Pindang Bandeng (Brasied Milk Fish with Sweet Soy Sauce)

Ingredients:

3 sliced Shallots
3 slices Garlic cloves
2 tsp. (10g) Tamarind (soaked in 1/4 cup hot water)
2 cups (500g) Water
1 bruised Lemon grass
2 tbsp. (30g) Oil
salt (as needed)
1/4 cup (62ml) Sweet soy sauce
1 Salam leaf
3 Holland red peppers (cut into 1/4" rings)
10 birdseye chilis
1/2 inch Galangal
3 lbs. Milk fish (or 2 whole)


Instructions:

1. Cut each fish into 2 crosswise.
2. Rub each piece with salt and some tamarind juice and let them marinate for 15 minutes.
3. Heat in a wide saucepot, add oil. Saute shallots and garlic until shallots are softened.
4. Add birdseye chilis, Holland red peppers, lemon grass, salam leaf, and galangal.
5. Stir for a minute then add water, sweet soy sauce, tamarind juice, and milk fish pieces.
6. Simmer until fish pieces are cooked and tender.
7. Serve hot with rice.

Tips:

You may use a pressure cooker so that fish bones would be tender and edible.

Ayam Panggang Bumbu Kuning (Yellow Spice Grilled Chicken)

Ingredients:

• 1 whole chicken, cut up into 2-4 pieces
• 500 cc thick coconut milk
• 1 stalk lemongrass, bruised
• 3 kaffir lime leaves
• 2 cloves
• 2 cardamom, bruised
• 1 Tbs. tamarind juice
• 3 Tbs. vegetable oil

Spice Paste Ingredients:

• 3 cloves garlic
• 8 small shallots
• 5 candlenuts, dryly fried
• 3 tsp. coriander seeds
• 1 tsp. pepper
• ¼ tsp. aniseeds
• ½ tsp. cumin seeds
• ½ tsp. nutmeg
• ¼ Tbs. galangal
• 2 tsp. ginger
• 2 tsp. ground turmeric
• 1 Tbs. salt

Instructions:

• Stir fry the spice paste over medium heat with 3 Tbs. vegetable oil for a minute or two and then add the lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves, cloves and cardamom until fragrant.
• Add the chicken pieces and stir well until the chicken is half done.
• Pour in the coconut milk and tamarind juice.
• Cook it until the chicken is almost done and the sauce is thickened, remove.
• On a barbeque grill or in an oven over moderate heat, grill the chicken until done while brushing it with the spices.
• Ready to serve.
• Makes 3-4 servings.

Content and image source:
http://www.melroseflowers.com/mkic/indo_recipes/poultry/yellow_spice_grilled_chicken.html

Otak-Otak Bandeng (Stuffed Milkfish)

Ingredients:

1 whole bandeng (milkfish) or substitute sea bass or mackerel (about 700 g)
6 tbs. grated coconut, fried in a dry pan until golden brown and pounded till fine
100 ml thick coconut milk from ¾ coconut
2 eggs, beaten
banana leaves, or substitute foil


Spice-paste:
2 tsp. coriander seeds
6 shallots
3 cloves garlic
4 candlenuts
1 cm fresh gangale (lengkuas)
2 tsp. sugar
salt to taste


Instructions:

1. Scale and gut the fish through the gills. Wash the fish inside and out and dry thoroughly with kitchen towel paper.
2. Carefully pound the fish with the flat of a large knife. Massage it hard all over in order to release the meat from the skin.
3. Remove the backbone of the fish but leave tail and head in place: bend the tail towards the head until you feel the bone snap. Carefully pull out the bone through the gill-opening. Take care not to break the skin anywhere.
4. Press out all the meat through the gill-opening by pressing the fish with a spoon from the tail-end towards the head.
5. Turn over the skin by pushing the tail towards the head. Remove the bones then push the tail back through the head opening. Flake the meat and fry in a dry pan for a few minutes, then remove all the tiny bones from the meat. Mix the meat with the grated coconut, coconut milk, beaten eggs and the pounded Spice-paste. Blend till smooth. The consistency should be like soft butter.
6. Put the stuffing back inside the fish through the gill-opening. Sew up the opening after stuffing the fish. Wrap in a banana leaf and secure the ends. Steam until done, approximately 15-20 minutes. Unwrap and grill over a barbecue or in the oven until brown before serving.

