Monday, May 16, 2011

Centik Manis

I decided to make this yesterday afternoon because it was raining all day long, the boys were so bored and so was I. Didn't feel like spring at all here in Bellingham and sometimes I wonder if summer will ever come.

Centik Manis is one of my favorite traditional Indonesian snack. I do not know exactly who came up with such name, but CENTIK means pretty and little, while MANIS means sweet. So centik manis is translated as  Indonesian pretty and sweet snack, even though its taste is not as sweet compared to most American dessert.  It tastes similar to rice pudding or tapioca pearl pudding. But has firmer texture.

I love when my mom brought some from the traditional market nearby our house. Making this is really brings back my childhood memories.
Traditionally centik manis is wrapped in a plastic or banana leaves, but since I am too lazy I thought using pudding mold or jello mold is more practical and can still be pretty. This time I used putri ayu molds. If you lack of such molds you can simply pour the mixture in a 8X8 pan to be sliced afterward.


Centik Manis

Ingredients :

50 gr multi color tapioca pearl
75 gr mung beans starch (tepung hunkue)
100 gr sugar
800 ml coconut milk (I used 1 can (400ml) of coconut milk and added 400ml more water)
1/4 teaspoon of salt
Vanilla extract (I use vanilla bean, 1 bean goes along way)
pandan leaf (sold at most asian market fresh and frozen)

Method :
  • Boil the tapioca pearl until done, drained and set aside
  • Mixed the rest of ingredients in a 2 quart pot and turn the heat on medium low
  • Keep stirring until the mixture got thickened
  • Add the cooked tapioca pearls  
  • Stir again and make sure everything is mixed and cooked 
  • ladle the mixture into molds
  • let it cool and well set
  • release it from the molds and ready to serve



4 comments:

jennlindsay said...

Dear Lina,
I am an American grad student who lived in Jogjakarta for several months last year. While there I became obsessed with lemper and mata kebo. I have been searching on the internet for a while now hoping to find them in the USA and mail order them to Boston where I live. I came across your blog and wondered if you might know. Any idea? Thank you so much!

Terimah kasih!
Jenn
lindsay.jenn@gmail.com

Mommalina said...

Hi Jenn,

Thank you so much for stopping by ^__^ I love Jogjakarta so much. Let me know where do you live, I have several Indonesian friends who life in Boston, maybe I can contact them for you. My email address is deannlina@msn.com.
If only you live nearby where I am now, I'd be more than happy to make some lemper and mata kebo for you ^__^

jennlindsay said...

dang!! i will definitely let you know when I visit my friends in seattle. i am soooo hungry for those treats all of the time :). I live in a southern neighborhood in boston and I attend Boston University!
Jenn

Mommalina said...

Please DO let me know when you come and visit Seattle.
But for now, maybe if you go to the nearest Asian Market and you can check out some Asian deserts, maybe you can be lucky to find something similar to mata kebo. There are many Asian deserts from Thailand, Philiphine, Vietnam that has similar taste to Indonesian food/dessert since they using the same ingredients like rice flour, coconut milk, pandanus leave etc. Good luck!

As for lemper, I am sorry to say I haven't find anything similar here. But if you want to try I can find you the recipe, it's pretty easy to make. And the ingredients are available here.

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