Lemper Ayam

I am craving for this authentic Indonesian snack after reading a comment from an American student who came to Indonesia and becoming obsessed with this food call LEMPER AYAM. She also love mata kebo, but I already put the recipe of mata kebo HERE, I know it still in Bahasa Indonesia, maybe one day if I decided to make it again I'll post it in English with a better picture :P (Will see!)

Traditionally, Lemper Ayam is wrapped in banana leaves, the shape is round with some chicken fillings inside.  But since I live in the country where banana leaves only come frozen, somewhat prissy and a bit inconvenience (for me :D) so I choose to use wax paper instead :D
To save some time and process, I did not shape the lemper one by one with hands, instead I layered the rice and chicken and another rice, as you can see on the pictures.

LEMPER AYAM
Indonesian glutinous rice with aromatic chicken filling

Ingredients :
500 gr glutinous rice (soak it for at least 2 hours, I did it overnight)
500 ml coconut milk
2 Indian bay leaves
2 Kefir lime leaves
1 Pandanus leaf
1 stalk lemon grass (bruised)
1 tsp salt (or to taste)

Chicken filling :
350 gr chicken breast (boiled until cooked, then shredded)
2 Indian bay leaves
4 Kefir lime leaves
200 ml coconut milk
1 tbsp Javanese tamarind's juice
1 1/2 tbsp sugar
3 tbsp cooking oil

Grind into paste :
9 shallots (I used 1 big size of onion)
5 cloves of garlic
1 1/2 tbsp coriander powder
5 pcs roasted candle nut
1/2 tsp cumin
1 inch galanga
Salt and pepper to taste

Method :
1. Drain the rice, then steam it for 15 to 20 minutes, remove from heat, set aside.
2. Heat the coconut milk together with lemon grass, bay leaves, kefir lime leaves, pandanus leaves and salt until it simmers.
3. Add the rice into simmering coconut milk, stir and let it cook until done. Watch this process carefully, fold the rice to make sure you do not overcook the bottom part, but at the same time you do not want to over do it, you do not wanna ended up having one big clumpy sticky rice ball :). Remove from heat, discharge all the leafy herbs/seasoning and divided into 2 parts, set aside.
4. Heat the cooking oil in a large pan, saute the seasoning paste until fragrant. Add the shredded chicken and the rest of the ingredients. Stir until everything is well blended and no more liquid. Remove from heat and set aside.
5. Prepare a non stick square or rectangular baking pan such as pyrex, then layer one part of the rice and gently spread it all over the pan. Then add the chicken filling and spread it on top of the first layer. Last add the other part of the rice and spread it all over using spatula.
6. Steam until it's cooked. Remove from the heat and let it cool.
7. Release it from the pan, slice it as desire then wrap it with wax paper. Enjoy it!!

Risoles Ayam

Risoles Ayam is a very popular Indonesian snack or appetizer, some people enjoy it for brunch. The concept is similar to spring rolls but taste completely different. The wrapper uses for risoles has to be home-made. You can't subtituded it with a store-bought lumpia wrappers otherwise it will be called lumpia goreng.
It took whole day to make everything from scratch but it really was worth it, my whole family loves it! I packed some for my kid's bento the other day, you can check it HERE.

RISOLES AYAM

Skin/wrappers :

200 gr all purpose flour
1 tbsp corn starch
500 ml milk (fat free or 2%) --> you can use 150 ml of evaporated milk mixed with 350ml water.
4 eggs
1 tsp salt
75 gr melted margarine 

Filling :
100 gr ground chicken
150 gr carrots (julienne or diced) 
100 gr green bean (cut into small pieces)
2 stalks celery finely chopped/diced
4 cloves of shallots or 1 big onion, finely chopped.
2 cloves garlic, minced.
¾ tsp salt 
½ tsp black pepper
¼ tsp sugar
¼ tsp nutmeg
1/2 cup milk (chicken broth is optional)

1/4 cup all purpose flour
3 tbsp cooking oil (I use margarine)

Egg wash :

2 eggs mixed with 1.4 cup of milk
150 gr bread crumbs

Method :

1. For fillings : Heat the cooking oil/margarine in a large pan then saute garlic and onion until fragrant, add ground chicken and stir until the chicken turns white. Add carrots, green beans, and celery then keep stirring for about 5 minutes. Add salt, black pepper, sugar and stir until all blended. Add milk/broth, keep stirring until bubbling, then add some flour. Keep stirring until the mixture is thickened. Remove from the heat and set aside.

2. For the wrappers : Mix well all the ingredients, I like to do this ahead of time to make sure everything is well blended and set. You can use regular whisk or electric mixer but make sure there are no lumps in the batter, if there are some then you need to strain it.

Prepare a non stick pan, I use a small one like smaller than 8" so the final size of the risoles wont be too big. 
Brush the pan lightly with margarine, set the stove on medium low. Ladle the batter into a pan and kind a gently swirl the pan in a circle motion to make sure the batter is evenly covered the surface. This step is important to produce a nice thin skin that is gonna be easy to work with. 
Let it cook for about 1-2 minutes, just check at the surface if the batter is all evaporated then it should be done, at this point release the edge of the skin using spatula, then gently remove it from the pan. You do not need to cook the skin on both sides. Repeat the same process for the rest of the batter. 

3. Spoon a little bit of the filling in the upper center of the wrapper, fold the wrapper from the top then the left and right side like you do an envelope, then gently press it and roll it down.

4. Put the risoles inside the egg wash, then roll it onto some breadcrumbs, make sure all the sides are coated with breadcrumbs. And ready to fry.

