Fried Duck

Indonesia is rich of tourism places and delicious food. The place and food is a unity, as every place offer its own menu. Here, I want to talk about duck meat not in the restaurant but on the street food stall. It is a guide for backpackers to find a place to eat in Yogyakarta.

Some place offer different way in cooking duck such as fried, roasted as setae or curried. A few days ago, I have the opportunity to taste fried duck at two different places: Bebek cak Koting and Bebek Mbah Wongso. Those two-food stalls are specialized in cooking duck that is called ‘bebek’ in Bahasa Indonesia.

now look at the video how to make it :

A delicious Martabak recipe look at the video

Martabak Recipe Ingredients:

1/2 cup flour
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon yeast
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 cup water
2 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup chocolate
1/4 cup peanuts
1/4 cup sweetened condensed milk

Martabak Recipe Directions:

Combine first 7 ingredients in a bowl.
Adjust water amount to make a slightly runny batter and let sit on the counter for 3 hours.
It will thicken up.
Finely chop the chocolate (good quality works best).
Finely chop the peanuts (salted works best).
Spray a nonstick skillet or griddle and cook the batter pancake style (makes 2), flipping once.
When cooked, butter the top.
Pour generous amount of sweetened condensed milk over top and sprinkle with chocolate and nuts.
Fold in half like a taco.
Cut into strips and serve warm.

How to - Cupcake Decorating

I love this video because you don't need any special piping bags, special sprinkles or special tools. It's all pretty much stuff you have at home. It even inspired me to bake cupcakes with my little sister today! Thanks for this awesome video! :)

Mmmm, why can't we just take it out the screen and eat it? Mmmmm =D

Bakso: Obama's Favorite Soup

President Obama may have carried a message of unity and tolerance during his visit  to Indonesia, but it was his love of meatball soup that got the local headlines.

Indonesian Street Food Staple of Meatballs and Noodles in Broth Brings President Obama Back to His Childhood

"Bakso, nasi goreng ... semuanya enak!" or "Meatball soup, fried rice ... it's all delicious!" Obama said during a state dinner in Jakarta. The president spent several years of his childhood in the country.
In Indonesia, meatballs are called 'bakso' and are usually served in a bowl, like soup, with noodles, beancurds (tofu), egg and siomay. It's a very popular food across the country. You can find it in every region in Indonesia, from street-side vendors, three feet of the cart or two feet of the vendor to nice restaurants.

For Indonesian, bakso can be eaten as a snack or main dish. It's one of my favourite dishes when I was in Indonesia. We don't need to make it at home because a lot of bakso sellers were passing by in front of the house everyday. And here, I had to make it by myself since nobody is selling it. And finally I did it! I’ve managed to satisfy my longing for Bakso.

Category : Soup

Difficulty : Medium

Cooking time : more than 1 hour

Ingredients
To Make meatballs

- 250 gram minced beef

- 35 gram tapioca flour

- 75 gram crushed ice cube

- 2 white eggs

- 3/4 teaspoon baking powder

- 2 tablespoons of fried garlic

- 2 tablespoons fried shallots

- salt and pepper to taste

To make the broth

- 250 gram Beef ribs ( young beef bones are the best to make broth, cooked a day before and store)

- 1/2 teaspoon pepper

- 3 cloves of garlic, crushed and fried

- 1 stalk celery leaf, finely chopped

- 1 stalk onion spring, finely chopped

- Salt to taste

- 750 ml water

Additional Ingredients

- Fried Tofu Meatball (Bakwan Tahu Goreng) but without the peanut sauce, check the recipe here

- Fried meatball (Gorengan Bakso), check the recipe here

- 150 g dried egg noodles, cook and set aside

- Green salad or Bak Choy ( Chinese cabbage or Indonesian : Sawi)

- Fried shallots

- Sweet soy sauce (kecap manis)

- Chilli sauce (sambal)

Directions

1. Mix all ingredients for meatball and grind them in food processor until it's sticky. Then put in fridge for 45 minutes to one hour.

2. Boil some water for cooking the meatball. Scoop with 2 tablespoons and make round ball and drop the meatballs into boiling water. When it's floating, it means it's done. Set aside.

3. Make the broth : boil the beef ribs into 750 ml water, add the salt, pepper and the rest of ingredients. Cook until it's boiling. Then add the meatballs inside.

4. Serve the meatball with cooked egg noodle, green salad, bakwan tahu, gorengan bakso and garnish fried shallots. Add sweet soy sauce and sambal if you like. Then pour with the broth. Eat when it's hot or warm.

