Perkedel Kentang

Perkedel Kentang is some sort of potato cake made from freshly fried potatoes that is then smashed and formed into small, round shape. This Perkedel Kentang is usually served to accompany eating soup or soto. It takes some effort to actually succeed in frying it without seeing the nicely formed round potato cake crack from side to side (because the wrong choice of potato or because it isn't fried properly), but once you nail it, the smell of success will beat the smell of hot frying oil all over the house.

ingredients:
makes 20 pieces

900 gr/2 lbs potato (use the floury variant), peeled and cut into chunks
3 shallots, peeled
2 cloves garlic
30 pieces whole white peppers
a pinch of salt
2 eggs
oil for deep-frying

method: 
1. Heat the cooking oil, fry the potato in two batches. On the last batch, just a minute before the potato chunks are turning golden brown, slide in the shallots into the frying pan and fry the shallots together with the potato in that hot oil only for one minute. Remove the potato and the shallots from the frying pan with slotted spoon. Turn off the stove. Let the potato chunks cool off on a plate that is already covered with kitchen paper.

2. Use a mortar and a pestle to grind the shallots, garlic and peppers until they are all crushed and incorporated.

3. In a big bowl, mash the fried potato chunks until a smooth consistency just like the consistency of mashed potato. Add the shallots+garlic+peppers paste and a pinch of salt to that mashed potato. Mix it all with clean hands. Add an egg and mix it all again.

4. Divide the mashed potato into twenty balls. Press each ball into thinner round shape.

5. Heat the oil for deep frying again. Beat the remaining egg and cover each Perkedel Kentang in egg mixture before sliding it into the hot cooking oil.

6. Deep-fry the Perkedel Kentang in batches until golden brown. Turning them once only to avoid them from cracking into pieces.

7. Remove Perkedel Kentang from the pan with slotted spoon and transfer them to a plate that is already covered with kitchen paper.

New King, Amsterdam

This is a Chinese restaurant that I visit almost every week. I actually live about 80 km away from Amsterdam but it doesn't stop me from coming here and enjoying its delicious mandarin cuisine. Whether it rains or shines, or it heavily snows, I would still take the train to the capital city and find myself a seat in this tiny restaurant. That's my love for New King :o)

From different kinds of delicious soup until various kinds of meat dishes as well as vegetable dishes, New King presents its food with different approach. Not sure if I can explain that, but the neighboring Chinese restaurants can't even compete with New King's deliciousness.

Overall, this is really a different experience in enjoying mandarin cuisine in a western land. Three words; delicious, delicious, delicious.

Prego; pizzeria & döner kebab

Prego is a pizzeria & döner kebab located in a small shopping center near my place. Every now and then I would just drop by this place to grab a döner kebab or anything italian-turkish-mediteranian snack/meal/pasta. I love this döner so much that I rarely remember to make pictures of what I eat there. I usually eat it without thinking so much about taking its pictures. So these are few captures I can find in my computer.

Oh, if you're not familiar with döner kebab, here it is; döner kebab

Kapsalon; a layer of potato fries at the bottom of the foil, a layer of döner kebab, a layer of melted cheese and variations of sauce to your liking, and a layer of fresh salad with crumbled feta cheese on top. They actually oven the fried potato and the slices kebab along the cheddar cheese for a couple of minutes before sprinkle it with the rest of the ingredients.

Döner Kebab Menu; Pita bread filled with slices of döner kebab, sauce and salad. Served with potato fries and a can of soda.

Spaghetti a La Carbonara served with sliced of döner kebab if requested

Slices of döner kebab up close!

Takumi, Düsseldorf

I visited Düsseldorf, Germany, just before Chrismast last year. It was something that needed to be done because I wanted to visit Takumi, a Japanese restaurant. This was my second visit, the first one was about two years ago. "Needed" because the first time I was there, I fell in love with its authentic Japanese food. Düsseldorf must have been heavily populated with Japanese eateries since this city has the biggest Japanese concentration in Europe, but Takumi is just the best. Too bad it is a small restaurant with too many customers. It has always been packed.

Ramen Soup with Chicken Karage

Ramen Soup with some sort of meat, don't remember what..

Gyoza

Chicken Karage

Merry X'mas Ramen

Ramen Miso Soup with Mixed Meat

I can't find Takumi's website, but this below is a screen shot from its facebook page.

