Fried Noodles (Mie Goreng)

Ingredients & spices:

250 g Fine egg noodles
250 g Shrimps, raw or cooked
4 tablespoons cooking oil
1 Onion, finely chopped
3 cloves Garlic, finely chopped
1 Fresh red chili, seeded and sliced
1/2 teaspoon Dried shrimp paste
2 stalks Celery, finely sliced
1 teaspoon Salt
1/2 teaspoon Pepper
1-2 tablespoons Light soy sauce
Small wedge of cabbage, finely shredded

Garnish:
4 Spring onions
Thinly sliced cucumber
Fried onion flakes

How to prepare:

Soak noodles in hot water, while bringing large saucepan of water to the boil.
Drain noodles and drop into the boiling water, allow to return to the boil and boil from 1-3 minutes, depending on the noodles.
Some are cooked in the shorter time, while others take a little longer.
Keep testing one strand every half minute of so, because they must not overcook
As soon as they reach this stage, drain in colander and run cold water through them until cool or they will continue to cook in their own heat. Drain well.
Shell and de-vein shrimps.

Heat peanut oil in a wok or large deep frying pan and fry onion, garlic and chili until onion is soft and starts to turn golden.
Add dried shrimp paste.
Add shrimps and stir fry until cooked through.
Add celery, cabbage, salt and pepper and fry for a further minute or just until tender.
Vegetables should retain their crispness.
Add noodles and keep turning the mixture so that every part of it gets heated through.
Season with soy sauce to taste.
Pile into a serving dish and sprinkle onion flakes over the top.

Chop the spring onions, green leaves and all, and sprinkle over.
Arrange cucumber slices around edge of dish.

Chicken Satay (Sate Ayam)

Ingredients & spices:

2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breast or thigh meat
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 tsp. ground ginger
2 tsp. sweetened soy sauce
2 tsp. tamarind juice

How to prepare:

Cut chicken into cubes of approximately 3/4" on a side. Mix together remaining ingredients and marinate chicken for two hours. Soak bamboo skewers in water for approximately 20 minutes.

Thread chicken onto skewers, four or five to a skewer, and grill over glowing coals or under preheated grill four minutes to a side or until chicken is brown on all sides.

Serve satay with satay peanut sauce and a fiery chilly sauce to satisfy your need for heat.

Satay Peanut Sauce

Ingredients & spices:

8 Tb. crunchy peanut butter
1 1/2 cups water
3 tsp. garlic
3 tsp. dark brown sugar
Salt to taste
Tamarind juice to taste
Coconut milk

How to prepare:

Put peanut butter and water in a saucepan and stir over gentle heat until mixed.

Remove from heat and add all other ingredients except coconut milk or additional water.

Use coconut milk or water to make sauce thick yet pouring consistency. Check seasonings and add more salt and tamarind juice if needed.

Pour this sauce into your Chicken Satay

Oxtail Soup (Sop Buntut)

Ingredients & spices:

1 kg Oxtail / beef tail, cut into serving pieces
1/2 tablespoon Chopped ginger
1/2 Nutmeg, bruised
1 Spring onion, cut into 2-3 pieces
1 tablespoon Margarine
200 g Carrots, cut into 3 cm piece, then halved or quartered
250 g Potatoes, cut into 4-6 pieces, Salt to taste

Spices
6 Shallots
3 cloves Garlic
1 teaspoon Peppercorns

Garnishing
Fried shallots
Spring onions
Chopped Chinese parsley

How to prepare:

Put oxtail in a pan with 2 liters water and bring to the boil.
Carefully scoop off and discard the scum floating on the surface.
Discard the stock and replace with 2 liters clean water.
Add chopped ginger, nutmeg and spring onion.
Cover the pan and simmer over low heat until tender.
Remove the tail, reserving 1 1/2 liters stock.

Bring the stock to the boil, then add oxtail.
Heat margarine and fry ground spices until fragrant.
Add to the boiling stock, then add carrots and potatoes.
Bring to the boil until the ingredients are thoroughly cooked.
Garnish with fried shallots, spring onions, and Chinese parsley.
Serve hot.

