Cumi Tumis Cabe - Spicy Sautéed Squid

It's cooking time...
Kita masak yuk!

It's been quite sometimes since I share some of our easy-to-make favorite dishes.
Just coming back from our spring break road trip, I just realized that I didn't have much on the fridge.
 
But I got dried squid, onion, garlic and jalapeño, plus some chili and a bit of asparagus.
Looks like I could use some of those.
And one of the easiest recipes that comes to mind is spicy sautéed squid or cumi tumis cabe ijo.

Berhubung baru selesai liburan hampir selama 2 minggu, kulkas pun isinya minimalis banget karena belum belanja.
Kali ini, saya punya cumi kering, bawang, cabe dan sedikit asparagus.
Daripada susah, mari kita buat cumi tumis cabe ijo. 
Sudah pernah coba?

cepat jadinya dan gampaaang :)

Setelah hampir dua minggu kami menikmati Spring break dengan anak-anak minggu lalu, saya jadi kangen masak.
Banget!
Buat saya, masak itu obat penghilang stress dan capek.
Bukan hanya sekedar pemuas perut lapar.
Pusing dengan laporan yang menggunung, negosiasi yang tough dan tidak selesai-selesai atau tumpukan dokumen yang menggapai-gapai minta dibaca dan diselesaikan, saya selingi dengan masak supaya pikiran bisa lebih fresh. 
Bahkan pulang dari trip ke 2 negara dan 7 kota yang notabene buat badan 'remuk redam' karena berjam-jam nyetir dan 'ngukur jalan' alias eksplorasi kota yang kami datangi, tidak menghalangi saya untuk bebongkaran kulkas dan masak!

Dan seringkali, I cook with a 'dumping style', alias masak pakai bahan apa aja yang ada di kulkas hehehe.
  
Ini asli cara masak paling gampang dan murah meriah, paling tidak buat saya.

So, are you ready to cook spicy sautéed squid or cumi tumis cabe ijo?

Here are the ingredients.


Dried squid, 1 pound. If you have fresh squid, you can definitely cook it the same way.
 Onion or shallots, thinly sliced. 
 Garlic, 2 cloves or more as desired, thinly sliced.
 Jalapeño and/or chili, as desired, chopped.
Asparagus, cut as desired.
Cooking oil, 1 spoonful.
Salt and sugar, as desired.

Here's how to cook:

Prepare a pan and put one spoonful of oil, then cook onion and garlic for around 2 minutes or until golden and fragrant. 

Then put the squid, cook  for a while and add a bit of water (approximately 3 spoonful) to make it softer 
Add salt and sweet soy sauce. 
Mix it well and cook until the squid is tender.
Finally add the asparagus, cook it for two extra minutes until it's tender.
And that's it! 
As easy as one, two, three and this Cumi Tumis Cabe Ijo or  Spicy Sautéed Squid is best to eat together with steam rice :).

Add caption

Sebelum makan, biasanya saya selalu foto-foto dulu :).
Bukan hanya tukang masaknya yang narsis, makanannya pun perlu eksis kan.

 Selamat makan!

Mie Goreng - Indonesian Fried Noodles

It's the Chinese New Year week!
Gong Xi Fa Choi
May the Year of Rooster bring us all health, good fortune and prosperity!

I instantly want to cook yummy food, which, although it was originally coming from China, but somehow became very popular back home in Indonesia. If I'm not mistaken, noodles menu will always be present during the important events because it brings you good luck. From the Chinese emperor's table to one of the most famous staples in the world, noodles certainly have been enjoyed by so many.
Well for sure, it's yummy!

This time, I have mie goreng or fried noodles. Indonesian Fried Noodles.

Noodles have been extremely popular for its delicious taste and various version of garnish and toppings. Well, perhaps not toppings, but more like the mixtures. You can add seafood, chicken, beef, sausage, meatballs, eggs, or even pork, if you can and/or like to eat it. 

