Tom Yum Goong

I wanted to make this dish since last week. Just realized that I have 1.5 lt of the shrimp broth and I need to make something with it because freezer start to be too full with many kind of stocks. Beef, chicken, shrimp and veggie stocks.

So finally today I made it, but completely forgot to get cilantro and basil. Auch!

So, this one is a twisted Tom Yum, but I LOVE it since I did something really different and this soup became sweet and sour and WITHOUT adding any sugar or sweetener!

Let’s start!

Ingredients:

• 2 cm of ginger, crush it
• 2 cm of galangal, crush it
• 2 lemon grass, crush it
• 3 green tomatoes, quarter it
• 1 red tomato, cut to 8
• Lime leaves
• Big red chilies
• Small red chilies
• Small bird chili
• Shallots (as much as 1 big yellow onion), slice it
• 2 garlic cloves, crush it
• 200 gr of shrimp/ prawn
• 2 big squids, cut it to bite size. DO NOT throw away the squid ink. This is the “sugar replacement”
• Salt
• White pepper
• Lime juice

Instructions:

1. Prep up the shrimp and the squid. Pour in the lime juice, salt and white pepper.
2. Heat up the pot in medium flame, add in oil, and once ready, add in the shallots and the garlic. As usual, the key to whole and deep and sweet flavor is to caramelize the shallots/ onion!
3. Once almost caramelized, add in the lime leaves, ginger, galangal, and lemon grass, continue until you see your onion/ shallots is caramelized.
4. Add in red tomatoes, mix it in for about 1 minute, followed by green tomatoes, and the chilies, and pour the shrimp broth. Wait until it starts bubbling. Then lower the flame and simmer for about 10 mins.
5. Then, add in the shrimp and squid only until the shrimp goes red. (Around 4-5 mins)

That’s it.
Yes, it’s that easy. Spicy, sweet, sour, hot and fresh for the hot day!

Spicy green chili chicken gizzard & liver

I had the inspiration to cook it from a shared post by a friend of mine in Facebook. The recipes were different one to another, but I got the idea.

Then, just based on my taste, I decided to go with my guts. Here it is!

Ingredients:
– 100 gr curly green chilies
– 100 gr large green chilies
– 100 gr bird’s eye chilies
– 10-15 medium shallots
– 5 garlic cloves
– Salt
– Lime leaves
– Bay leaf
– 2 cm ginger
– 2 cm galangal
– 5 pairs of liver & gizzards (around 500 gr)
– 3 small green tomatoes or 1 red tomatoes

Optional: curly lettuce (I’ll tell you why later! 😉)

Instructions:

1. Simmer the liver & gizzards along with 2 cloves of garlic and salt until the gizzard is tender.
2. Do not throw away the water after the gizzard is tender. Instead, put all kind of green chilies and the tomato and boil until they’re soft.
3. Fry the liver and the gizzard (half fried) and then put them aside.
4. While frying the liver and gizzard, slice the shallots and 3 cloves of garlic. Once done frying the liver and gizzard, then saute and caramelize the shallots, garlic, lime leaves, bay leaf, galangal, and ginger.
5. Use the food processor, pulse the chilies and tomato only until they’re “shredded”. Or you can also use the mortar and pestle. I’m lazy. I chosed food processor. Not even a minute!
6. Once the ingredients in your pan are caramelized well, mix in the shredded chili and tomato for about 2 minutes, then add in the liver and gizzard. Just mix them and that’s it. You’re done!

I had an ice cream sandwich earlier in the afternoon. So, to reduce my guilty feeling, I tried to be healthier on my dinner. I was inspired by the Bulgogi that I ate by wrapping it up with the lettuce, so I also wrap it up with the curly lettuce! And guess what? I LOVE IT!

Keto Lettuce Burger

Warning:
This is the best meal in my whole LIFE! If you fall in love with it, don’t blame me!

First of all, I’m a fan of fats. shallots/ onion, and a hater of bun (I actually never like bread and such and won’t eat it unless it’s the last option or I just don’t want to hurt the cook’s or the host’s feeling. Same feeling as rice. Mom had to make 3 bowl of rice porridge when I was a baby because I kept trying to vomit it. Growing up I get better, I can eat them, but if I have any option, then I won’t).

