EVERYBODY LOVES PUMPKIN

When I was a kid, our house was located near a busy street. Since early morning the street hawkers who sold Ready-to-Eat (RTE) foods were already busy. They sold many different types of foods like bubur ayam (chicken rice porridge), fried rice noodle, nasi uduk (mixed rice) and some sweet treats like mung bean porridge, dark sweet risotto (black rice pudding) and sweet pumpkin treat (kolak).

My mom was the kind of a mother who never give her children pocket money and she did not allow me and my sisters to buy food from the street hawkers. She knew that as kids, we love food from street hawkers better than our home-made meal. So to compensate what we missed, everyday she cooked me and my sisters different types of snack-foods like those sold by the street hawkers. And one of my favorites is the Sweet Pumpkin Treat.

Let’s cook the Pumpkin

When choosing a pumpkin, we have to know exactly how are we going to cook the pumpkin. To serve pumpkin as a tureen, the size of the pumpkin must fit into your oven and you must be able to lift it out comfortably and safety after it is filled with hot soup. In addition, the pumpkin must have a flat base so that it stands upright firmly and of course it must be free of cracks that could cause leaks.

So far I have seen only 3 types of pumpkin available in supermarkets in Jakarta, where I live: butter-nut pumpkin, sugar pumpkin and the large deep-orange pumpkin (in Bahasa we call Labu Parang). I love the taste of butter-nut pumpkin but certainly not the price. Many people like the sugar pumpkin coz it’s smaller in size and tastes sweeter. My favorite is the large-orange pumpkin. The flesh is thick and I love its starchy taste.

 
It’s a bit tricky to buy pumpkin as a whole coz I don’t have any idea how to judge whether the level of ripeness is just right. Fortunately, in most supermarkets in Jakarta pumpkins are available by piece (in half / one-quarter etc) and it is charged based on the weight. This way it’s easier to judge whether the level of ripeness is in line with our expectation or not.
 
Cooking Sweet Pumpkin Treat

My favorite Sweet Pumpkin Treat is a kind versatile food. It can be served both warm or chilled depending on the occasion. Serve warm for breakfast alternative or serve chilled as a dessert after lunch or dinner. It can also be cooked as pumpkin stew (kolak) or pumpkin soup.

This is the original recipe of Indonesian Sweet Pumpkin Treat (kolak labu kuning):

Ingredients

• 250 gram pumpkin meat, cut in cubes
• 500 ml water
• 50 gram palm sugar, shaved
• 200 ml thick coconut milk
• Pinch of salt
• 1 pandan leaf, tied into a knot

Method

• Put water in a saucepan, bring to a boil
• Slow cook the pumpkin cubes in the water on low heat until tender but still in the form of cubes.
• Add the coconut milk
• Add the salt
• Simmer uncovered until the liquid thickened
• Remove from heat
• Serve warm or chilled.

The Sweet Pumkin Stew (kolak) will look like this:

 
How to prepare the coconut milk:

To make traditional fresh coconut milk, put 2 cups of freshly grated ripe coconut into a bowl and add 2 cups of lukewarm water. Squeeze and knead the coconut thoroughly for 1 minute, then strain through cheesecloth into a bowl to obtain thick coconut milk.

Repeat the process with another 1 cup of water to obtain thin coconut milk. Combine both for the coconut milk. Coconut milk can be frozen; thaw and stir thoroughly before use. The substitute for fresh coconut milk is instant coconut powder. Combine this with warm water as directed on the packet.

My version of Sweet Pumpkin Treats

To cook my version of Sweet Pumpkin Treat, I prefer to use dairy milk instead of coconut milk:

• Cook 350 gram of pumpkin cubes in 500 ml of water until tender but still firm. Then remove the cooked pumpkin from the water and put aside.
• Mix 250 ml water + 250 ml liquid full cream milk + 100 gram Sweetened Condensed Milk in a sauce pan until mix well.
• Boil the milk on medium heat and stir occasionally.
• Add the cooked pumpkin cubes into the milk.
• Add 1 drop of Vanilla essence
• If needed, add shaved palm sugar (the quantity depends on desired sweetness level)
• Simmer uncovered for around 10 minutes until the pumpkin cubes are really soft and tender and the liquid is thickened.
• To make it into soup type, cook longer, stir and mash the pumpkin. Remove from heat.
• Serve in a bowl either warm or chilled

This is my version of Sweet Pumpkin Stew (Kolak)

CASSAVA, THE VERSATILE TUBER

One day during a heavy rain, I was craving for my childhood favorite snack namely Sawut (Steamed Grated Cassava With Sugar), one of Javanese traditional cassava snacks. My mom used to cook me this cassava snack when I was a kid to keep me from catching cold during rainy season.

