Welcome to my Foodie Blog

I'm a beginner cook with a very very supportive husband as my kitchen assistant.
My foodie blog is where I will share my simple and no fuss recipes that my husband and I like and absolutely easy to try... At least we have tried.
I also love taking picture of the food so here it goes... a combination of cooking and photography... Enjoy

Love, Helena Rijoly - Matakupan

Sunday, July 29, 2012

Sanoli - (Almost Forgotten) Maluku Traditional Sagoo Dish


Masak Bareng Yuuk! June-July 2012 Edition of Anything Sagoo...(Makanan Berbahan Dasar Sagu)

It is very challenging. First, coming from Ambon, Sagoo (sagu) is our traditional staple food. Sagoo (sagu) itself embodied the character of Ambonesse / Molluken people. With it's hard, spiky, rugged bark, Sagoo (sagu) is no such beautiful tree to it's cousin, the Coconut tree or palm tree. Yet, from it's leaf, branches to it's bark, Sagoo (sagu) provide means of food and shelter to people.
Sagoo Tree split in half to extracted the flour (photo By Hans Rijoly)


The leaves are woven into Atap (thatched roof) commonly used in traditional houses. It is strong, lightweight and cost you nothing but some had work. The branches are dried and are used to make the wall of your house just as a bamboo will do. We call the dries brances, Gaba-Gaba. For it's very lightweight nature, the dried Sagoo Branches are also use as raft or floating devices for fishing needs. Last, cut open the thick thorny bark and a white substance will appear. These substance will be processed on the spot to get rid of the fibers etc to be use as our staple food. This last product of the sagoo is called Sagu Manta (literally translated as Sagu Manta).
Pure Extract of Sagoo Flour called Sagu Manta (Photo by Hans Rijoly)

From this, dishes like Papeda, Sagu lempeng, Sanoli, Sagu Tumbu, Makaroon, etc etc emerges. -- I will create a separate entry about the making of sagoo.

So It is known to be said that Ambonesse (Maluku People) are like the Sagoo tree. They look tough, slightly unapproachable for their stern character but inside they are as white as the sagoo flour, genuine and straight forward.

Anyway, as time goes by, sagoo no longer hold a staple and everyday place on the dining table. It's place is taken over by rice. So I am grateful for this month's theme... because as the generation raised mainly by rice... I welcome the challenge to explore and Cherish this wonderful inheritance.This dish is made together with my mother-in-law. And as any traditional dish, the measurement are approximation

Ingredient:
- 1 ball of Sagu Manta (the size of your palm), Dissolve in water and let stand until it gather at the bottom of the bowl.
- 1/2 of Coconut - Not the dry one and certainly not the young coconut. It is the kind of coconut that have very light brown skin after you take it out from it's shell. (anyone know how to call this kind of coconut in Indonesia and English).. in Ambon we call it Kelapa Calakate or Kelapa Bagoyang Brat
- 3 to 4 Tbsp Shaved Palm Sugar or any sugar will do
- 1 tsp salt

Direction:
1. Shread/grind the coconut then mix with salt. Set aside

 2. Throw away the water tht float at the top of the sagoo flour. The sagoo flour will have been sedimented at the bottom of the Bowl. Break them with your finger until they resemble grains of sagoo. Set aside

3. Heat a not stick wok. Put in the dessicated coconut first and stir for 2 minutes.

4. Put in the grains of Sagoo Flour and keep on stirring and mixing. - Sagoo will stick very fast and gets hard.

5. Now, add the shaved Palm sugar. Stir and mix until all blends well for about 5 minutes.

6. Sanoli is served

Friday, May 25, 2012

Pumpkin Pie


Alright, April -May theme to Masak Bareng Yuuk events is Pie or Tart. To my dismay and almost heartbreaking on the idea that I might not be able to participate solely because I have no cooking gadgets to make this. (living in a rented room with no kitchen and rely only on my rice cooker. We are still on our surviving mode living heheheh).So I decided to have a go and submit the one I made sometime ago when we were still in UK. I have never post it on my blog so... can we consider this a legit entry... pleaseeeee

So here it is... My entry for MasBar April-May edition of Pie or Tart

This was my first time baking either pie or pumpkin pie. I wasn't sure if it will turned out well. But for the sake of new experience and the use of the abundance of pumpkin in British Autumn, I decided to have a go. it was also in the spirit of helping others as I made this dish to be sold on our Indonesian Dissaster Appeal organized by us, the Indonesian Students in Brighton, UK. That time it was the earthquake in Indonesia (hmmm... lupa baru2 itu dimana ya)... So to my delight, the pumpkin pie turned out great, taste yummy and sold out... Hahahah what more can I asked.

