Aceh Noodle

Living far from my hometown sometimes makes me miss its traditional dish. In Indonesia, I come from Aceh (The westernmost point of Indonesia). One of the popular Aceh culinary is Aceh noodle. There are lots of restaurants in Jakarta serving this dish.

I knew that the ingredients to make Aceh noodle are a lot, but I gave it a shot. I went to the Asian Market on Drury street, and found all the main ingredients. Yay! The method was apparently not as complicated as I had imagined, trust me. And how did it turn out? Let's just say, I was thrilled! hehe.. ^_^

Ingredients:

• 200-250 gr egg noodle. It's actually not the right noodle, but it still worked. ;) Alternatively, you can use the fresh noodle sold at Tesco.
• 250 gr beef slices, chopped again in small pieces.
• 1 L beef broth (I'll explain below how to make beef broth by using 2 beef stock pots)
• 1 tomato, chopped in dices
• 1/2 onion
• 3 garlic cloves
• chili. The number of chilies you want to use depends on your preference. For your information, Aceh noodle is famous for its extreme spicy flavor. However, I just use 2 chilies in this recipe. I know I'm not like typical Acehnese (or people from Sumatra Island in general). I prefer mild spicy food. :D
• 2 cm ginger
• 4 candlenuts
• 1 tsp turmeric powder
• 1 tsp coriander powder
• 1/2 tsp cumin powder
• 1/2 tsp pepper powder
• 1 tsp cardamom powder
• beansprouts
• cabbage, minced
• 2 onion springs, minced
• 2-3 tbsp vegetable oil

Method:

1. Make beef broth first: boil 1 L of water (I always put a little bit more, just my habit :P) with 2 beef stock pots. Done, set aside.
2. Put onion, garlic, chilies, ginger, candlenuts, turmeric, coriander, cumin, and cardamom into a food processor with a little bit of water, blend them well.
3. Heat the vegetable oil, add the blended seasoning, stir until it smells good (around 1-2 minutes).
4. Add the beef, stir and cook until its color changes (around 5 minutes).
5. Add the tomato, and then the beef broth.
6. Stir well, turn down the heat to medium, cook until the water slightly reduces.
7. Add the spring onions.
8. Season with pepper, stir well. Keep cooking until the gravy becomes thicker. Don't be too thick, make it to around 70 mL (OK, that's too precise! Use your instinct! :P).
9. Remove from the heat, and the gravy is done. :)

How to serve:

1. Cook the egg noodle in boiling water for around 3 minutes, together with the cabbage.
2. Soak the beansprouts in hot water, set aside.
3. Strain the noodle and the cabbage, and also the beansprouts, set aside.
4. Into the same pan, put some of the gravy we just made, stir for a sec, and then add the noodle, cabbage, and beansprouts that are already boiled (or soaked), stir well for about a minute.
5. Remove from the heat and serve immediately, garnished with fried shallot and emping, if you like. ps: Emping is a cracker made of melinjo. You might not know what melinjo is, but don't worry, I still remember its Latin name. :P It's Gnetum gnemon. :D It's common in Indonesian dish, but don't eat it too much because it can cause artritis gout.

ps:  If it's not salty enough for you, just add some salt to suit your taste.

Enjoy! :9

The Indonesian version: http://dapurdara.blogspot.com/2012/01/mie-aceh.html.