For us, the best choices are seafood, vegetables and eggs. If you are observing food combining, then noodles go perfectly hand in hand with vegetables, like mushrooms, green beans, carrots, cabbage, broccoli, cauliflowers, beansprout, green onion, bok choy and sooo many more.

As it is very popular in Indonesia, we have so many street food vendors and restaurant selling those varieties of noodles. Not only, fried noodles or mie goreng, but also mie pangsit, mie ayam jamur, mie godog, mie aceh, mie rebus, mie bakso and more. 
We fry, sauté, steam, put it in soup, mix it and bake it. 
I have shared the recipe for mie ayam jamur, another favorite dish at home. 

Not to mention the instant noodles!
You will be surprised to see tons of varieties of flavors offered instantly for you. 
But I try to reduce using it because of the amount of MSG contained in it :(.

So, ready to cook some Indonesian fried noodles?
Let's start!

INGREDIENTS:

3-4 bundles of dried noodles - There are so many choices that you can easily find in oriental store. Try to look for the egg noodles one, usually it's thin and yellow, comes in pack of 6. You can also use the fresh noodles, if you want.

1 piece Onion - thinly sliced

3 pieces Garlic - crushed

Portobello Mushroom - sliced in cubes. Or you can also use the dried mushrooms and sliced 
Bok choy - cut as desired
Carrots - cut as desired
Bean sprouts 

Spring onion - thinly sliced
2-3 Eggs - scrambled

Salt and pepper - as needed
Sesame oil - if desired
Sweet soy sauce - two spoonful or as desired
Fish sauce - if desired
Vegetable oil - one spoonful or as desired
Fried onion for garnish.

HOW TO COOK:

First, we get the noodles ready. 
Boil water in a pan and once boiling, cook the dried noodle for approximately 3 -5 minutes until they soften. Add a bit of fish sauce and sesame oil for extra favour and aroma. Set aside. 

Prepare a pan, put one spoonful of oil, then cook onion and garlic for around 3 minutes until golden and fragrant. Then put the eggs, cook and scramble it for a while,  then add the noodles. Add salt, pepper, sesame oil, and sweet soy sauce. Mix it well. Finally, add portobello mushroom, carrots, bok choy, bean sprouts and green onions. Cook it all together for another 2- 3 minutes. And in no time, your fried noodles is ready.

Sprinkle it with fried onion on top  and you can eat it just like that or with a little kick of sambal or chili sauce, or even fresh, cut chili.

Hope you like it. 
Bon appetite and enjoy!

Tempe Goreng Tepung - Indonesian Fried Tempe

Tempe goreng tepung memang ngg ada matinya!
At least in my house.

Time to share another favorite menu of the house: tempe goreng tepung or fried tempe fritters, as I freely translate it.
Have you tried one?

Beberapa kali saya share di blog kalau tempe adalah salah satu makanan favorit sekaligus harta karun buat kami yang tinggal jauh dari tanah air. 
Tempe bukan hanya sekedar lauk khas Indonesia yang enak dan bikin ketagihan. Ada setangkup rindu dan rasa haru setiap melihat tempe. Mengolahnya menjadi makanan kesukaan keluarga melayangkan ingatan saya pada keluarga besar di Indonesia yang kerap berkumpul dan berbagi suka duka dengan ditemani sepiring tempe goreng. Di situ ada identitas bangsa yang kaya akan budaya kuliner dan sumber daya alamnya yang luar biasa. Ah, mau makan tempe aja jadi sentimentil hehehe! 
Itulah spesialnya tempe untuk saya dan keluarga.

want some?

I have shared several time in my blog that tempe is one of our favorite food and heavily treasured mostly by Indonesians living abroad.

Tempe is not just a typical or traditional delicious Indonesian food that you continue craving for more. There is a piece of 'home' and longing for the homey ambience as we eat  tempe with our loved ones. So now, allow me to share another favorite easy-peasy recipe for tempe.