Source: Simply Recipe

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups of pumpkin pulp purée from a sugar pumpkin* or from canned pumpkin purée - I use fresh pumpkin that I steamed and purée in food processor.
1 (12oz). can of evaporated milk
1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/3 cup white sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs plus the yolk of a third egg
2 teaspoons of cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground cardamon
1/2 teaspoon of lemon zest
1 good crust - I use 2 small store bought ready-made crust (lazy huh?!)

DIRECTIONS:
1. To make the pumpkin puree: cut pumpkin to quarters. About the size of half of your palm. Put it on a steamer and steam it for 15 minutes or until soft. Transfer to food processor and blitzed until puréed. Then measured it up to 2 cups that is needed. The leftovers if any can be use to make creamy pumpkin soup. - not: I add a pinch of salt and sugar to it.
2. Preheat oven to 425°F.
3. Mix sugars, salt, and spices, and lemon zest in a large bowl. Beat the eggs and add to the bowl. Stir in the pumpkin purée. Stir in cream. Whisk all together until well incorporated.
4. Pour into pie shell and bake at 425°F for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes reduce the temperature to 350°F. Bake 40-50 minutes, or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean.
5. Meanwhile quick toast some walnut to be scattered on top of the pie.
6. Cool on a wire rack for 2 hours.
7. Serve with dollops of whipped cream And a sprinkle of ground cinnamon

Friday, April 13, 2012

Ayam Bakar // Grilled Chicken


So it was because of long Easter weekend and we are stuck with no where to go and not much exciting things to do an eat in Padang. So we (me, Tania, Simon and our friend Krisna) decided to have barbecue of something. I suggest chicken that is pre-cooked to prevent salmonella poisoning etc... just in case it wasn't cook through. Thus, I got the task for preparing the chicken , Krisna get the grill ready, Simon in charge of making the fire and grilling and Tania in charge for being cute and adorable cheerleader.

The Chicken on our makeshift grill



I kept this note of Grilled Chicken when my friend and I tried it once in Ambon.

You will need 
1 medium chicken cut to 8 pieces

To be grind in a pestle are:
8 onions
5 garlics
1 cm ginger
2 cm galangal
2 tbsp ground coriander
1 tbsp of ground turmeric ( or about 1 cm of fresh turmeric)
6 tbsp of palm sugar

You will also need
2 bay leaves
2 lemongrass, bruised
1 cup of water
3 squirts of sweet soy sauce
4 tbsp tamarind water - soaked the tamarind in warm water then with your hand pinched, crushed and mixed it a bit. Then scoop only the water to be put in your cooking.

How to do it:
1. Clean the chicken from the unwanted bits. I took some of the skin out as well as the excess fat. Put aside.
2. Heat the oil and first put the ground spices, lemongrass and bay leaves. Keep stirring until it is fragrant
3. Put in the chicken and stir a bit so it will mixed well with the spices.
4. Let it cook until the water from the chicken comes out.
5. Add what is left, such as sweet soy sauce and tamarind water and water. Let it simmer on low heat.
6. Turn off the stove and let the chicken soaked in the juice. (you can keep this in a fridge too)
7. Grill over charcoal or a BBQ, turning often while smearing it with the spiced juice from the pan.
8. For us it is best served with steaming hot rice, sambal terasi and salad or just cucumber slices.

Sunday, March 25, 2012

Ayam Rendang




Just because we’re in Padang…
Kebetulan ada Ayam…. Browsing resep… jadilah rendang ayam untuk santap di bumi Padang. 
Belajar mencintai budaya minang dimulai dari rendangnya.
Kebetulan juga kami mau road trip West Sumatra jadi dari pada telat laporan ke event masak bareng... maka ini saya timing saja... 

Entry Masak Bareng Yuuk!!! Edisi Fen-Maret 2012 : Love on a Plate 

 


Bahan:
500 gram Ayam – Saya tahunya pakai Ayam medium 1 ekor
1500 ml santan – Saya pakai 1 kotak Santan Kara diencerkan pakai 1 gelas air
2 Biji asam kandis
1 batang serai , memarkan
1 lembar daun kunyit – saya tidak pakai
2 lembar daun jeruk purut
Garam secukupnya

Bumbu Halus:
1 ons Cabe merah – saya Cuma pakai 2 cabe merah besar
15 butir Bawang merah
6 siung Bawang Putih
5 buah kemiri
2 cm jahe
3 cm lengkuas, memarkan

Cara Membuat:
  1. Potong2 ayam, cuci bersih dan sisihkan
  2. rebus santan dengan bumbu yang dihaluskan, masukan daun kunyit, daun jeruk purut, asam kandis dan garam.
  3. Aduk terus hingga mengental agar santan tidak pecah.
  4. Masukan ayam dan biarkan mendidih hingga keluar minyaknya.
  5. Aduk terus dan dimasak dengan api sedang. Kalau mau dihitamkan, kecilkan apinya.
Sajikan