Mixed Vegetables (Urap)

It's one of my Mom's favorite dish. In Indonesian, it's called Urap. Basically it's a mix of vegetables steamed with grated coconut. Besides healthy, it's also easy to make. :)

Ingredients:

• Vegetables: trimmed beans, bean sprouts, spinach, etc depends on your preference
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1/4 onion
• 2 chilies (none if you don't like spicy food)
• shrimp paste
• 2-3 lime leaves
• 4-5 tbsp dry grated coconut
• 2-3 tbsp vegetable oil
• salt

Method:

1. Put garlic, chili, shrimp paste, lime leaves, and onion into a food processor. Blend them with a little bit of water.
2. Heat the vegetable oil, and then add the blended seasoning, stir until it smells good.
3. Remove from the heat.
4. Add the dry grated coconut, stir well.
5. Steam the seasoned grated coconut for an hour (it will be less for fresh grated coconut). ps: Don't forget to check the level of water for the steaming! Once I had an accident that the water ran out, and I burnt the pan.. LOL. :P
6. While waiting for the grated coconut, boil all the vegetables with salted water. Not all vegetables are necessary to boil. For example, bean sprouts are soaked in hot water for several minutes, no need to boil them.
7. Once the steaming of the grated coconut is done, mix with the vegetables, stir well.
8. Urap is ready to serve with steamed rice. :9

Enjoy! :) 

The Indonesian version: http://dapurdara.blogspot.com/2012/01/urap.html.

Beef Soup

This recipe is easy and fits to enjoy during the cold weather, like the weather in Dublin that is cold most of the time. Without further due, check out the recipe below. :)

~ The picture on the right shows the soup served with steamed rice and an egg. :)

Ingredients:

• 300 gr beef, chopped in small dices
• Vegetables:
  • carrots
  • potatoes
  • broccoli
  • etc, up to your preference
  All of the vegetables are chopped in small pieces or whatever form you like.. :D
  
• 1/4 onion, minced
• 3-4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tsp nutmeg powder
• 2 cm ginger, chopped
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• salt and sugar
• 1 lime or lemon
• 1 beef stock
• 2-3 tbsp vegetable oil or butter
• fried shallot (optional)

Method:

1. Heat the vegetable oil (or butter), and then add the onion and garlic, stir until it smells good.
2. Add the beef, stir for about 1 minute, and then put some water into the pan (around 1/2 L).
3. Once it's boiling, add ginger, nutmeg, and pepper, stir well.
4. Once the beef is well cooked, get rid of the fat scum from the surface.
5. Add the beef stock, cook for around 30 minutes with low heat, stir occasionally.
6. Once the beef is tender, add the vegetables, start from the ones that take a long time to cook. For example, start from potatoes, then carrots, and finally broccoli.
7. Put some salt and sugar. Done.
8. Remove from the heat and serve in a bowl, squeeze a slice of lime/lemon, garnished with fried shallot, if you like.

Enjoy! :)

The Indonesian version: http://dapurdara.blogspot.com/2012/01/sup-daging.html.

Chicken Noodle

Several days ago, I read a note by my ex-lecturer in Indonesia. The title was "A Simple Chicken Noodle". The recipe looked easy, so I tried to make one.. with a few modifications following my personal taste.. hehehe.. This recipe is for 2 people.

* Sorry if the appearance doesn't look good, but I'm telling you the taste is good. ^_^

Ingredients:

• 2 chicken breasts (about 300 gr), chopped in small dices
• 200 gr egg noodle
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 3 cm ginger, peeled
• 3 stalks spring onions, minced
• 1 tbsp tomato sauce
• 1 tbsp sweet soy sauce
• 1 tsp pepper
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil or butter
• salt and sugar

Method:

1. Boil the egg noodle until well cooked, set aside.
2. Put garlic and ginger into a food processor, blend them well with a little of water.
3. Heat the vegetable oil (or butter) and fry the mix of garlic and ginger until it smells good.
4. Add the chicken breasts and stir until their color turns into white.
5. Add a little bit of water, cook for about 5 minutes.
6. Add the tomato sauce, sweet soy sauce, pepper, and sesame oil, stir well.
7. Season with salt and sugar.
8. Once the chicken is well cooked, add the spring onion mince.
9. Add the cooked egg noodle, stir well.
10. Remove from the heat and serve immediately, garnished with fried shallot, if you like.

The Indonesian version: http://dapurdara.blogspot.com/2012/01/mie-ayam.html.