Indonesian Salad (Gado Gado)

Ingredients & spices:

1 cup bean sprouts
1 cup shredded cabbage
4 ounces bean curd (tofu), drained and cut into 1-inch pieces
2 tablespoons peanut oil or vegetable oil
1 cup sliced cooked potatoes
1 cup cooked cut green beans
1 cup cooked sliced carrots
1 medium cucumber, sliced
2 hardboiled eggs, peeled and slice

How to prepare:

Pour enough boiling water over bean sprouts and cabbage to cover; let stand 2 minutes. Drain.

Cook bean cured in oil in 10-inch skillet over medium heat, turning pieces gently, until light brown. Remove with slotted spoon; drain. Cook potatoes in same skillet until light brown; drain.

Arrange bean sprouts, cabbage, bean curd, potatoes and remaining ingredients on platter.

Pour Peanut Dressing (see below for instruction) over salad. For 6 to 8 servings. If you like, you can put on top of the salad some prawn crackers .

Peanut Dressing

Peanut Dressing (To Pour over Indonesian Salad)

Ingredients & spices:
1/2 cup flaked coconut
1 cup hot water
1 shallot/small onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 1/2 teaspoons ghee or peanut oil
2/3 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup water
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/8 teaspoon ground ginger

How to prepare:

Place coconut in blender container; add 1 cup of water. Cover and blend on high speed about 30 seconds.

Cook and stir onion and garlic in oil in 2-quart saucepan about 5 minutes.

Stir in coconut and remaining ingredients. Heat to boiling, stirring constantly; reduce heat.

Simmer uncovered, stirring occasionally, until slightly thickened, about 3 minutes.

Ingredients & Spices for Indonesian recipes (8)

Here are ingredients & spices for Indonesian recipes. You will find the English name of the spice and follow by the local name in bracket.


Pepper (merica): Both black and white peppercorns are crushed just before. Ground white pepper is also used on occasion.


Salam Leaves (daun salam): A subtly flavored of the cassia family, it’s local (Indonesian) bay leaves, which is sometimes suggested as a substitute. If you cannot obtain dried salam leaf, omit altogether.


Shrimp Paste (terasi): This ingredient has a strong fragrance; it is always cooked before eating, generally toasted over a fire before being combined with other ingredients. The color of this ingredient is range from purplish pink to brownish black.


Sweetened Soy Sauce (Kecap Manis): There are two types of soy sauce that are used in Indonesian cooking, sweetened soy sauce (kecap manis), and salty soy sauce (kecap asin). If you cannot obtain sweet soy sauce, use the dark black Chinese soy sauce and add brown sugar to sweeten it.

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Ingredients & Spices for Indonesian recipes (5)
Ingredients & Spices for Indonesian recipes (6)
Ingredients & Spices for Indonesian recipes (7)

Ingredients & Spices for Indonesian recipes (7)

Here are ingredients & spices for Indonesian recipes. You will find the English name of the spice and follow by the local name in bracket.


Tamarind (asam jawa): The dark brown pod of the tamarind tree contains a sour fleshy pulp, which adds a fruity sourness to many dishes.

To make tamarind juice, use the pulp and soak it in hot water for 5 minutes before squeezing it to extract the juice, discarding the seeds, fiber and any skin.


Turmeric (kunyit): An essential root in Indonesian cooking, usually sold in dried or powdered form in the US and Europe. It imparts its yellow color and sharp taste to many dishes. If you can buy fresh turmeric, pick roots with dark color.


Kecombrang, kantan, or honje (Etlingera eliator; synonyms Nicolaia elatior, Phaeomeria speciosa) is the form of annual Herbaceous plants that flower, fruit, and seed used as vegetables. Other name is kincung (Singapore) and siantan (Malaya). Thai people call it kaalaa.

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Ingredients & Spices for Indonesian recipes (6)
Ingredients & Spices for Indonesian recipes (8)

Ingredients & Spices for Indonesian recipes (6)

Here are ingredients & spices for Indonesian recipes. You will find the English name of the spice and follow by the local name in bracket.


Pandan Leaves (daun pandan): The fragrant leaves sometimes referred as fragrant screw pine, the leaves are tied in a knot and used to flavor dessert and cakes.


Palm Sugar (gula jawa): Juice extracted from the coconut flower or local called it as Aren then it’s boiled and packed into molds to make Palm sugar with a faint caramel taste. If palm sugar is not available, substitute with soft brown sugar. To make palm sugar syrup, combine 2 cups of chopped palm sugar with 1 cup of water and 2 pandan leaves. Bring to a boil, simmer for 10 minutes, strain and store in refrigerator. Most local palm sugar will look like as picture shown above.


