Do you believe in horoscope? I basically showing this skeptical attitude towards anything that predicts the future, including horoscope. So do I believe in horoscope? no, I despise being told whats going to happen in my future by anyone. Ironically enough tho, I do believe on horoscope when they are telling you about your character. I am a Pisces, and for odd reason, I always feel totally related to whatever the horoscope says about my characters. No matter what internet site or magazine I am reading about what a Pisces person like, I can really see myself on their description. Well of course they are not perfect, like saying Piscesians are lazy, I am sure that is just a misunderstanding based on poor observation. 

This soup is best to be served with rice cake like ketupat. There are many different variation of this recipe from almost each region in Indonesia. Usually each region modifies a bit of the ingredients or the spices but they are all have similar taste. This soup is a classic soup on Eid day. Eid day celebration is not complete without having this dish on the table for dinner with family. 

This traditional Indonesian soup originally from the region of middle Java. Basically, Tongseng is mutton or beef stew dishes in curry-like brownish soup with vegetables and addition of Ketjap manis or Indonesian sweet soy sauce. In Indonesia, the best place to get this soup is from the street vendors. Its guaranteed to be tasty since each vendor has their own secret ingredients and its easy to get. You can find one of these vendors on almost every corner in Java.

I couldn't find mutton in my fridge today so I use beef meat to make this tongseng. I had a pretty bad craving of this soup lately. Usually tongseng is spicy since the spices has to balance out the strong flavor of the mutton. Yummmm... I just love spicy food. For those of you out there that is not such a big fan of spicy food, don't worry, you can adjust the spiciness to your taste without ruining the real taste of tongseng

Lately I got this binge of eating meatballs. It takes a bit of effort in making it, but its totally worth it. The best part is you can freeze them and use it anytime you want. Tonight I made chicken meatballs with shredded nori (seaweed sheet) in a clear japanese soup. 

Okay, this is a non-brainer, fail-proof soup, its very easy its almost embarrassing but then again, who doesn't love easy recipe?? 

This simple Laksa soup is a perfect appetizer (or even the main meal!) on a breezy autumn night. 

I found this interesting recipe on a local library book. It was my first time cooking lobster in Indonesian recipe and it was a big success!! It made a very good appetizer soup. Or even main meal, just add some rice. 

I must admit this soup is the longest-cooking-time soup I ever made, but it was totally worth it! The ribs were so tender and the broth was so tasty. 

Last night I made Chicken Sesame to cook on the stone. It was delicious but it didn't last long enough for me to take picture. However, I have some left over for tonight`s meal. I decided just to grill it on Bbq and made spicy soup Pho style to go with it.

Mie Ajam is one of my favorite street food. Every Mie Ajam street vendor has their `secret`recipe. Thats why you can not compare one Mie Ajam to another. Each one has their own unique taste. The key of a great Mie Ajam is on the chicken sauce. Strangely enough, the best meat to use is not on the chicken meat itself, I prefer to use the neck or heart and gizzard. This time I make mine with chicken heart and gizzard.

Ingredients:

600gr Oxtail

6 cloves garlic, chopped finely

3 Shallots chopped finely or 8 Bawang merah

5 Cloves

1 tsp (5 ml) nutmeg powder

3 cm Cinnamon

2cm peeled ginger, smash

Celery

2 Peeled Carrots and slice

3 Peeled medium potatoes and cut in 6 cubes

4 tbs (60 ml) olive oil 

Salt and pepper to taste

1. Clean the oxtail then boil with cool water in a pan.. Once its boiled , throw away the water then add clean hot water until it's covered , also ginger and boil them again, medium heat.

2. Sauteé the garlic and shallots with oil until its fragrant and colour changed, then add in the pan.

3. Add the nutmeg , Cloves into the pan

4. Let it cooks slowly until the meat soft and tender.. ( it might take hours to cook)
5. Add Carrots and potatoes...
6. Wait until the Vegetables cooked , add Celery...
7. Serve in a bowl , sprinkle with dried shallot.

To freshen up the flavour, you might want to sprinkle some lemon juice when serving. This soup can be served as appetizer (LOL... if this soup is JUST an appetizer, I wonder what should be served as the main menu) or main dish (with a bowl of rice ofcourse). Some Sambal Oelek will give the soup a bit hot kick.

Happy Cooking !!

