Indonesian Chicken Satay (Sate Ayam)

Ingredients:

500g boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into cubes 

1 shallots, sliced

1 tbs cooking oil

1/4 cup sweet soy sauce (kecap manis) 

2 tbs peanut sauce*

Wooden skewers, soak skewers in water for few hours to prevent burning

*Peanut sauce:

100g peanut butter

3 shallots

2 cloves garlic

3 - 4 candlenuts 

1 red chillies

2 tbs cooking oil

1 tbs sweet soy sauce

100 ml water (use more if the sauce is too thick for you)

A dash of sugar

Salt to taste

Garnish:

A drizzle of sweet soy sauce

Cucumber pickles 

Fried shallots

Chilli sauce (sambal oelek)

1. For peanut sauce: In a food processor puree the garlic, shallots, cooking oil, candle nuts, red chilli until smooth and sauté it in a saucepan over medium heat until fragrant. Stir in the peanut butter, sweet soy sauce and water, mix it well, season it with salt and a dash of sugar.
2. In a bowl, combine the chicken thighs, shallots, cooking oil, sweet soy sauce, peanut sauce and sprinkle it with salt. Marinate it for about 1 hour. 
3. Skewer the chicken meat onto wooden skewers, about 4 to 5 cubes of chicken thighs for each skewer. 
4. Preheat grill pan over medium high heat, drizzle it with coking oil. Grill the chicken satay for 4 minutes on each side or until its golden brown and the meat is cooked through. 
5. Place the chicken satay in a serving dish, pour the peanut sauce over and drizzle it with sweet soy sauce. Serve the chicken satay with steamed rice, pickles, chilli sauce and sprinkle with the fried shallots.

Semur Daging (Indonesian Beef Stew) ala My Mom

Ingredients:
500 g beef stew, cubed
2 tbs cooking oil
4 medium shallots, thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cinnamon stick
1 red chilli, diagonally sliced
2 bay leaves
1 lt water
50 ml sweet soy sauce
2 tbs soy sauce
4 small potatoes, peeled, cut into half
Salt and pepper to taste

How To Cook:

• Heat the oil in the cooking pot, add the shallots and garlic, cook until fragrant and then add the cinnamon stick, bay leaves and chilli, cook it for about 2 minutes.
• Add the meat and brown them at all sides.
• Add the water, sweet soy sauce, soy sauce and simmer for 11/2 hours or more with low heat until the meats are tender. Add some water if necessary. 
• After the meat is tender, add the potatoes and cook for another 20 minutes or until they are done. Don't overcooked the potatoes, just until a fork can get in easily. Season it with salt and pepper.
• Serve warm with steamed rice and crispy fried shallots.

Nasi Goreng Petai Pedas

Have a leftover of sambal petai? This mouthwatering fried rice will be the perfect idea for you. It's been one of my favourite type of fried rice. Love to enjoy it with sliced cucumbers, melinjo crackers and fried shallots. 

Ingredients:
2 Eggs
2 tbs cooking oil
2 plates of rice (preferred long grain rice)
2 to 3 tbs of sambal petai
1 tbs sweet soy sauce
Salt and pepper

Garnish:
Melinjo crackers
Cucumber, sliced
Fried shallots

• In a large frying pan heat the oil over medium high heat, add the egg and stir until fully cooked. Add the sambal petai, cook it for about 2 to 3 minutes and then add the rice, mix it well. Stir in the sweet soy sauce, stir until well combined. 
• Garnish it with some sliced cucumbers, melinjo crackers and fried shallots.

Lemon Pound Cake (Zitronen Kuchen)

Ingredients:
280 g butter at room temperature
180 g sugar
350 g all purpose flour
A pinch of salt
Grated lemon zest (from 2 lemon)
5 medium eggs
3 tsp baking powder
2 tbs milk

For the glaze:
150 g powdered sugar
Grated lemon zest (from 1 lemon)
2 tbs water
2 tbs lemon juice