Okay, back to the burger. FYI, going through this COVID19 outbreak, onion become so freakin’ expensive here in Indonesia. The cheapest I found so far is IDR 150,000/ Kg or around USD10.5 with the recent rate. It was usually just around IDR 23,000. More than 6x the normal price!!

So, since I badly want to eat burger, I have to substitute it to the, well…better price. Shallots! Price is less than half and it taste great also.

So onion lovers, you can always seek comforts from shallots. Also, I know peeling it up is a homework (in Indonesia, shallot is small. 2cm diameter shallot is considered a big one) and that’s the reason why I always peel it up in front of the TV and prep it up so it’s ready to use.

So, let’s start!
THE BURGER PATTIES
Portion: it’ll make 12.5 of 7cm diameter and 1.5cm patties.

Ingredients:

• • 1 clove of garlic, grate it
  • 10 clove of medium shallots, grate it (the more the better 😉)
  • 125 gr of grated mozzarella (you just need to use the same type of grater. Save you the dish washing time).
  • Paprika powder
  • Salt
  • Pepper
  • Dry minced onion (just because I have. But this one is optional)
  • 1 Kg of minced beef (ask for the one with more fats. It has flavor and it helps the patty stays together).

Instruction:

1. 1. Mix all the ingredients. Make sure that it mixed well.
   2. You can grill them now of keep it in the freezer for next meal. But remember to separate each other using baking paper.
   3. Grill them 3 minutes each side.
   4. If you want to put your (extra) cheese slices on it, put them on the grilled side and cover it up.

BURGER SAUCE

You will need relish or what I just did is the refrigerator pickles (I crushed them using the blender with the extra pickle water) – it already have the pepper, salt and the pickles!

• • Mayonnaise
  • Extra virgin olive oil
  • Minced onion/ onion powder
  • Garlic powder.

Mix them up together, be careful not too add too much liquid. You want the sauce consistency. Not the dressing one.
LETTUCE BURGER

1. 1. Lettuce
   2. Burger sauce
   3. Burger patty
   4. Cheese
   5. Pickles
   6. Crispy Bacon
   7. Hot sauce
   8. Tomato slices
   9. Burger sauce
   10. Lettuce

In that order. And eat.

After 16 years cooking, this dish by far is at my top favorite! So juicy, so balance, so cheesy oh God… It’s great!

My bf told me this when he saw me eating this burger, “Well my late Grandma said, Kisses don’t last, but good cooking do.” I agree 1000% Grandma!

PS:
You cannot see the patty since it’s covered by 3 LAYERS of cheese. My bad! 😂😂

Update:

Just ate it for dinner, finally get the pic of the patty!

Oh! My plant-based bf decided to cheat. He cheated happily! 😂😂😂

Mushroom Gravy (Keto/ Paleo/ Vegan/ Vegetarian)

Still remember the gravy I made? This one is basically just add mushroom. And if you are vegetarian or vegan or paleo, then use vegetable stocks instead of chicken stocks. Chicken stocks works well for the ketorian.

Always remember to caramelize the onion. Somehow you’ll have better, sweeter, whole flavor without adding sugar.

End product: 2 jars of 500ml & 1 jar or 300ml

Ingredients:

• 150 gr of portabella or shitake or both mushroom (I use the leftover of both), chop them in the food processor or slice them thin.
• 1 onion, or 15 medium shallots. Caramelize it.
• 1 clove of garlic
• Salt
• Black pepper
• 2 tsp ground paprika
• 1 tbsp dry thyme
• 2 tbsp cumin ground (It’s a MUST! Trust me and use this. It’s the great taste that you’ll love.)
• 1500 ml stocks (chicken/ beef/ vegetable)

Note:
When you use vegetable stocks, you need to add 2 tbsp of corn starch diluted in water (just a little) and pour it to the gravy after it’s simmered. Or else, it”ll be too runny. You should also use hand blender to make your gravy thickens.

Instructions:

1. Chop garlic in the food processor, followed by onion.
2. Add 2 tbsp of frying oil (use vegetable oil/ coconut oil or butter) to the heated pan, and add in the chopped onion and garlic on low medium flame. Caramelize it. It’s the base of great dishes I think. When possible, always caramelize onion and garlic before cooking anything. It replaced sugar and it means healthier.
3. Add ground paprika, salt, black pepper, thyme and cumin once the onion is caramelized. Mix it up and leave it that way for around 2 mins.
4. Chop mushroom in the food processor. And then add them into the pan. Keep mixing it until you don’t see anymore moisture.
5. Pour the stock then simmer it until it goes to half the original liquid.
6. Use the hand blender, blend it and then, just strain it. Serve it warm!