Pineapple Sponge Cake

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups cake flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 6 eggs
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups white sugar
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1/2 cup unsweetened pineapple juice
• 2 cups whipped cream
• 1 fresh pineapple, peeled and cored
• 12 maraschino cherries

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
2. Sift the cake flour and baking powder together.
3. Separate the eggs, put the egg yolks into a large bowl and the egg whites into a small bowl. With an electric mixer beat the egg yolks until thick and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Gradually beat in 3/4 cup of the white sugar. Add the lemon juice and pineapple juice. Add the sifted cake flour mixture gradually while continually beating. Beat only until just blended (about 1 1/2 minutes).
4. With an electric mixer beat the egg whites with the salt until moist peaks form (about 1 minute). Gradually beat in 3/4 cup of the white sugar (about 50 seconds).
5. Fold the beaten egg whites into the batter and mix only until blended. Pour batter into an ungreased 10 inch tube pan. With a knife or spatula gently cut through batter going round in a circular motion six times to release any air bubbles.
6. Bake at 325 degrees F (165 degrees C) for about 1 hour or until golden brown and firm to the touch. Invert pan on rack to cool. Once cake is cool loosen sides with a spatula and remove from pan. Frost cake with whipped cream and garnish with wedges of pineapple and maraschino cherries.   

Frog faced cupcakes are fun and easy to make for a child's birthday

Original Recipe Yield 24 cupcakes

Ingredients

    * 1 (18.25 ounce) package white cake mix
    * 1 (16 ounce) can prepared vanilla frosting
    * 6 drops green food coloring, or as needed
    * 1/4 cup green decorator sugar
    * 12 large marshmallows
    * 48 semisweet chocolate chips
    * 1 drop red food coloring

Directions

   1. Bake cupcakes according to the directions on the package. Allow them to cool completely.
   2. Scoop 2/3 of the frosting into a small bowl and mix with green food coloring. Frost the cupcakes. Sprinkle some of the green sugar over the tops.
   3. Cut the marshmallows in half to make two circles. Dip half of each marshmallow piece into water and dip into the green sugar to make the eyelids. The remaining white will be the eyes. Place on the cupcakes. Use a little bit of white icing to glue a chocolate chip into the center of each eye for the pupil.
   4. Mix the remaining frosting with red food coloring to make pink. Use the pink icing to draw smiling mouths and nostrils or even tongues on the frogs.



Other recipies :
Try our simple cup cake recipe. Perfect treats for kids, sweet and easy to make. Party cakes that will be popular. Our cup cakes are the best!

It takes a little bit of planning and strategy to make your kitchen both aesthetically pleasing and functional

When spearheading the design of your own kitchen, start by thinking and incorporating your personality in the design of your soon-to-be renovated kitchen. Do your own measurements the space of the kitchen, measurements of cabinets, height of cabinets appliances, kitchen fixtures even existing floor layout and doors and window fixtures so you have a better idea on the design layout. Then concoct the plans, if possible get help by consulting contractors to shop for fittings and appliances with ease.
If you want to hire an interior designer or kitchen renovator, it’s best to schedule an initial inspection and consultation. To able for the to measure and assess to be able to plan a good design with respect to the existing kitchen layout.

Vibrant and Beautiful, Don't you love the feeling you get when you walk into the produce section of your grocery store? It's so fresh, clean and organized that you just feel healthier shopping there! That's the same ambience you want to achieve in your home kitchen. It takes a little bit of planning and strategy to make your kitchen both aesthetically pleasing and functional. To capture that quality, make sure your kitchen is well-lit, organized and un-cluttered. The only things that you should have displayed are things that will be conducive to a healthy cooking environment!

Neat & Clean It's true what they say- "Cleanliness is next to Godliness".
A reason that people may stray from dining out too often is because they dread the condition of the restaurant's kitchen so take it upon yourself to make your home kitchen as immaculate as possible- so clean that you can eat off the floor (not recommended).Make sure to put extra emphasis of the condition of your refrigerator and that you take a few minutes to go through its contents every other day if not every day. You should have one designated shelf for your uncooked poultry and a specific refrigerator drawer to keep your raw veggies (like broccoli and romaine lettuce) cool and crisp and uncontaminated. Make sure to wipe down your counters, stovetop and cooking area after every use so that you have no chance of being infected with e coli or any other strange bacteria that may be lurking.