Ready for tempe goreng tepung or Indonesian fried tempe?

Here we go...

Ingredients:

Tempe or tempeh - you can find it in oriental or Indonesian shop and also Trader Joe's which have its own home-brand tempeh.
Flour - 200 gr
Maizena - 1 spoonful
Turmeric - 1 pinch, if desired
Coriander - hoarsely ground, 1 tea spoonful
Garlic - 4 pieces, crushed. The best is the fresh one, otherwise you can also use garlic powder.
Shallot - 2 pieces, thinly sliced
Kemiri or candlenut - 2 - 3 pieces
Salt - as desired
Sugar - as desired
Spring onion - thinly sliced
Vegetable oil for frying

How to cook:

First, we prepared the spices. You can ground all the spices or just simply use the dry powder. Ground garlic, candlenuts and coriander together. In a mixing bowl, put the flour, maizena, ground spices, salt and sugar then mix them all well by adding water until the dough is well mixed and thick. Add the thinly sliced shallot and spring onion to the dough once it's mixed well.

Cut tempe as desired. For us, the thinner the better because then it get crispy when we fry it. Just to make sure that it's not too thin so that tempe stays intact when fried.

In a frying pan, heat enough vegetable oil for frying. Dip tempe to the dough and fry it until it's beautifully golden. And....that's it!
Your tempe goreng tepung is ready. You can eat it just like that with a little kick from fresh green chili or jalapeños :). Or pair it with a bowl of steamed rice and eat it while it's hot.

Bon appetit!

My fave!

Arem-arem, Indonesian stuffed coconut rice-roll

When I decided to write this recipe, I spent some time trying to look for the right translation for arem-arem.
Yes, arem-arem.

It started two weeks ago, in one of the meetings at my office, when we had those traditional Indonesian snacks. Pisang goreng and arem-arem.

Then my mind took me to my younger days, back to Lampung, my beloved hometown.
We used to go to one of the islands along Lampung Bay and spent the entire day playing around on those white sandy beaches and crystal-clear water.
Obviously, we had to bring enough food and drink for our excursions because there was nothing, let alone the restaurants or mini markets, on those islands.
And guess what...one of the most favorite snacks we had is arem-arem.
Made from scratch by my late grandma or my mom, and we all devoured it while it was still nicely warm. My heart aches with memories as I write this :).

Dan arem-arem pun berhasil membuat saya jadi sendu.
Bukan seneng duit lho #walaupunsebenernyaiyajugasih.
Inget jaman masih kecil dulu, setiap mau menyebrang ke salah satu pulau di Teluk Lampung,selalu berbekal nasi uduk dan teman-temannya plus arem-arem, lemper dan/atau pisang goreng.
Jadi inget dengan almarhum Nenek Ewet, panggilan kesayangan kami untuk nenek dari pihak mama, yang paling hobi buat arem-arem untuk cucu-cucunya yang kadang sudah menghabiskan arem-aremnya di mobil, jauh sebelum sampai di kapal dan menyebrang.
Dan kali ini, saya mau berbagi resep cemilan (berat) kesayangan penuh nostalgia ini.

It's rather nostalgic for me to write and share the recipe of arem-arem. 
But hey, that's the beauty of it, right.
Every food has its wonderful story.

Arem-arem is basically a stuffed rice roll, wrapped in banana leaves.
It can be stuffed with veggies, mince beef or chicken. Or simply anything you like that goes well with the rice. To make the rice even tastier, we add coconut milk, lemon grass, bay leaves and salt to the rice, before stuff it with the filling and steam it.  

So, there are three steps to prepare arem-arem. Firstly, we prepare the fillings, then precook the rice, and finally stuff the rolls and steam them.

Now let's start with the ingredients

For the filling:

It's absolutely up to you but I love a combination of veggies and mince beef.

