Rich in greens and proteins, this beef stir-fry is on your table in a flash. Sichuan pepper works beautifully with tender beef and Chinese leafy greens.
Cooking Time :15 minutes
Ingredients (serves 4)

1 tbs extra light olive oil
500g beef stir-fry strips
1 bunch broccolini, cut into 5cm lengths
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 tsp Woolworths Select Sichuan Pepper
1 bunch gai lan (Chinese broccoli), washed, cut into 5cm lengths
60ml (1/4 cup) char siu sauce
1 tbs soy sauce
Steamed rice, to serve
Thai basil leaves, to serve

Method

Heat half the oil in a wok or large frying pan over high heat until just smoking. Add half the beef and stir-fry for 2-3 minutes or until golden brown. Transfer to a plate. Repeat with the remaining oil and beef, reheating the wok between batches.
Add the broccolini, garlic and Sichuan pepper to wok and stir-fry for 3 minutes or until the broccolini is just tender.
Add the beef, gai lan, char siu sauce and soy sauce to the wok and stir-fry for 2 minutes or until the sauce thickens slightly.
Spoon the rice among serving dishes and top with the beef mixture. Sprinkle with Thai basil to serve.

Notes

Make it vegetarian: Omit the beef stir-fry strips. In step 1, add 320g firm tofu, drained, cut into thin strips, to the wok and stir-fry for 2-3 minutes or until golden. Add 1 red capsicum, deseeded, thinly sliced, with the gai lan in step 3.

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Ingredients (serves 4)

1 250g pkt dried wheat noodles
2 tbs peanut oil
2 eggs, at room temperature, lightly whisked
200g pork fillet, very thinly sliced
1 carrot, peeled, diced
1 red capsicum, deseeded, diced
8 green shallots, trimmed, thinly sliced diagonally
2 garlic cloves, crushed
3cm piece fresh ginger, peeled, finely grated
400g small cooked prawns, peeled, chopped
2 tbs kecap manis
1 tbs sambal oelek
75g bean sprouts
Pinch of salt

Method

Place noodles in a heatproof bowl. Cover with plenty of boiling water and set aside, stirring occasionally to separate, for 5 minutes or until soft.
Meanwhile, heat 2 tsp of oil in a wok over medium-high heat. Add eggs, tilting wok until they cover base and sides. As omelette begins to set, lift edges so uncooked egg runs underneath. Cook for 1 minute or until set. Slide onto a chopping board and roll into a log. Use a sharp knife to cut crossways into thin slices. Place on a plate and set aside until required.
Add another 2 tsp of the oil to the wok and increase heat to high. Add the pork and stir-fry for 2 minutes or until browned. Transfer to a bowl and set aside until required.
Heat the remaining oil in the wok. Add the carrot, capsicum, half of the shallots, garlic and ginger, and stir-fry for 1 minute.
Drain the noodles and add to the wok with the pork, prawns, kecap manis and sambal oelek, and stir-fry for 2 minutes or until the noodles are heated through.
Remove from heat. Add the bean sprouts and toss gently until well combined. Taste and season with salt.
Divide among serving plates and top with the sliced egg and remaining green shallots. Serve immediately.

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Ingredients (serves 6)

1kg beef bones
3L (12 cups) cold water
2 brown onions, chopped
5cm piece ginger, peeled, sliced
5 whole star anise
2 cinnamon sticks
1 tsp black peppercorns
5 whole cloves
1 tbs coriander seeds
2 tbs fish sauce
2 tbs lime juice
100g thick rice noodles
1 (about 200g) beef fillet steak, thinly sliced
2 cups (110g) bean sprouts
3 green onions, trimmed, thinly sliced diagonally
2 red birdseye chillies, thinly sliced
1/2 cup mint leaves
1/2 cup coriander leaves
Lime wedges, to serve

Method

Place the beef bones, water, onion, ginger, star anise, cinnamon, peppercorns, cloves and coriander seeds in a large saucepan over high heat. Bring to the boil. Reduce heat to very low and cook, skimming surface occasionally of any fat with a metal spoon, for 3 hours or until liquid reduces by half. Remove from heat and set aside to cool. Strain through a fine sieve into a clean saucepan. Remove and reserve any meat from the bones and discard remaining solids.
Place the soup over high heat and bring to a simmer. Add the fish sauce and lime juice and stir to combine. Taste and season with salt, pepper, fish sauce and lime juice.
Meanwhile, place the noodles in a large heatproof bowl and pour over plenty of boiling water. Set aside for 5 minutes to soak. Drain well. Divide noodles and reserved beef evenly among serving bowls. Top with sliced beef. Pour the hot soup evenly among each serving bowl. Top with bean sprouts, green onion, chilli, mint and coriander. Serve immediately with lime wedges, if desired.

Notes

Pronounced as 'fuh', pho is renowned as Vietnam's most popular dish and is aften enjoyed for breakfast and lunch. Many cooks have their own secret to creating perfect pho. One tip is to char the ginger and onion before adding to the stock for a richer, more complex flavour; another is to use bones with marrow, and to parboil and rinse the bones for a clearer broth.