Tumis Tauge

Tauge or Mung Bean Sprouts in English is famous in Asian cooking, in Indonesia too. We use this in fried snacks or soups, salad and many other things. If it is stir-fried with Tofu or Bean Curd in English, it makes a delicious vegetable dish eaten together with warm white rice.

ingredients:

4 cups of tauge/bean sprouts, washed and cleaned
1 package tofu (about 15 cm x 6 cm, 6 cm thin) sliced in the size of 1 x 2 cm
1 tsp turmeric powder + 4 cups of water mixed with 1 tbs of salt (optional)
15 green beans, sliced thinly and diagonally
2 red chilies, sliced thinly and diagonally
2 shallots, sliced finely
2 garlic cloves, sliced finely
light soy sauce
salt and pepper
1/2 tsp sugar
2 tbs sunflower cooking oil
oil for frying the tofu

method: 

1. Before heating the oil in the wok and fry the tofu slices, you can make the tofu turn color into yellow first. This is optional: Soaked the tofu slices in the turmeric + brine water mix for an hour. Then remove the water, dry the tofu with kitchen paper/towel and fry the tofu. The reason to soak it in the yellow brine water is to get the yellow color for the tofu. Therefore it gives better and festive look. In Indonesia, yellow tofu is everywhere, no need to do this step to make it even more yellow. This process can be skipped and just fry the tofu without having to soak it in the brine first. Fry the tofu in hot oil for about 3 minutes just to get it firm and crispy. In Indonesia, yellow tofu is firm enough to be cooked without being fried first but I'm not there now, so I need to fry it to make it firm. Once the tofu is done, remove from the wok with slotted spoon and transfer to a plate with kitchen paper.

2. Heat the sunflower oil in a different wok. Add garlic slices and shallot slices and stir fry them until fragrant. Add the chilies, sugar, salt and pepper. Stir fry for a minute.

3. Add the green bean slices, stir fry again. After about 2 minutes, add the tauge, sir fry. Add light soy sauce, stir fry again for a minute.

4. Add the fried tofu slices to the wok. Give it all a good stir. Serve it with warm white rice.

Rempelo Ati Kering Manis

Sweet Crispy Chicken Liver and Chicken Gizzard, that's what this is. In Indonesia, these two chicken organs (plus the heart) are more "valuable" than the rest of the chicken body. It means, it is more expensive and because of that too we usually only eat this during holidays or religious festivities when most household gets extra fund from holiday bonus. 

ingredients: 

10 chicken livers
10 chicken gizzards
2 bay leaves
3 cm galangal root, crushed
2 liters water for boiling the chicken organs

spices:

3 garlic cloves
2 tbs palm sugar
1 tsp coriander seeds
1/2 tsp salt or more

1 cup water
2 tbs sweet soy sauce
2 tbs cooking oil

method:

1. Wash and clean both the livers and the gizzards. Place them in the deep pan with the bay leaves and galangal plus the water and bring to boil. 

2. In a food processor, process together garlic cloves, coriander, salt, palm sugar and that 1 cup of water.

3. Once the water in the pan of those chicken organs is boiling, leave it on that stage for an extra 5 minutes over high heat. Then, turn off the heat, remove the organs and the bay leaves and galangal with slotted spoon and throw away the hot water. Put the pan back to the stove, put the organs, the bay leaves and the galangal back to the pan and pour the mixture from the food processor into the pan. Turn on the stove to medium heat. Close the pan with its lid and let it simmer inside for 5 minutes.

4. Open the lid of the pan, pour the cooking oil and the sweet soy sauce, give it a good stir.

5. Turn off the heat. Leave the pan on the stove for a few minutes. 

6. Transfer everything from the pan into a serving plate. Serve The Sweet Crispy Chicken Liver and Gizzard with fresh white rice or pan fried potato.

Bola-bola Daging Sapi

Beef Balls in Oyster Sauce. That is the best way to say what this is. People in Holland like to serve their beef balls with simple juice made from rich and creamy butter and a bit of provincial spices and of course it is also served together with mashed potato and beans. I eat this beef balls with white rice :) hence the sweet savory sauce.

ingredients:

makes 10 balls

500 gr/17 oz minced beef

1 egg

1 tbs bread crumbs

1/2 cup chopped cellery leaves

1/2 tsp nutmeg powder

few drops wochester sauce

salt and pepper

2 tbs cooking oil + 1 tbs butter

for the sauce

1 onion, sliced

1 tbs oyster sauce

2 tbs sweet soy sauce

1/2 cup water

salt and pepper

method:

1. In a bowl, combine the minced beef and the rest of the beef balls ingredients together (except for the oil and the butter) 

2. Once it is all incorporated, divide it into 10 beef balls.

3. Heat the oil and butter in a frying pan. Once it is warm, slide in the balls. Cook each side for about a minute. Top side, bottom side, along the middle side, all side has to be browned.

4. Once all balls have changed colors, line them alongside the furthest side of the frying pan leaving an empty space in the middle. Add the sliced onions in the middle. Add also oyster sauce, sweet soy sauce, salt and pepper. Pour in the water too. Close the pan. Set the stove to low heat. Let the balls slowly cook for 10 minutes.

5. Open the lid and mix the sauce with the beef balls. Close the lid again and let it cook for another 10 minutes.

6. Beef balls are ready to serve. This is a delicious companion to mashed potato too I guess.. The sauce is then served as the gravy.