Image source:
http://www.dkimages.com

Recipe source:
http://www.wiedenhoff.nu/recipes/kokkie.htm

Ikan Asam Padeh (Fish in Sour Sauce)

Ingredients:
1 1/2 pounds Fish Fillet
2 Shallots
Ginger 1 piece
2 Thai Chiles
1/2 tsp Turmeric
1/2 tsp Tamarind
2 tsp Soy Sauce (Dark)
2 tbsp Oil
Salt to taste
Pepper, black to taste

How to:

1. Remove all skin from fish fillets, ensure that no bones remain and cut into serving-size pieces.
   
2. Chop very finely the shallots, ginger, garlic and chiles, and pound these together with the turmeric powder, tamarind and soy sauce (or use a food processor).
   
3. Heat the oil in a shallow pan and stir-fry the spice-paste for four to five minutes, then add the fish, cover with approximately one cup of cold water and bring to a boil.
   
4. Lower heat, season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper and cook over a very low heat until the fish is done.
   
5. Serve with fresh vegetables and rice.

This recipe originates from :
http://www.yumyum.com

The picture above originates from:
http://www.ziki.com

Pelas Udang (Spiced Shrimps Grilled in Banana Leaf Recipe)

In the old times and until now, banana leaves are used to wrap meals to keep their freshness and preserve them for a short period of time. Banana leaves also have special fragrant that can turn your appetite on, some say it's a myth, but I myself believe it coz I love eating meals wrapped in banana leaves and yes they have special fragrant... :)

Back in the old times, a farmer's wife would prepare her husband lunch wrapped in banana leaves before he goes to rice field to work. So after working hard, her husband will spend time enjoying his wife's well prepared, fresh, and preserved meal under the small hut among the rice field. So you see how romantic banana leaves can be... :)

Ingredients:

• 500g Shrimps, shelled and chopped
• 1/2 Coconut
• Shredded banana leaves
• 5 Red chillies
• 2 tsp Coriander, roasted
• 3 Kaffir lime leaves
• 3 cloves Garlic
• 7 Shallots
• 2 tsp Chopped galangal
• 4 Candlenuts, fried
• 1 tsp Tamarind juice
• 2 tsp Salt and sugar or brown sugar

Method:

• Combine chopped shrimps with shredded coconut and ground spices.
• Mix well.
• Wrap 1 1/2 tablespoons of the mixture with banana leaf.
• Roll the leaf up and secure both ends with toothpicks.
• Continue to wrap until all the mixture is used up.
• Grill over hot charcoal or bake in an oven until cooked.
• Serve

This recipe originates from :
http://www.asianonlinerecipes.com

The picture above originates from:
http://dapurmbakasri.blogspot.com

Sambal Udang Kemiri (Shrimps in Chili and Candlenut Gravy)

Ingredients:
500g Large shrimps, remove the head
1 tbsp Lime juice

3 tbsp Oil

2 Salam leaves or bay leaves as substitute

125 cc Water or thin coconut milk

1 tbsp Thinly sliced orange peel
Fried shallots

Spices:

8 Red chillies

10 Bird's eye chillies

2 Cloves garlic

6 Shallots

1/2 tsp Chopped turmeric

1 tsp Chopped ginger

1/2 tsp Shrimp paste (belacan)

1 tbsp Sliced lemon grass

1 tsp Coriander, roasted

1-2 tsp Tamarind juice

5 Candlenuts, roasted or fried

Salt and

Brown sugar

How to:

• Knead the shrimps with lime juice and let it stand for 10 minutes.
• Heat oil and sauté ground spices and salam leaves until fragrant.
• Then pour in water or thin coconut milk.
• Bring to the boil, then add shrimps.
• Cook until the gravy has thickened.
• Garnish with fried shallots and orange peel.
• Serve hot.

The picture above originates from :

http://www.malaysianfood.net

The recipe above originates from:

http://www.asianonlinerecipes.com

Rempeyek Kacang (Javanese Peanut Chips)

Exotic snacks, that's all I can say, enjoy... :)

Ingredients:

• 150 gram rice flour
• 475 cc thin coconut milk from ¼ half aged coconut
• 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1 Tbs. dry roasted coriander seeds
• 1level tsp. salt
• 2 lime leaves
• 300 gram peanuts, choose the dry ones
• 600 cc oil for frying

Instructions:

• Grind garlic, coriander, salt and lime leaves together.
• Mix flour, coconut milk, ground ingredients. Stir well.
• Prepare a small pan, add a soup ladle half full of oil and heat it over a medium flame.
• Take one soup ladle full of dough and one tbsp of peanuts and put it into the pan.
  
• Press to make a flat round form.
  
• Fry until brownish.
  
• Remove and drain.
  
• Repeat until all dough is used.

Click here, If you're really serious about unveiling the secrets of Indonesian foods

This recipe originates from:
http://www.melroseflowers.com

The picture above originates from:
http://www.fishingvalley.net