Find so many sellers of Pisang Epe around Losari beach, famous beaches in Makassar

Pisang Epe' is one of traditional cake's from South Sulawesi, Indonesia. Bananas was baked before and mixed with sauce made from sugar cane and coconut. In originally, it was only sugar cane and coconut but now mixed with many kinds of others like cheese, durian, chocolate, and many more.

You can wacth a video how to make pisang epe is here

Its main ingredient is the "kepok" banana. If you've been to Makassar you will find so many sellers of Pisang Epe around Losari beach, famous beaches in Makassar. In the afternoon until late at night people started coming to the Losari beach not only to enjoy the wind and the ocean view but also to enjoy the delights Pisang Epe. Here we will give Pisang Epe recipe. Try and enjoy.

Ingredient:
16 ripe "kepok" bananas, peeled skin
Ingredients for sauce:
> 250 grams of brown sugar, thin slices
> 100 ml of water
> 1/4 tsp salt
> 5 ripe durian seeds, seeded
> 1 pc pandan leaves
Put sugar, water and pandan leaves into the pan, cook until boiling. When boiling add salt and durian and cook until thick. Grilled bananas over hot coals, do not forget to turn it over until both sides become baked and fragrance and then press the bananas. Arrange bananas on a plate and pour sauce.
As a variation you can replace the sauce with cheese milk, chocolate or to taste

Kitchen Renovation Design Tips

When spearheading the design of your own kitchen, start by thinking and incorporating your personality in the design of your soon-to-be renovated kitchen. Do your own measurements the space of the kitchen, measurements of cabinets, height of cabinets appliances, kitchen fixtures even existing floor layout and doors and window fixtures so you have a better idea on the design layout. Then concoct the plans, if possible get help by consulting contractors to shop for fittings and appliances with ease.
If you want to hire an interior designer or kitchen renovator, it’s best to schedule an initial inspection and consultation. To able for the to measure and assess to be able to plan a good design with respect to the existing kitchen layout.

The cost of kitchen renovations

One of the most common kitchen renovations is the attempt to create more space within the confines of the kitchen. A streamlined kitchen looks beautiful, especially if carefully accented with some decorative pieces. But it is hard to streamline in a kitchen especially if there are many pots, pans, plates, etc. to contend with.

Creative renovation of the kitchen to increase storage space is the most practical renovation you can do. It is going to dramatically improve the total look of the kitchen, making it more airy and spacious. It will also allow you more room to make decorative additions to the whole area.

The cost of kitchen renovations will begin to increase when there is outside labor involved. Generally, people immediately call for plumbers, electricians or contractors when they need to fix something. Before you do that, research first if you can do the repair yourself. There are a lot of information available in the internet and a lot of supplies in your local home store to meet your needs.

Kitchens are often small in many homes. Opening up a kitchen using good color schemes and flooring that gives the illusion of space goes a long way to take a “ho hum” kitchen into a lively gathering place for the family. Add decorating touches that compliment your kitchen, such as contrasting throw pillows in a breakfast nook. The idea here is to draw the eyes upward in a kitchen, but also to give focus to the kitchen appliances and countertops. Follow simple resources and make your next kitchen remodel a happy one.

Often, floor treatments in a kitchen suffer from either poor color choice or type of material. Choosing the proper flooring can be much easier if you step out of the box of vinyl or tile floorings. Today, one of the most popular flooring materials is bamboo and mesquite. Concrete is also made into fashionable tiles for the kitchen, and all three materials are extremely durable. The overall effect is one of beauty and charm.

One of the hot trends today is towards wood floorings that are both durable and eco-friendly. Bamboo is such a product, but other materials work well also. Consider long plank flooring in your next kitchen remodel. Another choice, especially noted for durability, is cork. Cork is especially popular in Europe, but has been around for a very long time in the United States. It is comfortable to walk on, and is easy to care for.

Long plank flooring is especially sought after. It comes in a variety of woods, can be laid easily and such amenities as “hand scraping” to give the planks an aged look are available.

Laminates are popular in the kitchen, with a large variety of styles available. They are durable and easy to clean, and there are a great deal of choices available today to fit any kitchen décor.

Indonesian Cuisine "Petai"

          Petai (Parkia speciosa) contains three natural sugars - sucrose, fructose and glucose. Combined with fiber, petai gives an instant, sustained and substantial boost of energy. Research has proved that just two servings of petai provide enough energy for a strenuous 90-minute workout. No wonder petai is the number one fruit with the world's leading athletes. But energy isn't the only way petai can help us keep fit. It can also help overcome or prevent a substantial number of illnesses and conditions, making it a must to add to our daily diet.