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Ingredients (serves 4)

1/3 cup (55g) finely chopped palm sugar
1 tbs fish sauce
1 cup (145g) raw cashews
1/2 tsp Chinese five-spice powder
1 tbs sesame seeds
1 tbs rice wine vinegar
1 bunch Chinese water spinach, ends trimmed
1 bunch coriander, leaves picked
1 bunch Vietnamese mint, leaves picked
2 purple Asian shallots, thinly sliced
1 (about 500g) Chinese barbecue pork, thinly sliced
Steamed jasmine rice, to serve

Method

Combine 1/4 cup (45g) of sugar and 1/2 teaspoon of fish sauce in a wok over medium-high heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 2-3 minutes or until sugar dissolves and begins to caramelise. Add the cashews, five-spice and sesame seeds and cook, tossing, for 1-2 minutes or until cashews are coated in caramel mixture. Remove from heat and spread over a piece of baking paper to cool.
Combine the rice wine vinegar with the remaining sugar and fish sauce in a small jug. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Combine the water spinach, coriander, mint, shallots and pork in a large bowl and gently toss to combine. Drizzle with the dressing and gently toss to combine. Sprinkle with cashews to serve.

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Ingredients (serves 4)

4 cups salt-reduced chicken stock
1 tablespoon soy sauce
2 small red chillies, thinly sliced
2 carrots, peeled,
cut into short, thin sticks
100g fresh shiitake mushrooms, sliced
150g snow peas, shredded lengthways
1 barbecued chicken, skin and bones removed, meat shredded
1/2 Chinese cabbage, finely shredded (see note)
1 bunch coriander, leaves picked

Method

Combine stock, 2 cups water, soy sauce and chillies in a large saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a simmer.
Add carrots, mushrooms, snow peas and chicken to pan. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 2 minutes. Add cabbage and cook for 1 minute or until cabbage wilts.
Stir half the coriander into soup. Divide soup between bowls. Top with remaining coriander and serve.

Notes

Note: Half a Chinese cabbage will give you 3 cups shredded cabbage.

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From the name siomay, you can tell this food had an influence from the Chinese who immigrated to Indonesia long time ago.  A word of siomay itself is derived from shaomai (also spelled shui mai, shu mai, sui mai, sui maai, shui mei, siu mai, shao mai, siew mai or siomai), the traditional Chinese dumpling.  Siomay (or Somay) has an ice cream cone shape, except the bottom is flat.

This kind of dim sum is a popular meal in Indonesia as a street/hawker food.  The difference between Chinese traditional dimsum with the Indonesian is the sauce.  We enjoy siomay with peanut sauce that has a kick from chili and drizzle with citrus juice (usually from jeruk limo (aka nasnaran mandarin or leprous lime) or jeruk purut (aka kaffir lime).

Most Indonesians use king mackerel fish (ikan tenggiri) meat for the filling.  But, you can find other filling variants such as shrimp or chicken or different type of fish.  For my recipe, I used featherback fish (ikan belida) paste.  Ikan belida was traditionally used by Palembangese (South Sumatrans) for making kerupuk (crackers), pempek (fish cake with tamarind sauce) and otak-otak (grilled fish cake wrapped in banana leaves).   I'm attaching the picture of ikan belida paste below.

Other complements to siomay bandung are hard boiling eggs, afilled cabbage, potatoes, bitter melon, and tofu.

As some of you know that I'm not a big fan of hard boiled eggs, I never add them to my plate.  In this case, I totally forgot to buy fresh tofu and potato, so I used tofu puffs and skipped the potato.

Note: I slightly change the NCC's recipe to my liking.  I used almost all roasted ingredients.   Find the tips for making easier sambal kacang below the recipe.

Siomay Bandung
-Bandung Style Steamed Dumplings with Peanut Sambal-
recipe by NCC (Natural Cooking Club), modified and translated by me
Ingredients:
500 g featherback fish (ikan belida) paste -> can be substituted for other white fish or shrimp or chicken
2 tsbp shallots, grated
1 tbsp mashed roasted garlic -> NCC: grated garlic
2 tsp ground white pepper
1 tsp dried shrimp (ebi), ground -> NCC: chicken bouillon
1 tsp fish sauce -> my idea
2 1/2 tsp sugar
2 tsp salt
1 tsbp sesame oil
3 eggs
400 g chayotte or jicama, shredded
450 g tapioca starch

round wonton skins
bittermelon
cabbage
tofu puffs







Featherback Fish (Ikan Belida) Paste

Sambal Kacang (Peanut Sambal)
400 g garlicky roasted peanuts
100 g garlicky roasted cashew nuts
150 g red cayenne pepper (reduce the amount to your liking), roasted
3 cloves roasted garlic, mash with a spoon
2 tbsp canesugar vinegar
2 tbsp salt
7 tbsp coconut sugar (gula jawa, gula merah)
500 g baked sweet potato (about 2 regular size sweet potatoes), peeled
1.5 L water

Methods:
1. In a big bowl, combine fish paste with shallot, garlic, white pepper, dried shrimp, fish sauce, sugar, salt and sesame seed oil.  Then add egg and mix well.