Why cassava? What is so special about it?

Cassava (Manihot esculenta ) originated in the Americas. The plant grows tall, sometimes reaching 15 feet, with leaves varying in shape and size. The edible parts are the tuberous root and leaves. The tuber (root) is somewhat dark brown in color and grows up to 2 feet long.

Around the world, cassava is a vital staple for about 500 million people. Cassava’s starchy roots produce more food energy per unit of land than any other staple crop. Its leaves, commonly eaten as a vegetable in parts of Asia and Africa, provide vitamins and protein. Nutritionally, the cassava is comparable to potatoes, except that it has twice the fiber content and a higher level of potassium.

In Indonesia, cassava is used in a variety of food products, the same way potatoes are used in the Western countries. They can be used as vegetables in dishes, grated to make pancakes, dried and ground into tapioca flour, or sliced and made into snack chips

To cook cassava, just wash and peel, then cook whole in savory dishes such as curry. You can also cut the cassava into chunks, boil them and then dip in freshly grated coconut and sugar or honey.

The young root can be grated, mixed with sugar, coconut milk and baked or steamed to make Indonesian snack.

One of the famous cassava recipes is cassava cake or known in Indonesia as Getuk Lindri. It is ground cassava with grated coconut and it’s really one of the old and authentic Indonesian desserts.

You can mostly find them in the villages or in the market. The daily morning market usually sold original Indonesian desserts and cakes. They are usually cheaper than the big desserts shop and they are really delicious.

The Cassava Cake (Getuk Lindri) Recipe

• Cooking time: 1/2 hour
• For 20 pieces

Ingredients:

• 1 kilogram grated cassava (you can use frozen cassava from the supermarket, it’s usually easy to find)
• 1/2 kilogram dried grated coconut, pours some water and salt over it and steamed it to get moist grated coconut.
• 250 gram sugar
• 150 cc water
• 1 teaspoon vanilla sugar 
• Food coloring
• Salt

Instructions:

• Cook sugar with water, add some vanilla sugar. Let it cooked.
• Mix the grated cassava with 1/4 kilogram grated coconut, and add the mixture sugar with water, mix until well.
• Divide the dough into 3 parts or more, add different colors as much as you want.
• Then use pasta machine to get the spaghetti form like the picture above then cut into 5 inch length.
• Serve with moist grated coconut that you have already seasoned with some salt.

Other more simple recipes of Cassava:

Steamed Cassava (Singkong Rebus)

• 500 gram cassava, peeled, washed and cut into chunks of 5 cm length
• steam cassava in a steamer until tender
• serve warm with salt or sugar

You can also fry the steamed cassava if you like

Fried Cassava (Singkong goreng)

Or you can make my favorite cassava snack:


Sawut (Steamed Grated Cassava with Sugar)

Ingredient:

• 500grams of Cassava ~ peel and wash until clean then grated
• 100 grams of white sugar
• pinch of salt
• 200 gram coconut meat ~ grated well

Cooking steps:

• Mix grated cassava with salt
• Prepare steamer then put in the cassava. Steam for about half of hour.
• Put the cooked cassava in a plate; garnish with grated coconut and sugar

WALK TO WOK

Along my journey of cooking, one of the questions I have asked myself was: Do I really need a WOK to cook Chinese food?


Let’s hear what the expert said:

According to Rhonda Parkinson @about.com, we don’t absolutely need a WOK to create satisfying Chinese meals. However, the WOK has several advantages – it spreads heat evenly, uses less oil for deep-frying than a traditional deep-fat fryer, and ensures that food tossed during stir-frying lands back in the pan and not on the stove. A good WOK will make it easier to cook Chinese food.

