Indonesian Food and Recipes

Semur Daging Semur daging means a dish of stewed cow meat (daging = cow). It is easily to prepare and is served with cooked white rice. Necessaries (for 4 persons) : 1 kg cow meat 3 cm ginger carrot 6 cloves of garlic 10 shallots 3 tomatoes 5 spoons kecap manis (sweet soya sauce) 2 spoons maggi 3 cm kayu manis (sweet wood) 4 cloves ½ a teaspoon nutmeg butter white pepper salt sugar 3 cups of water Preparation First cut the meat in small pieces (1x5x7cm). Also cut two cloves of garlic and the ginger and put them together with some salt and pepper to taste. Put these spices in a mortar or a food-processor and mix them until it becomes a paste. Then add the meat and let it stand for about ten minutes. In the mean time cut the rest of the garlic together with the shallots, heat the butter in a large cooking pan and fry the garlic and shallots. Now add the meat, the water and the rest of the verbs. at last cut the tomatoes and also add them. Cook this all on a low fire until the meat is well done. The semur will taste better if you prepare it a day before. Serve the Semur Daging with white rice and a fresh salad of tomatoes and cucumber.

Rendang Like semur daging, rendang is a dish of stewed cow meat only a little bit more spicy which is served with white rice. It is easy to prepair but only cost some time to stew. Necessaries (for 4 persons) : 1 kg cow meat 400 ml coconut milk 10 shallots 5 kemiri nuts (nuts from the candlenut tree) 5 cloves of garlic 1 cm kunjit (turmeric) 1 cm ginger carrot 1 red chilli pepper 1 cm laos carrot 1 stick serai (citronella grass) 5 lemon leaves Preparation Put the shallots, the garlic, the kunjit, the kemiri, the ginger and the red chili pepper in a mortar or a food-processor and mix them until it becomes a paste. For a better taste you can crush the laos carrot and the serai a little bit but do not let them fall apart. Now cut the meat in small pieces and put it in a cooking pan together with the coconut milk. Put the cooking pan on a medium fire and also add the mixture of verbs, the crushed laos and serai, and the lemon leaves. Cook this all until the meat is well done while you stir regular. After the meat is well done close the cooking pan, put the fire low and let it stew for about four hours. Serve the rendang with white rice and a fresh salad of tomatoes and cucumber.

Opor Opor is a typical Javanese dish with chicken. It has a soft taste and is not to spicy. Necessaries (for 4 persons) : 1 Chicken 4 Shallots 3 gloves of garlic 5 kemiri nuts (nuts from the candlenut tree) 1 tea spoon ketumbar (coriander seed) ¼ tea spoon jinten (cumin seed) 2 cm fresh koenjit (turmeric) 1 cm fresh ginger carrot 4 laurel leafs 1 stick serai (citronella grass) 500 ml coconut milk 4 tablespoon baking oil salt and pepper to taste Preparation First cut the chicken into 4 or 6 six pieces.Then put the shallots, garlic, kemiri, ketumbar, jinten and the koenjit in a mortar or a food-processor and mix them until it becomes a paste. Put a wajang or large frying pan on a medium fire, put the baking oil in it and fry the verbs for a few minutes. If the verbs are brown you can add the laurel leafs, serai and the ginger. Then add the chicken with half a liter of water and cook it for about 10 minutes. Now it is time to add the coconut milk and let it all cook for about half an hour. Now the chicken has to be well done. The opor will taste much better if you prepare it a day before but keep it together with gravy.

Ayam Asam Manis Ayam asam manis is a chicken dish prepared in two parts, the chicken and a sweet but hot sauce. It is served with plain white rice. Necessaries (for 4 persons) : For the Chicken; For the sauce; 1 kg chicken fillet 75 gram flour 25 gram maizena (corn flower) 50 cc water white pepper and salt baking oil 100 gram onions 100 gram cleaned shrimps 2 spring onions 2 table spoons chili sauce 2 table spoons tomato sauce or pureé 250 cc water 2 teaspoons sugar 3 table spoons baking oil Preparation The chicken; Cut the chicken fillet into pieces and put salt and white pepper over it. For a better taste it is recommended to let the chicken stand now for about 30 minutes. The flour and the maizena can be mixed now together with the water until it becomes a smooth paste (not to thick). Mix the chicken with this paste of flour so it is well covered. Now heat some baking oil in a wadjang or large frying pan on a medium fire and fry the chicken until it becomes brown and it is well done. Don't put to much chicken in the oil in one time because then it will stick together while the meaning is that you keep the pieces of chicken separated so they get a crispy layer. The sauce; Heat the oil in a wadjang or frying pan and fry the onions. If the onions start to get brown add the shrimps and the spring onions and fry them also a little bit. Now it is time to add the water, the chili sauce and the tomato sauce and let the whole mixture heat up for a few minutes. Before you start your diner with ayam asam manis put the sauce over the chicken and serve it with plain rice. Enjoy your diner.

Pangsit Pangsit is a small crispy Indonesian snack with some meat loaf inside.It is one of the easiest snacks to make. Necessaries : ½ kg meat loaf ½ onion 2 spring onions spring roll pastry salt and pepper to taste white of egg Preparation Cut the onions and spring onions and mix it with the meat loaf. At some salt and pepper to taste. Spring roll pastry can be bought at a local Chinese or Indonesian shop and mostly is packed with 40 thin sheets of 20 at 20 cm or so. Cut those sheets into four pieces of 10 at 10 cm (So one sheet can be used for four pangsit snacks). Now put 1 teaspoon of the mixed meat loaf in the middle of the sheet and roll up this sheet like a thick cigaret. The two empty ends of this roll you fold up and create some kind of bow of it sticking together with a little bit white of egg. To prepare these little snacks just fry it for two minutes in 180°C baking oil. You can keep unfried pangsit in the freezer at -18°C for about one month.

Pisang Goreng Pisang Goreng or Fried Banana is a typical Asian snack which can be served as a snack but also as a side dish. Necessaries : bananas (pisang tanduk or pisang ambon) flour sugar instead of flour and sugar Kobe for fruit water Preparation Mix the flour with the water until it becomes a smooth porridge and then ad some sugar to taste. If you use the Kobe then the sugar is already added. Now peel off the skin from the bananas and cut the bananas into halves. Heat some baking oil in a wajang or baking pan until 180°C. Take a piece of banana and immerse it into the flour porridge. Then fry this banana in the oil for about two minutes.