2 Add chayotte or jicama, mix well. Add tapioca starch and mix well again. Set aside.

3. Steam all of these below for about 20-30 minutes. Grease the steamer with very small amount of oil if you need, so the dumplings won't be sticky.

--> Siomay:
Take one piece of the wonton skin, scoop 1 tbsp of filling on the centre of the skin. Shape the siomay using hands and leave the top open. Repeat the step until all wonton skin are used up. Steam for 20-30 minutes.

--> Tofu and Potato Soybean Cake & Potato:
Cut in half and scrape a portion of tofu & potato side and fill it in with the filling. Do the same step if you use tofu puffs.

--> Bitter Melon
Cut in 3 to 4 pieces. I cut up to 5 pieces since the bittermelon size is quite bigger here. Scrape the seed portion and fill it in with the base filling.

--> Cabbage:
Many recipes suggested to dip the leaves in to hot water for a few seconds since they don't fill the cabbage leaves with fish paste mixture. I prefer using the Ukrainian way of making holubtsi (cabagge roll). Steam the whole head of cabbage until soften. Cut the leaves off of the cabbage and cut the larger leaves in half. Spoon 1 tablespoon of filling into a leaf and roll tightly. Place rolls in a prepared casserole dish. Ready for steaming.

--> Egg
Hard boiled eggs split in half, paste on a mixture of fish.

Sambal Kacang (Peanut Sambal)
1. Process peanuts and cashew nuts in a food processor until smooth (I like a bit crunchy, everyone who loves smoother texture can process a bit longer). Transfer into a bowl. Set aside.

2. Process red cayenne pepper and garlic until smooth. Add sweet potato and process again. Add ground nuts; process. Add salt, vinegar, sugar and combine again. Do a taste test, if it's perfect for your tastebuds then it's ready to serve.

Seving suggestions: place all dumpling on a plate, cut to bite sizes if you like. Add peanut sambal and drizzle over the juice of leprous lime or kaffir lime, kecap manis and ketchup. I usually serve another side of chili sambal if people want to have more heat.

Tips:
* Use ready to use natural peanut and cashew butter from a store.  I like using the natural ones since there is no other additions beside the nuts and salt.  Some natural health stores in Winnipeg offer a service for us to grind the unsalted roasted peanuts that we buy there.

*In this recipe, I made my own garlicky roasted peanuts and cashew nuts.  Soak the nuts in warm water with lots of mashed garlics, add a bit of salt if you like.  Leave them overnight.  The next morning, drain them and roast in a pan with extra virgin coconut oil (add just enough, don't put too much).  Before the nuts turn golden brown (about a half of roasting time), add garlic slices.

* You can always roast the cayenne pepper with the whole head of garlics.  If you have a left over roasted garlic, you can apply for your toast or spice up others foods.

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Growing up in the country where sambal is in every corner of food stalls or restaurants, I enjoy making my own sambal since moving to Canada.  Every household has a different style of sambal terasi and my family used to enhance with bilimbi as we grew a bilimbi tree on the backyard.  Sambal terasi belimbing sayur/wuluh (sambal terasi with bilimbi) was one of my fave sambals.

In my parents' house, sambal was served daily on the dining table, breakfast, lunch and dinner.  At that time, sambal terasi was usually making fresh before lunch by my family's helper.  Yes! Sambal terasi rule! It has to be there for daily condiment.  We enjoy it with fresh raw or blanched vegetables (lalapan) and grilled or fried fish/chicken/duck/tofu/tempe.  I also love adding it into my soup.

Note: If there are many Filipino immigrants in your city, a chance to get bilimbi at Asian market is greater. They call this small fruit as "kamias".

Sambal Terasi with Bilimbi
- Sambal Terasi Belimbing Sayur/Wuluh

Ingredients:

• 150 g long red cayenne peppers (Indonesian: cabai merah keriting)
• 5 -10 bird eyes chilies (more or less depend how spicy you want)
• 6 bilimbis, sliced � since I used the frozen ones, I put more bilimbis
• 2 1/2  tbsp terasi (dried shrimp paste)
• 1 tbsp extra virgin coconut oil
• seasalt as desired
• sugar if you like, but I don�t add any

Methods:I usually roast/toast everything except bilimbi, salt and sugar.  The reason why I do that, I make a big batch; so I tripled or more the recipe, keep it in a jar and store the jar in the fridge.

Slice the chilies before roasting.  In a baking pan, place sliced chilies and terasi.  Drizzle coconut oil over and roast in oven at 350F about 5 minutes or so.

After the roasting process, pound or crush or grind the chilies and terasi.  The best way to make sambal is using a pestle and mortar.  Add bilimbi, salt and sugar. Pound again until mix. Some people like to add a small amount of coconut/palm sugar or sugar.

