I am glad August was over. It was such a busy month, that I had no time to cook, or take pictures, or go lurking at people’s delicious blogs! I might need another month to catch up with August stuff alone. The first thing I made on the last weekend of the hectic August was potato croquettes. They are very popular snacks, and homemade version are much better than store-bought,

This recipe for potato croquettes is very special because of the spices it calls for. Potatoes by itself have very mild and earthy taste, the spices used are freshly ground coriander seeds and ground nutmeg. Add ground chicken, shallot and garlic to the mashed potatoes and shape them. For coating, white egg and breadcrumbs. Croquettes are deep-fried till golden. Recipe is courtesy of one of my aunts, she makes delicious fried snacks but this is the only one I know how to make. Can’t wait to try out her other recipes.

Serve them for afternoon snacks with sweet chili sauce.

On another note, grinding coriander seeds is now in my top 5 most tedious kitchen work. We did it old school, buying whole coriander seeds and then thumping them silly in a mortar and pestle. Not easy as it sounds, as the ground seeds have to be sift using flour strainer, and return the coarse bjts back to the mortar and grind them again. It needs to be done at least 3 times to get super-fine quality coriander seed powder. Anybody knows any electronic kitchen stuff that can be used to grind spices? Before my arms grow any bigger?

Ingredients

1000 grams potaotes, peeled
1/2 cup cooking oil,
3 shallots, minced
3 garlic, minced
200 grams ground chicken
50 grams fresh coriander seeds, grounded
1/2 nutmeg, grounded
1/2 teaspoon salt
30 grams chinese celery, finely chopped (1/3 cup)
1/2 tablespoon tapioca starch
1 tablespoon warm water
1 egg yolk
Breadcrumbs
Cooking oil for deep-frying

Instructions

Deep fry potatoes till golden. Drain excess oil on paper towel

Smash potatoes using potato masher till fine. Set aside for later use

Heat cooking oil on a wok over high heat. Stir fry shallots and garlic till fragrant, about 2 minutes

Add chicken. Cook for 2 minutes

Combine ground coriander, nutmeg, salt into the wok. Mix well

Add celery, tapioca starch and warm water. Cook till everything is well done and water evaporates

Combine mashed potatoes and cooked chicken in a bowl. Add egg yolk. Mix well

Shape the mixture as desired. Roll in white egg mixture and cover with breadcrumbs

Deep fry till golden. Serve warm

Notes

Preparation 30 minutes

Cooking 30 minutes

Yield 30 pieces

Potatoes can be prepared boiled or steamed, then mashed

Chicken can be substituted with beef or prawn

If the spices used are too overwhelming, feel free to halve the amount of coriander and nutmeg called for in the recipe

One coating as listed up in the recipe can only result in the croquette staying crunchy and fluffy for up to half an hour. If you wish the croquettes to be crunchy and fluffed for longer period of time, coat them twice. Dip them in white egg, then roll them in breadcrumbs. Dip one more time in white egg and apply breadcrumbs then fry

Also known as Kroket Kentang

Remember those days a gazillian years ago, in college, when grocery money was scarce and with exams plus assignments crashing in there wasn’t just enough time (nor money) to lavish yourself with decent food items? Well, that probably only happened to me. Those were the days when ramen noodles had become the most filling and nutritious meal of the semester. So much that I had to sacrifice to get that black sexy cocktail dress.

Since those bleak (but wild) days, I wished I had a bit of creativity to cook ramen noodles the lifeline. The snazziest thing I did with my sad bowl of ramen was add some scrambled eggs and chopped scallion. That’s about it.

So last night, I felt some creativity sparks and sometime ago I read that Giada made omelette with her leftover spaghetti. We (my brother and I) were starving and there was nothing in the pantry except instant ramen noodles and some eggs. I mixed up the two and it was good – good enough to be blogged about.

Fyi, Indonesians are famous for their instant ramen noodles that go by the name of Indomie. There are many flavors available such as chicken, spicy chicken, curry, soto, and many more. Naturally, Indomie with chicken flavor is what we have in our pantry and that was what I used in my little ritzy experiment.

First I boiled the noodles till al dente and seasoned them with the powdered stock. Stir fry some onions and tomatoes, add the seasoned noodles and pour whisked eggs onto the pan. Voala! Served with spicy tomato sauce – that would hold up the hunger for another hour. Or much less.

How do you spice up your ramen noodles? Please do share.