Shallot (Bawang Merah): member of the onion family, but formed more like garlic than onions. Shallots are favored for their mild onion flavor, and can be used in the same manner as onions. It is a very important ingredient in most Indonesian dishes. It is used as food, spice and seasoning. It is often eaten raw, used for pickling, cooking and frying.


Large onions (Bawang Bombay or Bawang Besar): can be used, usually chopped or sliced, in almost every type of food, including cooked foods and fresh salads, and as a spicy garnish. Depending on the variety of onion, it tastes sharp, spicy, tangy and pungent or mild and sweet.


Peanuts (kacang tanah): Used raw and ground to make sauce, or deep fried and used as a garnish.

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Ingredients & Spices for Indonesian recipes (8)

Ingredients & Spices for Indonesian recipes (5)

Here are ingredients and spices for Indonesian recipes. You will find the English name of the spice and follow by the local name in bracket.


Lemongrass (serai): This is an intensely fragrant herb that is used for soup, seafood and meat dishes and spice pastes to produce lemony flavor. Cut off the roots and peel off the hard outer leaves, use only the tender bottom portion (6-8 inches).


Kaffir lime (jeruk purut): There are several types of lime used in Indonesia. The most fragrant one is called kaffir lime (jeruk purut). The picture on the right shows Kaffir lime. The picture showed the double leaf of Kaffir lime.


Kaffir lime has no juice, but the double leaves is often used whole or very finely shredded, while the grated skin is occasionally used in cooking. Above is the double leaves of Kaffir lime.


The round yellow skin limes (jeruk nipis) which is size slightly larger than a golf ball and also dark green limes (jeruk limau) are used for their juice. If limes are not available in your area, you can substitute it with lemon. Picture showed Yellow skin limes (jeruk nipis)


Nutmeg (pala): Always grate whole nutmeg just before using as the powdered spice quickly loses its fragrance.

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Ingredients & Spices for Indonesian recipes (4)

Here are ingredients & spices for Indonesian recipes. You will find the English name of the spice and follow by the local name in bracket.


Cumin (jintan): use sparingly as it has a strong smell.


Garlic (bawang putih): The cloves of garlic in the Western countries are considerably larger. Adjust the amount to suit your taste.


Ginger (jahe): This pale creamy yellow root is a very important ingredient for Indonesian cooking. Always peel the skin off from the fresh ginger before using, and never substitute powdered ginger as the taste is quite different. Ginger can be stored in a cool place for several weeks.


Lesser Galangal (Kencur): Known as lesser galangal. This ginger-like root has a unique flavor and should be used sparingly. Wash it and rub off the skin before using. Dried sliced kencur or kencur powder can be used as a substitute. Soak dried slices in boiling water for approximately 30 minutes; use 1/2 - 1 tsp of powder for 1-inch fresh root.


Greater Galangal (lengkuas or laos): Greater galangal is also member of the ginger family. It has a very tough but elusively scented root and must be peeled before use. Substitute slices of dried laos (soaked in boiling water for 30 minutes) or powdered laos (1 tsp = 1 inch).

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Ingredients & Spices for Indonesian recipes (8)

Ingredients & Spices for Indonesian recipes (3)

Here are ingredients & spices for Indonesian recipes. You will find the English name of the spice and follow by the local name in bracket.


Cinnamon (kayu manis): A thick, dark brown bark, mild yet exotic flavor. Do not substitute with ground cinnamon if possible.


Cloves (cengkeh): A small, brown, nail-shaped spice. Whole cloves are frequently used to flavor cooking for simmering fish, poultry or meat.


Coconut (kelapa): The flaked coconut is frequently added to food. It can also be squeezed in water to make coconut milk.


To make fresh coconut milk, put 2 cups of freshly shredded coconut into a bowl and add 2 cups of lukewarm water. Squeeze and knead the coconut thoroughly for 1 minute, then strain thorough cheesecloth into a bowl to obtain thick coconut milk. Repeat the process with another 1 cup of water to obtain thin coconut milk. Combine both for the coconut milk. Coconut milk can be frozen; thaw and stir thoroughly before use. Above picture is how to prepare coconut milk manually.

The best substitute for fresh coconut milk is instant coconut powder. Combine this with warm water as directed on the packaging. For richer, creamier flavor required for dessert and cakes, use canned (unsweetened) coconut cream.


