Lontong

Lontong – Rice in Banana Leaves

Lontong

Ingredients:

Long-grain rice	400 g (2 cups)
Banana leaves
Bamboo toothicks or cocktail sticks
Water	2,5 litres (10 cups / 4 pints)

Method:

1.       Wash rice twice and drain. Portion and place onto banana leaves, then fold into secure oblong packets and fasten with toothpicks

2.       Boil banana leaf-packets in 2.5 litres water for about 3 hours. It may be necessary to add more during this period.

OR

Long-grain rice	200 g (1 cups)
Water	500 ml (2 cups)
Banana leaves
Bamboo toothicks or cocktail sticks

Method:

1.       Wash rice twice, drain and transfer to a saucepan. Add water and boil rice until soft.

2.       Place onto banana leaves, roll into oblongs and fasten with toothpicks. Place into a pot and fill with 500 ml water. Boil for 1 hour

3.       Leave to cool, slice and serve. Lontong is a good accompaniment for dishes like gado-gado or a sambal

Note: In The West or wherever banana leaves are hard to come by, use aluminium foil or corn husk as wrappers

Yellow Rice

Yellow Rice – Nasi Kuning

Yellow Rice

Ingredients:

Long-grain  rice	400 g (2 cups)
Coconut Milk	625  ml (2 ½  cups), squeezed from 1 grated coconut with sufficient water added
Tumeric (Kunyit)	1 tsp, ground
Coriander (Ketumbar)	½ tsp, ground
Salam leaf (Daun Salam)	1
Garlic	2 cloves, peeled and chopped
Salt	2 tsp
Onion	1, large, peeled and sliced
Vegetable oil	1 Tbsp
Cucumber	1, medium, peeled and cut into long stripes

Method:

1.       Wash  rice twice and drain. Transfer to a saucepan an  add coconut milk, turmeric, coriander, salam leaf, garlic  and  salt. Cook, covered  tightly, over medium heat.

2.       Meanwhile, fry onion slices in oil

3.       Garnish cooked rice with fried onion slices and cucumber strips. Serve.

Vegetables in Sweet Tamarind Broth

Vegetables in Sweet Tamarind Broth – Sayur Asam

Vegetables in Sweet Tamarind Broth 

Ingredients:

4 cups (1 liter) water

2 salam leaves (optional)

1 in (2 ½ cm) fresh galangal, bruised

1 fresh or frozen corn cob, cut into sections

2 cups (180 g) tapioca leaves, sweet potato leaves, spinach and melinko leaves (see note)

1 cup (100 g) green beans, cut into short lengths

2 to 3 green finger-length chilies, deseeded and cut into short lengths (optional)

½ cup (75 g) lightly boiled raw peanuts or fresh melinjo nuts

¼ cup (60 ml) tamarind juice (see our sambals recipe) or 4 to 6 carambola (belimbing wuluh), sliced

½ cup (125 g) small fresh shrimp, peeled and deveined (optional)

1 ripe tomato, cut into wedges

2 tablespoons sugar

½ teaspoon salt

Spice Paste 2 to 4 finger-length chilies, deseeded

4 shallots, peeled 3 cloves salt

Cooking Directions:

Make the Spice Paste by grinding all the ingredients to a smooth paste in a mortar or blender, adding a little water if necessary to keep the mixture turning. Set a aside.

Bring the water to a boil over medium heat in a large saucepan. Add the Spice Paste salam leaves (if using) and galangal, mix well and bring to aboil again, then simmer uncovered for 2 minutes. Add the corn and boil  for 2 more minutes, then add the vegetables, chili (if using) peanuts  and tamarind juice or carambola. Bring the mixture to a boil and simmer until the vegetables are tender, 3 to 5 minutes. Finally add the shrimp, tomato and sugar, and simmer for 1 to 2 minutes until the shrimp turn pink. Season with the salt and remove from the heat. Serve hot as part of rice-based meal.

Indonesian Fried Rice

Indonesian Fried Rice

Indonesian Fried Rice

Ingredients :

2	Eggs
1/4 teaspoon	Salt
1/3 cup	Cooking oil
3 cloves	Finely chopped garlic
1	Finely chopped onion
2	Seeded and very finely chopped red chilies
1 teaspoon	Shrimp paste
1 teaspoon	Coriander seeds
1/2 teaspoon	Sugar
400g	Raw prawns, peeled and deveined
200g	Rump steak, finely sliced
1 cup	Long grain rice, cooked and cooled
2 teaspoons	Kicap manis (sweet soy sauce)
1 tablespoons	Soy sauce
4	Finely chopped onions
1/2	Finely shredded lettuce
1	Thinly sliced cucumber
3 tablespoons	Crisp fried onion
2	Eggs
1/4 teaspoon	Salt
1/3 cup	Cooking oil
3 cloves	Finely chopped garlic
1	Finely chopped onion
2	Seeded and very inely chopped red chilies
1 teaspoon	Shrimp paste
1 teaspoon	Coriander seeds
1/2 teaspoon	Sugar
400g	Raw prawns, peeled and deveined
200g	Rump steak, finely sliced

Method :

Beat the eggs and salt until foamy. Heat a frying pan and lightly brush with a little of the oil.

