Brongkos

Spicy meat and vegetables stew

5 tbs vegetable oil
250 g stew meat, cubed
1 stalk lemon grass, brusied
1 salam leaf
2 kaffir lime leaves
750 ml thin santan and 500 ml thick santan from 1 coconut
150 g cowpeas, boiled till tender and drained
3 chayote, cubed
50 g bird’s eye chilies

Spice-Paste

6 shallots
3 clove garlic
6 keluwak nuts, take out the nut meats
3 red chilies
2 cm fresh kencur
1 cm fresh ginger
1 cm fresh lengkuas
salt to taste
a pinch of sugar

•Heat the oil and fry the spice-paste until fragrant. Add the cubed meat meat, lemon grass, salam and kaffir lime leaf. Stir the mixture around
•When meat has changed color, add the thin santan and simmer until tender. Add the cowpeas.
•After santan has come to a boil add the thick santan, the chayote and the bird’s eye chillies. Continue cooking stiring occasionally, until done. Remove and serve.

PECEL

Cooked vegetables salad with peanuts sauce.

In Indonesia, people would use such vegetables as yard long beans, cabbage, kangkung (water convolvulus), bean sprout, spinach, cassava leaves, kecombrang leaves (phaemoria haemispheria), kenikir leaves, magkuk leaves, and others. Other vegetables such as slice potatoes, green beans, carrots, zucchini, cauliflower, broccoli etc can be used. Use your imagination!
The vegetables should be cleaned, cut in bite sized pieces and lightly cooked. Arrange decoratively on a big platter and serve accompanied with Sambal Pecel in separated bowl. Mmmm…..it’s yummy…

Sambal Pecel
250 g peanuts or substitute 1 cup crunchy peanut butter
vegetable oil
2 red chilies
3 bird’s eye chilies
2 cloves garlic
1 cm fresh kencur
1 kaffir lime leaf
¼ tsp terasi
1 tsp palm or brown sugar
2 tsp tamarind dissolved in 2 tbs water
salt to taste

• fry the peanuts until golden brown color. Remove and set aside
• fry the red chilies, bird’s eye chilies, garlic and kencur together until they are somewhat limp, then pound them to paste with the kaffir lime leaf
• Grind the peanuts until smooth. add terasi, sugar, tamarind, salt and he pounded spice-paste. Blend till smooth
• Add some hot water and blend to consistency of thick cream

Asinan (vegetable salad)

Asinan
Vegetable salad
Serves 6 people

3 young cabbage leaves, shredded
100 g beansprouts, topped and tailed
3 cucumber, juliened
1 chinese radish, juliened
2 bunches salted swatow mustard
1 bunch small spring onion (lokiu) cleaned and the green part cut off
enough mild vinegar to soak the vegetables
krupuk
50 g fried peanuts

sauce
25 g small dried shrimp
2 red chilies
5 bird’s eye chillies
20 g fried peanuts
1 tbs vinegar
salt
200 g palm sugar or brown sugar
boiled in 375 ml water until syrupy and strained

-soak all the cleaned vegetables in the vinegar for two hours.
-Meanwhile, prepare the sauce: soak the dried shrimp briefly in hot water and drain
-Pound the shrimp, red chilies, bird’s eye chilies and peanuts to a paste. Add vinegar, salt and sugar syrup to the mixture. blend until smooth
-Drain the vegetable. pour the vinegar, salt and sugar syrup to the mixture. Blend until smooth
-Drain the vegetable. pour the sauce over the vegetable and let it sit for 30 minutes until the flavors has been absorbed

to serve
put the vegetables in a deep bowl
Scatter the fried peanut and the krupuk on top

Note
the best vinegar to use would be cider vinegar

Bubur Ayam (chicken porridge)

Serves approximately 6 people

300 g chicken
200 g rice
1L water
salt to taste
½ tsp ground pepper
2 pieces cakue, finely sliced
50 g Tientsin preserved vegetable
fried shallot slivers
finely sliced spring onions

•Simmer chicken in water to cover until tender with some salt. Fry the chicken, debone and shred the meat.
•Reserve 2L of the chicken broth.
•Wash and drain the rice. Boil in 1L water until grains are tender to the bite. Add chicken broth. Bring to a simmer and continue simmering at low heat until porridge is ready and there is no separation of liquid and rice. Add salt and pepper.
•serve porridge in deep bowls. Garnish with the cakue, Tientsin preserved vegetables, shredded chicken, fried shallots silvers and sliced spring onions. Add drops of light soy to taste. serve garlic chili sauce on the side.

Note
Cakue is savory roll that can be purchased in Chinese market
For added nutrition, a raw egg yolk can be added on top of hot porridge