Snack: Easy Corn Fritters

I cannot make this snack with egg since my bf is allergic to it. So I gotta think how to twist the standard recipe out there and make sure that it’ll look exactly the same.

Plus, since I love coriander, I have to find ways also to incorporate it into this recipe, so the batter taste like my tofu burger in blanket. Plus, I’m serious with the ice cold water. It makes all the different. It’s crispy outside and soft inside. Just the way I like it.

This recipe will give you 8 big fritters. You only see 6 because my bf “stole” 2 before I took the pic! ha ha ha

So here we go:

INGREDIENTS:

• 250 gr peeled sweet corn
• 2 carrots, grated
• Spring onion
• 1 stalk celery
• 1 clove garlic
• Salt
• White pepper
• 1 tsp Coriander seeds
• 1/2 cup of plain flour
• 1 tbsp rice flour
• 1 tbsp corn starch
• Ice cold water

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Mix everything, and pour water only until it’s attached to each other. Not too thick, but definitely not runny. We don’t use eggs here remember?
2. Heat up the oil, it should cover the fritter well. Then, use a laddle to scoop the batter and fry it until it’s golden brown.

That’s it. Nice and easy snack!

Easy Sugar-free Refrigerator Pickles

Since I’m not a believer of sugar replacement or any sweetener since I believe that everything processed is not good for our body, here is a twist of some Keto pickles recipes. Of course, without any sweetener or sugar.

I live in Indonesia and our pickles is actually a mix of cucumber, carrots, shallots and some, will add chilies. So you are most definitely okay to add chili in your pickles. I cannot. My bf cannot handle heat. 😜😜.

Alright, here we go. FYI, it will give you 2 x 500 gr jars of pickles. If you only wanna make 1 jar, then cut everything half.

Ingredients:

• 1 Japanese cucumber (dark green, long and taste is sweet. Yes, I’m taking it’s sweetness to replace sugar). Dice, slice do whatever you like.
• 1 big carrot. Again, cut it however you like.
• 10 medium shallots. Cut into half or quarter, depending the size
• 1 small yellow onion. Slice it thin
• 1 clove of garlic. Crushed.
• 3 tsp black peppercorn
• pinch of sea salt
• 10 tbsp white vinegar
• water

Instructions:

1. Prepare the veggies, then put them in a bowl, then mix with peppercorn and pinch of sea salt
2. Crush the garlic, and put 1/2 in each jar.
3. Add the veggies in the jars
4. Pour 5 tbsp of vinegar to each jar
5. Pour the water until covering the veggies.
6. Close the jar, mix it well, put them in the fridge for 24 hours. That’s it!

Yellow Spiced Fried Chicken

As promised in the previous post, here is the recipe for the yellow spiced fried chicken. As far as I know, my grandma cooked this before I was born. I didn’t get the recipe from her because she never really told me how until the day she passed away. So I will decide that it is a Javanese meal, the island with the most population in Indonesia.

Some of the ingredients probably is not easy to be found. However, I will try my best to give you the alternative.

One of the sexy ingredient is Turmeric. This is the hero of this dish because this one makes the chicken yellow.

What I love about cooking this, I can just keep it in the fridge and only fry it when I want to eat. Pretty practical for modern life without having to freeze it, thaw it, etc etc…

Okay let’s start.

 

Ingredients:

• 1 Kg of chicken (you can also add liver, gizzard whatever, as long as the total weight is 1 Kg)
• 2 bay leaves
• Enough water to cover the whole chicken

Crushed Seasonings:

• Salt
• White ground pepper
• 6 pcs candle nuts
• 1 clove of garlic
• 1 tsp coriander seeds (optional, but it’ll taste better. You can replace it with ground coriander)
• 2 cm turmeric (or maybe…1 tbsp ground turmeric. Add bit by bit from 1/2 tbsp)

Instructions:

1. After you’re done crushing the seasonings, heat up the pan, put enough frying oil, and saute the crushed seasonings and bay-leaf until you smell the aroma.
2. Then, add in the chicken, and pour the water until covering the chicken. Then, shimmer it with the small flame until the water’s gone and what’s left is just the goodness. The chicken, and the chicken fat. Until here. you’re basically done. You can leave it until it’s cooling down and store it in fridge, or just fry it.