Minced beef - 2 lbs
Carrots - 2 pieces, cut into small cubes
Potatoes - 2 pieces, peeled and cut into small cubes
Green onion - 2 pieces, finely sliced
Shallots - 2 pieces, finely sliced
Garlics - 3 pieces, finely sliced or smashed
Salt, sugar and pepper - as desired
Nutmeg powder - as desired
Vegetable oil - 2 spoonful

For the precooked rice:

Rice, preferably the jasmine rice - 3 lbs
Coconut milk - 2 cans
Lemon grass - 3 pieces
Bay leaves - 8 - 10 pieces
Salt and sugar - as desired

You well need banana leaves for wrappings . If it's a bit complicated to have one, aluminum foil will do the trick.

How to cook:

First, we prepare the fillings. It's basically veggie and minced beef sauté, so prepare the pan, put the oil and cook the shallots, onion and garlic. Once it smells great and cooked, put the minced beef and potatoes then cook it for 10 minutes. Add salt, pepper, nutmeg and a bit of sugar as desired. Add carrots and continue to cook it. Finally, add the green onion and set it aside.

Let's now get the rice ready. Prepare the cleaned rice and add water, coconut milk, lemon grass, bay leaves all together. Cook it in pot in low fire and don't forget to stir it occasionally to avoid overcooking. Once all the liquid is all absorbed by the rice, it will be precooked and damp.

Then the next step will be stuffing the rice and roll it. Cut the banana leaves, cleaned before, into rectangle and spread one scope of rice, spread it with spoon, then add a half spoon of fillings. Add another scope of rice and roll it into a long rectangle shape. You can insert one fresh chili if you like. Once it's cooked, it won't be that hot. But I prefer to eat the chili fresh on the side.

Once all the wrapped rice rolls are ready, steam them for about 15-20 minutes.

steam it for 15-20 minutes

Once it's ready, the rice and its stuffing will be deliciously blended and you can enjoy it with fresh chili or sambal, as desired.  Eat it while it's hot or warm and enjooooy.

pair it with fresh chili

I'll be back with more Indonesian food recipes and till then, bon appetit!

Wonderful Wednesday with Oh My Heartsie Girls

Apa kabar semua?

Hope everyone is healthy and warm, especially those facing winter wherever you are.
NYC, as always, is beautifully (or annoyingly, to some) cold.
I mean, the weather can't get any weirder.

Last Saturday, we had snow coming and 2 days before that, the temperature dropped to minus 1010degree C, felt like minus 15 degree C! Or equal to 12 degree Farenheit felt like 2 degree.
Then after the snow, it was raining cats and digs and the temperature warmed up to 10 degree C or 52 degree degree farenheit!
Now I sound like a weather lady, lol >_<

My birthday boy :)

And..we also have Abang Bo's birthday last Sunday!

That completes the birthday saga in my family :)

But let me now invite to our weekly round-up and linky party!
Ready? Get set....go...

“Welcome to Oh My Heartsie Girls “Wonderful Wednesday’s"

The Week of Christmas and we have Christmas Goodies, Decorating, Beautiful Trees, Wrapping Ideas and Recipes!!!

This is our 50th Oh My Heartsie Girls “Wonderful” Wednesday’ Linky Party in 2016 and it is our purpose to feature with you some great blogs that linked up with us from last week's party.

We're happy to have you join us and share what you have going on, in your world!!.

We are wishing you and your families a Very Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah !!

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We Hope While You Party With Us, You will follow our Hostesses!