So I decided to add a WOK to my kitchen equipments and I want to shop around to choose the best model. But before I shop around, I checked it out first by browsing the internet.

And that was how I started my “WALK to WOK”.

Step 1: What Type Should I Buy?

Remember that old adage “You get what you pay for?” This is one of those rare cases where it doesn’t apply. There is no substitute for a good carbon steel WOK. Not only is it relatively inexpensive, but it conducts heat evenly.. While there many other types of WOKs on the market today – aluminum, stainless steel, even copper – every article on WOK I’ve read so far still consider carbon steel as the best choice, and I have to agree.

I read in Wikipedia that WOK is most often used for stir frying, but can also be used many other ways, such as in steaming, deep frying, braising, stewing, smoking or making soup. It is commonly, almost exclusively, cooked with a long handled chahn (spatula) or hoak (ladle). The long extension of these utensils allows the cook to work with the food without burning the hand.

Traditionally, the WOK came with two metal handles, making it easy to lift in and out of the stove. However, I prefer the modern WOKs that have one long wooden handle, like a skillet. As Barbara Tropp points out in The Modern Art of Chinese Cooking, the long handle “eliminates the need to work with a potholder or mitt, and gives you wonderful leverage for tilting the pot.

Step 2: Flat or Round Bottom?

If you are cooking with a western electric range your best option is to use a flat bottom WOK. Round bottom WOKs can reflect heat back on the element, damaging it. A flat bottomed WOK can also be used on gas stoves.

Step 3: Size matters

WOKs come in a variety of sizes – restaurants may use WOKs that are several feet across. The size of WOK you choose will depend on several factors, including your own preferences, the type of stove you have, and the depth of the WOK. A 14 inch WOK is a good size for home use.

Step 4: Where to buy a WOK?

The best thing would be to buy a WOK in the nearest Chinatown. WOKs there tend to be inexpensive. As a bonus we get the advice of the seller who more than likely would be happy to advise us not only on materials, weight and seasoning your WOK but would also help us with a ‘pantry list’ to get started.

Step 5: Purchasing a WOK

The traditional style of WOK made of carbon steel is higly recommended. It is an excellent conductor of heat, therefore respond very quickly to temperature changes. It is relatively inexpensive but must be seasoned before use to prevent foods from sticking and to prevent them from rusting. Stainless Steel WOKs won’t rust and heat quickly, but won’t respond as well to temperature changes. WOKs with a non-stick coating need to be treated carefully so as not to scratch or damage the surface.

Step 6: Seasoning the WOK

It is very important to season the WOK before trying it out for the first time. Why is this necessary? Seasoning removes the preservative oil manufacturers place on the WOK to prevent it from rusting, replacing it with a light coating of cooking oil. It is also important to properly clean the WOK after each use.

Step 7: Cooking with a WOK

Cooking in a WOK is a healthy way of cooking. Usually, only a small amount of oil (1 to 3 spoons) is enough. We should heat the WOK before adding the oil under full burner heat. Pre-heating before adding oil will prevent food from sticking. It will also ensure that the oil does not burn and smoke up our kitchen before the upper surface of the WOK is heated. Most recipes require fresh chopped ginger and garlic to flavor the oil. We should add them once the oil is hot and we might scoop them out before they turn brown or burn So, remember:

• Heat the WOK
• Add the oil
• When oil is hot add the flavorings (garlic/ginger/chilies)
• Start cooking your meal.
  
  

NOODLE SOUP FOR THE SOUL

Noodles are the second most-consumed food in the world, and a staple in Chinese cuisine. Whether you slurp them, gulp them down, or twirl them with your chopsticks, everyone seems to love noodles.

The noodle recipes in Chinese cuisine can conveniently be divided into soup noodles, pot noodles, hot-gravy noodles, cold-gravy noodles, steamed noodles and stir-fried noodles.

In my family, my second daughter is the real noodle lover. She loves any kind of noodles but her favorite is the soup noodles. For her, there is no food quite so comforting than a bowl of hot noodle soup.

In Indonesia, the way most Chinese restaurants sell Chinese Noodles Soup is either in the form of dry seasoned noodles plus a separate hot soup or a noodle soup dish where they pour the hot soup into the noodle and then top with the meat and vegetables. I prefer the dry seasoned noodle with a separate soup.

