Jukut Urab (Mixed Vegetables with Grated Coconut)

JUKUT URAB
(Mixed Vegetables with Grated Coconut)


Although mixed vegetables are used in this version of Urab, it is possible to make it with just one of the vegetables list: like spinach only or cabbage only.

Vegetables:
50 g chopped cabbage, blanched
50 g spinach, blanched
50 g long beans or French beans, cut in 1.5 cm in pieces, blanched
50 g bean sprouts, blanched
1/2 tbsp crispy fried garlic
1 tbsp crispy fried shallot
1 tbsp freshly grated coconut or dried coconut (soak in the 2 tbsp of hot water)
lime juice

Dressing:
1 Large red finger-length chilli, de-seeded  and sliced
1 tbsp crispy fried shallot
1/2 tbsp crispy fried garlic
2 bird's eye chillies, sliced
1 tsp shrimp paste
2 kaffir lime leaves
2 cm kencur root (if you can not find it, you can skip)
1 tbsp vegetable oil
pinch of salt
pinch of black pepper
pinch of sugar


Method:
Mix all the vegetables, grated coconut, crispy shallots and garlic in a salad bowl and mix well.
To make the dressing, heat the oil and fry all the ingredients for the dressing (except the coconut, crispy shallots and garlic) just for 30 seconds until the shrimp paste has dissolved. Switch off the heat and put in the small bowl. Mix the dressing thoroughly with the vegetables, season with salt, pepper and lime juice. Garnish with the crispy shallot and garlic.

Happy cooking!

Cram Cam (Clear Chicken Soup with Balinese Spices)

This dish is very nice combined with Jukut Urab (mixed vegetables with grated coconut: recipe following) and rice porridge and condiments like fried peanut with skin on or fried soya bean and sambal. Usually they will sell this dish at a small stall at the traditional market or village neighborhood.

First Ingredients:
(Spice Paste for Chicken soup)
7 shallots, peeled
13 cloves garlic, peeled
1 cm kencur root (Kaempferia Galanga), peeled and chopped
2 cm galangal (laos), peeled and chopped
5 candlenuts or you can replace with macadamia nuts
6 cm turmeric root, peeled and chopped or 3 teaspoon turmeric powder
2 tbsp shaved palm sugar or dark brown sugar
2 tbsp oil
1 stalks lemongrass, tender inner part of bottom third only, bruised
1 salam leaf or bay leaf
5 bird's-eye chillies or so (depend how spicy do you want)

Put the shallots, garlic, kencur, galangal, candlenuts, turmeric, chillies, and palm sugar into the food processor and grind coarsely. Heat the oil to a medium heat and fry all the ingredients until very hot, stirring frequently until the paste changes to a golden color. Set a side.

Second Ingredients:
2 cups (500ml) chicken stock
spice paste for chicken
pinch of salt
pinch of crushed black peppercorns
1 salam leaf or bay leaf
1 stalks lemongrass, tender inner part of bottom third only, bruised
200 g minced chicken
1 tbsp crispy fried shallots for garish
1 tbsp of chopped celery leaf or parsley for garnish

Method:
Bring the chicken stock to a boil in a medium saucepan or stockpot. Wrap the spice paste and black peppercorn into a piece of cotton cloth and tie it with a string. Add the spice paste bundle, the salam leaf, and lemongrass to the soup and let it simmer for 10 minutes (if you don't have cotton cloth you can just add the spice paste to the chicken stock shimmer for 15 minutes and sift it) after that put it again the clear soup on the stove, add the minced chicken and shimmer for 15 minutes more. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Garnish with crispy fried shallot and celery leaf.

Bon Appétit!

Penne in Almond Sauce

I like all of Giada De Laurentiis' recipes. And now I want to post one of her easy and simple recipes to make Penne in Almond Sauce. It's so tasty!


Ingredients
1 pound penne pasta, 2 cups (9 ounces) slivered almonds, 2 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken stock, 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil, 3 cloves of garlic (peeled and smashed), 2 grilled chicken breasts (skinned and boned), 1 cup frozen petite peas (can be replaced with French Beans cut it into small pieces), 3/4 cup heavy cream, 1 large lemon (zested; I used 1 table spoon of lemon juice too), 2 cups grated Parmesan cheese, 1/2 cup chopped fresh basil leaves, pinch of salt and pepper. 

Method
1. Season the chicken with salt and pepper and grill on a grill pan. After it is cooked, cut into 1/2-inch cubes (about 2 cups). Set a side.

2. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over a high heat. Add the pasta and cook until tender but still firm to the bite (al dente), stirring occasionally, for about 8 to 10 minutes. Drain and reserve about 1 cup of the pasta water.

