Colorful Culinary Adventures in The Riverside Market, Christchurch, New Zealand

One of the murals in Riverside Market, Christchurch, New Zealand

Heading to the local market in one particular area is always be my fave and most of the time, it becomes top of my itinerary.

That is exactly what I did during my last visit to Christchurch in the late December 2021. Something popped up and we had a business trip to this wonderful city for about three days. Once we arrived here, one of the place that we visited is the Riverside Market.

Located in the heart of Christchurch Central, easily accessed by any means of transportation including the public ones, Riverside Market has become one of the icons of Christchurch. Here you can find a myriad of wonderful choices of fresh farmers' produce, seafood, cheese, and more, plus delicious menus from different corners of the globes with the high degree of authenticity. 

frozen tempeh..

We also have Indonesian food here, provided by Indo Tempeh, the vendor which supplies tempeh or the soy bean cake with varieties of menus using tempeh and more traditional Indonesian cuisines like nasi kuning, sayur lodeh, sambal goreng tempe, mendoan, tempe bacem and more.  

nasi kuning, anyone?

In terms of food, you can also get popular western food like fried chicken, fish and chips, burgers and steak, as well as more Asian cuisines, like Chinese, Indian, Japanese and Malaysian food, and Turkish, Greek, Italian, Mexican, and more. Healthy choices as well as candies and sweets are also available. 

These cheese twists are super yum!

As I came before Christmas, many festive food, chocolates and cookies are sold by the vendors here. Many of them are colorful and super cute. I also like to accent and the decorations used by each vendor here. It makes the whole ambience of the market rich and vibrant as they bring and infuse their unique, one-of-a-kind touch of home. As for the aroma, it is indeed tantalizing!

Cute gingerbread person

Not to mention various drinks like coffee, bubble tea, ice cream, wine, beer, spirits and more. The bakeries that we have here also provide delicious bread, pastries, pies, biscuits, cookies and anything you can think of. So tempting indeed.

Around the area, particularly the laneway, we also have various shops and I have to admit the summer sales as well as the cute, collectable items from many gifts shops dotting the area, really make me strain my shopping appetite. And it was not that easy LOL. 

Some of the colorful items I love to have 

You will find colorful, brilliant, eye-trickery murals outside of the building as well. Obviously many will love taking pictures here as it's so Instagramable. Those murals are the depiction of the original buildings in the area before the great earthquake hit Christchurch in 2011. The Riverside Market is more than just the market as it stands tall marking the collective efforts of the city as well as the nation to restart building Christchurch after that life-changing disaster.

I managed to get a flat white, cheese bread and croissant, nasi kuning, rendang frozen tempeh, candy, organic butter and souvenirs from this market. Well, it's quite a lot for a short trip to the market. Well, for sure, if you are coming to Christchurch, you cannot miss this place.

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!

Tempe Bacem - Javanese Sweet Marinated Tempe

Have you tried tempe or tahu bacem before?

tempe bacem

In this lovely Father's Day as well as the blessed holy month of Ramadhan, allow me to share one of my hubby's favorite recipes.

Tempe Bacem or Javanese Sweet Marinated Tempe, if I may freely translate it :).

Those who have been to Indonesia, particularly to Java,  might be familiar with this famous dish from my country. Owing to its exquisite sweet and bold taste, tempe and tahu bacem are surely loved by most of us, Indonesians.

Remember tempe?
I have passionately shared about this vegan food. Made of fermented soybean, tempe has surely stolen the hearts of Indonesian. You will definitely find various dishes using tempe in Indonesia. But even abroad, whenever you have Indonesians, there will always be ones who produce and sell tempe. Including here in NYC. Some of the tempe being sold here are made in New Jersey or Philadelphia. Every week, we have our own schedule at the nearest Indonesian groceries stores in Elmhurst, Queens. 

When we were in Melbourne, we have a steady suply of tempe as well, produced by some of the students there. In Geneve, we have a very nice and yummy tempe made in the Netherlands and somehow delivered to Geneve, Switzerland, every 2-3 months. 