Ready to serve. Selamat Makan (Bon app�tit)!

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This write-up is for readers who are curious what camera and lens I have used.  I started my photography interest through food.  Well, food is something that are always needed by people, don't you think?  I quoted what my beloved mom said when I was confused what major I was about to choose for university.  Anyway, back in 2005 I started writing bilingual (English and Indonesian) recipes, posted online through my multiply account (I don't have and use this account anymore) and used my point and shoot camera that I brought from Indonesia at that time.  In 2006, I began using this blogspot for achieving recipes that I've tried. I kept using my point shoot camera until I reached a thought that I wanted to learn more about photography.  I saved up my paycheques from my full time job and bought a decent camera in 2007. It was a Canon Digital Rebel XTi (or the Europe and Asia Pacific version of EOS 400D). I was thinking only to buy the body and would get another lens later. But, it changed! I ended up buying the kit lens as well for some reasons.




Then, in 2008, I bought another lens for a food photography purpose, Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 USM Macro. In 2009, I finally got a prime lens, Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM. Last summer, I also did my first wedding assignment. I used two lenses at that time, one is my fave prime lens and another one was a wide angle lens, EF 16-35mm f/2.8 L II USM that I rented from a camera store here. To see more wedding pictures please visit this wedding photography set.

I still have to learn a lot about photography and become more and more interest into architecture and landscape photography as well.  One thing that I know for sure, everyone has their own preferable when it comes to pictures.  Art is something that is not easy to make everybody enjoy or love.

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Names: Tong Ho, Garland Chrysanthemum, Chrysanthemum Leaves, Crown Daisy, Shingiku, Tong Hao, Tung Ho, Tang Ho, Chong Ho, Kor Tongho, Tong Ho Choy, Tong Hao Cai, Thung Ho, Shunigku, Kikuna, Tan O, Cai Cui, Ssukgat, Chrysanthemum Greens

Botanical Name: Chrysanthemum coronarium

Edible tong ho is actually the leaves of chrysanthemum, has an unique taste. For Indonesians who are very familiar with daun kenikir (kenikir leaves - Cosmos sulphureus), tong ho has similar taste to kenikir leaves. In Indonesian cuisine, kenikir leaves are used for pecel (Java style Salad with Spiced Peanut Sauce).

Back to our topic here, tong ho is used to flavor salads, soups, sukiyaki and other dishes. It will be lost the unique taste if you do overcooked or blanch them; I prefer eat them raw.

This leafy green has 3 different sizes, large, medium and baby. The one that I captured on the picture above was the medium leaf. Agrohaitai.com has a depth information on this aromatic leafy.

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Tempe or tempeh is an Indonesian soybean cake. In order making sambal tumpang, you need tempe semangit. Semangit is derived from a word "sangit" which is meant less pleasant odour. A word "semangit" usually is followed after a word "tempe", and known as Tempe semangit. What is tempe semangit and is it different from tempe?

Tempe semangit can be categorized as an old or rotten tempe. What did I mean by old or rotten tempe? First of all, I will explain briefly the process on making tempe. You will need cooked soybeans, then add Rhizopus, a mold that helps soybeans to ferment for 24 hours. When the fermentation process is done, it binds the soybeans into a compact white cake. According my internet research, it will take more than 24 hours to ferment cooked soybeans into tempe in North America; it's about 36-48 hours.

Tempe is a protein alternative resource for vegetarians or vegans. Back when I was in Indonesia, tempe is a cheap protein resource and totally different since I moved to Canada; tempe becomes an expensive protein choice. Tempe is not only rich in essential amino acids, it is also high in vitamin B12.

When the tempe has undergone the fermentation more than a day and untreated, it will be overly ripe or rotten and known as tempe busuk or semangit because the smell is dreadful. But it doesn't make the tempe become useless. The Javanese seeks and uses it for cooking sambal or adding to a vegetable dish. Please see closely the different profile of tempe and tempe semangit.


The one on the right hand corner of each photo is tempe semangit

There are two places in Java that claimed Sambal Tumpang as their dish, Kediri (East Java) and Solo (Central Java). However, both places have a slightly different way in the recipe and serving. In Central Java, sambal tumpang is added with other protein resources such as beef, tofu as well as vegetables ("it tastes better with petai - stinky beans" said my friend Haley) while in East Java this sambal is pure made from a combination of 75% old tempe and 25% fresh/frozen good tempe. In this post, I will include the Eastern Javanese way for sambal tumpang.

In East Java, sambal tumpang is drizzled over pecel (Java style salad with peanut sauce). On the other hand, in Central Java, sambal tumpang is a side dish that is eaten with warmed cooked rice and boiled vegetables; no pecel to company.