Pour about one quarter of the egg mixture into the pan and cook for 1 to 2 minutes over  medium heat until the omelet sets.

Turn the omelet over and cook the other side for 30 seconds.

Remove the omelet from the pan and repeat with the remaining egg mixture.

When the omelets are cold, gently roll them up and cut them into fine strips; set aside.

Chinese Cooking Recipes

Chinese Cooking Recipes - Chinese Style Chicken With Vegetables

By Zane Minninger

Chinese Cooking Recipes 

Chinese cooking recipes can be hard to find and this is a recipe that hasn't been publish on-line to my knowledge. It is very simple and requires only a little preparation time.

Ingredients

- 1 pound of uncooked, boneless and skinless chicken breast
- 1 can of sliced water chestnuts
- 1 can of bamboo shoots
- 1 can of baby corn (cut in half)
- 1 cup broccoli florets
- 1/2 cup bean sprouts
- 2 dried red chili peppers (optional for spiciness)

Chicken Marinade

(30 minutes to 8 hours before)
- 2 tablespoons of soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon of teriyaki sauce
- 2 tablespoons of corn starch

Chinese sauce

(can be made just before you start cooking)
- 2 tablespoons of teriyaki sauce
- 2 tablespoons of soy sauce
- 2 teaspoons of brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon of sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon of water
- 1 tablespoon of corn starch

Preparation

Cut the chicken into 3/4 inch cubes and place in a zip-top bag with the chicken marinade for at least 30 minutes.

Place 2 tablespoons of sesame oil into a skillet over medium-high heat. Empty the seeds from the red chili peppers and break them up into the oil (leave them whole if you want to keep them in the meal).

Let the oil warm up until it starts to shimmer and moves easily around the pan. After 1 minute remove the bits of chili peppers. Remove the chicken from the marinade and place in the oiled pan. Stir this constantly to ensure the chicken does not stick to the pan.

Once the chicken and marinade has thickened, add the bamboo shoots and broccoli into the pan. Increase the heat to high and stir every minute or so for 3 to 4 minutes.

After 3 or 4 minutes, put in the water chestnuts and baby corn. Keep stirring every minute or two until everything looks cooked through, another 4 or 5 minutes.

Add the bean sprouts and pour the Chinese sauce over the food and start mixing it with the other ingredients. Take the pan off the heat once everything is coated well.

Serve with rice and this becomes one more recipe in your collection of Chinese cooking recipes.

This serves 4 people and could be stretched with more rice to serve 6.

History

This is one of the Chinese cooking recipes I've known since I was a kid. It was one of the few Chinese cooking recipes in a school funded cookbook and I have never seen anything like it anywhere. I have cooked it through high-school, college and even now for my family. Everyone loves it and says it's one of the best Chinese cooking recipes I have.

Baked Fish Recipe

Baked Fish Recipe
If you can get some large banana leaves to wrap the fish in, do so. They give a subtle and appetizing fragrance and look exotic when the dish is served at the table.

Ingredients

•  1.5 kg	Medium-size snapper or jewfish
•  1	Medium onion, chopped
•  2 cloves	Garlic
•  1 teaspoon	Finely chopped fresh ginger
•  3 tablespoons	Finely chopped fresh coriander leaves
•  1 teaspoon	Salt
•  2 tablespoons	Sambal ulek, optional
•  2 tablespoons	tamarind liquid
•  1 tablespoon	Oil
•  1 tablespoon	Dark soy sauce
•  1 teaspoon	Ground turmeric
	Banana leaves or foil for wrapping

Method

• Wash fish and dry well with paper towel.

• Score the flesh diagonally on each side.

• Put onion, garlic, ginger, tamarind liquid, soy sauce, oil, sambal ulek, salt and turmeric into blender container, cover and blend until smooth.

• Rub blended mixture well into the fish on both sides and put remaining mixture inside body cavity.

• Put fish on 2 or 3 large pieces of banana leaves in a baking dish, sprinkle with chopped coriander leaves and fold banana leaves over to enclose the fish.

• Secure with bamboo skewers.

• Bake in a moderate oven for 35-40 minutes or until fish is cooked.

• Oven temperature should be 170oC-190oC.

• When ready to serve, the flesh will look milky white and flake easily when tested with a fork.

• Replace banana leaves after testing, lift fish on to a serving plate and open banana leaves at the table.

• Serve hot.