Ingredients

2 eggs, beaten with 2 tablespoons of water and a pinch of salt
1 pack of instant ramen noodles – any flavor (55gr)
2 tablespoons onion, finely chopped
1/2 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
2 tablespoons parsely, finely chopped chopped
1 tablespoon cooking oil
Tomato sauce / sweet chilli sauce

Instructions

• Drop ramen noodles into boiling water. Cook for 4 minutes (or according to the package instructions)
• Drain the water and the instant powdered stock included in the package. Mix well with a fork till
• Heat up an 8″ non-stick pan and drizzle cooking oil on it. Quickly stir fry chopped onions over medium heat for 2 minutes till they are translucent and toss in the tomatoes. Cook for another 1 minute
• Put in the noodles and chopped parsely into the pan and mix well with the other ingredients – cook for another two minutes
• Try to arrange / distribute the noodles evenly across the pan and also arrange the placement of the tomatoes. Pour the egg mixture slowly by circular motion starting from the outer edge of the pan. Try to cover all surface. If you can’t, don’t worry about it. Just swirl the pan around slightly before the egg sets and it will fill up the empty spaces
• Lower heat and cook for 4 minutes. Slide a flat spatula under the omelette and quickly flip over and cook some more till both sides are browned
• Serve with your choice of dipping sauce

Cook’s note

Always try to add some fresh spices such as chopped leeks or minced garlic or some scallions. These will bring out invigorating flavor, rather than relying solely on the flavor powdered base that comes with the ramen noodles.

Indonesians enjoy their main meals (lunch and dinner) a la rijsttafel (derived from Dutch word, meaning “rice table”). The meals consist of many, many side dishes accompanying the main course steamed rice. The side dishes are small portions of vegetables cooked in variety of ways, meat dishes, poultry dishes, soups, colorful of chili dips and seafood dishes. Some of the cheaper rijsttafel menu would include fried eggs and savory fritters. Rijsttafel style of dining is now found in most of Indonesian restaurants serving traditional food, the bigger the establishment is, the more small plates are served. For me, I really can’t really enjoy it with company less than 5. It is a bit sad to go to rijsttafel dining with only two people, and all those food go to waste (although you don’t need to pay if you don’t touch them).

In simpler eateries places, the rijsttafel would have about 10 small dishes spread in front of you. This tradition also runs in the many households, where there would be 4 or 5 dishes prepared and served with rice. There would always be some kind of deep-fried fritters.

Another savory fritters that have always been our favorite (and can be easily found in rijsttafel-style restaurants) is made from corn (corn fritters – perkedel jagung). The corn used is fresh corn cobs, half grated finely and half of whole kernels. Whole kernels provide great crunchy textures on the fritters later on. The other half that is grated will produce a pulp that has tons of flavor and helps produce a smooth texture. The one ingredients that really make the difference is chopped kaffir lime leaves. They give the fritter some lemony flavor to it. Otherwise, the fritters would be quite bland.

Ingredients

For spice paste
3 candlenuts (10 gr), toasted
2 cloves garlic
2 shallots
pinch of white pepper and salt

Shredded / chopped finely
4 kaffir lime leaves
4 stalks spring onion
1 chinese celery

3 (800 gr) medium-sized corn cobs
1 egg
1/4 cup flour
1 tablespoon tapioca starch

Instructions

Grind spices in a grinder till resembles fine paste. Remove the blade of the kaffir lime leaves before chopping (see Step by Step Shots)

Remove the corn kernels from one cob by standing the corn on its end and slicing down using a sharp knife. You will end up with strips of corn that can easily be separated with your fingers. Put all the kernels in a mixing bowl and set aside

Grate the other two cobs by using the medium holes of a box grater to take off the majority of the corn. Do this over a bowl so you don’t loose any of the pulp and juices. If there is any remaining corn on the cob, scrape it off with the back of a knife

Using a coarse strainer, pour the pulp and slightly drain the corn juice (optional, this will help fasten frying time)

Mix the pulp into the mixing bowl with the kernels. Add the ground spices and chopped ingredients, as well as the flour, egg and starch. Mix well with a wooden spoon (or roll up your sleeves and get dirty with your hands)

Heat up cooking oil in a wok / deep fryer. Drop 1/4 cup of batter into hot oil. Fry for 2 – 3 minutes each side. Drain on paper towel

Serve warm with dipping sauce with other dishes with steamed rice or enjoy as afternoon snacks

Cook’s note

Fresh corn can be substituted with one can of corn kernels and one can of corn pulp.