Saturday, February 18, 2012

Perkedel // Frikadeller // Potato Crocquet



My 17 months old little girl loves Perkedel. She is a very picky eater and just develop her appetite back. So I decided to make this for her. Now, there are 2 things that got me slightly unmotivated. I usually failed to produce a fine perkedel - it always decided to disintegrate and turnd into mushy piles in my wok once they were put in hot oil and that we're still living in a rented room with no kitchen and let alone stove or proper cooking device... except for my mighty rice cooker... and so on ....yada yada yada yada.... I am just making excuses for myself.

Anyway, for the love of Tania and may she ate heartily... I decided to drag my lazy self and start making on perkedel. It turned out brilliantly!!! I ate 1/4th of them all of course... hehehehe....

For the picture props, I used Tania's small play plate, fork and spoon.

Lesson of the day: Failure only exist if you fail to try and try again... hehehehe

Source: Seri Menu Shari-hari - Yasa Boga

Ingredient:
300 gr of Tess Potato, Peeled
1 Egg yolk
1 tbsp fried onion, grinded
1/4 tsp Ground white pepper
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp Ground Nutmeg
 1 or 2 parsley, finely chopped
1 egg whites, scrambled
1/2 Small can of Corned  beef - or to your liking
Vegetable Oil

 Direction:
1. Fried or Steam the potatoes until soft. Mashed white it is hot
2. add the corned beef, egg yolk, ground fried onion, parsley, salt, pepper, nutmeg.
3. Mix well until it can be shaped
4. Take about 1 tsp or 1 tbsp (depend on how big you want your perkedel) and shape it like a ball then flattened it a little bit
5. Meanwhile heat the oil
6. Dip the shaped potato mix in to the egg white and the fry until golden.

Thursday, February 9, 2012

Tempe Bacem // Sweet Marinated Tempeh


This dish always brings back the sweet memories of my Grandma, Madgalena, whose name I inherited.
This is the third time I made this and all is made with Rice cooker.

Source: Seri Menu Shari-hari - Yasa Boga

Ingredient:
250 Tempe - cut to 5x6 cm cube
2 Bay leaves - I didn't use
1 cm galangal - bruised
500 cc coconut water / plain water
50 cc vegetable oil

To be grind: - use pestle or food processor. - I simple chopped these following ingredients for the non-existance of the above things.
1 tsp coriander
5 Indonesian red onion
2 garlic
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp asam jawa (hmmmm what's the English for this?)
1 tbsp gula merah

Direction:
1. Mix together the water with Bay leaves, galangal, and grinded ingredients
2. Add the Tempe
3. Boil until the water is reduced to half
4. Pour the oil in the wok
5. Fried the Tempe while turning it every once in a while until it's browsing. But not to long and dry.
6. Ready to plate

Fried Rice // Nasi Goreng

There are far too many ways of making Nasi Goreng or Fried Rice. Ranging from the very simple onions, soy sauce, salt and rice to up market ones that adds far too many things such as every meat, sausage, seafood etc that you have in your fridge. Indeed Fried rice is a versatile recipe.

Today’s lunch is something simple easy and making use of an instant Fried Rice Spice that comes in small can. And again this is still on my edition of cooking with Rice Cooker. Simon, my better half, is always try his best to eat a balance meal and not too much meat. So I add a handful of Sawi – Chinesse Mustard Greens or Chinese Cabage (am not really sure what’s the English word for it).

Ingredients:

3 plates (servings) of cooked rice
½ Medium Onion, chopped
4 Garlics – crushed and chopped
1 stalk of Spring onion, sliced
2 handful of shredded Sawi
A cup of Small diced carrot
A small can of Fried rice Spice – I use the Pr**** brand
1 chicken gizzard diced – this is the left over from the chicken liver I used for lil Tania’s food.
3 tbsp of Vegetable oil
3 tbsp of sweet soy sauce

Direction
  1. Heat the oil in a wok (I use rice cooker)
  2. In with the Onion, garlic, sauté until it’s soften
  3. Add the diced carrot and Chicken Gizzard. Let it cook for a while
  4. Add the Sawi and Spring Onion, let them wilt in the wok
  5. Pour in the Fried Rice Spice and sweet soy sauce
  6. Take it off the heat and Put in the rice - I usually take it off the heat to mix to make sure I don’t burn the bottom of it.
  7. Put the wok back in the heat once the spices have been thoroughly mixed with the rice. And stir for 5 minutes.
  8. Ready to plate

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