Galantin

Galantin, possibly a derivation of Galantine is an old Javanese fried chicken balls dish made from fresh minced chicken. Only our Galantin is made by steaming the meat instead of putting it in the oven. Some recipes require breadcrumbs coating, some don't. My version is indeed using breadcrumbs, I prefer it that way.

For the egg stuffed inside each Galantin, you might want to opt for a longer, slimmer type of egg. The idea is to make the Galantin less oval and shaped more like a short, thick sausage. You also need plastic cling to wrap the sausages, and a steam pan.

ingredients
makes 3 pieces

300 gr minced chicken
3 hard-boiled eggs
salt and pepper
3 tbs breadcrumbs

for the coating

1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 egg, beaten
1 cup breadcrumbs

deep-fry oil


method

1. Bring about 1,5 liters of water to a boil in a steam pan and prepare your steamer.
2. Mix the minced chicken with breadcrumbs, salt and pepper until all is incorporated. Divide it into three parts.
3. Put one part of the chicken meat on a sheet of plastic cling, add one boiled egg, wrap the meat around the egg. Using the cling wrap, try to shape it into a thick short sausage. Secure the ends of the cling wrap so that no meat can "leak" out of it during steaming. Use a sharp, small knife or a pointy object to make about 10 to 15 tiny holes around the cling wrap to allow some heat to penetrate deep inside the sausage. Repeat the method for the remaining two meat parts.
4. Put the Galantin in the steamer and steam for about 30 minutes.
5. Take them out from the steamer. Let them cool.
6. As soon as they are cool (after about 1 hour), open the cling wrap, put the flour on a plate and roll the Galantin around in it until it is completely covered, then dunk it into the beaten egg, and lastly cover it with breadcrumbs. Set aside.
7. Deep-fry each of the Galantins in medium hot oil until it turns golden brown.
8. Served with french fries, steamed vegetables, and onion gravy. Or your preferred gravy.

Bakwan (Vegetable Fritter Snacks)

Bakwan is possibly the most loved snacks in Indonesia. Comfort food for young and old, cherished for generations. I remember when I was in primary school in Jakarta, I used to spend my pocket money only to buy Bakwan and Popsicle. Boy, that was loooong time ago..

To make Bakwan, various diced or shredded vegetables are needed.

ingredients
makes 10 pieces

2 tbs julienned carrot
2 tbs bean sprouts (tauge)
2 tbs shredded cabbage
1 tbs chopped spring onions
1 tbs chopped celery leaves
250 gr plain flour
about 200 to 250 ml water
1 tsp garlic powder
a pinch of sugar
salt and pepper to taste
1 liter cooking oil for deep frying

method

1. Mix the flour with water, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Give it a very good stir.
2. Add the carrot, bean sprouts, cabbage, spring onions, and celery leaves. Mix them all together until you reach the consistency shown in the following images. Add  water if necessary, but if for some reason, it feels a bit too runny or liquid-ish, add more flour, re-season it again with salt and pepper.

3. In a deep-fry pan, heat the cooking oil over medium heat.
4. When the oil is hot, use a table spoon or a small soup ladle to spoon the Bakwan batter into the hot oil. Do it gently and carefully. Fry maximum 5 portions of batter at one time. Do not overcrowd the frying pan as the batter would likely stick to each other.
5. Deep-fry the Bakwan for one to two minutes, then turn those fritters upside down. Fry for another one or two minutes or until they are all golden brown.
6. If you have peanut sauce at your disposal, you can serve Bakwan with it.

Tahu Isi (Deep-fried Vegetables stuffed Tofu)

Tofu or bean curd has been an integral part of Asian cuisine. In Indonesia where I come from, Tofu is called Tahu, and everyone loves it. I can't think of anyone who hates it back there in my home country. When you stuff Tofu with diced vegetables, cover it in flour batter, and deep-fry it in hot cooking oil, it would be Tahu Isi. Here's how I make it.

ingredients
makes 8 pieces

2 tbs julienned carrot
2 tbs bean sprouts (tauge)
2 tbs sliced cabbage
1 tbs chopped spring onions
1 tbs chopped celery leaves
(in Holland you can get a package of ready to use, diced, soup vegetables)
1 block Tofu, cut into 8 triangle pieces
200 gr plain flour
about 150 to 200 ml water
1 tsp garlic powder
salt and pepper to taste
1 liter of cooking oil

method
1. Season the diced vegetables with garlic powder, salt and pepper, give it a good toss.
2. Mix the flour with water and season it with salt and pepper, give it a very good stir so that there isn't any lump or air bubble anymore. The consistency of the batter should be similar the following images. Add extra water when necessary. Set aside.

3. With a teaspoon, make a hole in the surface of each tofu to stuff the vegetables into. Then stuff the vegetables into each hole. Set aside.
4. In a deep frying pan, heat the cooking oil on top of a stove, over medium heat.
5. While waiting for the oil to get hot, place the tofu with stuffed vegetables in an up right position inside the batter bowl. Carefully spoon batter on top of the tofu surface. Make sure the tofu stays on its upright position while you spoon the batter, it prevents the vegetables from collapsing. Refer to the following images.

