After a long confusing about what to cook for Indonesian food night, I finally found this menu. It didn't mean that I don't get ideas for what to cook, but sometimes it's hard to find the ingredients around. Or even how to cook it.

For example for some Asian ingredients, we have to go to the asian market which sometimes it closed when we arrived, or they don't have it, which we have to go to my favourite Asian store at next suburb. 

And it need me to wait my boyfriend to have time. Because I don't have my own car. And wait for his time means wait for him to be free from all of his busy time, which is night time. 

And nowadays, I've got a job as an assistant cook, and I always have weekend schedule. And this time around, is the busiest time. Christmas, and things. And I spent the entire Saturday and Sunday for working. So, yeah, no time at weekend. 

That is why, when we do our weekly shopping, we do it at night. And some of the stores already close. Especially Asian store, seafood store, and butcher.

Like this time menu, I used frozen squid because seafood store already close when we arrive at shopping centre. That is why I bought and use the frozen squid that still available at Coles.

Not a bad thing actually, because I don't have to cut and clean the squid, because it already is. LOL.

There are some differences when you use fresh squid. And all already noted at the recipe below.

Best serve this while it's still hot with warm rice. And if you like, you could add Asian stir fry vegetables, or just this also delicious.

My boyfriend likes it so much. He put this menu one point lower than his favourite Indonesian food of all time, gado-gado.

The most thing that I really miss from Indonesia is the street culinary. Just like this Sate madura.

I remember when I was a kid, and the world problem is only the school homeworks, this culinary is one of my family favorite.

Back in that day, started from afternoon, around 3pm, there will be lots of street food vendors around our home. From them who just opened their food vendor at the front of our housing complex, or mobile.

From bakso, until mie goreng, and of course Sate Madura. They guaranteed you will never be hungry forever.

The bakso mobile vendors will be around 3 pm, then the mie goreng mobile vendor will be around 7-9pm, and 10pm until midnight, was the sate Madura vendor.

The unique of this Sate Madura mobile vendor was the name at its carts. Same name, but with the different number. Mum said it owned by only one person, but he had lots of carts. Talking about small food business, and recruited lots of people.

Since I missed this street food, I decided to make one (of course). Simple ingredients, and easy to make. 

Tips: If you already put the peanut sauce to the chicken skewers, put the leftover sauce at the stove again, and keep it warm with a small fire. And when your chicken is ready to serve, pour it while it still warm.

 

This traditional food is come from Special Region of Yogyakarta. Used to be a whole chicken to be cook. But in this recipe I just use four chicken drumstick. Because it is only my boyfriend and I at home. So it will be waste of food if I cook this recipe with whole chicken.

Anyway, you could just boil the chicken until the water shrink, without grill it. And the taste will be as same as delicious. 

Don't forget to add your favorite Indonesian sambal. In this recipe I used sambal bajak, or pirates sambal. Pardon the name in English, because I couldn't find the right English language for sambal bajak. 

Here you are:

This week Indonesian food is considered as a simple and common food in Indonesia. Chicken grilled. Even it sound simple and common in Indonesia, but when it come to Australia, it is not common. Especially, complete with the authentic sambal, and warm rice. And you eat it with your hand only. 

For Indonesian, eating rice with hand only also common. So, why don't I asked my boyfriend to do the common things too. 

If you read my other recipe, you probably read that he once tried it, and of course he gave up in the middle. This time is also the same. He gave up in the middle. But he is getting better with it.

For your information, if you want to try eating with your hand only, use the right hand. It consider as a polite hand. 

Actually, this should be uploaded last week. But since I am too busy minding the internet connection, so here it is. 

Satay Padang ( Beef Skewers from Padang).

The thing that I just know, my boyfriend thought satay is anything with the peanut sauce in it. While I think satay is anything with skewers.

Because back in Indonesia, you will see lots of Indonesian culinary with peanut sauce. 

Anyway, since it also serve with the rice cake, my boyfriend not really into rice. So, he want to added some thing else. Which I couldn't imagine what. Because this is how satay Padang serve. 

Beside the rice cake, he thinks this is really good Indonesian meal.

Don't you know this culinary also came from the sampe region where Rendang come from?

This is one of the popular dish in Bali. And since I couldn't go to Bali again, like usual, I made it by my self. Complete with the sambal matah and the fried peanut.

And surprisingly my partner is liking the sambal matah and the fried peanut. LOL. Maybe he getting bored with the tomato sambal that I always made. 

I made the recipe into two different ways. You can see that there will be a ground spices. And this ground spices are most likely the things that I used, instead the real one. 

I mean, that's the only things that I have in my pantry, and since we are still on budget, buying bottled or ground spices is way much more cheaper, because I can use it more than if I bought the real one. But if I could, I would to buy the real spice. 

If you are food lover, I invite you to follow my food instagram. There are lots of food making or food that I eat around, and some of them are not at my blog or even YouTube (yet). So feel free to follow my foody instagram @miss_across_the_kitchen

The real recipe is using a whole or half whole chicken, but since in our home is just my partner and I, so I just using a chicken drumstick for two of us. I think you could use any part of the chicken, and of course the whole chicken, if you want. Just remember to coat the inside of the chicken too, after you remove all the things inside the chicken. 

Still struggling with the cold weather this spring. And really need something warm to eat at dinner. So I choose this for Indonesian food week this week.

Even Laksa is popular in Singapore, but don't be surprise if most South East Asian's foods are adopted from Chinese food. And Laksa is one of popular food around Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia.

Of course each region have it own version, and I can make sure, all of them are delicious. 

For this week Laksa, I will choose Indonesian Laksa that originally from Bogor, one of the city at the western Java Island. 