1. Preheat the oven to 170˚C, prepare the baking form (30 x 11 cm), butter the baking form evenly.
2. In a large bowl combine the flour, salt and baking powder, whisk to combine well.
3. In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter. Add the sugar and grated lemon zest, mix it well. 
4. With the mixer running at low, add the eggs one at a time (30 seconds in between).
5. Divide the flour mixture into half, add half of the flour mixture and 1 table spoon of milk to the batter, mix it well and do the same with the rest of the flour and milk. 
6. Pour the batter evenly into the prepared baking form,  bake it for 60- 70 minutes.
7. After 15 minutes of baking, take out the form and with a knife make a 1 cm deep straight cut in the middle of the cake batter. Put it back into the oven and bake it for the rest of the baking time. Check if the cake is done by inserting a toothpick in the middle of the cake and if it comes out clean then the cake should be done. 
8. Allow to cool for 10 - 15 minutes before glazing. For the lemon glaze: Combine well all the glaze ingredients. Spread it evenly on the top of the cake, let it stand for 10 minutes before serving. 

Potato Gratin

Ingredients:

1 kg potato, thinly sliced (2mm)
400 g heavy cream
1 tsp garlic powder
A pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
Salt and pepper
150 g shredded mozzarella
1 tbs butter

• Preheat oven to 180˚ C. Butter the baking dish evenly. In a bowl combine the cream, garlic, nutmeg, salt and pepper. Place potatoes in the baking dish, pour in the cream mixture. Bake it.
• After 30 minutes of baking, sprinkle the cheese. Bake for another 15 minutes or until its golden brown. 

Sambal Petai

Ingredients:

100 g stinky beans (petai)

2 tbs cooking oil

Chilli paste: 

5 red chillies 

5 shallots

2 cloves garlic

1/2 tsp shrimp paste

1 tsp chicken stock powder

2 tbs cooking oil

Salt and sugar

• In a food processor puree all the chilli paste ingredients until smooth. 
• In a cooking pan heat 2 tbs cooking oil over medium heat, cook the chilli paste until its fragrant. 
• Add the beans, cook it for about 3 minutes or until softened. 
• Serve it with steamed rice.

Note: Add some red bird's eye chilli to the paste if you want it more spicy.

Jimbaran Grilled Fish (Ikan Bakar Jimbaran)

Ingredients:
700 g white fish fillets or you can use a whole fish
5 tbs sweet soy sauce
2 tbs butter, melted
2 tbs cooking oil
1 lime
Spice paste:
5 shallots
3 cloves garlic
3 tbs coriander powder
2- 3 red chillies
4 candle nuts
2 tsp tamarind paste
2 tsp galangal powder
50 ml water
Salt and pepper

• In a food processor, puree all the spice paste ingredients until smooth. 
• Marinate the fish fillets with the spice paste for an hour or so. 
• Prepare the grilling sauce: In a bowl mix together the melted butter, cooking oil and sweet soy sauce.
• In a grill pan drizzle a little bit of cooking oil, after the pan is hot enough place the fish fillets, brush evenly with the grilling sauce and grill for about 7 minutes on each side or until its golden brown. Squeeze fresh lime juice over the grilled fish and serve it with jasmine rice.

Creamy Chicken Alfredo

Laura Vitale's Recipe

Ingredients:

300 gr linguine

250 g chicken breast fillet

1 small onion, chopped

1 tsp garlic powder

4 tbs butter

1 cup heavy cream

1 cup grated parmesan

Salt and pepper

• In a large pot filled with water, sprinkle some salt and bring it to boil. Add the linguine and cook it until al dente.
• Combine well the garlic, onion, salt and pepper in a dish. Add the chicken and mix it until all evenly coated.
• In a skillet, heat 4 tbs butter over medium high heat, add the chicken and cook it until its golden brown on each side. Remove the chicken and cut into bite size pieces.
• In the same skillet, add the heavy cream and cook it for about 5 minutes. Stir in the parmesan and season it with salt and pepper. Add the chicken and the cooked pasta, stir until its well combined. Serve immediately. 

