Cipluk's Kitchen

Dates, Dates

Mon, 15 Sep 2008 10:44:28 GMT

Out of curiosity, I bought the fresh dates which (the label says) are from Iraq. When I tasted one, I realized that I should have bought the red ones instead of the yellows. The yellow ones are very bitter and have almost no taste.

But the red ones? Hmm... not exactly yummy (daffodil's standard ) but I know why in the past the people who lived in the dessert talked so much about the fruit. It has gained its honorable place even in the holy books of many religions in the world.

If you have ever tasted a piece of fresh sugar cane, that's exactly the texture of this fruit. It has small fibre-like crunch. A bit floury which explains a lot why the fruit becomes very sweet when it is preserved. I ate one piece only and it felt like I ate an apple. There's that weird feeling of being full after having just one piece.

Oh, yeah. One more thing. The fresh ones are waaayyyyy more expensive!!!

Shrimp Salad

Sun, 14 Sep 2008 10:13:18 GMT

It was just one of those days when I and my Dad daydreamt about how good those ol' days were. The conversation brought us to the topic about food. We mentioned about how shrimp salad that used to be a hit in one of the famous steak restaurants in Jakarta is no longer available.

When we were at the supermarket, I brought up the subject and decided to buy the ingredients for that shrimp salad we have longed for.

So, we bought 0.25 kg of shrimps with shell (around 18 pieces), two lemons and a medium size head of lettuce. Other ingredients such as French mustard, mayo, pepper, and eggs were ready in the fridge.

Firstly, I washed the shrimps and steamed them for three minutes. I took the shell away and sprinkle a pinch of pepper, salt and a few drops of lemon juice. I left them in the fridge, covered.

Then I separate the lettuce leaves and washed them under running water. I put the leaves in a bowl of iced water so the leaves became crispy.

For the sauce, I took a teaspoon of French mustard, a pinch of pepper, five tablespoons of mayo, a few drops of lemon juice and some castor sugar and mixed them together.

I boiled an egg and took the shell off before I sliced them thinly.

For the final preparation, the leaves were patted dry and cut as thinly as possible. They were then spread in a tall glass and put a little bit of the sauce. I put some more lettuce and topped with the sliced eggs and shrimps. I added some more sauce. It's ready to eat.

Stirr Fried Lotus Root

Fri, 05 Sep 2008 05:53:00 GMT

About two weeks ago, I watched a cooking show: Kylie Kwong: Magic of China. There, she told us about her hometown in The China Republic and her visit to a lotus farmer. I found out that to harvest the lotus root, one needs to do it manually: barefooted! It was very interesting because I've never learned about it before.

When Kylie cut the root into pieces, that's when I found out that I'd had the lotus root in a Sukiyaki dish. Crunchy, not exactly juicy. Have you tried bamboo shoot in a spring roll? That's a little bit similar in texture. Definitely giving a specific crunch to any dish.

When I saw the veggie in the supermarket, I decided to be adventurous. I bought the item and, after standing in front of it for five minutes, a mushroomy light soya sauce.

At home, I peeled the root, slice it thinly (0.5 cm) and washed the slices under running water. I mashed some garlic, sliced a thumb of ginger and sauteed them in a wok for 3 minutes until fragranced. I added the light soya sauce, a little bit of sugar, sesame seed oil, and oyster sauce. Then, came the sliced lotus root. Since we had some asparagus and ling zhi mushrooms, I put those too. I had a little taste, and it's ready. I cut up some red chillies and sprinkled those on top.

With fresh steamed rice? YUUUMMMMMM!!!!

Siomay EF

Sat, 30 Jun 2007 11:33:19 GMT

This siomay (or 'shiu mai') is not new for me. After being dissapointed because I failed to order customized shoes, I was in search for a remedy and then, I saw the siomay vendor. I went up to the seller and asked him to give me ten pieces of them, instead, he gave me eleven. :-)

It's soft and I can smell the fish from the first bite I had. The sauce was cleverly made. Why I said 'clever', it's because the sauce was not all peanuty. I am sure that a large portion of potato starch was in it because the sauce was not thick. Yet, it still gives flavor and fragrance though I'm missing the crunchy texture. Another unfortunate factor: the heat. It was too hot for my taste. Was it an accident in the making of it?

Sauteed Asparagus with Garlic

Sat, 30 Jun 2007 08:07:10 GMT

If you need to have simple vegetable dish to accompany your chicken, beef or egg.

Ingredients:

a handful of asparagus, washed and cut into 4 centimeters long; two medium garlic, crushed and chopped; two tablespoons of cooking oil; two pinches of salt; a pinch of sugar

Directions:

Heat the oil in the pan and sautee the garlic till fragrant. Lower the heat,add the asparagus, the salt and the sugar. Mix well. If you have sesame seed oil and/ or oyster sauce, you can add them at this point. Cook for 2 minutes (if you want them a bit softer, another minute time of cooking), turn off the heat and take the asparagus quickly from the pan to prevent further cooking of the asparagus.

Serve quickly.

Note:

Sometimes, people like using the tapioca flour and water to thicken the sauce. In this case, mix the sesame oil, oyster sauce, salt, sugar, tapioca flour and one tablespoon of tapioca flour. After the garlic is fragrant and you put the asparagus, this mix should come last. Stir quickly till the sauce thickens and turn off the heat.

This way of cooking is good for pak choy, bok choy, kailan and other greens. Time of cooking may vary.