3. In a blender, combine the almonds, chicken stock, olive oil, and garlic. Blend until the mixture is smooth. Pour the mixture into a large skillet and turn the heat on to medium. Bring the mixture to a boil and cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens, for about 3 to 4 minutes. Add the chicken, peas, cream and lemon zest. Cook, stirring frequently until the chicken is heated through, for about 4 minutes (mixture will be thick). Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

4. Put the cooked pasta into a serving bowl and add 1/2 cup of the Parmesan cheese. Toss together until the pasta is coated. Add the chicken mixture, the remaining cheese, and the basil. Toss the ingredients together, adding the reserved pasta water, as needed, to loosen the sauce. Season with salt and pepper, to taste, and serve.

Enjoy your cooking!
Geniet van het koken!

Poffertjes: Tiny Cheese Pancakes with Herb Butter

Hi, I'm back! For almost one year I did not post a new recipe on my blog. I just recovered from my illness and now I feel so great to share my recipes to you once again.

Poffertjes is the name of mini pancakes in Dutch. I made these Poffertjes with cheese and herb butter instead the regular sweet Poffertjes. These pancakes are really good as a snack in the afternoon with a cup of tea. A bit more of a hearty then a sweet snack, that is my husband's opinion :-).

Poffertjes: Tiny Cheese Pancakes with Herb Butter

The ingredients:

400 ml milk
1/2 tsp dried yeast
200 g all purpose flour
100 g buckwheat flour (can be replaced by full wheat flower)
pinch of salt
1 egg
100 g grated mature Gouda cheese or another full-flavoured cheese
freshly ground pepper
40g melted butter


For the herb butter:
125 g softened butter
1 tbs lemon juice
1 tsp finely chopped parsley
1 tsp finely chopped chives
1 tsp finely chopped chervil


Method:
1. Heat the milk until lukewarm. Crumble or sprinkle the yeast into a small bowl, add a splash of milk and mix until smooth. In a big bowl, beat the flour, buckwheat flour, salt, yeast mixture, egg and the remaining warm milk with a whisk into a smooth batter. Whisk to remove any lumps. Cover and leave to rise for 1 hour in a warm place.


2. While waiting for the batter to rise, you can prepare the herb butter. Combine the butter, lemon juice, and finely chopped herbs in a bowl. Set aside. In my experience, I only put chopped parsley instead of chives and chervil; the tasted will still be very good.


3. Stir the grated cheese and pepper into the batter. Lightly grease the Poffertjes pan (I used a Mud Cake pan because I don't have a Poffertjes pan) and fill the depressions about half full with the batter. Quickly cook the tiny pancakes. Turn them when golden and almost dry on top and cook the other side.


4. Serve with a knob of herb butter. 


Courtesy of: Dutch Cooking Today 
(Thank you to Inge Zentgraaff for giving me this recipe book!) 

For someone who doesn't have this book and want to cook poffertjes with a different taste instead then sweet Poffertjes I share this recipe.


Selamat Makan!
Eet smakelijk

Balinese Spiced Chicken Red Sauce

Sometimes my husband wants to eat spicy food, accompanied with steamed rice (and a glass of red wine), but not too crazily spicy. So then I cook food from my beloved island: Bali. The recipe is called: Balinese spiced chicken with red sauce.

Here we are:

Ingredients:

2 big chicken breasts, cut it into 12 pieces (us Asians, we like if the bone is still in the meat; more tasty)

1 cm lengkuas (galangal or laos), smashed

1 bay leaf

2 kaffir lime leaves

2 tomatoes, each cut into 8 pieces

2 tbsp of sweet soy sauce

1/4 cup of home made chicken stock (or you can use canned chicken stock or water)

Ingredients for the red sauce:

7 big red chillies

2 small red chillies (you can add more if you like spicy food)

5 pieces of shallot

4 cloves of garlic

2cm ginger

4 pieces of candle nuts

1/2 tsp shrimp paste (tastes better if you fry this without oil in the pan)

Method:

1. Season the chicken with salt (1 teaspoon), let it sit for 10 minutes.

2. In the food processor bowl, combine all the ingredients of the red sauce, and blend it until smooth.

3. In a medium-sized pan, heat the oil over a medium-high heat. Fry the chicken until half done, take it out. Set aside.

4. In the same pan, take all the oil out except for around 2 table spoons, stir the red sauce until fragrant, add the galangal, bay leaves, kaffir lime leaves, stock, and the chicken. Stir all together and cover it and leave it to simmer for around 5 minutes on a medium heat.

5. After 5 minutes, add the tomatoes and sweet soy sauce, stir it occasionally and leave it to simmer for another 10 minutes on a medium heat, or until the chicken is tender.