Here are some petai special qualities to our health:

PMS ( premenstrual syndrome ):
Forget the pills - eat petai. The vitamin B6 it contains regulates blood glucose levels, which can affect your mood.

Depression:
According to a recent survey undertaken by MIND among people suffering from depression, many felt much better after eating petai. This is because petai contain tryptophan, a type of protein that the body converts into serotonin, known to make you relax, improve your mood and generally make you feel happier.

Blood Pressure:
This unique tropical fruit is extremely high in potassium yet low in salt, making it perfect to beat blood pressure. So much so, the US Food and Drug Administration has just allowed the petai industry to make official claims for the fruit's ability to reduce the risk of blood pressure and stroke.

Anaemia (lack of blood) :
High in iron, petai can stimulate the production of haemoglobin in the blood and so helps in cases of anaemia.

Brain Power :
200 students at a Twickenham (Middlesex) school were helped through their exams this year by eating petai at breakfast, break, and lunch in a bid to boost their brain power. Research has shown that the potassium-packed fruit can assist learning by making pupils more alert.

Heartburn:
Petai has a natural antacid effect in the body, so if you suffer from heartburn, try eating petai for soothing relief.

Constipation:
High in fiber, including petai in the diet can help restore normal bowel action, helping to overcome the problem without resorting to laxatives.

Hangovers:
One of the quickest ways of curing a hangover is to make a petai milkshake, sweetened with honey. The petai calms the stomach and, with the help of the honey, builds up depleted blood sugar levels, while the milk soothes and re-hydrates your system.

Morning Sickness :
Snacking on petai between meals helps to keep blood sugar levels up and avoid morning sickness.

Mosquito bites :
Before reaching for the insect bite cream, try rubbing the affected area with the inside of the petai skin. Many people find it amazingly successful at reducing swelling and irritation.

Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) :
Petai can help SAD sufferers because they contain the natural mood enhancer, tryptophan.

Nerves:
Petai is high in B vitamins that help calm the nervous system.

Ulcers:
Petai is used as the dietary food against intestinal disorders because of its soft texture and smoothness. It is the only raw fruit that can be eaten without distress in over-chronicler cases. It also neutralizes over-acidity and reduces irritation by coating the lining of the stomach.

Temperature control :
Many other cultures see petai as a 'cooling' fruit that can lower both the physical and emotional temperature of expectant mothers. In Holland, for example, pregnant women eat petai to ensure their baby is born with a cool temperature.

Overweight (obesity) :
Studies at the Institute in Austria found pressure at work leads to gorging on comfort food like chocolate and crisps. Looking at 5,000 hospital patients, researchers found the most obese were more likely to be in high-pressure jobs. The report concluded that, to avoid panic-induced food cravings, we need to control our blood sugar levels by snacking on high carbohydrate foods every two hours to keep levels steady.

Stress:
Potassium is a vital mineral, which helps normalize the heartbeat, sends oxygen to the brain and regulates your body's water balance. When we are stressed, our metabolic rate rises, thereby reducing our potassium levels. These can be rebalanced with the help of a high-potassium petai snack.

Strokes:
According to research in 'The New England Journal of Medicine, ' eating petai as part of a regular diet can cut the risk of death by strokes by as much as 40%'.

Warts:
Those keen on natural alternatives swear that if you want to kill off a wart, take a piece of petai and place it on the wart. Carefully hold the petai in place with a plaster or surgical tape!

Smoking:
Petai can also help people trying to give up smoking. The B6, B12 they contain, as well as the potassium and magnesium found in them, help the body recover from the effects of nicotine withdrawal.

So, as you can see, petai really is a natural remedy for many ills. When you compare it to an apple, it has four times the protein, twice the carbohydrates, three times the phosphorus, five times the vitamin A and iron, and twice the other vitamins and minerals. It is also rich in potassium and is one of the best value foods around. So maybe its time to change that well-known phrase so that we say, 'A Petai a day keeps the doctor away'. So have lets have a petai for today's dinner. Bye. :)

Indonesian Cuisine "Tempe"

             Tempeh, or tempe in Javanese, is an inovative creation food of Javanese people that made by a natural culturing and controlled fermentation process that binds soybeans into a cake form. It is especially popular on the island of Java, where it is a staple source of protein. Like tofu, tempe is made from soybeans, but tempe is a whole soybean product with different nutritional characteristics and textural qualities.