Sambal Tumpang
- Java Style Old Tempe Sambal -

Ingredients:
200 g tempe semangit (use fresh or frozen tempe if you can't find tempe semangit)
1 cm galangal, bruised
2 Indonesian bay (salam) leaves
200 ml coconut milk
1 cup (250 mL) water

Spices to be ground:
45 g peeled shallots
5 g peeled garlics
1 cm peeled kencur/kaempeferia galangal (substitute for 1/2 tsp kencur powder)
6 kaffir lime leaves, chopped
1 tsp toasted coriander seed
1/2 tsp terasi/dried shrimp paste (optional)
1 candlenut (substitute for macadamia nut)
3 red cayenne peppers (Indonesian: cabe merah keriting)
1 bird eye chili
seasalt

Methods:
1. Pound or chop tempe semangit with a pestle or a chopper.

2. In a pot, add pounded tempe, ground spices, salam leaves, galangal and water. Cook until a boil. Then turn the heat to low and simmer for 5 -10 more minutes or until the spices absorb.

3. Add coconut milk, stir occasionally and bring to re-boil. Remove from the heat. Serve with pecel and warm cooked rice.

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Kakul is the Balinese term for freshwater snail. In Indonesian term, it's known as keong sawah. As you may notice that Indonesia is a country with many dialects, I have known two other names; kreco in Surabayan (East Javanese) and tutut in Sundanese (West Javanese).

This recipe was adapted from the Bali Cookbook by Lonny Gerungan. Lonny is a famous chef in the Netherlands. I bought this book few months ago through amazon.ca. For you who are interested to learn about Balinese cooking and not able to speak Indonesian, this is a perfect guide for you since the book is in English and written by a Balinese native.



Thou I'm an Indonesian native, I still have to learn about other foods from many different ethic groups. I know more about Sumatran and East Javanese cookings since those two are where my ancestors came from.

Lonny has described how he loves this dish. It brings his childhood memories in Bali. As he explained we have to suck the meat out of the shells and when we have done it, nine out of ten, the meat off course will shoot right into our throat. The soup is fun to eat.

Anyway, this spicy soup goes for Masbar October 2010 with a theme "Variety of Balinese Dishes". The recipe has been slightly changed from the original as I used more freshwater snails than the recipe was stated.


Kakul Mekuah
- Bali Style Frehswater Snail Soup -
serves 4


Ingredients:

• 1 lb (454 g) fresh water snails
• 2 1/4 tsp tamarind pulp
• 2 stalks lemongrass
• 3 tbsp. extra virgin coconut oil
• 1.2 L water seasalt
• 7 salam (Indonesian bay) leaves

For the spice paste

• 8 toasted candlenuts
• 1 1/2 tsp coriander seeds
• 1 1/2 tsp toasted terasi (dried shrimp paste)
• 1 1/2 tsp white peppercorns
• 1 1/2 tsp black peppercorns
• 4.8 oz (135 g) peeled shallots
• 0.7 oz (20 g) garlics, peeled
• 9 cayenne peppers (can be substituted for bird eyes chilies), sliced
• 1.4 oz (40 g or 6-cm long) fresh ginger, peeled 7 cm long fresh turmeric, peeled

Methods:

To make the spice paste, if you use a mortar and pestle, chop shallot, garlic, ginger and turmeric first.  Then, pound candlenuts, coriander, terasi and peppercorns to a fine paste.  Add shallots, garlic, chilies, ginger and turmeric; pound again to a paste.

Rinse off the snails with cold water and drain them.  Take the white parts of lemongrass, cut into 3-cm long and bruise them with side of a heavy knife.

Heat the oil in a wok and stri fry the spice paste for about 3 minutes.  Add water and season with seasalt.  Add snails, tamarind pulp, lemongrass, and salam leaves.  Simmer for about 15 - 20 minutes.  Serve with warm long grain rice.

Note:
If you live in Winnipeg and wonder where to get these freshwater snails, Young's sells them in the frozen section. On the package, it was saying "rice snails and made in Vietnam"

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Has anybody ever heard about So Nice brand? I'm not going to have a promotion about this soy beverage which I use a lot. So Nice has organized a Green Contest. In this contest, the participates are asked to share their idea on how to make a better organic world in less than 300 words.


I have submitted my idea last week and would like asking you to vote for me. My idea was "NO GO! FOR G.M.O" To read more further about my idea, you can clink the link below and please vote for me at So Nice Green Contest. Thank you very much!

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These pictures were taken at the park in Winnipeg that honestly I forgot the name. It is close to where one of my buddies lives. Out of the blue, this buddy called and asked me to go to the park for pictures. It was in the middle of September. With rush, before the dusk, I drove to her house and picked her up. She brought me slices of brownies. Thanks!

Here are two other shots that I have the permission to post.

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Cassava (Manihot esculenta), also called yuca or manioc, is a woody shrub of the Euphorbiaceae (spurge family) native to South America. There are two names for cassava in Indonesian, singkong and ubi kayu. According to wikipedia, it is extensively cultivated as an annual crop in tropical and subtropical regions for its edible starchy tuberous root, a major source of carbohydrates.