 

First Christmas in New Home (Pin To Share)

♥ Evija Roberts | From Evija With Love// Christmas in our new home | Tw | Bl | G+ | Fb | Pin | In

Kroket Kentang (Pin To Share)

♥ Indah Nuria Savitri | My Purple World // Kroket Kentang | Tw | Fb | Pin | In

DIY Sweater Gift Bags (Pin To Share)

♥ Donna Wirthlin | Two Chicks and a Mom // A Christmas Sweater Gift Bag |Tw | Bl | Fb | Pin | In

My Farmhouse Holidays Chocolate Bar! (Pin To Share)

♥Christine Mello |Light and Savvy // Farmhouse Holiday Hot Chocolate Bar! Tw | In | FB | Pin

 

3 Reasons To Shop Boutiques (Re Pin It To Share)

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We Would Love It If You Would Pin Your Favorite - Opens In A New Window

 

Fabby's Living // It's looking Like Christmas (Pin To Share)  

Atta Girl Says // Diy-Glittered-Package-Toppers-Gift-Wrapping-Ideas (Pin To Share)

White Chocolate Cherry Almond Shortbread (Pin To Share)  

Feature Pick by Donna // Two Chicks and a Mom Mandatory Mooch // Burlap Covered Christmas Treat Boxes (Pin To Share)  

Feature Pick by Indah // My Purple World The Kittchen // Snowmen-Rice-Krispie-Treats Indah (Pin To Share)  

Feature Pick by Evija // From Evija With Love Refresh Living DIY-Christmas-Houses-with-Scrap-Wood-to-Make-a-Christmas-Village (Pin To Share)

 

Feature Pick By Christine // Light and Savvy Just Measuring Up // Constructing a Built-In Bookshelf (Pin To Share)

 

Please also Join In »» The Holiday Cookie Exchange ««Link Your Recipes

 

But Now.....Open for a Week Comments Are Appreciated after Linking Up!!

Let us know that you are following us so we can do the same! You Are Welcome To Link your DIY Projects, Tablescapes, Garden Ideas, Recipes, Reviews, Giveaways or Challenges, As many as you like. Tweet Our Party To Help Us Grow! And Thank you!

If you missed our party last week you can check it out Here 12/14/2016

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But Now.....Let's Party!!….PARTY LINKY

An InLinkz Link-up

Kroket Kentang - Potato Croquettes with Beef and Vegetables

Hello, everyone.. how's your holiday baking?
It surely is one of the busiest time during the year.
Although we don't celebrate Christmas, enjoying time together in our kitchen is always fascinating.

I was a bit unlucky as the oven at home was not functioning properly.
We don't know exactly what's going on as we use the oven and stove normally until it suddenly beeps repeatedly and show the error sign!
Well, well... while waiting for the technician coming and fixing it, I just have to pause my baking for a while. Hope it won't be that long!

So, now... I decided to try another favorite recipe in the house.
This time, let me introduce you to Kroket Kentang, or Potato Croquettes with beef and vegetables.
Perhaps, you would like to try this easy recipe to complete your holiday baking, especially if you want to add some savory dishes to your festive tables.

I love eating it with fresh chili :)

I have shared similar recipe, Perkedel Kentang, here before.
The ingredients and the cooking method are the same, the only difference is the filling.
With Kroket Kentang, we usually have ground beef and vegetables filling wrapped in delicious potato dough. The filling itself can be freely modifies. If you feel like adding vegetables only, you can have small dice-cute carrots and green peas inside.

So, ready to try it?
Here we go...

Ingredients:

4 pieces of big potatoes - I always use Idaho potatoes here because its texture is nice and perfect for kroket kentang. Sometimes, I mix mash potato powder to add some texture

Garlic - smashed, or if you prefer, you can use garlic powder

Shallot - ground

Salt - as desired

Pepper - as desired

Ground nutmeg - as desired. I love it so much because it gives you different, yet enticing aroma

For filling:
Ground beef  1-2 pounds, depending  
Carrots
Green peas
Shallot 
Sweet soy sauce

Egg - beaten, for dipping before deep frying
Bread crumbs

Oil - for deep frying
Fresh chili for garnish if desired

How to cook:

First, boil all the potatoes until they are soft enough. But not too long so it won't be too soft. 
Some people love to fry the potatoes and mash it instead, but I prefer boiling it. 
Using potato masher or like me, using my traditional mortar and  pestle, mash the potatoes all together with garlic, ground shallot, nutmeg powder, salt, and pepper. Mix them all together until in becomes a perfect potato dough.