If you need more fat in the dish, substitute the oil with butter.

Asparagus

Fri, 29 Jun 2007 07:02:52 GMT

Asparagus is one vegetable that you don't find fresh very much. The canned version usually has lighter-colored asparagus and they work well for cream soups. In well-known supermarkets or fruit shops, you'll find them but not on everyday basis and the tips are usually battered and sticky because the shop had kept them too long.

To choose a good bunch of asparagus is easy. First look for the freshest tips. The fresher they are, the solid the tips look. Second, green stems are good signs for freshness. Do not be satisfied to buy the wrinkled stems which color is lighter as an indicator of hard, woody and unedible stems.

Wash the asparagus under clean running water and by using both hands, bend each stem on both sides until the stem breaks at a point. The area where it breaks is actually the border of the edible and the unedible part. Discard the woody stems and the asparagus is ready to use.

The Roll Cake from Medan

Sat, 23 Jun 2007 18:45:22 GMT

Yesterday, a colleague of mine came to see me all the way from Medan in North Sumatra. Not having seen her for quite a while, I was thrilled. With her coming, she brought me this delicacy I�ve tasted once before on a different occasion.

It�s a roll cake.

The shape is just like any roll cake, but the size is slightly bigger and chocolate flowers decorate the outer part of the roll. But when you slice it, here comes the surprise that catches me every time. The cake is very yellow (plenty of egg yolks, perhaps) and it�s fluffy. It does have the cream filling. And � aha! It is accompanied with grated cheese, lots and lots of it.

You need to be careful when you sink your teeth in one of these rolls. Surely you don�t want to shatter the cheese and waste it all up on your lap. The fluffy cake combined with the sweet creamy filling and topped with the saltiness of the cheese gives the taste palette a mixture of sweet and salty. The saltiness unsurprisingly wins. No wonder. The amount of the cheese is outrageous.

So, if you like roll cake but you don�t want to have the usual salty filling like tuna spread or corned beef and you prefer cheese, you might want to try this one.

Stirred Fry Squids in Black Sauce

Mon, 18 Jun 2007 19:19:17 GMT

I just can't stand small squids in the market because I know they're delicious to cook. The small ones have this 'sweet' taste and they mantain the soft and succulent texture after cooking, eventhough you fry them longer than the normal 2-3 minutes. Compared to the smaller ones, the bigger guys are best when they are thoroughly cleaned and all you have is the white flesh. Then you can stir fry it quickly or coat it with flour and deep fry.

This is a simple version of stirred fried squid. I don't even bother to clean the ink pocket because the ink actually adds flavor.

Ingredients:

a half kilo of squids, washed, backbone removed, cut into rings with 0.5 cm thickness,5 medium garlic, chopped finely,10 medium onions, chopped finely,4 red chilis, chopped (for medium heat),3 cm 'lengkuas' (you can leave this out if you can't find any.It is actually good to reduce the 'fishy' smell of seafood).2 tablespoons of cooking oil, salt and sugar

Directions:

Heat the oil in the frying pan to medium heat and put the onion, garlic, chili, and 'lengkuas' into the pan. Mix till fragrant and then put the squids. Let it simmer for 12-15 minutes in their own juice and wait till the water reduces to half its amount.Do not add any water.

Season with salt first (you might need plenty of salt here, not just a pinch or two), then add the sugar (be very careful with the amount of sugar). Mix the seasons well and wait till the juice reduces (it depends whether you like the 'dry' version or the 'wetter' version).

Take out from the heat. Ready to serve with warm steamed rice.

Teri Medan Masak Tumis

Sat, 16 Jun 2007 04:35:02 GMT

My friend gave me a half kilo of 'teri medan' and I don't think my family eat it as it is so I came up with an easy solution.

I prepare the 'teri medan' first (about a quarter kilo) by soaking it in hot water for 5 minutes to reduce the saltiness. I dry the 'teri' and then fry that half ready, just about 2 minutes. Do not allow the 'teri' to be too crispy because it'll taste bitter.

Then I take 3 medium garlic, chopped and 6 medium onions, finely chopped. Next I chop one tomato and sliced that finely because it's the juice I want. Then I chop 3 medium chilis.

Heat the wok, pour 3 tablespoons of cooking oil. Stir fry the garlic, onions and chilis till fragrant. Add the chopped tomato. Wait till the juice is boiled and then add the 'teri medan'. Add some salt and sugar to taste.

Take out from heat. Serve.

The Best Lamb Chop I've Had

Thu, 14 Jun 2007 04:21:46 GMT

I usually have sirloin steak whenever I visit this place called 'Ab". The taste is OK and the portion is large. The main attraction is not just the abundant veggies that come with your steak, but the varieties of sauces on the table complete the eating experience. There are barbeque sauce, Tabasco, hot chili sauce, sweet and hot chili sauce, ketchup, and my 'best friend' mustard.

One day, I decided to try on the lamb chop. I was a bit pessimistic at first. A bad experience surely taught you to be careful what you want to order, so I wasn't in for a surprise. Imagine that the steak came in 3 large pieces with fat hanging on each of it. When I tried slicing it, the juice dripped down and the meat was soooo tender. I couldn't wait to put it into my mouth and �. YUMMYYY

The sauce was perfect, not sour like a normal barbeque sauce. The portion of the veggies and the home-made French fries were great. The chops were a perfect well-done, tender and juicy. I finished everything, just like what I always do.