with skin, you can use chicken tight or chicken wings.
salt
Vegetable Oil

Sauce Ingredients,
12 shallots, thinly sliced ---> I seriously never count, but you need a LOT of them
3 bird eye chilies, thinly sliced
salt
belachan (roasted shrimp paste / terasi)
Olive oil / vegetable oil

Cooking Method,
1. Rub the chicken with salt, then deep fried the chicken in vegetable oil. You can bake the chicken / boil them too, but I like to deep fried the chicken, it make them more tasty and the skin crunchy.
2. Let the chicken cool down, then shredded the chicken.
3. Mixed all the sauce ingredients, use the salt and belachan according to your own personal taste. If your chicken is salty enough, you can omit the salt.
4. Add on the shredded chicken, mixed well.
5. Enjoy it with warm rice, a true authentic Balinese style :)

I love to eat ayam sambel matah with plecing kangkung and steamy white rice, it's the authentic Balinese combo :D

Red Jalapeno

This is the type of red jalapeno that I use a lot for cooking Indonesian foods.
In Indonesia, we use different type of large red chili (cabe besar / cabe merah / lombok besar...so many names!), they are longer and slender.In US, this is the closest to large red chili that I can find and use without compromising the authenticity of Indonesian food's taste.

Stir Fry Chicken with Corn

Couple days ago, I cooked a chicken dish with green peas and other green vegetable that I don't remember the name. While we were enjoying our dinner, Hubby said that the chicken dish I cooked reminds him of his grandma chicken & corn dish.
I asked him, "what's the similarity?"
He said, "the chicken is the same"........woot??!!!??
So he explain to me that on his grandma's dish, the chickens are also tender and cubed like those in my dish, he said that grandma cook it with some red pepper and it was spicy and delicious.
Today, I decided to surprise hubby with cooking this dish, I don't know what was grandma's ingredients, but I know her cooking style, it's very simple. She doesn't put too much stuff on her dish. Also, grandma never cook anything too spicy, so in my opinion, most likely the dish were mildly spicy.
So, here's my version of the chicken & corn dish, it's very easy and simple <3

Ps. I seriously don't know how to name this dish...so I just name it based on whatever ingredients I use to cook them...lol.

Ingredients,
1/2 pack of boneless & skinless chicken tight, cubed. Why half pack? because that's all I have...haha!
1 can of corn
1 red jalapeno, sliced thinly.
7 garlics, chopped
1 teaspoon unsalted butter
light soy sauce
red pepper flakes
sugar
Olive oil

Cooking Method,
1. Heat the pan, add the butter and drizzle some olive oil.
2. Add garlic & red jalapeno, stir until fragrant.
3. Add the chicken, drizzle some light soy sauce, then stir until the chickens are cooked.
4. Add the corn.
5. Sprinkle some red pepper flakes and also add a pinch of sugar.
6. Stir for another 3 minutes, then the dish is ready to be serve.


Hubby was surprised and happy to see this dish, and when I asked if it taste like the one grandma made, he said yes. The different is that my dish got a lot of chicken while grandma's dish use a lot more corn and less chicken :D

Babi Rica-Rica / Pork in Spicy Rica-Rica Sauce

In Indonesia, we have so many different types of spicy foods, and this rica-rica style is originated from Manado region that is very famous for their delicious spicy foods. Rica-rica sauce is spicy, tangy, and very fragrant.
The most famous type of rica-rica is ayam rica-rica (chicken in spicy rica-rica sauce) and ikan bakar rica-rica (grilled fish in spicy rica-rica sauce). I love pork, and this is the recipe for my pork rica-rica, it's very addictive, I had to make a lot of them because once I ate it, I keep wanting to eat it again, again and again!