So, that's a little story about tempe and now let's try our simple recipe today.
Usually, we cook tempe together with tahu or tofu, and even chicken, using the same spices and marinating sauce. But this time, I skip the tofu (and the chicken) and only have tempe.

it can be yummy snack, too :)

Ingredients:

Tempe

Spices to be ground:

Palm sugar

Coriander

Shallot or red onion, thinly sliced

Salt

Kemiri or candle nut

Bay leaves - set it aside

Galangal - pressed 

How to cook:

There are several steps to go through while cooking tempe bacem.

First, we prepare the spices. As always, I enjoy grinding it manually using my traditional mortar and pestle that I brought from home :). It was actually my mom's and I cherish it dearly. Using it is like cooking in my mom's kitchen, so warm and cozy. 

So..back to the cooking.

let's grind it..

Once the spices are all ground, then we marinate and cook tempe together with all the spices. Put them all in a pot, add a half glass of water (or more if deem necessary) and bring to boil until all the spices are well absorbed by tempe. Some use coconut water to add the extra bold flavor but to me, water is enough.

Use low heat to avoid overcooking or burning the tempe because the marinate sauce is sweet. To have a bolder taste, I usually add sweet soy sauce. My favorite Indonesian brand is Bango and luckily, we can easily find it here in NYC. Cook it until the water is dried and the spices are well mixed.

And finally, once tempe is well cooked and looks brownish from the spices, we can deep fry it or bake it to make it crunchy. If you don't fancy frying it, you can eat it as it is, because it is basically well-cooked already.

Eat it together with a bowl of steamed rice and some fresh chili, if you like :).

Hope you enjoy it and till next recipe.

Check out more of my stories at #Steller :)

Botok Tempe - Steamed Spicy Tempe

Ready for another Indonesian delicious home cooking?

I am back with easy breezy Indonesian food for you to try. This time, I am still using tempe as the main ingredient.

Botok tempe, everyone?

Tempe is surely one of the most popular ingredients back home in Indonesia. This fermented soybean cake is famous for its exquisite taste and unique texture. And I have to say it's addictive! That is why I was super excited when I found that tempe is easy to find here in NYC. And I am not only talking about buying it in Asian market or shops, but I can also find tempe in many big chained supermarkets in NYC like D'Agostino and Trader Joe's. Apparently it becomes quite famous as vegan staples here. Great! So I can introduce you all with more Indonesian food using tempe as one of the ingredients.

Siapa yang tidak suka tempe?

Rasanya jarang saya menemukan orang Indonesia yang tidak suka dengan makanan sederhana namun sehat ini. Yang ada malah ketagihan seperti saya. Ke mana pun pergi, selalu menyempatkan diri (dan berusaha keras :)) mencari tempe. Rasanya kalau bisa mendapatkan tempe seperti memenangkan undian berhadiah lipstik setahun #eeeh. Dan bahagianya, di New York City tempe bukanlah bahan langka. Asal hapal jadwal tempe-tempe ini didrop di berbagai toko bahan makanan khas asia, maka tempe segar yang biasanya dipasok dari daerah Philadelphia dan New Jersey pun bisa kita nikmati. Bahkan dengan bonus bahan makanan khas tanah air lainnya seperti sambal pedas, bumbu-bumbu masakan, sampai teh kotak :).

So, what do we have here today.
I'd love to introduce you to Botok Tempe - steamed spicy tempe.
A la mama Bo et Obi :).

Kali ini saya mau berbagi resep sederhana a la dapur Astoria. 

Botok tempe :).
Botok itself is a famous dish in Indonesia and it has many varieties. It can be mainly composed of tempe, tofu, mushroom, and other vegetables. Some use grated coconut and dried fish as well. Originally, it's wrapped in banana leaves, which make it somehow more delicious, before you steam it. But for the practical reason, I just put it in the steamer without wrapping it with banana leaves. Back home, I just need to go to the backyard to fetch some banana leaves. But surely not here in NYC :).

And here we go.

