WW: Jogjakarta Gateway

Beautiful Jogjakarta in two days!

Here are some snaps I took during my two-day working visit to our one and only Jogjakarta.

Colourful Batik from Jogjakarta

Beautiful artwork in the Phoenix Hotel, Jogjakarta

Jogjakarta has always been a perfect embodiment of traditional norms and cultures, super friendly people, beautiful rituals, amazing works of arts, gorgeous landscapes and incredible food.  

Copy of the relics from Borobudur Temple, Jogjakarta

This city certainly has a special place in our heart and I was so blessed to get a chance to be back here again.
I even managed to meet some of my dearest blogger fellows!

So many vintage items I love!

Never get enough of Batik! These ones are handmade...

Jamu..traditional beverages from Indonesia

Morning from above the clouds :)

Jamu, Gudeg and Bubur Ayam! Super yuuuum..

Have you been to Jogjakarta before?
How do you like it?
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End Mubarak 1439 H - the Celebration

Eid Mubarak to all my Moslem sisters and brothers, family and friends.
I trust you have a wonderful celebration, wherever you are!

Eid Mubarak and cheers from the Frakarsas

For us, Eid-al Fitr is indeed a special day.
After one month of fasting and rigorous self-discipline routines, we are celebrating the day when we share happiness with our family and friends.
During the fasting month, we share the feeling with those less fortunate and after that, on the victorious day of Eid-al Fitr, we share joy with people we cherish.

And just like last year, we had the joint open house for the celebration of Eid-al Fitr with the Consulate General of the Republic of Indonesia in NYC.
This time, we celebrated it on Saturday, June 16, a day after the Eid-al Fitr, from 12 - 3 PM, at the Consulate General Office in Manhattan. 
As part of the hosts, we arrived there before 12 and got ready to welcome guests who were already lining up outside of the Consulate's building.

Ready to welcome our guests

We were expecting thousands of Indonesians, as well as friends of Indonesia and their families joining us that day and I guess it was around that many people coming.

As the capacity of the room is only two hundred people at the same time, we had it in several batches in order to accommodate our guests. 

We had guests coming from the surrounding States as well, like Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Maine, Vermont, Delaware, Rhode Islands, and more.

It was really a huge gathering.

Rendang!

It was wonderful to meet fellow Indonesians and shared this wonderful day.
Especially as we have all those special Indonesian cuisines that you typically enjoy during Lebaran or Eid-al Fitr celebration.
Super special because it's super delicious and not that easy to cook!
So, you really need the special day to enjoy it :).
I do share share some Eid-al Fitr recipes before, like Sambal Goreng Udang - Indonesian Spicy Shrimps and Tekwan - Indonesian Spicy Fish Ball Soup.
These two delicious cuisines were served in our gathering that day.

Sambal goreng kentang

This year, besides lontong or rice cake, we had the signature dish of  rendang, Indonesian famous spicy beef, matches with opor ayam - Indonesian chicken curry with coconut milk, telor petis - eggs with traditional petis sauce, sambal goreng kentang dan udang - spicy shrimp and fried potatoes, and sayur ketupat lebaran - Indonesian spicy vegetable soup with coconut milk.
Mostly with coconut milk and that's why they are rich in flavor!

We also had tekwan or Indonesian spicy fish ball soup, plus some yummy dessert like tape ketan or fermented glutinous rice and es cendol, which I don't know what's the translation in English LOL. 

telor petis

Complete, hearthy dishes we have here.
And frankly, these delicious food bring people together.
Nothing beats chatting with friends and family over yummy, homey food while wearing your best dresses and accessories!

Opor ayam

Sayur ketupat lebaran

Surely we took the liberty to take pictures here and there as always.
We were grateful that our Minister for Financial Affairs came and joined us as well, together with some other VIPs.

with the ladies of KJRI :)

Cheers yooooo :)

But the joy is of course to have and spend some quality time with your loved ones.
And as this is our last Lebaran or Eid-al Fitr in New York City, at least for now, we truly had memorable time.

So how is your Lebaran day?
Do you go somewhere or stay at home and spend the time with your family?
What is you favorite lebaran food?

Sambal Goreng Udang - Indonesian Spicy Shrimp Recipe

Sambal Goreng Udang - Indonesian Spicy Shrimp

It's Ramadhan!

Such a wonderful and blessed month for us moslems and I would like to take this opportunity to share one of our favorite, easy-to-make Indonesian food recipes.

As you know, during Ramadhan, we are fasting from before the sunrise until sunset.
So after restraining ourselves from eating and drinking for quite some times (almost 17 hours here in NYC), I try to cook something nice and special for my family. But since we don't really have much energy left after fasting, I always try to prepare simple food that my family love.
And I have to admit, some Indonesian food need extra preparation.
Nevertheless, the one that I'm about to share with you is one of the simplest ones.

does it look too spicy for you? 