There are many different recipes of this cassava cake. This snack is popular among most SE Asian nations. If you are a reader or follower of SE Asian food bloggers, you will notice that the Filipino has this classic dish as well as Indonesian and Malaysian. I recalled back when I was reading mbak Wien's blog, she said "this cake is a recipe of my mother's mainstay." Yet, I don't follow her recipe as I brought this cake to my laws for the Thanksgivng dinner, so I wanted to have a richer taste by adding more condensed milk, cheese and reducing the sugar. Some people also like adding coconut meat/flesh in the cake.

There are ample fresh cassava roots for purchase at Asian stores and Superstore, but I was too lazy to peel and grate so I just bought frozen grated cassava.

Kue Singkong Keju
- Cassava Cheese Cake -

Ingredients:
Batter:
2 packs grated cassava
400 mL coconut milk (use thin coconut milk for lighter taste)
1/2 can condensed milk
2 free run eggs
1/4 cup butter, melted
1/2 cup grated cheese (I used white cheddar cheese)
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 - 3/4 cup sugar (depend on how sweet do you want)

Topping:
melted butter
grated cheese
condensed milk

Methods:
1.  Preheat oven at 350 F
2.  Combine the grated cassava, butter, condensed milk, vanilla, cheese, sugar, and eggs in a mixing bowl and mix thoroughly
3.  Add the coconut milk and stir well to combine.
4.  Grease the baking dish then pour the batter mixture.
5.  Place the baking dish in the oven and bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour.
6.  Take the baking dish out.  Brush melted butter on top of the cake.  Sprinkle grated cheese and drizzle condensed milk over.
7.  Broil the cassava cake until colour turns light brown.

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There are so many Vietnamese restaurants in Winnipeg. I heard about Pho No 1 from some other Indonesian friends. One time, I was meeting up one Indonesian foodie who lives in Winnipeg as well. Fitri was suggesting to meet at Nou Eul Tor, a Korean restaurant on Sargent. However, the restaurant was closed on Tuesday, so we decided to go to another Asian restaurant. She said let's try Rice Bowl, a Filipino, Chinese and Vietnamese restaurant. I was more interested to try one dish of Vietnamese there. When I took a look the menu, both of us were saying the same "not many Vietnamese choices here". I said let's move to Pho No 1 since Fitri likes this place better.

The room was full, only one table was empty. The waiter was asking us to sit there. We finally sat down inside Pho No 1 and read the menu. I observed the place and people. Most of the customers were non Caucasians, but I did see some Caucasians.

After about 3 minutes, I saw there was another empty table which close to the window. I requested to move to that table.

After flipping some pages on the menu, I decided to go for a bowl of Bun Bo Noung (Rice Vermicelli and Grilled Beef). The beef was seasoned perfectly and tender. This place has reasonable prices with bigger portions too. I definitely will go back there to try other Vietnamese dishes. This place is always packed during lunch and dinner time, so you may avoid those hours.

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With many different style of chicken noodle soup in the country (depend on the region off course), this one was not the soup that I grew up. Yet, I felt in love right away!

Being raised in Java island (thou my dad originally was from Medan), I wasn't aware of this Peranakan street food until I heard from many foodies who live in Medan. Thanks to Jun of Indo-Chine Kitchen for the recipe. I still have to learn a lot about Peranakan cooking in Medan from you, Jun.

To describe this dish, it's like describing Medan; a city where has a perfect blend of Chinese, Malay and Indian descendants in Indonesia. This chicken noodle soup has more flavour compare to the one that I used to have in Java. The aroma of cinnamon, clove, star anise, nutmeg, cardamom was flavouring the air when I cooked the broth.

For this recipe, I also recommended using green cardamom that has more flavour compare to the black one. I slightly changed some measurements to my preferably palate. I didn't deep fry the chicken, but broiled it instead.

Mie Sop Ayam Medan
- Medan-Style Chicken Noodle Soup -
adapted from Indo-Chine Kitchen

Ingredients
Spices to be ground
15 g (about 3 cloves) garlic
50 g (about 2) shallots
1 tsp ground white pepper
1/2 tbsp sea salt
3/4 cm fresh gingerroot, peeled
2 candlenuts (you may use macadamia nuts if there no candlenuts)

Whole spices for broth
1 star anise
2 cm length cinnamon stick
4 pieces cloves
1/2 nutmeg
1 -2 green cardamoms

Other ingredients
2 L water for broth
2 leg-thighs (you can add more chicken bones to have deeper chicken taste)
50 g Chinese celery (divide into two, chopped finely for condiments and the other half for broth)
2 green onions (same as above)
150 g tomato (quartered)
150 g jicama (quartered), can be substituted for carrot
150 g yellow fresh/dry egg noodles (I used fresh ramen)
150 g dried rice vermicelli
fried shallot flakes
red and white tapioca crackers (fried till fluffy)
slices of lime (optional)
sambal cabai hijau/green chilies (optional)

Methods:
In a large stock pot, boil water and add star anise, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and cardamom. Boil over high heat for 10 minutes. Lower heat to a simmer

Grind the spices till smooth using a spice grinder (or pound away with mortar and pestle). In a skillet, heat 1/4 cup of vegetable cooking oil and quickly stir fry the ground spices till turned brown, for about 5 � 7 minutes.