Pork Stroganoff

Ingredients:

750 g lean pork
1 1/2 tbs all purpose flour
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp paprika powder
5 tbs cooking oil
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
300 g champignon, sliced
4 tbs brandy (optional)
250 ml beef stock
1 cup sour cream
Salt and pepper
Fresh parsley for garnish

• Slice the pork across the grain, then cut it into fine strips. Mix together the flour, cayenne, and paprika powder.
• In a large frying pan, heat half of the cooking oil, add the onion and garlic and cook until the onion has softened.
• Turn the heat to high, add the mushrooms and stir fry for about 5 minutes. Transfer everything to a dish. Set aside.
• In the same pan, add the remaining oil. Coat a batch of meat with flour, then stir fry over medium high heat until browned. Continue with another batch of meat. Add the fried meat and the vegetables back to the pan, add the brandy and simmer until it has almost evaporated.
• Stir in the stock and season it with salt and pepper. Reduce the heat to medium, cook for about 12 to 15 minutes or until the meat is tender and the sauce is thick, stir frequently. Add the soured cream, stir until well combined and remove immediately before the cream curdles. Serve it over rice or your choice of pasta, sprinkle it with chopped parsley.

Note: If you don't want to use brandy in this recipe just skip the step.

Macaroni Schotel

Ingredients:
400 gr macaroni elbow, 3/4 cooked
200 gr grated cheese (mozzarella or cheddar)
4 beef frank, sliced
200 gr ground beef
600 cc milk
5 eggs, beaten
2 small onion, diced

4 tbs butter

1/2 tsp nutmeg
Salt & Pepper to taste

Topping:
3 tbs butter
2 tbs all purpose flour
300 cc milk

1 egg, beaten
salt & pepper to taste
150 gr cheddar cheese or mozzarella

How To Make:

1. Preheat oven 375˚F or 190˚C
2. Stir fry the onion with butter until fragrant and then add nutmeg and the ground beef, cook until the beef are lightly browned.
3. In a baking bowl mix the rest of ingredients with the cooked beef, season with salt and pepper.
4. Put the baking bowl into the oven, bake about 30 minutes. 
5. In the meanwhile prepare the topping. For topping: Melt butter in a cooking pan, add the flour then stir well, pour the milk (keep stirring while pouring the milk), season with salt and pepper. Remove from heat and let it cool for few minutes. Add the mixed egg, stir until well combined.
6. Pour the topping sauce on top of the baked schotel, sprinkle the shredded cheese and then broil in the oven for 10- 12 min or just until its golden brown.

Mediterranean Roasted Vegetables

Ingredients:
1 yellow paprika, cored and quartered
1 red paprika, cored and quartered
1 zucchini, sliced
2 carrots, peeled and cut in sticks
3 tomatoes, thickly sliced
Extra virgin olive oil
2 tbs pine nuts, toasted
100 gr Pecorino cheese
Salt and pepper

• Preheat the oven to 220˚C. Line a baking sheets with parchment paper.
• Spread out the vegetables in a baking sheets and brush each lightly with olive oil. Roast them for about 20 minutes or just until the skins on the peppers have begun to blister.
• Transfer the roasted vegetables to a large serving platter, season with salt and pepper. As the vegetables cool sprinkle them with olive oil. When the vegetables are at room temperature, sprinkle the pine nuts and using a vegetable peeler, shave the Pecorino over the vegetables.

Asinan Buah Bogor (Bogor Fruit Salad)

I saw my mom eating the fruit salad on Skype as she just got back from Bogor, West Java. Then i thought why not making it by myself, i went to a local market and bought a good quality pineapple and a mango. Unfortunately some of the fruits used in the fruit salad such as snake fruit (salak),  Java apple (jambu merah) or jicama (bengkoang) are not available in Germany. If you like, you can add some cucumber strips instead. I let the fruit salad cool for about 3 hours in the fridge, it is so refreshing!!  

Ingredients:
1 fresh pineapple, peeled, core removed, cut into chunks
1 mango, peeled and cut into strips
1 lt water
50 ml white vinegar
1 red chilli or more
5 tbs sugar or more
1 tbs palm sugar (gula merah)
1 dash of salt

• In a small saucepan add the palm sugar and just a little bit of water (few table spoons), heat it up just until its melted.
• In a food processor or a blender puree the chilli until smooth. Mix it with 1 lt of water.
• Pour the mixture through a sifter into an airtight container, you can add a little bit of chilli from the sifter if you like.
• Stir in the vinegar, sugar, melted palm sugar, and a dash of salt. Mix it well, taste it and adjust seasoning. Add the fruits, stir until the fruits well coated and cover it. Refrigerate for few hours before serving.