And I just realized I haven’t posted any recipes for quite sometimes, by the way.

So let’s hit the kitchen and this time, I have Sambal Goreng Udang - or Indonesian Spicy Shrimp.

Well, don’t get intimidated by the ‘spicy’ name as you can always, obviously, adjust the level of spiciness in this dish.

Sambal itself means chili sauce and sambal goreng literally means fried chili sauce.
Those who are familiar with Indonesian food might get use to the use of sambal here and there, but again you can have a non spicy chili sauce!
Seriously.
Just add extra tomatoes and sugar to thwart the natural kick of chilies and you're good.

super hungry :)

I have shared some spicy as well as sambal goreng recipes before, so you can check out sambal goreng tempe dan kentang - spicy crispy fried tempe and potato or botok tempe - steamed spicy tempe, to name a few. 

So now, Are you ready to cook with me?


Ingredients:

Shrimp - 2 lbs, with or without the tails, any size you prefer, clean them.
Shallot - thinly sliced
Jãlapeño- thinly sliced, if you like it hot.

Spices to ground:
Onion - half and chopped
Shallots - chopped 

Chilies - 3-4, or less as desired

Tamarind - 3-4 pieces for extra tanginess. Feel free to take it out.
Salt and pepper - as desired
Galangal - 1 piece, pressed.

Just a little note, I really love this spice as it will add extra aroma to your dish. But feel free to drop it of you prefer to do so. Galangal is easily found in Asian groceries or oriental market.

Green peas for garnish
Coconut milk - 2 spoonful
Vegetable oil for sauté - 1 teaspoonful

The good thing about these ground spices, it is sort of a base paste for many Indonesian food or a like. So you can make them in big batches and store them in the freezer.

How to cook:
First, we prepare the shrimps.
You have the choices of deep frying them or pan frying them in order to use less oil. 

Once done, set them aside.

We then sauté the thinly sliced shallots and jãlapeño, put the ground spice all together.
Cook it for a while until it's fragrant.
You can tell when the spices are well cooked.
I have to admit it's the best part as the spices smell wonderful.
Mix the fried shrimps, wait for a while until all the spices are well mixed and cook it in low heat. Then add the green peas at the end for about two minutes so it won't be overcooked.
And that's it.
Your Indonesian spicy shrimp, sambal goreng udang, is ready :).

enjoy..

Eat it with your hot steamed white or brown rice, or sprinkle it over your salad plate.
Hope you like it and enjoy.

Bon appetit!

Cheers

Semur Daging dan Telur - Egg and Beef Indonesian Stew

It's been quite sometimes I did not post any recipes here.
Well, haven't had enough time to take pictures of all those food I have cooked should not stop me for sharing more Indonesian food recipes indeed.
And winter is here!
Surely I have many favorites Indonesian food that my family love to enjoy in cold, winter days. Including those delicious ones for your festive day!

semur daging dan telur :)

And this time, I have semur daging dan telur - egg and beef Indonesian stew.
It's more like a free translation of it.
So if my Indonesian friends have better term or translation for it, please let me know :).

We love semur because of its exquisite taste.
A combination of beef or chicken broth with palm sugar, sweet sow sauce and traditional spices like nutmeg and coriander is indeed delicious. 
I don't know exactly where this menu is originally from but I guess almost every Indonesian is familiar with this. Either you cook it with beef or chicken, and add some extra eggs, tofu or potatoes, it all blends very well and you can get everything ready to eat it together with rice. Of course, slow cooking is best because all the spices will be well blended and the meat will be soft and tender.

So, enough with the introduction and let's cook. 
Let's start with the ingredients.

Ingredients:

Beef - 2 pounds, cleaned and cut into cubes or as desired.
Eggs - 4 or less, hard boiled and peeled.

Garlic - 3 cloves

Shallot - 2 medium cloves

Coriander - 1 teaspoon
Candlenuts - 3 pieces

Nutmeg powder - as desired, just a tiny pinch to give the extra aroma
Worcester sauce - 1 teaspoon
Sweet soy sauce - 2 spoonfuls

Salt and pepper - as desired

Palm sugar or white sugar - as desired
Vegetable oil

Spring onion - all serves as garnish and my fave is cilantro and spring onion
Fried onion.
A bowl of steam rice.

Just a little note that in some recipes, they use coriander, some do not. 
You are indeed welcomed to use it as it brings an exquisite aroma to the soup and it blends very well with the beef. I. But I make sure that nutmeg is added as it is delicious!
Some also like it with extra soup, while I love it with less watery soup but more like the thick sauce after the slow cooking. Whatever you prefer, they all taste wonderful!

Here's how to cook:

First, we get all the spices ready. 
Using mortar and pestle (traditional way is the best way for me :)), grind the garlic, shallot, coriander and candle nut. Of course you can and are welcomed to use your food processor.