5. Deep fry the risoles until golden brown and cooked, then let it sit on a paper towel. 

5. Ready to serve with your favorite chili dipping sauce. I personally enjoy it with raw Thai bird chili.

NOTE :

1. I did the step 2 and step 3 at once, I found this way to be very effective for me. So when one wrapper is done, I ladle the batter for the next one and let it cooked in low heat stove. In the mean time I do step 3. I always think if I stack the wrappers when it's still hot it will be all sticking together. But you have to be sure you are confidence with your speed, if you choose to make the whole wrappers at one time then you should put parchment paper in between the layers to avoid sticking.     


2. You can also use this below filling option for more variety flavors :

Cheese and smoked beef :

200 gr smoked beef, thin sliced.

4 hard boiled egg, quartered or cut into 6 pieces.
150 gr shredded cheese.

Turmeric root and kaempferia galanga fried rice

I made this Saturday morning and seeing the boys and hubby really really love its taste I decided to make it again the next day. I even made some bento for my boys, you can see it HERE. Too bad I did not had a chance to take any picture so I am using one of my bento pictures. But I'll update it when I make it again.

We call this fried rice a Nasi Goreng Kunyit, it's translated as turmeric fried rice.
My mom made this a lot when we were little, especially when one of us complain about having stomachache. Back then I did not know any details about good benefits of turmeric roots etc, I just know its good for you, and I love its taste too.

NASI GORENG KUNYIT DAN KENCUR
Turmeric and Kaempfria galanga fried rice

Ingredients :
3 cups cooked jasmine rice (preferably leftovers from the previous day)
If you use fresh cooked rice, let it cool completely then storage in the fridge for couple hours.
2 tbsp cooking oil

Grind into paste :
1 inch fresh turmeric root
1 inch fresh kampferia galanga
3 cloves of garlic
Salt and pepper (as desire)
(if you like spicy hot, you can add fresh Thai bird chili at this point)

Method :
Heat the cooking oil and when it's ready add the seasoning paste in and cook until fragrant. Add the cooked rice and stirring until all the rice becoming yellow. Keep stirring until done. Ready to serve with some omelet or sunny side egg with sliced of fresh cucumber.

Korean BBQ Tofu

I just tried this new trick to make plain tofu taste more flavorful and enjoyable for my boys. They love tofu already but I thought this might be something new for them.
If you do not like tofu, try this trick, you might change your mind. Use extra firm tofu, cut it into cubes then you can enjoy it for your Asian salad to substituted chicken.
My boys just eat them like that along with stir fried rice noodle with some vegetables for dinner tonight. I also packed some leftover for tomorrow's lunch, you can see it HERE

Korean BBQ Tofu 

Ingredient :
1 block firm tofu
3 tbsp Korean BBQ Sauce (terriyaki sauce is optional)
dash of salt (if desired)
3 tbsp cooking oil

Method :

• Cut the tofu into small squares, about 1.5 cm thickness
• Marinade the tofu with Korean BBQ sauce and salt for couple hours (I did mine overnight)
• Heat the cooking oil in a nonstick skillet, then pan fry the tofu until one side get caramelized brown, turn it once and let the other side get caramelized as well.
• Carefully take it from the pan and put it in a paper towel.
• Ready to serve.

I like to enjoy tofu with some fresh Thai bird chili and a little bit of soy sauce, it's the Indonesian way :D

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)
1 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

Matcha Macarons

This is my first attempt tackling french macarons! It wasn't a "trial and succeed" thing but I would not call it a failure either. The "feet" trade mark is there but somewhat the texture did not turned as what I expected. But practice makes perfect ... practice makes perfect. 

I think I have to reduce the amount of sugar next time.
The real trick I learned in making macaroons is not only on how to get the perfect hard peak with the white eggs, but you also have to let the piped batter sit over the counter for at least 1 hour. Many says 30 minutes up to 1 hour, but I'd suggest for at least 1 hour to get a perfect form of skin.

Matcha Macarons


Ingredients :
100 grams white egg (I use 3 eggs whites) room temperature.

25 grams granulated sugar

Pinch of salt
225 grams confectioners' sugar (next time I'd use 200 gr)
125 grams skinned almond powder
15 grams matcha/green tea powder (Next time I'd only use 10 gr)

For Chocolate filling :

½ cup (125 ml) heavy cream
120 gr bittersweet or semisweet chocolate 

Method :

1. Grind ground almond and confectioners' sugar with food processor to make sure there’s no lumps.
2. Whip the eggs whites with a pinch of salt and slowly adding in the granulated sugar until soft peaks formed. Add the dry ingredients to the egg whites half at a time and start folding (do it slowly).
3. Pipe the macaron batter onto baking paper.
4. Bake at 300F (160C) for 12 - 15  mins.
5. Let it cool and fill the macarons shell with chocolate filling.

To Make Chocolate filling:

Heat the cream until really hot, then slowly pour it into the chocolate chunk and slowly stir till it get really smooth and silky, let it cool before you put into the macarons shells.

Happy Mother's Day

Okay, I don't have the recipe to post here but my oldest son wants me to put the soup he made for lunch on Mother's day. And before we go there, I'd love to share some mother's day presents I got from the boys. They made it at school. I am so happy and blessed to be a mother of 3 amazing boys!!! they're ROCK!!

At first I thought this is a decoration

The message inside

He wrote this using a fountain pen ^__^

Sun Flower

Alright now for the soup. Hubby supervised him during to cutting and cooking process, but it's 100% his recipe that he learned from school.

The is made out of some leeks, carrots, potatoes and some cooked chicken breast.

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY TO ALL WONDERFUL MOMS AND MOMS TO BE