6. When the oil is hot, deep-fry the tofu upside down so that the part with the stuffed vegetables will be facing the bottom of the frying pan.
7. Deep-fry the tofu for 1 minute each side until every side becomes golden brown.

Bubur Sumsum (Indonesian Rice Flour Warm Pudding)

Bubur Sumsum is made from rice flour, cooked in coconut milk, and served with palm sugar syrup. My mom and some of our Indonesian friends believe that consuming Bubur Sumsum will sooth the sore coming from a tiring body. It is supposed to be energizing, and it gives strength when needed. Not sure if it indeed works that way, but I like this comfort food very much.

ingredients
serves 4

100 gr rice flour
700 ml water
200 ml canned coconut milk
1 tsp salt
2 pandan leaves, knotted

for the palm sugar syrup
200 gr palm sugar, cut into small pieces
1 tbs sugar
400 ml water

method

Make the palm sugar syrup first.
Place all ingredients for the syrup in a sauce pan. Put it on the stove over medium heat. Stir it occasionally until it is boiled. Set aside, let it cool.

For the Bubur Sumsum:
1. In a pan, mix the rice flour, salt, water, and the coconut milk. Whisk it until it is all incorporated.
2. Put the pan on a stove on medium heat. Add the knotted pandan leaves. Keep on stirring to avoid lumps.
3. When it boils, and bubbles come out from it. The Bubur Sumsum is ready.
4. Serve with the palm sugar syrup. Spoon the Bubur Sumsum into a bowl, top with the syrup.

(Failed) Banana Cake

This is the third time I failed in baking Banana Cake. The first two times were long time ago. It was two epic fails that did not make it to this blog (but then again, I was in hiatus too :)) Anyway, I tried baking a batch again today, and it was another failure, bummer!

I don't understand what goes wrong, it tastes okay, but it seems to be doughy, it isn't risen. Well, I need to concoct another recipe then. Until then I just have to eat this stupid looking failed banana cake. 

For this cake I use the following ingredients:

200 gr/7 oz margarine

200 gr/7 oz sugar

225 gr/8 oz self-raising flour

3 very ripe bananas, mashed

3 eggs

2 tbs orange juice

a pinch of cinnamon powder

method

1. Mix margarine and sugar with an electric mixer until they're all incorporated.

2. Add eggs, mix on high speed for a few minutes until the batter has risen. Lower the speed of the electric mixer. Add the self-raising flour, bit by bit, keep the mixer on. Add the orange juice, cinnamon powder, and mix it again on the lowest speed for about one to two minutes until the mixture is all incorporated.

3. Spoon the batter into a tulband cake mould that has been greased and dusted with flour. Bake in a preheated oven, 180°C/356°F for 50 minutes.

Vegetable and Smoked Fish Congee

It was supposed to be Bubur Manado, a special congee from a beautiful place called Manado in South Celebes, Indonesia. The ingredients for making Bubur Manado were not easy to find here, and I just could not manage to compile all the spices needed, therefore I use the name Vegetable Congee or Bubur Sayur instead of Bubur Manado.

ingredients
serves 6-8

225 gr/8 oz short-grain rice
3 liters/5 oz water (a little bit extra water is better)
200 gr/7 oz spinach
100 gr/3,5 oz canned sweet corn
salt
pepper

condiments
smoked mackerel (I used the ones with black pepper)
chili sambal from a jar

method
1.Wash the rice and place in a large saucepan with the water. Cover and cook for about 2 hours, stirring regularly.
2. Add the spinach, corn, salt and pepper. Stir well, then return to the boil and cook for a couple of more minutes.
3. Serve the congee with smoked mackerel and sambal.

note: you can skip the smoked mackerel if you are a vegetarian

Gado-gado Salad

Gado-gado Salad is an Indonesian dish of slightly boiled vegetables served with peanut sauce dressing. Gado-gado in Indonesian literary means "mix-mix" since it is made of rich mixture of vegetables such as potatoes, string beans, bean sprouts, spinach, chayote, bitter gourd, corn and cabbage, with tofu, tempeh and hard-boiled eggs, all mixed in peanut sauce dressing, sometimes also topped with krupuk (if you are vegetarian, there are plenty of onion crackers available in the market), and sprinkles of fried shallots. That's what Wikipedia says, and I agree with it :)

For the peanut sauce (enough for a large serving of salad), I use these following ingredients:
100 gr ground roasted peanut
1/2 tbs palm sugar
1 tbs chili paste 
1 tbs dark soy sauce
2 kaffir lime leaves
1/2 tbs tamarind juice
a pich of salt
about 70 to 100 ml water (depending on the preferred thickness of the sauce)

Mix all the ingredients together in a food processor. Served with the boiled/steamed vegetable of your choice, and any meat substitute such as boiled eggs, fried tempeh and tofu. 

I sometimes add boiled eggs, and some other times I add Lontong or compressed rice cake to my Gado-gado. Few slices of cucumber will give an extra crunchiness to this salad. Enjoy!