Then heat one spoonful of vegetable oil and sauté the ground spices until it's well cooked and fragrant. The spices will look gold and you can tell when it is adequately cooked.

In a large pot, boil the beef, together with the spices, until it is soft. I takes around 3 hours or less to get it tender, depending on the type of beef you are using. Once the meat is tender, put the hard boiled eggs and boil it together for 15 - 20 minutes to ensure the spices are well blended with the eggs as well. 

Don't forget to add the Worcester and sweet soy sauce along the way. Make sure you have enough soup and add the water as you boil the stew together. Once the beef is tender, you know Semur Daging dan Telur - Egg and Beef Indonesian Stew, is ready.

eat with a bowl of steam rice and it's yuuum!

The best way of eating it is together with a bowl of steam rice.
It will be great to enjoy this for your holiday dinner or lunch. 

Hope you enjoy it as much as we do and bon appetit! 

Bakso Isi Telur - Indonesian Egg-filled Meatball Soup

"Give me bakso and I will be the happiest girl in the world"

                                                                       Obi Frakarsa, 2017

B.A.K.S.O

Bakso has always been my favorite.
Always.
No matter what the weather is, be it super cold and perfect-for-a-bowl-of-hot-soup night or scorching hot summer days, bakso has been one of the most wanted dishes at home.  
During winter, I always have  chicken or beef broth ready, with some bakso .
My kids and I adore it!
I can eat them on daily basis, although I know too much meat is not good.

In NYC, we do have options to buy bakso from Asian or oriental groceries.
But they are usually not halal or use too much MSG :(, so really not a good choice for me. 
The best choice for me is to cook it myself.

While we're away from home, us, the Moslems, often worry about the food we eat as we are bound to at halal food. As we don't eat pork and all its derivative products, we  have to be careful with the ingredients of all the food we have. Something that we don't have to worry about when we are in Indonesia. That's why I love cooking everything myself to make sure about it. I know we share the same concern with one of my dearest friends from Em(b)ak Ceria, Isti"adzah Rohyati. She used to live in Suly, Iraq and although Iraq is pretty much
 dominated by moslems, but being away from home makes us cook almost everything. Even Isti is very good at making tofu at home! Yes, home-made tofu! How I envy here :). She's back to Indonesia now and I believe she has more relaxing time at home in Indonesia.
 
So now, are you ready to cook it with me?
Wanna try Bakso Isi Telur or Indonesian egg-filled meatball soup, if I may freely translated it? 

Let's start with the ingredients:

Minced beef - 250 gr. Feel free to substitute it with chicken, mutton or no meat at all.
Beef chunk - 100 gr,  for the soup broth.
Maizena - 1 spoonful

Soy sauce - 1 teaspoon

Worcestershire sauce - 1 teaspoon

Sesame oil - if desired, 1 teaspon

Salt - as needed

Pepper - as needed

Nutmeg  - as needed

Sugar - as needed

Eggs - 4

Shallots - thinly sliced

Onions - finely chopped

Spring onions - thinly sliced

How to cook:

First, boil the eggs until done and peel the shell. Put it aside. 
You can have the whole egg in one jumbo meatball or you can cut them into half or what you desire.
Boil the beef chunk for broth, add onions, salt, pepper and a bit sugar if you like, until it's nicely done and tasty. Sprinkle it with thinly slices spring onions.

Then mix the minced beef with all the sauce and spices, make sure they are all well blend.

Add one spoon of maizena to help forming the meatballs.

Shape the meatballs with eggs inside.

Cook it on a boiling pot of water, or broth will be better, until it is done and floating on the pot. Depending on the size, it takes at least 15 minutes in boiling water to cook those meatballs, but slightly longer is better so that we're sure that the meatballs are well-cooked.

Hope you enjoy this super simple recipe.
Eat it hot with some extra fried onion and chili if you like. Some also like to add egg noodles or bihun or vermicelli on a bowl of bakso.
I also like to add extra kick with apple cider vinegar.
And voilaaaa...

Enjoy Bakso Isi Telor - Indonesian Egg-filled Meatball Soup

WW: Indonesian Street Festival NYC 2017 Photo Gallery

Indonesian Street Festival NYC 2017 Photo Gallery, only for you

Tapis and Siger Lampung from my hometown

coffee, anyone?

Dangdut in America...

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WW: Eid Mubarak 2017 - the Food

Eid mubarak!

What a celebration!
And what a celebration will be without the glorious, traditional food from home.
Here are a view snaps of the Indonesian food, as well as delicacies and desserts,  from our Eid celebration.

Let's start with martabak coklat kacang :)

And more to enjoy...

Like this grilled halal ribs, fresh salad, lontong and kerupuk

Or more of the heavy one.. sayur labu dan buncis, sambal goreng kentang, dan opor ayam.
I'll write them down in details on separate posts :).

Some extra dessert and appetiters like this chocolate vanilla pudding and martabak telor.

Bon appetit!

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