Ingredients,
2 pack of pork butt / pork stomach. I like to use the pork meat that consist the fat.
4 lemongrass, cut and smash it.
5 pandan leaves, knot them individually (diikat)
1 hand full of kafir lime leaf. the more the better!
14 shallots, thinly sliced.
1 to 2 cups of water
Olive Oil

Sauce Ingredients A ---> blend all the ingredients in food processor
15 red jalapeno (cabe besar)
4 bird eye chili (cabe rawit)
12 garlics
2 thumbs ginger

Sauce Ingredients B,
1 lime
salt & sugar

Cooking Method,
1. Heat the pan, Add the pork cubes. We don't need oil in this step because the fat from the pork will create the oil itself.
2. Stir fry the pork until it's half cook, then set aside.
3. Add olive oil to the pan, wait until the oil is hot.
4. Add shallots, lemongrass, pandan leaves, keep stir them up until the shallots turn brown.
5. Add the blended sauce A and the kafir lime leaf, stir until fragrant. Add lime, salt & sugar according to your personal taste. I usually just add couple pinch of sugar to elevate the taste.
6. Add the half cooked pork into the sauce, stir for 5 minutes, add water then close the pan with the lid.
7. Turn down the heat to low / simmer.
8. Keep stirring every 10 minutes, watch the sauce, don't let it be too dry it would burn.
9. Check if the pork meat is already tender and the sauce thickened. If both conditions are meet, then your dish is ready.
10. Best serve with hot rice, it's the Indonesian way to eat it :)

Pork Bone Soup with Fuzzy Gourd & King Oyster Mushroom

I remember my first time eating the pork bone soup, it was on my visit to hubby's grandparent's house that was 3 hours drive from Seattle. We arrived at night, and hubby's grandma was waiting for us. She served us the pork bone soup, it was so delicious. I remember that she cooked the pork bone soup with the delicious winter melon. I've had been hooked to pork bone soup ever since.
Hubby's grandma taught me how to make the basic pork bone soup, and I had been creating different style of pork bone soup, depend on what I have at home...so this is one of my pork bone soup style, enjoy :)

Ps. I always use a big pot to cook the soup, it would last me 2 to 3 days, remember to put it on the fridge.

Ingredients,
1 pack of pork bone
1 pack of king oyster mushroom (mine got 3 big one) sliced medium thickness.
1 medium size of fuzzy gourd, cubed.
1 handful of goji berry
2 big ginger ---> it's like the equal of 4 to 5 human thumbs
salt

Cooking Method,
1. Wash the pork bone and soaked them in cold water for 20 minutes to drain the bloods. If you are in hurry, you can omit this step, I did it too sometimes...haha
2. Boil water on a big pot.
3. Put the pork bone into the boiling water, let it sit for 15 to 20 minutes. Then you'll see the foam rise to the water surface. We don't want those dirty stuff.
4. Throw out the dirty water, rinse the pork bone one more time, rinse the pot, and put new water to the pot.
5. Boil the water with the pork bone in it one more time. Use High temperature
6. Add ginger and salt to taste.
7. Close the pot, wait until the soup is boil, then turn the heat to low / simmer.
8. After one hour, start putting the goji berry, king oyster mushroom and fuzzy gourd.
9. Cook for at least another hour and half, or until the meat of the pork bone are soft and easily fall from the bone.

Terong Balado / Eggplants in Spicy Balado Sauce

Indonesian people love spicy foods, and Terong Balado (Eggplants in Balado Hot Sauce) is one of the most popular dish. You practically can cook a lot of different dishes with balado sauce, and since I love eggplant, I made this terong balado. And by adding the fried anchovy, it add the taste & texture contrast to the dish.   This is what I cooked tonight for the dinner, and hubby loves it :D

Ps. For me, this is a medium spicy, put more or less red jalapeno and bird eye chili according to your personal taste.

Ingredients,

3 big eggplants

a handful of dry anchovies (ikan teri)

Olive oil

Sauce Ingredients A ---> blend all the ingredients in food processor

5 red jalapeno (cabe besar)

2 bird eye chili (cabe rawit)

6 shallots

5 garlics

1 ripe tomato

Sauce Ingredients B

1 lime

salt & sugar 

Cooking Method,

1. Cut the eggplants into 4, then halves them. 

2. Deep fried the anchovies, then put them on top of paper towel to absorb the excess oil .

3. Deep friend the eggplants,  then put them on top of paper towel to absorb the excess oil .

4. Put the "Sauce Ingredients A" into the food processor, blend them well.

5. Heat a pan, put some olive oil in it, wait until the oil get hot, then pour the sauce and fry until they get fragrant.

6. Add some salt and sugar to the sauce. I use the same amount 1:1

7. Squeeze the lemon into the sizzling sauce, mixed them well.

8. Add the fried eggplants into the sauce, mixed them well.

9. Garnish the ready food with the fried anchovy. 

10. And as always, Indonesian dish is best served with steamed hot rice.