Ingredients :

600gr Cubed beef (with sligh fat)
400gr Beef Ribs (or any beef bone)

1 Lemon grass stalk
2 Kafir lime leafs
100ml Coconut milk mix with 50ml warm water
6 tbs (90 ml) Olive oil
3 tbs (45 ml) Tamarind paste (you might want to soak the tamarind paste in warm water, press with spoon to remove the pits, then use the water to cook.)

Paste ingredients:
A pinch of Cumin
2 tsp Coriander
Chilli (optional)
8 Kemiri (candlenut)
4 Garlic cloves
7 Bawang merah , or 3 Shallots
2 cm fesh tumeric or 2tbs Turmeric powder
2 cm Ginger


1. Sautée all grinded ingredients until fragrant and the colour become shimmering gold.
2. Put the meat and ribs in, stir until colour changed then pour some water into the pan , make sure the water covers the meat evenly, perhaps you will need 2 or 2,5 lt.
3. Add the Lemongrass, Kafir Lime leaves and Tamarind.
4. Reduce the heat and let it boils. Once it boils, check if your meat is tender enough. Make sure you leave your pan without the lid so the water will evaporate a bit.
5. Pour in the Coconut milk mix and let it boils once again. You might to stir it once in awhile to make sure the coconut milk doesnt get separated from the water.
6. Your soup is ready to serve! Don`t forget to sprinkle fried shallot on top to add some Indonesian flavour to it.



Eat Smakelijk !!

Ingredients for the meatball dough :

500gr Minced beef meat
4 garlic cloves (pasted or finely chopped)
1 tsp white pepper
1 egg
2 tsp salt
4 tbs  tapioca powder
5 gr Baking Powder (optional)
¼ Tsp of nutmeg powder
10 ice cubes  or 150ml ICE water (depends on the elasticity of the dough, you can add some more when it needed)

1. Put all the ingredients into the food processor with chopping blade. turn on the processor on medium speed. (patient is the key!!... don`t try to accelerate the blending process by rising the speed since the faster it is, the hotter it gets inside the processor. This heat will make the dough uneven and we don`t want that).
2. Add in the ice cube, one cube at a time. At this point you have to closely watch your dough, make sure your dough has a nice consistency, not too watery but not to dry as well. Perhaps you will need more then the suggested cubes amount or maybe, you need less. This will determine how chewwy your balls will be.
3. Take the dough out and mix it again with your hand, this way you can get the feeling of the right consistency.

4. Prepare 2 pans of water, one for boiling, one set aside and fill with cold water.

5. Make little balls out of the dough and throw it in the boiling water. I didnt use any mold, I used my hand. Its a bit messy but its worth the hassle. The way I do it is I took a handfull of the dough, and squirt it out from my thumb-index finger opening then I scoop it out with a spoon.
6. The ball float when they are ready. Pick them up and throw them into the cold water pan. This will stop the cooking process.
7. Once they are cold enough, drain and set aside.

Ingredients for the Broth :

A bundle of celery ( about 10 stalks)
3 stalks of  green onion
1 peeled carrot
3 clove buds
½ tsp nutmeg powdered
A pinch of white pepper
A pinch of salt
2 or 3 pieces of beef bone (you can buy this cheaply from your butcher)
2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
1½ liter of water

1. Boil them all together in a big pan.
2. Once its boiled, take out the bones, carrot, cellery and green onion.
3. At this point, you are almost done!
4. Bowl the meatballs and the broth.

Et voila! Your bakso bulat seperti bola pingpong is ready to serve!

PS: We can add boiled noodle too, in my case, I used boiled vermicelli. Sprinkle finely chopped celery or fried shallot, but these are optional. Usually everyone like to add some tastes on their meatballs soup, you can add some Ketjap or even Sriracha or Sambal Oelek to give some kick. If you have some leftover meatballs, you can freeze it and it will be ready to be thrown in at any kind of soup or even spaghetti sauce!

PS: if you want to freeze the leftover meatballs, make sure to drain it and spread it on a flat tray then freeze it. This is to prevent the balls to stick together when it froze. After their properly froze, put it in a container.

Now you must be asking why do we need the ice cubes or ice water for the dough. The reason is because meat proteins are very sensitive to heat, and mixing it with a fast-turning blade can make the cute protein to cook which will make your dough uneven. So to keep this protein relax, we use the the ice cube or ice water to keep the temperature inside your processor cool.

Selamat mencoba!!