Gado Gado 3/30

This week's gathering menu is Gado Gado - an Indonesian style salad with peanut sauce dressing. My faithful guest, J and S, gave a positive feedback. It's pretty simple, and especially good if you try to clean out your pantry. Any leftover vegetable will do just fine. This time, i used an instant package to make the peanut sauce, but i'll post it how to make it your own.

Ingredients:

- vegetables (anything from lettuce, cabbage, carrots, cucumber, tomatoes, bean sprout)

- potatoes

- eggs

Peanut sauce:

- 1/2 cup JIF chunky peanut butter (any brand will do fine, you could also use smooth peanut butter)

- 1/4 cup hot water

- 1 tbsp sweet soy sauce

- 1 tbsp lime juice (optional)

Boil the vegetable (cabbage, carrots, etc) and blanch (put into ice water) afterward to stop the cooking and maintain the bright color. Boil the potatoes and eggs too.

For peanut sauce, slowly adding the hot water and stir until it smooth. Adjust the consistency by adding more amount water/peanut sauce. Add 1 tbsp sweet soy sauce and lime juice and stir well.

Arrange vegetables and other ingredients. Pour the peanut sauce on top of it, and Viola...your gado gado is ready. that's easy, isn't it? and you would not feel guilty eating this pretty healthy food.

Chili Egg - 3/26

This one is inspired by Singaporean Chili Crab recipe. With my thinking cap on, I came to believe this would be a good milder version of "Telor Balado".

Chili Egg

Ingredients:

- 5 hard boiled eggs, peeled and sliced in half

- 1 tbsp vegetable oil

- 1/2 medium onion

- 5 cm (2 inch) fresh ginger, finely grated

- 3 cloves garlic, chopped

- 3 -5 red chillies

- 1 tomato

- 2 cups ready made tomato paste sauce (my version: 3 tbsp tomato paste with 1 cups water)

- a dash of soy sauce

- 1 cup of water

- 2 tbsp sweet chili sauce

- 2 tbsp brown sugar

In food processor, chopped the tomato, onion and chilies. (I add extra 2 dried chilies. Trust me, if you are not an extreme-spicy type, please do avoid this step, and reduce the chilies to 3.)

Heat oil in the wok, add garlic and ginger, cook until fragrance. Add the onion-tomato mixture, stir for about 5 minutes. Pour in the tomato paste sauce, water, soy sauce, chili sauce and brown sugar. Adjust the spiciness by adding water. Simmer and return the boiled egg into the sauce. Cook for another 2 minutes, and bon appetite.

you could also add potatoes in this too.

Does it looks spicy to you? here' the conversation at dinner:

Jes (from Nepal) : "this sauce scares me. "

Me (from Indo) : "yeah, it is spicy. I already diluted it with a lot of water, but it still spicy"

Sam (from Africa) : "What are you guys talking about? I don't feel it at all"

Jes + Me : "What?!! something is wrong with you, sam"

"Please cook responsibly"

Happy Cooking

JN

Rendang Nangka - 3/25

Phew...I am about to move out again next month, which will be my 4th moved within 1.5 years living in this town. While screening through my pantry, I found a sachet of rendang "bamboe", a can of jackfruit, some cabbage and tofu leftover. I thought of rendang nangka, which would be perfect for my vegetarian's guests. You might think i am going a bit crazy with the ingredients, but i do prefer having leftover ingredient end up on my food rather than my trash =)

Rendang Nangka - no meat version.

this is no fancy recipe especially with instant package. This is a vegetarian version, and you definitely could substitute the first three ingredients with beef or chicken for original version.

Ingredients:

- 2 cans of young jackfruits -make sure the word "young" printed on the package. don't confuse it with jackfruit in light syrup.

- 1/4 head of cabbage

- 1/2 package of firmed tofu

- 2 red chilies

- 400 ml of coconut milk

- 200 ml of water (if you don't like it to be too coconut-fatty)

- 1 "Bamboe" rendang package.

Cut tofu and jackfruit in block. chopped the chillies and cabbage. Put a bit of vegetable oil in the wok. Stir the rendang package until fragrance. Pour 200ml of coconut milk and water in, then add chilies and jackfruit. Let it boils. Add the rest of the coconut milk, cabbage and tofu. Cook uncover in low-medium heat until the water reduce in half (it takes about 30 minutes or more, so your patience is virtue in here). Serve over with rice.

PS: if you have slow cooker, i think it will be even better. You could get perfect tenderness on the jackfruit. but make sure to reduce the water/coconut by at least 25%.

Happy Cooking

JN

Welcome notes

Hi...

This is my first time blogger. Being inspired by the movie "Julie & Julia", I decided to start blogging my food experiment. This is another past due new-year-resolution, just like my other eating-healthy effort and 12-weeks-work-weight-loss program.

Anyway, here i am, presenting my first food blog. Thanks to partner in crime, who will keep me motivated and will later on also contribute on this food experiment. (I promise i will complete the recipe from your book too. just bare with me :p )

Stay tune...and Let's get the party started....

"Tell me and I will forget, Show me and I may remember, Involve me and I will understand" - Chinese proverb.

JN