Ingredients:
Tempe - one pack, cute in cubes 
Red onion or shallots - thinly slices
Garlic - peeled
Coriander - one tea spoon, seeds of powder 
Kemiri or candlenut - 2 pieces
Fresh chili - if desired
Cilantro - sliced
Salt - as desired
Sugar - as desired

Bahannya sederhana dan relatif mudah didapat, bahkan untuk teman-teman yang sedang tidak berada di Indonesia. Tempe, bawang merah, bawang putih, cabe, dan bumbu-bumbu khas Indonesia seperti ketumbar dan kemiri. Kemiri juga relatif mudah dijumpai di sini karena ternyata banyak yang menggunakannya untuk memasak. Di sini saya juga menggunakan cilantro, bukan daun bawang, karena wanginya yang khas. Berhubung tidak ada kemangi, kebanyakan adanya daun basil, maka cilantro is a good substitute.

How to cook:

Put all the spices - garlic, red onion/shallot, coriander, candlenut and chili in the grinder. I usually use stone grinder because it feels authentic, like cooking it at home (I do bring my stone grinder from Indonesia :). But you can of course use your usual grinder or food processor for this. Once it's well grounded, add tempe, coarsely grind it and mix it well with the spices. Add salt and sugar as desired. 

using the stone grinder, we mix all the ingredients

If everything is well mixed, put them in a bowl or steamer and steam it for 20 minutes. Once it's ready, it will be best to eat it with steamed rice.

ready to steam :)

You can certainly substitute or add the ingredients with tofu or mushrooms. These are two of my favorite ingredients.

Gampang kaaan buatnya. Kalau di tanah air, botok tempe biasanya dicampur dengan teri asin atau sayuran lainnya seperti pete cina ya. Tapi berhubung di sini mencari bahan-bahannya perlu perjuangan, jadi memasaknya memanfaatkan bahan yang ada. Dapet tempe aja bahagianya sampai sejagad raya :).

Bon appetite!

Combro - Spicy Tempe and Grated Yucca Fritters

Haloooo.. Apa kabar semuaaa?

Bagaimana liburannya?

Semangat tahun baru, semangaaat juga beraksi di dapur :).

How's your winter break?

I sincerely hope you all have a wonderful time with your loved ones.

And now we better get ready for brand new days with renewed spirit and determination!

To a fabulous 2016 :)

And I guess, one of my (silent) resolutions for 2016 is bringing more Indonesian tradisional food and recipes here in my blog. I do wish I can fulfill that :). 

And to start with, today I have Combro, spicy tempe and grated yucca fritters :).

Combro with C, not K.

One of my favorite all-time favorite, mood-lifting, comfort food :). I know, I have a looooong list of favorite munchies and more than happy to share it with you all.

Kalau di Indonesia, beli combro memang gampang aja. Saya ingat kalau selalu punya andalan tukang gorengan yang buat combro enak di mana pun berada. Di Lampung, di Jakarta, bahkan di kantorku. Tapi memang makin lama makin susah dan makin sedikit yang jualan combro. Mungkin karena membuatnya relatif lebih ribet dibandingkan bakwan, cireng atau tahu isi ya? Atau oncom dan singkong makin mahal harganya? Hmmm. Perlu survey lagi nih :).

Combro, or the abbreviation of oncom di jero, or oncom inside in Sundanese, is believed to be originated from West Java.  The authentic combro is using oncom, or fermented soybean leftovers, which is a common staple food in Indonesia. But since we don't have oncom in NYC, I use tempe, another Indonesian traditional ingredient, that you can easily find here in the USA. Since both are made of soybeans, they have similar taste and perfect for this recipe.

Berhubung oncom ngg ada di NYC (sampai sekarang belum ketemu yang jual oncom di sini hehe), jadi isi combronya kita ganti dengan tempe ya. Rasanya enak jugaaa kok :).

Here are the ingredients:

Cassava or yucca - 2 big ones, grated

Tempe - 1 package, beaten or cut into small cubes

Chilies - 2 or 3, depending how spicy you want it to be, if desired

Onion - medium 1, thinly sliced

Shallot - 1,  thinly sliced

Garlic - 2, crushed

Vegetable oil for frying

Salt, sugar and pepper - as desired
Coriander powder - if desired

Bahan-bahan yang dibutuhkan tidak banyak kok, hanya singkong, oncom atau tempe sebagai pengganti, bawang merah, bawang putih, cabe, garam, gula dan lada untuk membumbui. Plus minyak goreng untuk menggoreng.

How to cook:

First, we get the filling ready. Put the thinly sliced onion and shallots plus crushed garlic on a hot skillet, cook them until fragrance and put the chilies and tempe then saute it. Put it aside and let it cool.