Sambal Lado Mudo (Without Anchovies)

Ingredients:
500 ml water
4 large green chillies
4- 6 green bird's eye chillies (rawit hijau)
2 cloves garlic
4 shallots
3 tbs cooking oil
2 kaffir lime leaves
1 tsp lime juice
1 dash of sugar
Salt and pepper

1. In a small pot add the water, all kind of chillies, garlic, and shallots. Bring it to boil over medium high heat, after its boiling let it stand for 2 minutes and then remove the heat. Drain the ingredients and using a hand blender or food processor blend it roughly, not too smooth.
2. In a skillet add 3 tbs cooking oil and turn the heat into medium low. Once its hot enough add the chilli, season it with salt, pepper and a dash of sugar, stir frequently for 3 to 4 minutes.   

Note: You can use more large green chilli instead bird's eye chilli to make it less spicy.

Rendang Padang (Indonesian Coconut Beef Curry)

Ingredients:
1 kg beef stew
750 ml coconut milk
3 kaffir lime leaves
2 stalks lemon grass, trimmed and bruised
2 cm ginger, bruised
3 tbs cooking oil
Dash of sugar

Spice paste:
2 tbs cooking oil
500g shallots
2 tsp galangal powder
6 cloves of garlic
2 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp cumin
2 red chillies or more
1 tbs tamarind paste
Salt and pepper

• In a food processor, puree all the spice paste ingredients until smooth.
• Preheat 3 tbs of cooking oil in a large cooking pan over medium heat, add spice paste puree, lime leaves, ginger, lemon grass and cook it until fragrant. Add the coconut milk, stir constantly until its boiling. Stir in the beef and mix it until well combined, reduce the heat to low and cook it for about 3 hours or until 3/4 of the sauce is gone and the meat turned into darker colour. Stir occasionally for the first hours and once the sauce is thickened stir frequently to prevent burning (for drier result just add the cooking time). Adjust seasoning and add a dash of sugar.
• Remove the lemon grass, ginger, lime leaves. Serve the beef rendang with steamed rice and sambal lado mudo.

Nutella Cookies

Laura Vitale's Recipe

Ingredients:

1/2 cup unsalted butter

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 cup Nutella

2 eggs

2 cups all purpose flour

1 tbs cocoa powder

1 tsp baking soda

Pinch of salt

1 tsp vanilla extract

• Preheat oven to 190˚ C. Line few baking sheets with baking paper.
• In a bowl, mix the flour, baking soda, cocoa powder until well combined
• With a hand mixer cream the butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar. Add the eggs, vanilla and nutella, mix it again until well combined.
• Add the flour mixed and stir well. 
• Using a small ice cream scoop, scoop out the dough on the baking sheets 3 cm apart to allow spreading. Bake it for 10 minutes, let it cool completely.

My Pizza Bread

Ingredients:

4 fresh bread rolls

6 slices salami or ham, cut into small squares

2 slices bacon, diced

4 tbs margarine 

1 tbs tomato paste

1/2 tbs tomato sauce

1 tsp paprika powder

1 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp dried oregano

1/2 cup grated parmesan

2 slices any choice of cheese, cut into small pieces

Chilli powder (optional)

Salt and pepper

• Preheat oven to 180 C.
• In a medium bowl mix margarine, tomato paste, paprika powder, garlic powder, dried oregano, chilli powder (optional), until well combined. Add the parmesan cheese, give it a stir and then add the salami, bacon, cheese pieces, season it with salt and pepper, mix it well. Do not over-season it with salt as the bacon and salami are salty enough.
• Cut all the bread into half, take a full table spoon of mixture and spread it on the top of every bread. Bake it for 10 to 12 minutes or until golden brown and crusty.

