Gado Gado is a mixture with cooked and raw vegetables, kind of like a salad platter, with peanut sauce for dressing.
What you need -- 3 cups cooked tiny potatoes; 2 long English cucumbers, sliced; 3 tomatoes, cut into wedges, or 1 box of cherry tomatoes, whole; 1 small cabbage, steamed and cut into 12 wedges; 4 hard boiled eggs, cut into quarter wedges; 2 cups of peanut sauce; 2 cups of steamed bean sprouts.
What you do -- on a large serving platter, spread beansprouts. Arrange cabbage wedges, tomatoes, and cucumber slices in a decorative way. Garnish with egg wedges and pour peanut sauce all over*. Add to your buffet for Rijsttafel.
*As an option, you could put the sauce into a serving boat, and allow people to add their own. That way you can have several boats of sauces, with mild to hot versions.
Saturday, 19 May 2012
Bali Ikan - Indonesian fish dish
What you need -- 1 large can of crushed tomatoes; 2 large onions, peeled and sliced as for onion rings; 500 - 600 gr of white fish fillets, (you can use almost any mild flavoured variety such as cod, pollock, haddock, basa); Sambal Oelek; salt and pepper; 2Tbs margarine for cooking.
What you do -- heat a skillet over medium high, and melt margarine. Add onion and cook until transparent and just softened enough to be able to push to the sides of the pan. Increase heat slightly, and add fish fillets. Season with salt and pepper. Brown on each side about 3 minutes. Reduce heat to medium low, and add tomatoes, and 1 - 5 Tbs of Sambal according to your taste. Simmer for 5 or 6 minutes more, then serve. Can be added as is to your buffet for Rijsttafel, or served over cooked rice or noodles.
What you do -- heat a skillet over medium high, and melt margarine. Add onion and cook until transparent and just softened enough to be able to push to the sides of the pan. Increase heat slightly, and add fish fillets. Season with salt and pepper. Brown on each side about 3 minutes. Reduce heat to medium low, and add tomatoes, and 1 - 5 Tbs of Sambal according to your taste. Simmer for 5 or 6 minutes more, then serve. Can be added as is to your buffet for Rijsttafel, or served over cooked rice or noodles.
Bahmi - Indonesian noodle and fried vegetable dish.
What you need -- a variety of chopped vegetables** such as broccoli, celery, onion, garlic, bok choy, bean sprouts, leeks, and cabbage. Prepare veggies as for Nasi. Also 1 package 375gr of medium noodles, Sambal Oelek, Ketjap, and 2 packets of Bahmi spices, or 1 tbs of your own spice blend*; and oil for cooking.
*Usually includes curry powder, ginger, coriander, cumin, turmeric, onion powder and garlic powder, with salt and pepper.
Whay you do -- heat oil in a large saute pan or deep skillet, and stir fry veggies until just done. Meanwhile cook noodles according to package directions. Drain noodles, and place back into cooking pot. Add all the cooked vegetables, and spices. Stir well. Adjust seasonings to taste. Can be added as is to your buffet for Rijsttafel, or used as the base for a meal with added cooked meat, or served with beef saté or Babi kekap.
** I tend to use more white and orange vegetables for Nasi and green ones for Bahmi, but you can use anything you please. You can also add mushrooms to any of these, which, of course, I can't do.
*Usually includes curry powder, ginger, coriander, cumin, turmeric, onion powder and garlic powder, with salt and pepper.
Whay you do -- heat oil in a large saute pan or deep skillet, and stir fry veggies until just done. Meanwhile cook noodles according to package directions. Drain noodles, and place back into cooking pot. Add all the cooked vegetables, and spices. Stir well. Adjust seasonings to taste. Can be added as is to your buffet for Rijsttafel, or used as the base for a meal with added cooked meat, or served with beef saté or Babi kekap.
** I tend to use more white and orange vegetables for Nasi and green ones for Bahmi, but you can use anything you please. You can also add mushrooms to any of these, which, of course, I can't do.