Deep-frying methods can be substituted with pan frying. Heat a couple of tablespoons of cooking oil in a non-stick pan and drop the batter on the pan. Cook for 4 minutes each side or until they are brown enough. Just as good, but healthier and more economical!

Step by step shots

Yam cake is savory steamed snacks made from taro cubes mixed together with rice flour and then served with fried shallots, scallions and other condiments such as dried shrimps or chopped chili. Yam cake (also known as taro cake) is slightly denser than radish cake which is made from shredded radish and rice flour.

In our city, yam cake is enjoyed in the morning as part of assorted savory cakes served with coffee as well as afternoon snacks served with tea. This is sold in old-style bakery or street side cake vendors. The street side vendors in particular, have wide variety of savory and sweet cakes, and I really wonder how they manage to make them fresh everyday, that must be a lot of work! It has always been a pleasant trip to shop for cakes in those stalls.

My mother makes the best yam cake (don’t we all think the same way about our mothers). She steamed them in high heat for one hour until they solidify into gelatinous mass. The secret for fresh and beautiful yam cake is to “ensemble” them right before serving. The yam cake base is steamed for a while together with the toppings. This way the greens will still be fresh and yet cooked. If it is prepared hours before serving the toppings would be unsightly, soggy and wilting.

They are a lot of work, I have to admit. But they do make the most beautiful hors d’oeuvre, don’t they? Exotic and colorful indeed. They have all the textures you would seek in a bite of cake – smooth (gelatinous rice flour), chewy (yam cubes), crunchy (from fried shallots), nutty (from sesame seeds), spicy (from chopped chili) and wonderfully pungent (from dried shrimps).

Ingredients

For cake base
500 grams char siu pork (restaurant-bought Chinese-style barbeque pork)
1 1/2 kg yam / taro, peeled and cubed (0.5″)
500 grams rice flour, soaked overnight with 2 cups of water
10 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup cooking oil
2 liters water

For toppings
100 grams dried shrimps, coarsely chopped
100 grams red chili, seeded and finely chopped
100 grams chinese celery, finely chopped
100 grams scallions, finely chopped
500 grams shallots, finely sliced and deep-fried
50 grams sesame seed, toasted
1/2 tablespoon sugar

Instructions

(A)

• Heat half of cooking oil in a wok or large pan and stir fry half of minced garlic for 4 to 5 minutes till fragrant. Then add the taro cubes, keep stirring.
• Add 2 liters of water and cook for another 10 minutes till boiling and stir continuously to prevent sticking.
• Then add the soaked rice flour and wait till boiling.
• Remove from heat and transfer to heat-proof bowl / casserole dish.
• Steam over high heat for 1 hour. Remove and set aside.

(B)

• Heat another half of cooking oil in the same pan and stir fry the rest of the garlic till fragrant, for 4 to 5 minutes. Add the dried shrimps and sugar, stir fry for 5 minutes
• Then add the barbeque pork and stir fry for another 10 minutes.
• When everything is mixed well together, remove from heat

(C)

• When ready to be served, reheat the yam cake base by steaming (A) for 10 minutes, with a covered steamer
• Sprinkle (B) generously on top of the cake. Cover and steam for another 5 minutes
• Add chopped chili on top, cover and steam for 5 minutes
• Lastly, add chopped celery and scallions. Steam for another 5 minutes
• Remove from heat
• Right before serving, top the cake with toasted sesame seeds and fried shallots

Cook’s note

The pork can be substituted with charsiu chicken (Chinese-style barbeque chicken)

To add more color on the cake base, add some finely chopped scallions during (A). I think it is quite unnecessary, but it would be quite attractive to do it.

The base can be refrigerated for days and prepared accordingly (C) and you will always get your yam cake with fresh toppings!

Who wouldn’t love fritters with afternoon tea or coffee? I absolutely love them. I am impartial to deep fried snacks, but this particular one I love (together with potato fritters and corn fritters).

Some of the most popular deep-fried snacks in the country are banana fritters, deep-fried sweet potatoes – which are sweet in nature. Salty deep-fried snacks such as vegetable fritter or stuffed beancurd are eaten with spicy soy sauce dip. These are sold by street side vendors, customers are as varied as blue collar workers to tricycle drivers to school children. Not the most nutritious snacks, but they are scrumptious.