One day I was inspired to try cooking Chinese noodles soup when I watched Chef in Black in Asian Food Channel. I did not follow all the details of the ingredients and method he used, but I have captured enough to figure it out myself how to make it. After finished with my first trial of cooking the Chinese noodle soup, I asked my daughter the noodle lover, to try it out and ….she liked it!

Here is my version of Chinese Noodle Soup.

Main basic ingredient:

• 1 pack of dry Chinese egg-noodles

• 
  
  A bunch of Choy Sum or Bok Choy

Meat Ingredients:

• 100 gram ground chicken meat mixed with 100 gram ground beef
• 50 gram of Shiitake mushroom and 100 gram of buttorn mushroom, cut into small pieces
• 4 cloves of crush garlic, chopped
• 1 cm ginger, grated
• 2-3 of green onion, chopped
• 4 tablespoons vegetable oil

Seasoning Mix for the meat

• 1 tablespoon of sweet noodle sauce
• 1 teaspoon of Chinese rice wine
• 1 teaspoon of soy sauce
• A little bit of pepper

Cooking the Meat

• Heat oil in a wok and stir fry the garlic and ginger until fragrant
• Add the mixed ground meat and cook until crumbled
• Add the mushroom
• Add the seasoning mix and stir fry briskly
• Add the green onion

Cooking the vegetables

• On a high heat bring a large saucepan of salted water to a boil.
• Immerse the Choy Sum or Bok Choy in the water for 1 around minutes
• Drain the water and cut the vegie in 5 cm length

Cooking the noodles

• On a high heat bring a large saucepan of salted water to a boil.
• Immerse the noodle in the boiling water.
• Keep the water at a vigorous boil; the constant motion will prevent the noodles from sticking to the bottom of the pan and each other.
• Cook the noodle just until al dente and drain the water
• Put the noodle in a large bowl and season with combined mixture of
• 1 tablespoon of sesame oil and 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil.

Cooking the Soup

• Heat chicken broth in a high heat
• Add meat balls (if desired). Season with salt & pepper

In an individual bowl, put a bundle of noodles then add the meat and vegetables

Serve it together with the hot meatball soup

Stay Young and Juicy

An article in Jakarta Post caught my attention. Here is more or less what it said: “wake up with a cup of strong coffee to get a kick, instant noodle for breakfast, a pack of artificially seasoned chips for later of the day, thick lamb curry for lunch, a pack of cigarette all day long, drink till you drop on weekends and so it goes day after day, week after week”.

Sounds familiar?

Are you aware how much toxins have we accumulated in our body? how can we get rid of it all? Some say ‘try detox’ – from doing a three-day diet of just fruit and veggies to drinking detoxifying herbal milk or lemon juice every morning for a certain period.

Nutrition experts say that fresh fruit and vegetables have a significant role in replacing damaged body cells and cleansing our body of toxins from the residues of food we eat.

Health experts repeat the old rule: eating at least five portions of fruit and vegetables every day. But a single glass of juice could actually do much more to promote your overall wellbeing.

Really?

My ‘love affair’ with fresh juice began about a year ago when I was having breakfast at Harvey Nichols Social House. I ordered one of the fresh juices listed on the drink menu. I forgot the name of the juice written on the list but I remember that it was a mix of fresh papaya, orange, carrot and lime. I have never tried such a mix before. When the drink was served and I tasted it….. wow it tastes so refleshing.

The next day I tried to make the mix myself. Here is my version of the mix.

Ingredients:

• 100 gram of ripe papaya, peeled and cut into small cubes
•   50 gram of carrot, peeled and cut into small cubes
•   10 oranges (I use Jeruk Pontianak – the type of juicy orange ), squeeze to get the juice of around 100 ml
• 100 ml of iced water
• 1 lime, cut into 2 and squeeze to get the juice

Method

• Put the papaya cubes, carrot cubes, the orange juice and the ice water in the blender
• Blend the mixture for around 3 minutes or until mix well.
• Pour the mix into a glass and sqeeze the lime juice into the mix.
• To give a kick, you may add 50 ml of Sprite Zero (optional).

Serve chilled.

Drink this juice each day and you'll  feel Young and Juicy everyday