Actually, this Laksa Bogor have its oncom*, as one of the ingredients. But since I couldn't find the oncom here, so I skip this ingredients. And the taste is still delicious.

Back at my college year. I like went to this street food vendor that sold yellow rice for brekky. But since I never had rice for my brekky, and I don't like yellow rice, so I  ordered something else in this street food vendor. 

Well, not trying to be so western back in that day. But I couldn't eat a "normal" breakfast back in Indonesia is because since I was a kid, my mother never made us (my brother and I) a proper Indonesian brekky, or just a toast for breakky. Can't be bothered I guess. 

Anyway,

So the other menu I ordered is this Lontong sayur or Rice cake with vegetables stew with coconut milk. Unlike any other food with coconut milk, this food is so refreshing and the coconut milk is so light. 

Since I couldn't make the rice cake in Indonesian way, I made it with rice cooker. Much more easier to be honest. 

And here you go, the recipe for one of my nostalgic food. 

This week Indonesian food actually I want to make something "simple". Yes, simple as in Indonesian way of cooking meal. Apparently, it is not as simple as it seems. LOL.

Why I want to make a simple Indonesian meal, because I want to show my boyfriend that in Indonesia, this kind of food is something normal in Indonesian waroong (street food vendor). 

I did this because when we are going to Indonesia, we don't have to eat at the expensive restaurant, or not making my mother feeling uneasy because she have to cook something different from the way she use to cook.

Who knows, when we are going to Indonesia, My boyfriend can enjoy eating at the famous Malioboro street food.

Luckily my boyfriend is not a picky eater, he will eat everything that served in front of him. It makes me happy, because he always say my cooking is delicious. Or perhaps maybe he don't want me to feel sad.

This week, I made fried chicken with galangal. I also fried the galangal, and spread with the fried chicken. And I served it with nasi uduk (rice that cook with coconut milk), omelet, fried tempeh and tofu, fresh vegetables and sambel bawang (garlic sambal).

If there are some people who don't know, we have Indonesian food day every week. Which is every Sunday. So, each Sunday (if we don't have any event to attend) I made Indonesian food for my boyfriend and I. 

Each time I made Indonesian food, I make sure that every meal is fit my boyfriend's taste. What I mean is some Indonesian food is really spicy or spicy enough to make your stomach "in war".

Even nowadays my boyfriend's level of endurance for spicy food is getting better, but this week I didn't make something spicy. I made this chicken stew.

Back in my childhood time, this stew is one of my mother's favorite meal to cook. Well, mine to eat too. It rich of flavors and of course, it have my favorite meat all the time, chicken. 

And apparently, it is so easy to make, and the ingredients is not as much as I think. 

Don't you know the word "semur" is actually adapted from Dutch language "Smoor" which mean stew? I just know it, LOL.

Doesn't surprise me that some of Indonesian languages are adapted from Dutch language, because Dutch was part of Indonesian history for 350 years. Yes, you read it 350 years. A long time for a country to stay right. 

So, here it is the recipe:

Actually, this was my second winter in Melbourne. But, somehow, this winter is worse than last year.

Last year, I have fever, but I feel fine. I could do my everyday routine with the fever. No headache nor sneeze.

This second winter, no, I don't have fever, but COLD.

Every morning I woke up with blocked nose. Even one day I had my booger (sorry about that) is blood. Maybe because I wiped my nose too hard. 

Since I don't really like creamy style of soup, I better have ramen or making my own chicken soup or soto. But since I made soto a couple times, I want something different, but still  makes me warm inside. Then I came with this Mie Aceh.

Also read: Recipe: Soto Betawi (Jakarta Traditional Beef Soup)

At first, I thought I wouldn't make any food this Sunday. FYI, every Sunday is Indonesian food day (or Asian food). But since this Sunday is father's day in Australia, my boyfriend's daughter planned to have dinner at our home. So, I keep all the ingredients back at the pantry. 

But then, at 4 pm in Sunday, she said she will not having dinner with us (she planned to arrange the meal), so yeah, I started to put out all the ingredients again. 

And, in Indonesia, the curry powder actually the Aceh special curry powder. But since I can't have any here, so I use the usual curry powder. Luckily the taste is not too curry.

I made a little mistake, that I put the surimi together with the prawn, at the end, we loosing the surimi texture. My suggestion is, if you use the surimi, add it before you add the noodle. 

I use the thin hokkien noodle, which actually that wasn't my plan. My plan is actually the thick hokkien noodle. But I don't know somehow Coles doesn't have it. But doesn't matter, the thin noodle is also fine. 

Here is the recipe:

This week I cooked one of simple culinary from Indonesia, Ayam sisit (Chicken Shredded) and Plecing Bayam (Spinach with tomato sauce). I add the plecing because only chicken shredded I felt is not enough, and I didn't have any vegetables to served.

As far as I know, this plecing is one of the traditional culinary from Lombok Island, near Bali. They used to use kang koong, perhaps you know its as swam cabbage, water kale, etc. When I bought the ingredients, actually I was looking for this kang koong at one of Asian store, Market Place. But unfortunately, this week they didn't have kang koong. That is why I choose spinach. And the wombok / wonbok / chinesse cabbage, is because one day my boyfriend bought this for our sandwich feeling. Apparently, wombok is not fit the sandwich. That is why I add wombok in my plecing. 

The ingredients is easy to find also. And time for cook only around 15 minutes, without recording of course, LOL.

Why I always cook something different every week, it's beside introducing my boyfriend about Indonesian culinary, also he love to eat. LOL.

Like usual, this recipe is for two serves. Happy cooking :)