Beef Goulash

A good friend of mine gave me a cooking book "Meine Bayerische Küche" by Alfons Schuhbeck for my 30th birthday, i got awesome recipes from there and beef goulash is one of them. It's an excellent flavour combinations and absolutely the best goulash i've ever had. I know that it takes a long time to cook it but it's worth the wait:-)

Ingredients:

1 kg beef stew, pat dried with paper towel

2 tbs cooking oil

1 kg onion, diced

1 tbs tomato paste

1 litre chicken stock

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 tsp dried marjoram, chopped

1/2 tbs paprika powder

1 tsp ground black cumin

1/2 tsp lemon zest, grated

Salt and pepper to taste

• In a large pot heat 2 tbs oil over medium high heat, add the beef and cook until the surface of the meat is crusty brown. Remove from heat and set aside. 
• In the same cooking pot add the onion, cook the onion until fragrant and glassy. Add tomato paste and cook it shortly.
• Dump back the meat, give it a stir and then add the chicken stock. Cook it for 3 1/2 hours over low heat and cover the cooking pot.
• After 2 hours cooking uncover the pot and cook it for another 1 hour. Mix paprika powder with a little bit of water (about 1 tbs). 15 minutes before the end of cooking time, add the garlic, marjoram, cumin, lemon zest and paprika mixture. Serve it with some noodle or rice.

Note: Do not over stir and stay at low heat to keep the meat from shredding apart. After 2 hours of cooking time, after you take the lid off you can add a little bit of water if necessary (i added about 1/4 cup of water).

Mie Tek- Tek Kuah Pedas (Spicy Noodle Soup)

Ingredients:

200 gr dried egg noodle ( mie telor)

2 eggs

1 tomato, cut into wedges

350 ml water

Salt and pepper

Spice paste:

2 tbs cooking oil

3 cloves garlic, crushed

2 shallots, cut into half

2 candle nuts, crushed

1 tsp chicken stock powder

1 tsp sambal oelek or whole red chilli, sliced (if you want it more spicy add bird's eye chilli or thai chilli)

Toppings:

Shrimp crackers

Fried shallots

• In a food processor, puree all the spice paste ingredients until smooth.
• In a large pot, sprinkle some salt and bring it to boil. Cook the noodle just until 3/4 done, drained.
• Heat 2 tbs cooking oil in a non stick cooking pan over medium heat and add the eggs, stir until cooked. Add the spice paste, cook for 3 minutes or until fragrant. Pour in the water, season it with salt and pepper, add tomatoes and stir for few minutes or until the water is boiling. 
• Add the noodle, stir until well combine. Serve it hot, top it with some crackers and sprinkle with the fried shallots.  

Balinese Fried Chilli (Sambal Embe Bali)

This kind of sambal is very popular in Bali, served as a condiment with Balinese suckling pig (babi guling) or Balinese mixed rice (nasi Campur Bali). It has a strong flavour and very spicy. A local man from Ubud taught me how to make this sambal. For this recipe i suggest to fry the shallots by yourself, you can use the fried shallots that available on the market but it won't taste the same.

Ingredients:
3 tbs coconut oil
4 shallots, thin sliced and fried
13 to 15 bird's eye chillies, sliced
1/2 tsp shrimp paste
Salt

1. In a skillet preheat the coconut oil over medium heat, add the bird's eye chillies. Sauté for about 2 minutes and add the shrimp paste, stir it well and cook it for another 2 minutes or until fragrant and the chillies are slightly crisp.
2. In a small bowl, add the fried shallots, fried chillies (with the excess coconut oil in the pan), and season it with salt. Stir until well combined.

Schinken Nudel (Pasta with Ham)

I'm always making this simple dish when there is only eggs and some ham left in the refrigerator or you can also use some sausage if you like. I got this recipe a couple of years ago from my mother in law. Top it with a drizzle of ketchup or apple sauce to kick up the flavour. I also like to add some spiciness into it by adding ABC chilli sauce.

Ingredients:
300 gr egg noodles
2 tbs cooking oil
5 slices ham, cut into bite size pieces
3 eggs
You can add thinly sliced sausages or bacon(optional)
Salt and pepper to taste

• In a large pot add water and good amount of salt, bring it to boil, add the noodle and cook it until al dente. Drain it.
• In a cooking pan heat 2 tbs cooking oil and sauté the ham, sausages or bacon until golden brown. 
• Add the noodle, stir until well combine and then add eggs. Stir until the eggs are fully cooked, season it with salt and pepper.
• Topped with ketchup or apple sauce and then serve it.