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.