Then let's prepare the filling. Saute the thinly sliced shallot until fragrant, add ground beef and cook it well. Don't forget to sprinkle salt, pepper, and sweet soy soy before adding carrots and green peas. Mix them well and cook it for about 5-7 minutes.

Shape the potato dough with beef and vegetables filling inside, make it oval or any shape you prefer.
Dip it in the beaten egg and roll it into bread crumbs.
Deep fry it until beautifully golden and cooked.
Garnish and eat it with fresh chili if you like.

Enjoy your Kroket kentang!

Add caption

Sate Padang - Padangnese Satay

Helo, everyone...

How's your Fall? cooler temperature is the perfect time for hot food, right :)

As culinary haven, Indonesia has endless offer when it comes to delicious food.

The perfect ingredients combined with distinct spices brings bold and rich flavor on every plate.

Just like one recipe that I am about to share with you.

Sate Padang. 

Have you heard of this before?

Have you tried this one?

Back home, sate padang or the Padangnese satay, is quite famous. 
Originated from Padang in West Sumatera, this sate is different from the usual Indonesian satay you have in the restaurant or on your favorite street vendor. Made of beef or ox tongue,- yes, originally it was the tongue,- this grilled satay is marinated with different mixture of Indonesian traditional herbs and spices, with a very special sauce too.

Here in NYC, we are lucky to have on Padangnese Restaurant, Upi Jaya, which serves this menu. We also have some other Indonesian restaurant having sate padang on their menus. We even have the famous Singkuan family, who has been staying in NYC for generations and famously known for their exquisite sate padang. Even on the last Indonesian Street Festival, their booth was the one with the longest queue :).

Read: New York Indonesian Street Festival 2016

So, I tried to cook it myself and I guess I nailed it :).
Not as authentic but at least it tastes yuuum and I am using no MSG!
Let's give it a try.

First, let's get the ingredients.

Ingredients:

2-3 lbs of Beef - the best, tender part, cut into cube. Or if you dare, try tongue :).
Sate skewers

Spices to grind:

3 Shallots

1 Onion

3 cloves of  Garlic
3-5 fresh chili *if you like it to be spicy

4 Candle nut
1 Cardamon
1 teaspoon Turmeric

1 teaspoon Coriander 

Salt and Pepperas needed

2 stalks of l emon grass
5-10 Lime leaves

1 piece of Ginger - bruised/pressed
2 Galangal, frozen or fresh - bruised-pressed

For the sauce:

Ground spice above

Rice flour

Beef broth

Condiments:
Ketupat or rice cake - I usually buy the instant, ready-to-cook one.
Fried onion - found in Asian groceries

some of the ingredients :)

How to cook:

There are 2 separate steps that we have to do here. Well, actually 3 if you want to cook the rice cake or lontong as well.

First, we will prepare the meat.

Put all the cube beef, mix the ground spice well, and add water. Cook it in medium stove until the beef is tender and well cooked, with the ground spices well mixed. Once it's done, put it aside until it's cool enough. Put the beef in bamboo skewer and grill it to your preferences. Best is not too well-done.

Ready to grill 

rick in sauce :)

Then we will prepare the special sauce or gravy.

This is the best part for me as I love it sooooo much :).

 Put the beef broth on a pot, add the ground spices and once it's boiling, put the rice flour little by little and stir it well until it gets thick. 

here's the gravy :)

Once it's done, put the grilled sate padang on a plate and pour the special sauce on top of it. 

You can eat it with ketupat or rice cake, or just like that!

it's ready yummy indeed :)

Bon appetit and I hope you enjoy sate Padang as much as we do :).

And as this is October, join my Giveaways and support the #breastcancerawareness campaign :). Check it out in Giveaway #breastcancerawareness #finishthefight #gopink