Coriander Seeds (ketumbar): Small straw-colored seeds with a faintly orange flavor. Whole seeds are usually lightly crushed before use.

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Ingredients & Spices for Indonesian recipes (8)

Ingredients & Spices for Indonesian recipes (2)

Here are ingredients & spices for Indonesian recipes. You will find the English name of the spice and follow by the local name in bracket.

Chilies (cabai, cabe, also called lombok): There are several types of chili pepper used in Indonesia. One thing that is important about chili pepper, the amount of heat increases as the size of the chili pepper diminishes. Fresh, finger-length red chilies are the most commonly used.


Green chilies (cabe Hijau) are the unripe fruit, and have a flavor different from red chilies.


Dried chilies (cabe Kering) also used in some dishes and they should be torn into pieces and soaked in hot water to soften before grinding or blending.


Hottest of all chilies are the tiny red chilies (cabe rawit). To reduce the heat of the dish while retaining the flavor, remove some or all the chili’s seeds.

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Ingredients & Spices for Indonesian recipes (8)

Ingredients & Spices for Indonesian recipes (1)

Here are ingredients & spices for Indonesian recipes. You will find the English name of the spice and follow by the local name in bracket.


Basil (daun kemangi): A fragrant, lemon-scented herb added at the last minute to keep its flavor, or used as a garnish. If you don’t like how it smells then you can use another type of basil but then the taste will be different.


Candlenut (kemiri): A round, cream-colored nut with an oily consistency used to add texture and a faint flavor to many dishes. Substitute macadamia nuts or raw cashews.


Cardamom (kapulaga): About 8-12 fragrant black seeds are enclosed in straw-colored fibrous pod. Try to buy the whole pod instead of cardamom seeds or powder for maximum flavor, and bruise lightly with the back cleaver to break the pod before adding to seasonings.


Celery (seledri): The celery used in Indonesia is somehow different form the celery used in the Western world. It has a very slender stems and particularly pungent leaves. It is often referred to as “Chinese celery” abroad and is used as an herb rather than a vegetable.

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Cooking quotes

From all quotes related to cooking, I love this one most:

*When baking, follow directions. When cooking, go by your own taste.
~Laiko Bahrs

And here are some funny quotes about Cooking:

*Sleep 'til you're hungry, eat 'til you're sleepy.
~Author Unknown

*There is no love sincerer than the love of food.
~George Bernard Shaw, "The Revolutionist's Handbook," Man and Superman

*I will not eat oysters. I want my food dead - not sick, not wounded - dead. ~Woody Allen

*An empty belly is the best cook.
~Estonian Proverb

*Rice is born in water and must die in wine.
~Italian Proverb

*Kissing doesn’t last; cookery does!
~George Meredith

*Condensed milk is wonderful. I don't see how they can get a cow to sit down on those little cans.
~Fred Allen

*Strange to see how a good dinner and feasting reconciles everybody.
~Samuel Pepys

*Great food is like great sex. The more you have the more you want.
~Gael Greene

*I can't cook. I use a smoke alarm as a timer.
~Carol Siskind

About Lelaki Memasak

Dear Friends,

Lelaki Memasak means the man who loves cooking! Yes, I love to eat and I love preparing dishes.

My name is Lelaki which is “man” in English. Don’t ask me why I was given the name “man”. My grand grand father gave me this name and my parents just accept it. I thought it was because they have too many children so they don’t really focus on their names but how to feed each of us, we are twelve brothers and sisters!

Thanks God, my mom love to cook and we all love to eat! But can you imagine cooking for 14 people, 3 times a day? Linda McCartney once said that “Cooking for six people every day is like having a café” and my mom have to cook for 14, that's including my mom and dad.

What happened back there was we all help her in kitchen. That’s why all of her children can cook now, that’s including me!

This is a bit about me, I love to share and I hope I can get your responses back too, including your recipes if you care to share! If you have any suggestion to improve my recipes so my dishes can taste better, please let me know by dropping your comments on related article. Many thanks.

Sincerely,
Lelaki Memasak

Lelaki Memasak

This is my journal, to be exact my culinary journey!

I love to eat and prepare my own dishes, here in this blog I am going to share most of my recipes, my friends recipes *of course with their permission* and all free recipes generously contributed by people who love to share in the internet.

Bon appetit!
Lelaki Memasak