Yeap it’s easy. That’s why it’s always been my favorite. I got 2 products. The chicken, and the spiced chicken fat (this one can be used for fried rice, veggy stir-fry etc!

Have fun!

Vietnamese Spring Rolls & Nuoc Cham Sauce

NUOC CHAM sauce:

Crush together:

• 1 garlic
• 2 chilies
• 1/2 cup of fish sauce
• 4 lemon juice
• 4 limes
• 5 shallots – blend with water

Instruction: Mix everything and keep it in jar.

VIETNAMESE SPRING ROLLS

Ingredients:

• Basil
• Baked crunched peanuts
• Shredded crunchy vegetables (cabbage, white radish, carrots, etc)
• Sauteed peeled shrimps (optional. If you’re a vegan, just skip it)
• Banh Trang (rice wrapper)
• Warm water, put it in a big bowl with the same diameter with Banh Trang.
• Damp cloth

Instructions:

1. Mix everything with splash of the dipping sauce
2. Spread the damp cloth (this is where you will roll up)
3. Dip the Banh Trang to the warm water (don’t go too long. Just dip make sure it’s all covered, then pick it up and put it on the damp cloth)
4. Put the shrimp at the front, and mix veggies behind it
5. Roll it.

Best way to eat it? Dip it in the Nuoc Cham sauce. That easy? Yes. That easy.

 

Easy Recipe: Vegan Black Pepper Tempe & Tofu

Hello! This recipe is not twisted from any recipes. It is based on my original Black Pepper Beef recipe (yes yes…next time, meat eaters!), but I twisted it for my BF that decided to join the plant-based lifestyle. So instead of using beef, I use Tempe and tofu (a rich source of protein from soy). I also took out the oyster sauce but use everything else.

MAYBE, not a real vegan dish too (I’m being undecided) since I was using 8gr of brown sugar. But…some vegans still consider the brown sugar vegan. So…forgive me. I’m not an expert at this.

So yeah! I made it for my BF, and he called it “the last supper”. Why? I got a new job! Whoohoo!! But, my office will be about 20Km from home and in Jakarta, it is a pain in the arse to commute that far on weekdays. So I decided to rent a room nearby the office. But he said for the last supper he wants this menu as if I work in another country. Hahahaha… silly him.

Alright! Now let’s go to the recipe.

INGREDIENTS:

• 250 gr tempe
• 250 gr firm tofu
• Coconut oil to fry
• 1/2 big red bell pepper
• 1/2 big green bell pepper
• 1 medium onion
• 1 garlic clove
• A dash of Sea salt
• 1 cup of water

  Marinating Sauce:

• 3 tbsp black sweet soy sauce
• 3 tbsp tomato ketchup
• 8 gr (1 stick) brown sugar
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 1 tbsp Shaoxing wine/ Rice wine (substitute: Pale Dry Sherry)
• 3 tsp crushed black pepper

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Fry the tempe and tofu half done. As long as you can already see the outer part is firmed, considered it’s done.
2. While you’re frying the tempe and tofu, mix all of your marinating sauce ingredients in a big bowl
3. Ground onion and garlic with a little bit of coconut oil using a food processor or mini chopper until it forms like paste.
4. Prepare the bell pepper as you like.
5. Transfer the fried tempe and tofu to the marinating sauce.
6. In the pan, saute the ground onion and garlic until you can smell a piece of heaven in your kitchen, then put the marinated tempe and tofu along with the sauce and mixed them all. Stir it until you can see some of the sauce is caramelized, then pour the water.
7. The sauce is easily thickened by the ground onion and garlic so you don’t need to add flour/ corn starch to thicken it.
8. Then simmer the sauce to your preference, then 5 minutes before you’re done, add the bell peppers, mixed it, and cover with a lid and let them simmer further for 5 minutes.

THAT’S IT. It won’t take you more than 30 minutes to prepare this dish (including washing your dishes!).

He LOVED this dish, and even more today. Go on and try, then tell me how it goes!