Nasi - Indonesian fried rice and vegetable dish
What you need -- about 2 cups of a variety of vegetables such as cauliflower, carrot, onion, which are washed and chopped, and about 1 cup of shredded cabbage, and 1 cup of beansprouts; 4 cups cooked rice, (about 2 cups raw); 2 packets of Nasi spices or 1 Tbs of your own blend of spices*; Sambal oelek; oil for cooking. Eggs if desired.
* Usually includes cumin, coriander, onion, garlic, paprika, salt and pepper,
What you do -- Cook rice in a rice cooker or pot. Heat oil in a large saute pan or deep skillet. Add onion and garlic, then other vegetables and allow to cook until just tender-crisp. Stir in spices and Sambal to taste. Add hot cooked rice and stir well. If desired, cook eggs in a separate skillet according to taste, and place cooked eggs on top of each serving of Nasi. As an option, you can add 2 cups of chopped cooked chicken or pork, or a bag of cooked shrimp, to make this a complete meal in one pot. It can also be served in the simple form, or as another dish on your buffet for Rijsttafel. Usually served with extra Ketjap, and extra Sambal so people can add their own.
* Usually includes cumin, coriander, onion, garlic, paprika, salt and pepper,
What you do -- Cook rice in a rice cooker or pot. Heat oil in a large saute pan or deep skillet. Add onion and garlic, then other vegetables and allow to cook until just tender-crisp. Stir in spices and Sambal to taste. Add hot cooked rice and stir well. If desired, cook eggs in a separate skillet according to taste, and place cooked eggs on top of each serving of Nasi. As an option, you can add 2 cups of chopped cooked chicken or pork, or a bag of cooked shrimp, to make this a complete meal in one pot. It can also be served in the simple form, or as another dish on your buffet for Rijsttafel. Usually served with extra Ketjap, and extra Sambal so people can add their own.
Beef saté - Indonesian kebabs
What you need -- 500 gr of good quality beef steak such as sirloin or tenderloin, cut into 2cm cubes; marinade [1 cup Indonesian sweet soy sauce; 1/4 cup regular soy sauce; 2 Tbs each minced onion and garlic; 1tsp each ground laos, corriander]; a large plastic container with a tight fitting lid; 16 to 20 stainless steel skewers.
What you do - early in the day - place all marinade ingredients into the plastic container and mix well. Add cubes of beef and stir to coat meat pieces. Allow to marinate for at least 4 hours - the longer the better. Keep in a cool place. About 1/2 hour before cooking time, place 5 or 6 cubes onto each skewer. they can be placed on a broiler rack and cooked in the oven under the broiler, or grilled on the BBQ. Cook to your preferred level - rare, medium, or well done. I cook about 3 minutes on each side, for rare.
Serve with Nasi or Bahmi and saté sauce for a meal, or add to the buffet for Rijsttafel.
What you do - early in the day - place all marinade ingredients into the plastic container and mix well. Add cubes of beef and stir to coat meat pieces. Allow to marinate for at least 4 hours - the longer the better. Keep in a cool place. About 1/2 hour before cooking time, place 5 or 6 cubes onto each skewer. they can be placed on a broiler rack and cooked in the oven under the broiler, or grilled on the BBQ. Cook to your preferred level - rare, medium, or well done. I cook about 3 minutes on each side, for rare.
Serve with Nasi or Bahmi and saté sauce for a meal, or add to the buffet for Rijsttafel.
Babi Kekap - pork dish for Rijsttafel
Sorry it took me so long to get back to this - been very busy with kitchen renos.
What you need - 400-500 gr bonless pork, cut into bite size pieces. 1 green pepper, 1 red or yellow pepper diced; 1 meduim onion chopped; Kecap manis (Indonesian sweet soy sauce); 1 tsp each of ground corriander, laos; 2 or 3 cloves garlic, minced; oil for cooking.