Add the spices into the stock pot, and throw in tomato, jicama and chicken. Turn the heat to medium. Cook for another 10 minutes or till boiling. Reduce heat to a simmer and remove the chicken breast from the broth. Add celery and spring onion to the broth

Broil chicken leg-thighs for 2-3 minutes till the skin turned brown and crunchy. Shred the chicken meat to small pieces or cube them.

Prepare the egg noodles and vermicelli by blanching them quickly with hot water for 2 � 4 minutes and drain well.

Remove the tomato, whole spices, jicama, spring onion and celery from the broth before serving.

To serve, first put cooked egg noodles and vermicelli in a deep dish or bowl. Add chicken bits and chopped celery and spring onions on top. Pour the boiling broth on top of the noodles. Add one tablespoon of sweet soy sauce and one teaspoon of tomato sauce. Sprinkle some shallot flakes and crackers. Serve with green chili sambal.

Note :
I still served the jicama and tomato on top as well.

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I first interested after reading my Winnipeger's foodie buddy, Zollipop. Back when she posted about it, I somehow forgot about this place. Then, two days ago at the urbanspoon, I found people posted some pictures of this cafe. One of them was a picture of different hot sauces on this cafe's table.

You might be curious why I was so fascinated just because a picture of hot sauces. Well let me tell you. I grew up at a place where all restaurants have a bottle or bowl of chili sauce or sambal on the table. I came to the country where I have to ask for hot sauce at some restaurants unless I go to the Asian ones. Sriracha, tabasco and chili oil are pretty common to be offered here, but this cafe offers sambal ABC sauce or labeled as tropical chili sauce in Canada and Thai sweet chili sauce. Now, you got what I meant. Yes, I grew up with this kinds of sambal sauce (preferably jempol and belibis brand), but since sambal ABC is the easiest to get in Winnipeg, I like buying it.





The Sherbrook area, the one that is closed to Misericodia hospital has some places to dine in for vegetarians such as Stella's Cafe, Cousins Deli & Lounge and Charisma Indian restaurant. In my honest opinion, with a great concept and settled in the right neighbourhood, Boon Burger Cafe will do considerably. Plus, it is owned by conscientious people.

Take a look what this place has promised...


The place is not that big yet very efficient. It has two communal tables inside and two small round tables at the patio. The communal table really reminds me of traditional warungs (read: small restaurants) in Indonesia where you can have a chat with the strangers next to or in front of you. Strangers are just friends you don�t yet know. Don't you think?

As an omnivore who often makes vegetarian foods for the better half, I enjoyed my Salsa Burger from Boon. Salsa Burger contains grilled mushroom-rice patty, chunky salsa, avocado, a slice of daiya vegan cheese, red onion and lettuce. The only thing I didn't enjoy was the salsa. I don't find the salsa is perfect balance for this burger. However, I took a bit of my husband's Buddha Burger and loved it! Buddha Burger has curried chickpea patty, mayo, creamy cucumber sauce, peach chutney, sliced cucumber, tomato, red onion and lettuce.


In fact, I didn't eat in. I just recreated how Boon serves the burgers for the sake of picture; serve on a square wood plate. Thanks goodness for my food props at home! I have almost the same as Boon has, so I can take a picture of my meal. Plus, I have my own sambal ABC sauce too

Boon's baked sesame fries was tasty too. Yummmm.

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I got a bag of apples and didn't know what to do, too many recipes out there.  Apple sauce, apple pie, chicken apple, you name it!

Then, when I stopped by at Hyundae mart, I found a great deal on roasted buckwheat (kasha) and beans.  Beside buying more miso, I grabbed some beans and kashas.  Hyundae mart used to be a Kosher food grocer,  I guess the Korean took over the management, changed the name and added more Korean and Japanese products.

Thanks to Irma for her Eid goodies that was sent from Germany.  I have few packages of almond flavour to boost my baking.

The mix of almond flour and buckwheat is used to substitute  the oat which contains gluten.

Apple Buckwheat Crumble
adapted from Canelle et Vanille
Yield: 10 ramekins

Ingredients:
400 g apples, cored and diced
2 key limes, zest and juice
1/8 tsp almond flavor*
25 g sugar
15 g cornstarch

Topped:
100 g butter, cold and cut into small pieces
100 g sugar
100 g buckwheat
100 g almond flour
1/4 tsp salt



Directions:
Toss apple, key lime, almond flavor, sugar and cornstarch together in a bowl.

Mix the sugar, buckwheat, almond flour and salt in a bowl. Add the cold diced butter and work it into the flour until a crumb forms and small pieces of butter remain.