The real interesting way is to eat them with a couple of pieces of small green chili (or jalapeno pepper). The moment you bite on the chili is the moment you swear you won’t forget. It literally burns a hole in your throat. The next reasonable thing to do is to take a big bite of the vegetable fritter. The following step I would recommend a giant gulp of ice cold water. Please don’t try this without expert supervision. The vegetable fritters are nice by its own, unless you want to take a ride to the wild side. I myself always remove the green chili, treating them as garnish only.

Bakwan Sayur - vegetable fritter in Indonesian – is made from mainly cabbage, carrot and beansprout, mixed together with some flour and then deep fried by spoonfuls. Some other fancier ingredients can be included, such as prawn or chicken meat. The trick that ensures you with nice and crispy golden fritters is the heat. It needs to be really high and handled quickly.

I made a big mess, but they taste really nice – almost the same as store-bought.

Ingredients

2 (25 gr) shallots
2 (10 gr) candlenuts, toasted
2 (10 gr) garlic cloves
1/4 teaspoon grated ginger
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/2 tablespoon salt
1/2 tablespoon whole coriander seeds
300 gr cabbage, finely shredded
200 gr carrot, grated
200 gr beansprouts
40 gr tapioca starch
260 gr flour
2 eggs
2 stalk spring onions, finely chopped
2 stalk chinese celery, finely chopped
1 cup water
Cooking oil for deep-frying
Green chili (optional – for garnish)

Instructions

In a spice grinder, combine shallots, candlenuts, garlic, coriander seeds, salt and garlic. Grind till resembles fine paste

Combine the rest of ingredients in a mixing bowl. Mix well with spice paste. Add water

Heat oil in deep fryer over high heat till smoke comes out of the surface

Using a small ladle or 1/3 cup measuring spoon, scoop one generous serving of the fritter dough and drop it into the hot oil. Stir fry each side for about 1 minute. Fry in small batches. Drain on paper towel.

Serve warm with sweet chili sauce or soy sauce.

Cook’s note

The tapioca starch can be substituted with corn flour. I couldn’t tell the difference myself, but I am sure sensitive tongue will be able to. The starch itself is said to add the crunchiness to the fritter.

The recipe can make about 30 fritters.

This is dish is very common, sold by street food hawkers as part of rijjstafel style mixed rice (nasi campur). This traditional version of potato fritters / nuggets are quite easy to make. Mixed with herbs and spices, the potatoes are prepared the same way as mashed potatoes. They are then formed into balls and deep fried. 

These nuggets can be eaten as snacks by itself or with steamed rice. They are normally paired with sweet and spicy soy sauce as dip. The most favorite way to serve it is to dunk them into soto (clear Indonesian traditional spiced soup). The nuggets are then smashed completely, the small pieces will cloud the clear soup. 

The potato fritters here are meat-less variation of Dutch’s frikadel potatoes with corned beef. Whenever these are made at home, it would be hard to find any leftover at dinner time. Although they are really nice to be eaten in soup dishes, I still prefer them solo. 

In local language, this is called perkedel kentang. 

Ingredients 

500 gr potatoes
4 (50 gr) shallots
4  (10 gr) candlenuts
2 (10 gr) cloves garlic
1/2 teaspoon white pepper
1 teaspoon sugar (optional)
1/2 cup finely chopped spring onion
1/4 cup finely chopped celery stalks and leaves 
2 whole eggs, lightly scrambled

Instructions

• Wash and peel potatoes. Cut into quarters and deep fry in hot oil for 10 minutes until thoroughly cooked. You can also prepare it the healthy way – by boiling
• Using potato masher, mash the potatoes into soft pulp. I prefer mine to be lumpy, but maybe that is because I am too lazy to really work it out 
• Prepare the spice paste by grinding shallots, garlic, pepper, sugar and salt into smooth paste
• Mix the mashed potatoes with the spices, chopped onion and celery. Mix well
• Form into small balls by using 3 tablespoons of the mixture. Flatten it slightly using the palm of your hands. You will get roughly 20 nuggets
• Heat cooking oil in a wok / deep frying pan over high heat. Dip the nuggets into egg mixture before dropping them into the hot oil. Fry for 2 minutes each side, till golden brown
• Remove and drain. Pat dry with paper towel

• If candlenuts are not available, nutmeg can be used
• Any kind of critters (minced beef or minced chicken) can be added into the mixture
• We did not use salt here because we were going to eat them with soup

Step by step shots