What you do -- Heat oil in a large skillet, and brown the pork pieces. Add all other ingredients, and cook over med high for several minutes, until veggies begin to soften. Reduce heat, and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes. Serve over rice or noodles as a meal, or add to buffet for Rijstaffel.
What you need - 400-500 gr bonless pork, cut into bite size pieces. 1 green pepper, 1 red or yellow pepper diced; 1 meduim onion chopped; Kecap manis (Indonesian sweet soy sauce); 1 tsp each of ground corriander, laos; 2 or 3 cloves garlic, minced; oil for cooking.
What you do -- Heat oil in a large skillet, and brown the pork pieces. Add all other ingredients, and cook over med high for several minutes, until veggies begin to soften. Reduce heat, and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes. Serve over rice or noodles as a meal, or add to buffet for Rijstaffel.
Friday, 27 April 2012
Rijst Tafel - or Indonesian Buffet - basic info.
A little history of Indonesian cooking in our house - Since Indonesia was a Dutch colony for hundreds of years, there were many Dutch people - or people of Dutch heritage - living in Indonesia, when it gained independence from Holland. The new government was not going to be as liberal as the colonial government, so many thousands of people moved from Indonesia to Holland, bring the unique flavours and cuisine with them. If you are ever in Holland, (or The Netherlands - it's proper name) and you go to a 'chinese' restaurant, chances are it will be Indonesian cooking. Since my husband grew up in The Netherlands, he had Indonesian cooking from a very young age, and that includes very hot spices. So as a good little wife, I learned to cook Dutch and Indonesian dishes.
Rijst tafel is a wonderful variety of traditional dishes, which gives guests the opportunuity to try small amounts of new foods. Some are very spicy, while others have new flavours which are mild. There are many familiar ingredients, meats, and vegetables, with a few spices not very common in Canada.
Once, early in our marriage, I remarked to Wil,"Did you ever notice that those who live far from the equator have food without hot spices, while the closer you get to the tropics, the hotter the food gets"? His reply- "They had no fridges or freezers, dear. They had to keep it safe to eat somehow!" Well, DUH! Lots of items were dried, and some were preserved in HOT spices.
Wil loves heat in his food. In fact the hotter the better, as long as there are lots of layers of favours. Heat by itself is not very good. Many people are not familiar with the Schofield Scale, which measures the relative heat of capsicum, a chemical that makes hot peppers hot. The scale goes from 0 for bell peppers, up through 200 for anaheim, 400 for jalapeno, 700 for serrenos, 9000 for sambal peppers and 10,000 for habaneros and Scotch Bonnets. So, those jalapenos that burn your tongue are relatively mild for peppers.
CAUTION ---- Those with peanut allergies should stay away from most Indonesian recipes, as they are made with lots of peanut sauces, and usually cooked in peanut oil.
When I plan a rijst tafel, I like to include a beef, pork, chicken, fish, vegetables, rice, and noodles. I would probably have Beef Saté with peanut saté sauce, Babi Kekap, Ajam Pedis, Rendang, beans goreng, Nasi goreng, Bahmi groenten, Bali Ikan, Gado gado, atjar tjampoer, and lumpia. Spices used would be onion, garlic, lemon grass, Javanese curry, galengal, corriander, cumin, ginger, turmeric, sambal oelek, sweet soy sauce (called kekap manis). I can almost here you saying -"Wait a minute - What are all those things"? Or "where can you get all those spices"?
Beef satay - marinated cubes of meat on a skewer and grilled.
peanut satay sauce - as on a previous recipe.
Babi kekap - cubed meat (usually pork) cooked in a sweet soy sauce with onion and sweet peppers.
Ajam Pedis-(aka Indonesian chicken) - legs or wings marinated in sweet soy and spices then baked or grilled.
Rempah - meatballs made with spices and coconut
Beans Goreng - steamed green beans with peanut sauce poured over them.