In small ramekins or a pie dish, add apple mixture and top with buckwheat and almond crumble.

Bake at 350F for about 30 minutes or until fruit starts to bubble over. If the crumble turns dark before the fruit is bubbling, cover with aluminum foil.

The rest of the unused crumble may be frozen until next time.

*Almond flavor can be used interchangeably with vanilla pods, powder or flavor. Almond flour can be substituted for soy flour.

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A Canadian adaptation of Japanese tempura. It's often to be offered at Japanese restaurants and served with a special sauce.

Salmon heads and trims are common to be sold at the markets here.  At Asian markets, I often see salmon heads on sale. 

Special for this tempura, the Japanese restaurants in town don't serve with tentsuyu (Japanese: ????/??), regular tempura dipping sauce.  Hence, I re-created the sauce at home and perfect match to the one that I used to have.  It is a mix of miso, ginger, mirin, ground sesame seed, garlic, soy sauce and sugar. In this case I substituted for honey. 

I figured out why they serve with this special sauce.  By dipping pieces of salmon heads tempura into the sauce, it reduces the odour of the salmon itself.   In this recipe, I specifically had to marinate them with minced gingers and garlics before dipping into tempura batter.

Finally, I found the perfect composition to what I tasted for the sauce. The batter's recipe was adapted from Marc of No Recipes.

Salmon Heads Tempura
 
Ingredients:
2 salmon heads, halved of each head
minced garlic and gingers for marinating

Tempura Batter:
1 large egg white
1 cup ice cold water + 2 ice cubes
1 cup sifted unbleached flour put in freezer
1/2 tsp kosher salt

Dipping Sauce:
2 tbsp aka miso (red miso)
2 tbsp low-sodium soy sauce
2 tbsp mirin
2 tbsp honey
2 tsp ground sesame seed
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp minced ginger

Directions:
Prepare the Salmon Heads:
1. Rinse off halved salmon heads under cold running water. Rub minced garlic and gingers on, marinate for 20 minutes and keep them in the fridge.

2. Rinse them off once more and pat dry.

Tempura:
1. Get a wire rack ready for the tempura by covering it with a layer of brown paper bag.

2. In a heavy bottomed pan, add about 3 cm of oil. Heat the oil until it reaches 340 F then quickly make the batter. For the batter, you want to whisk the egg yolk into 1 cup of ice cold water then dump it all into the cold flour then gently stir. The key here is that everything is very cold and that you don�t stir it too much (having lumps is fine). The batter should be like thin pancake batter, if it�s too thick, add a few more tablespoons of ice water.

3. Use a fork, quickly dip each halved salmon head in the batter shaking off the excess and carefully drop into the hot oil.

Dipping Sauce:
Combine everything.

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These pictures have been long overdue. Seven months ago when I still stayed in Boissevain, I was kinda craving for Ethiopian food. But, no Ethiopian restaurants in the province except in Winnipeg. Then, I read on the Brandon local newspaper that there would be the 7th Annual Lieutenant Governor's Winter Festival in Brandon. The distance between Brandon and Boissevain is about an hour driving.

The festival's concept was pretty much similar to Folklorama in Winnipeg. Just for your information, Folklorama is the largest and longest running multicultural event of its kind in the world!

Today, I just realized that I have had these pictures (make sure you see all the pictures below) when I went back to my old photo stocks on Flickr.

I was first got to know Ethiopian cuisine in 2008 when my husband and I went to the Ethiopian restaurant in our neighbourhood. Then, we felt in love with the food right away.

Traditional Ethiopian cuisine employs no pork of any kind, as most Ethiopians are either Ethiopian Orthodox Christians, Muslims or Jews, and are thus prohibited from eating pork.

Look how pretty the Massobs are! Massob/Mesob is an Ethiopian communal serving basket and made from woven grass.




When I entered the room and breathed in, the aroma rang a bell right away. Smell just like dupa in Indonesian or kemenyan in Javanese. It was incense that burned inside Kirkira (sorry if I misspelled).



This was my portion of Injera, Wat and Tibs. Injera is an Ethiopian large sourdough flatbread, which is about 50 centimeters in diameter and made out of fermented teff flour; Wat is meat Stew, it can be chicken, lamb and/or beef; Tibs is sauteed vegetables.


Teff flour is a gluten-free flour substitute that you can use in any of your recipes calling for all-purpose flour. It has nutty flavor and adds a pleasant sweetness to any recipe.

First time, I had a goat stew at the Ethiopian restaurant, I was stunned. It did remind me of goat curry in Indonesia. For those who love South East Asian curries, you won't have a hard time to like Ethiopian dishes.

Since I got to know Ethiopian tradition, I found similarity between Ethiopians and Indonesians. Traditionally, we eat the food with the right hand, no cutlery. Honestly, I sometimes do eat by hand at home :-P. The difference, the Ethiopians use injeera to pick up food. They also have small bowl with water and a slice of lime for washing the hand.


Stay tune for my next post, Ethiopian Coffee Ceremony.

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