Indonesian

Rice

White Rice (Jasmine)

Make about 6-8 cups cooked (3-4 cups dried)

Recipes from The Indonesian Kitchen by Copeland Marks with Mintari Soeharjo

Opor Ayam (Braised Chicken in Coconut Milk )

“A Library of Indonesian Flavors” – p62

(serves 6)

1 3-1/2 lb chicken

1 Tb lemon juice

1/4 cup thin-sliced onion

1 clove garlic, sliced thin

1/8 tsp turmeric

1 tsp coriander

1/4 tsp ground cumin

2 kemiri nuts, crushed

1 slice ginger – about 1 tsp

1/4 tsp pepper

2 cups coconut mink

1 TB peanut or corn oil

1 tsp tamarind, dissolved in 1 TB water

1 tsp salt

1 tsp sugar

2 salam leaves

1 piece laos (galangal)

1 piece of jeruk purut, or 1 square inch of lemon peel

Cut the chicken into eight pieces, discard the loose skin and fat and rub the pieces with the lemon juice. Broil for five minutes, turn the pieces over and broil for five minutes more. The chicken will be partially cooked and firm.

In a blender, prepare a smooth sauce of the onion, garlic, turmeric, coriander, cumin, kemiri nuts, ginger, pepper and 1/3 cup of the coconut milk.

Heat the oil in a saucepan or wok, and add the sauce. Fry for two minutes; then add the balance of the coconut milk, the tamarind liquid, salt, sugar, salam, laos and jeruk purut. Add the pieces of precooked chicken, and bring to a boil over medium heat. Cook for five minutes, basting frequently; then continue to cook for twenty minutes more. The liquid will have reduced to a rather thick sauce, and the chicken will be tender but still firm.

Gado Gado (Fancy Mixed Salad)

“Preeminent Indonesian Salad” – p188

Serves 4 (with other dishes)

ALL BUT THE SAUCE IS CUT IN HALF FROM ORIGINAL (sauce serves 8 – leave some for leftover)

THE SAUCE (full recipe for 8)

1 slice Kencur (1/8 tsp), soaked in 1 TB water for fifteen minutes (optional)

1 fresh hot red or green chili, sliced

1 garlic, sliced

1 TB light or dark brown sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup Coconut milk

1/4 tsp shrimp (sauce) paste

4 TB smooth or crunchy peanut butter

1 tsp tamarind, dissolved in 1 TB water

1 piece Jeruk purut, or 1 square inch of lemon peel

THE VEGETABLES (1/2 recipe for 4):

1/2 cup string beans, cut into 2-inch pieces

1/2 cup julienne-sliced carrots

1 cup shredded cabbage

1/2 cup fresh bean sprouts

1/2 cup cooked and sliced potatoes

1/2 cup sliced cucumber

THE GARNISH (1/2 recipie for 4):

1/2 Chinese soybean cake, fried in oil until brown and cut into 9 cubes

1/2 ripe tomato, sliced

1 hard-boiled eggs, sliced

1 1/2 TB crispy fried onions (see below)

CRISPY FRIED ONIONS (make in advance, also make potatos):

1 cup thin-sliced small onions

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup peanut or corn oil

Sprinkle onions with salt, mix well and let stand five minutes. Turn out the onions on paper or cloth towel and squeeze the liquid out gently. Heat the oil in a wok over medium/low flame, and fry onions for five to seven minutes, stirring frequently so they will brown slowly and evenly. When light brown, remove quickly and drain for 15 minutes on paper towels. The onions will become crispy and darken somewhat. Store at room temperature in jar with tight cover or keep in freezer. Makes 1/2 cup

THE REST:

Crush the kencur, chili and garlic in a mortar. Add the paste to a blender along with the sugar, salt, coconut milk, shrimp paste, peanut butter and tamarind liquid. Blend into a sauce.

Cook the sauce with the jeruk purut over medium/low heat for about ten minutes, or until it has thickened and the color has darkened. Set aside and keep warm.

Blanch the string beans and carrots separately for three minutes to soften them. Rinse under cold water, and drain. Set aside.

Blanch the cabbage and bean sprouts separately for two minutes, drain and set aside.

Arrange the vegies in layers in a large, round serving dish: cabbage on the bottom, topped by a layer of string beans, then carrots, potatoes, cucumber and bean sprouts on top.

Scatter the soybean cubes over the bean sprouts, and decorate the circumference of the serving dish with alternate slices of egg and tomato. Pour the warm peanut sauce over the salad, and sprinkle with the crispy onions. The Gado Gado is eaten at room temperature.

Telor Bumbu Bali (Spiced Eggs)

p233

(serves 5 with other dishes)

5 hard-boiled eggs, peeled

5 TB peanut or corn oil

2 cloves garlic, sliced

1/4 cup sliced onion

1 red sweet pepper, sliced

1 tsp dried red hot chili

1/4 tsp shrimp (sauce) paste

1/2 cup water

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp sugar

1 tsp tamarind, dissolved in 1 TB water

2 tsp sweet soy sauce (Kecap Manis)

1 slice ginger (about 1 tsp)

Fry the eggs in 4 TB of the oil for about 5 minutes, or until brown. Remove from the oil and set aside.

Prepare the Bali sauce by blending the garlic, onion, sweet pepper, hot chili, shrimp paste and water into a fairly smooth paste. Fry the sauce in the remaining 1 TB oil for two minutes then add the salt, sugar, tamarind liquid, sweet soy sauce and ginger. Add the eggs and cook, basting frequently for 5 minutes or more, or until the sauce is quite thick. To serve, cut the eggs in half lengthwise and return ot the sauce.

Pirate’s Paste

(p 243)

(makes about 1 cup)

1 cup dried red hot chili, soaked in 1 cup of water for one hour

2 TB sliced onion

3 cloves garlic, sliced

1 tsp shrimp (sauce) paste

2 tsp salt

1 TB sugar

1 tsp tamarind, dissolved in 1 TB water

2 TB butter

1 salam leaf

Put the chili with its soaking water, the onion, garlic, shrimp paste, salt, sugar and tamarind liquid in a blender, and prepare a coarse paste.

Put the butter in a saucepan, and add the clini past and salam leaf. Cook the mixture over a medium low flame for about ten minutes, or until the liquid has evaporated.

The result is a thick, hot paste that can be refrigerated for some weeks, or in the freezer indefinitely.

Kecap Manis (storebought)

Krupuk (fried dried shrimp chips)

Krupuk

Lots of oil

Fry in hot oil (too hot, and it browned pretty quickly)

Sri Kaya Pisang (Steamed Plantain Custard)

p249

Serves 6

2 Eggs

3 TB Sugar

1 1/2 cups Coconut milk

A pinch of salt

1/2 inch cinnamon stick

2 whole cloves

1 ripe black-skinned plantain

Beat the eggs and sugar together until lemon yellow. Add the coconut milk, salt, cinnamon and cloves. Pour into a heat-proof dish.

Peel the plantain, and cut diagonally into 1/2-inch-thick slices. Distribute the slices in the egg mixture.

Steam in a Chinese-style steamer for thirty minutes. Serve.