Selamat makan!

Eet smakelijk!

Chicken Kebab with Couscous Salad.

I like to serve this kebab for my husband. The chicken is so juicy and tender. In Asia this dish is called satay with sauce by its side. You can add the capsicum, cherry tomato, shallot in the skewer together with the chicken to make the dish more healthy.

Ingredients for The Chicken Kebabs:

1 tbsp of lemon juice

2 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil

1 small shallot, minced

1/2 clove garlic, minced

1 tbsp of chopped fresh thyme leaves

1/2 tbsp lemon zest

Salt

Freshly ground black pepper

2 large boneless, skinless, chicken breasts.

Method

1. In a medium nonreactive bowl, whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice, shallot, thyme, garlic, lemon zest, salt, and pepper.

2. Using a fork, pierce each chicken breast all over several times to help the marinade penetrate. Cut each chicken breast into the size that you like and also depending on how long and big the skewer is (equally sized). Put the chicken to the marinade mixture and covered with the plastic. Put the chicken mixture in the refrigerator for about 1 hour.

3. Pre-heat the grill. Meanwhile, thread the chicken chunks onto skewers including the vegetables that I mentioned above.

4. Grill the kebabs until the chicken is nicely brown and cooked through for around 6-7 minutes.

Ingredients for the Couscous Salad:

1 cup home made chicken broth

5 ounces dry instant couscous

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp freshly ground cinnamon

4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 tbsp lemon juice

1 small red onion, chopped

1 small Japanese cucumber, peeled, seeded, and cut into small dices

1/2 red bell pepper or capsicum, seeded, stemmed and cut into small dices

1/4 chopped cilantro leaves

some green onions, trimmed and finely chopped.

In a saucepan, bring the chicken broth to a boil.

Put the couscous in the bowl and stir in the salt and cinnamon. Pour the boiling broth into the couscous, stir briefly, cover the bowl and leave it at room temperature for 5 minutes. Uncover the bowl and, with a table fork, fluff the couscous to separate its grains. Leave it to cool completely to room temperature.

In another large bowl, stir together the olive oil, lemon juice, red onion, cucumber, bell pepper, and green onion. Add the cooled couscous and toss until thoroughly mixed. Stir in the cilantro leaves. Adjust the seasoning to taste with more salt and pepper.

Notes:

1. You can put all kind nuts and vegetables in the couscous.

2. If you use bamboo or wooden skewers, be sure to soak them in water for at least 30 minutes before threading on the food, so the skewers will be less likely to burn on the grill.

Enjoy your cooking!

Geniet van het koken!

Crusted Chicken Breast with Sundried Tomato Pasta.

I tried a new recipe from another chef and changed some ingredients because sometimes we don't have the ingredients available in our store or in our fridge and one can be lazy to go out, so I just used what I have and matched it as close as I could. Here we are: Crusted Chicken Breast with Sun-dried Tomato Pasta.

Crusted Chicken Breast:

2 chicken breasts

50 gram of flour (enough to use for dusting the chicken)

1 egg (put 1 tbsp of water and mix it)

20 gr of pine nuts (you can replace it with sunflower seeds)

20 gr of almonds

20 gr of cashew nuts ( I replaced it with hazeluts)

1 tbs of oregano

Salt

Pepper

Sun-dried Tomato Pasta:

50 gr linguini

1 mid-sized onion (chopped)

4 cloves of garlic (sliced)

50 gr of sun-dried tomato (blended)

5 pieces of cherry tomato (cut in halves lengthwise)

4 tbsp of olive oil

Salt

Pepper

Method for Crusted Chicken Breasts:

1. Mix all the nuts and lightly blend or chop them together. Set a side.

2. Season the chicken with salt, pepper, and oregano, dust with flour, dip in the egg and then dip the chicken in the mixture of nuts and cover it with plastic and put it in the chiller.

3. While you put it in the chiller, pre-heat the oven at 180C and arrange an oven rack in the center of the oven.

4. After 10 minutes or so, take out the chicken and place it inside the oven bake for about 20 minutes until the chicken cooked.

Method for Sun-dried Tomato Pasta:

1. Boil water, add some salt and oil, when the water is boiling, add the linguini pasta and cook for about 8-10minutes, stirring occasionally. Drain the pasta and transfer to the bowl.

2. Heat oil in the pan, fry the onion and garlic until golden brown, then add the sun-dried tomato blend.

3. Then add the cherry tomatoes, salt, pepper, and cooked linguini pasta and stir for a few seconds.

4. Put the pasta on the plate and place the crusted chicken breasts by its side.

Note: you can add to this dish some vegetables like asparagus and broccoli.

Enjoy your cooking!

Geniet van het koken!