              Tempe's fermentation process and its retention of the whole bean give it a higher content of protein, dietary fibre and vitamins. Tempe is very nutritive and contains many health ingredients. It has many health benefits such as strengthen bones, help to ease menopause symptoms, reduce risk of coronary hearth disease and some cancers. Soya has actually been shown to contain nutrients that have a positive effect on both cholesterol and the potential cancer creating toxins in our bodies. Tempe maintains all the fibre of the beans and gains some digestive benefits from the enzymes created duringthe fermentation process.

Because of its nutritional value, tempe is used worldwide in vegetarian cuisine; some consider it to be a meat analogue. Even long before Westerners found and realized its rich nutritional value, tempe was referred to as “Javanese meat.”

The problem if you live abroad like me is the lack of people selling it. And the only way to have Tempe in your dining table is by making it by yourself.

Making tempe is easy, but there are some issues that could make your effort failure, especially if you live in 4 seasons country. The basic problems are such as the unstable temperature, cleanness, wrong measurement of tempe starter (ragi tempe).Fortunately after few times trial and error, now I always success make Tempe.

Here I explain step by step how to make tempe from 100% soy.

IMPORTANT NOTE:

The three important parameters in making Tempeare:

1. moist or water content
2. Tempe starter (ragi tempe) or inoculum Tempe
3. Incubating temperatures

The moist or water content of substrate

Practically all seeds such as rice, beans, peas, oat, and others can be made Tempe. Each gives a different taste. Each takes a different period of time in boiling to get ready for inoculation. Soybeans, the main and most common stuff for Tempe takes 45 to 60 minutes, but most peas take fifteen to twenty minutes. After dehulling, soybeans need five to ten minutes of second boiling before being drained and spread drying on towels. Additional nuking and blowing are sometimes necessary. The difficult task is to gauge the dryness of the substrate. Too dry means slow or no growth of mycelium; too wet, however, results inmyceliolysis and rotting Tempe. Fortunately, the margin of safety is wide enough.

Tempe starter (ragi tempe) or Inoculum Tempe

Using too much and insufficient amount of starter result in myceliolysis or rotting Tempe. The safest way is just following the recommendation of the makers of the starter. Using home made starter needs lots patience in trial and error.

Incubating temperatures

For the first ten hours, incubating at 31 to 33 C or 88 to 91 F is safe. For the next six hours, temperatures around 28 C or 82 F are good. As soon as the substrate starts generating its own heat (the temperature inside the incubator begins to rise) or some condensation starts, the heating source should be removed. Rhizopus keeps on growing at temperatures below 20 C or 64 F, but it grows at slower pace.  Generally, Tempe matures in 24 to 30 hours.

The speed of fermentation is determined by incubation temperature. Incubation temperatures above 40 degrees C and above 25 degrees C will not produce good Tempe. A temperature of 37 - 38 degrees C will produce Tempe within 22h; a temperature of 28-30 degrees C will take up to 48 h to produce Tempe.

Indonesian cuisine "onde onde kelapa", "klepon"

Onde onde is typical Indonesian cakes, sweet taste.
how do I make it?
Let's how to make it


Makes 30 rice balls.





Ingredients:

* 1½ cups glutinous powder
* ¾ cup lukewarm water
* 2-3 drops green food coloring
* 8 tsp. grated Java dark brown sugar
* 1 cup fresh-grated coconut, mixed with ½ tsp. salt

Instructions:

* Mix the rice powder with the lukewarm water and green food coloring into a firm but flexible dough.
* Pull off one full teaspoon of the dough and shape it into a ball with approximately 1-inch in diameter.
* Push a finger into the center of the ball to make a hole, and put in approximately ½ tsp. of the grated sugar.
   Seal, and roll it back into the ball shape with the palms of your hands. Prepare all the balls and set them
   aside.
* Prepare a pot half filled with water and bring it to a boil.
* Drop the balls into the boiling water. Remove the balls with a spoon once they float to the water surface
   and then roll the balls in the grated coconut.
* Serve at room temperature.

Indonesian cuisine "onde onde"

           Onde-onde is a kind of snack cakes a popular market in Indonesia. This cake is very popular in the area known as the city of Mojokerto onde-onde from Majapahit era. Onde-onde can be found in traditional markets and sold on street vendors. Onde-onde is also popular, especially in Chinatown in both Indonesia and abroad.

         Onde-onde is made from wheat flour or glutinous rice flour-fried or boiled and its surface is paved / dibalur with sesame seeds. There are a variety of variations, the best known are the onde-onde made of glutinous rice flour in it filled pasta and green beans. Another variation is only made from wheat flour and is color-coded on the surface like a white, red, or green, known as wheat onde-onde, onde-onde, which is typical of the town of Mojokerto.