Nasi Goreng - stir fried vegetables with rice - often served with a fried egg on top
Bahmi Groenten - stir fried vegetables with noodles also
Bali Ikan - white fish cooked in an onion and tomato sauce with lots of sambal oelek
Gado Gado - a mixture if steamed and raw vegetables covered in peanut sauce
Atjar Tjampoer - a bottled Indonesian pickle relish
lumpia - Indonesian style egg rolls
The spices are available at some grocery stores, delicatessens, or Dutch specialty stores. Conimex is the brand most available in Canada. I can get mixes for Nasi and Bahmi at the Dutch Cash and Carry store in Calgary. They may be available at other places, like the dollar store on Elizabeth St in Okotoks, or at Karl's Meat Market in Abbotsford. Matthew says he found a place for Dutch stuff in Edmonton, but I don't know the name of it. I also buy spices at some of the large Asian food markets in Calagary. Individual recipes will follow on future posts.
Rijst tafel is a wonderful variety of traditional dishes, which gives guests the opportunuity to try small amounts of new foods. Some are very spicy, while others have new flavours which are mild. There are many familiar ingredients, meats, and vegetables, with a few spices not very common in Canada.
Once, early in our marriage, I remarked to Wil,"Did you ever notice that those who live far from the equator have food without hot spices, while the closer you get to the tropics, the hotter the food gets"? His reply- "They had no fridges or freezers, dear. They had to keep it safe to eat somehow!" Well, DUH! Lots of items were dried, and some were preserved in HOT spices.
Wil loves heat in his food. In fact the hotter the better, as long as there are lots of layers of favours. Heat by itself is not very good. Many people are not familiar with the Schofield Scale, which measures the relative heat of capsicum, a chemical that makes hot peppers hot. The scale goes from 0 for bell peppers, up through 200 for anaheim, 400 for jalapeno, 700 for serrenos, 9000 for sambal peppers and 10,000 for habaneros and Scotch Bonnets. So, those jalapenos that burn your tongue are relatively mild for peppers.
CAUTION ---- Those with peanut allergies should stay away from most Indonesian recipes, as they are made with lots of peanut sauces, and usually cooked in peanut oil.
When I plan a rijst tafel, I like to include a beef, pork, chicken, fish, vegetables, rice, and noodles. I would probably have Beef Saté with peanut saté sauce, Babi Kekap, Ajam Pedis, Rendang, beans goreng, Nasi goreng, Bahmi groenten, Bali Ikan, Gado gado, atjar tjampoer, and lumpia. Spices used would be onion, garlic, lemon grass, Javanese curry, galengal, corriander, cumin, ginger, turmeric, sambal oelek, sweet soy sauce (called kekap manis). I can almost here you saying -"Wait a minute - What are all those things"? Or "where can you get all those spices"?
Beef satay - marinated cubes of meat on a skewer and grilled.
peanut satay sauce - as on a previous recipe.
Babi kekap - cubed meat (usually pork) cooked in a sweet soy sauce with onion and sweet peppers.
Ajam Pedis-(aka Indonesian chicken) - legs or wings marinated in sweet soy and spices then baked or grilled.
Rempah - meatballs made with spices and coconut
Beans Goreng - steamed green beans with peanut sauce poured over them.
Nasi Goreng - stir fried vegetables with rice - often served with a fried egg on top
Bahmi Groenten - stir fried vegetables with noodles also
Bali Ikan - white fish cooked in an onion and tomato sauce with lots of sambal oelek
Gado Gado - a mixture if steamed and raw vegetables covered in peanut sauce
Atjar Tjampoer - a bottled Indonesian pickle relish
lumpia - Indonesian style egg rolls
The spices are available at some grocery stores, delicatessens, or Dutch specialty stores. Conimex is the brand most available in Canada. I can get mixes for Nasi and Bahmi at the Dutch Cash and Carry store in Calgary. They may be available at other places, like the dollar store on Elizabeth St in Okotoks, or at Karl's Meat Market in Abbotsford. Matthew says he found a place for Dutch stuff in Edmonton, but I don't know the name of it. I also buy spices at some of the large Asian food markets in Calagary. Individual recipes will follow on future posts.
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