In a mixing bowl, put the grated yucca or cassava, salt, pepper, a bit of sugar and coriander powder (if you like) and mix them well. Then get a spoonful of the mixture, flatten it in your hand, put a teasponful of filling then cover it with the mixture and shape it oval or as desired. then the last thing to do is deep fry it until golden brown. And Combro is ready :). Feel free to eat it with fresh chili or hot sauce if you like.

ready to eat Combro :)

Memasaknya juga super gampang.
Pertama kita siapkan dulu isinya. Tumis bawang merah, bawang putih dan cabe hinga matang dan wangi, campur tempe dan jangan lupa bewi garam, sedikit gula, lada dan bubuk ketumbar kalau suka. Saya suka bangeeet dengan ketumbar karena wanginya khas :). Setelah isi jadi, tiang siapkan adonan singkong yang telah diparut dan juga diberi sedikit garam. Bentuk oval dengan tempe atau oncom di tengahnya dan rapikan bentuknya. Lalu tinggal digoreng deeeh :). Dan combro hangat siap dinikmati, apalagi jika ditemani cabe rawit segar dan teh hangat. Aaah bahagiaaa judulnya.

Dan kalau melirik jam dinding, proses membuatnya juga cepat kok. Less than 1 hour, ngga sampai satu jam. Oke kan :)

Hope you enjoy Combro, the spicy tempe and grated yucca fritters, as much as I do and happy cooking.

Sambal Goreng Tempe - Indonesian sweet and spicy tempe

Let's continue our culinary experience here in New York City :).

In my kitchen, to be exact.

And as always, I am thrilled to introduce you all to Indonesian food we cook here in our Astoria home.

You know how lovely homey food is and with all the ingredients we have here, I am trying to bring the taste from home to our table.

I have to say we are lucky that NYC is such a melting pot, and Queens, the borough where we live, has more people coming from different parts of the world than the official members of the United Nations :). And that means, authentic ingredients, fresh or packed, are abundant.

Including tempe.
Yuuup..tempe.
or tempeh...as known here :).
Probably one of the most famous and all-time favorite dish of Indonesians. 

This is what I found in Trader's Joe :)

And tempeh is quite famous as one of the delicious vegan food as it all made of soy.
No wonder wherever I go,  be it in Australia, some countries in Europe and here in NYC, I somehow always find tempeh in the oriental supermarket.
Tempe is basically soy bean cake made using fermentation process. This unique fermentation process make tempe become deliciously yummy and a good source of protein as well. 

So now..how are we going to cook it?
There are many ways to do that. Mostly Indonesians like to deep fry it with flour and traditional spices like bitternut and coriander batter. Some saute it with veggies or seafood and meat or mix it with soup or sayur lodeh, or Indonesian veggie with coconut milk soup.
But, here in my house, sambal goreng tempe is our favorite.
This sweet-and-spice tempe is delicious :)

Let's try it together... 

Here are the ingredients:

1 or 2 packs of tempe - you can find it in the Asian supermarket
 or like here, in Trader Joe's, the organic store.
Onion, or as I prefer, shallot, thinly sliced
Garlic, crushed
Chili, if you like, some sliced some blended into fresh chili sauce
Palm sugar
Galangal, crushed
Salt and sugar as desired
Vegetable oil

some of the ingredients..

Directions:
Thinly cut tempe into small pieces, lightly rub it with water and salt, deep fry it until it's well cooked, 
brownish and crispy. Put it on paper towel to dry the excessive oil and set it aside.

fresh fried tempe :)

Heat up the skillet and with enough amount of vegetable oil, cook the onion, garlic, galangal and chili until well cooked and fragrant. Put the the crispy fried tempe and mix it well. Add the palm sugar at the end so it won't be sticky and burned. Sprinkle salt and sugar if desired.

And the Indonesian sweet-and-spicy tempe is ready :).
It's best to eat it with a bowl of steamed rice and some fresh vegetables.

feel free to modify this recipe as you wish :).
Some mix it with crunchy potato chips or deep fried tofu as well.


Hope you enjoy it and I'll be back with more Indonesian food to cook.

enjoooy...