JAPANESE HORS D'OEUVRE - SUSHI

Sushi is one of the most popular items on Japanese restaurant menus. Seaweed, one of the ingredients, is available from Japanese and Asian food stores in packets of about 10 sheets. The soy sauce which is lighter and sweeter that the Chinese.  Wasabi is Japanese horseradish, available in small packets in powdered form form Asian food store.

Sushi with salmon smoke and avocado

Ingredients
2 cups short grain rice
3 cups water
3 tablespoon rice white vinegar
3 teaspoons sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
6 sheet seaweed


FILLING:
Smoke salmon 
Avocado Or if you want for variation with cucumber, dried mushrooms
or prawn.


Dipping sauce:
1 teaspoon water
1 teaspoon wasabi powder
2 tablespoons soy sauce

Method.

1. Step 1 rice in cold water 1 hour, drain well.  Place rice and water in saucepan, bring to boil, boil gently uncovered until water is absorbed. Cover, reduce heat to as low as possible, cook further 5 minutes.  Allow rice to cool to room temperature with lid on.  Combine rice white vinegar, sugar and salt in a bowl, mix until sugar and salt have dissolved, pour over rice, mix well.  Divide rice into 6 equal portions. Place 1 sheet of sheet of seaweed in middle of bamboo mat, about 30cm X 25cm.
2. Step two Spread 1 portion of the rice over seaweed, leaving 4 cm edge along the top edge of seaweed. If no bamboo mat is available, a clean firm napkin of similar size can used.
3. Step three: Place prepared filling down centre of rice. I've given a selection of two fillings: Avocado, and smoked salmon.
4. Step four: Lift a bamboo mat over to help to roll up sushi into a firm roll.  Repeat with remaining seaweed, rice and filling.  Remove bamboo mat, cut sushi and serve with dipping sauce. 

Bon appetite! Mari makan ..

Banana pastries - Pisang Molen Bandung
    
Ingredients:
PASTRY:
500gr plain flour
1 teaspoon salt
5 tablespoons of sugar
1 egg
200 ml cold water
20 g butter

FILLING:
4 bananas. pour with honey, and then steamed for about 4 minutes. (note: bananas can be cut into pieces is about 10 cm, or left intact.)
50 gr cheese, cut into pieces, put on top the bananas.
2 teaspoons lemon juice
TO GLAZE:
2 eggs yolks, beaten with 2 teaspoons water

Method

1. For pastry, stir flour and salt into a basin.  Cut butter and lard or dripping into small pieces and rub into flour with fingertips until mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs. 
2. Add lemon juice and enough iced water to mix to a firm dough. Form into a ball wrap in plastic film and chill while preparing filling.
3. Roll to each bananas. Brush rolls all over with remaining egg glaze. Bake in a hot (200 C) over for 20 minutes, then reduce heat to moderately hot (190 C) cook for a further 10 minutes.  Serve piping hot.

Banana Pastries

GULAI KAMBING AND SOP KAMBING/GOAT CURRY AND SOUP

Goat curry

Goat curry serve with steam rice

GULAI KAMBING - GOAT CURRY

Ingredients:

1 kg goat

500 ml water

400 ml coconut milk

2 bay leaves
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
4 cloves
2 stalks lemongrass, crushed
1 tbsp sugar and 1 tbsp salt to taste

4 stalks shallot, finely chopped

Ground spices
4 cloves garlic

5 red chilies

5 candlenuts

2cm galangal

1 cm turmeric

2 teaspoons coriander 

1/2 teaspoons nutmeg

Methode
1. Boil meat with 500 ml water until tender.  Remove bubbles.  Reduce heat to low. Saute onion until fragrant.  Add the ground spices, lemon grass, bay leaves, cinnamon, and cloves, stirring until spice change colour. 
2. Add the spices to stock, stir. 
3. Pour the coconut milk,stir until boiling.  Add salt and sugar, stirring until meat is tender.  Serve warm with steam rice.


SOAP KAMBING -GOAT SOUP

Ingredients:

600g goat bones (the ribs or thigh)

400g goat meat

3 L water, to boil

2 cm ginger, crushed

1 tablespoon salt

3 tablespoons cooking oil

Spices blended

5 red onions

5 cloves garlic

1/2 tsp white pepper

2 cm cinnamon

1/2 teaspoons nutmeg

2 leeks cut into pieces

1 stalk celery, thinly sliced

2 tablespoons fried onions.

Method: 

1. Cut into pieces of meat with bones, then boil with ginger and salt until tender. Remove set aside.

2. Strain the broth, them boil again with meat and bone.

3 Heat oil and saute ground spices, cinnamon, and nutmeg.  Stir fry until fragrant. Set aside.  Add the stir fry into the boiling broth. Add meat and bones.  Stir well and continue cooking.  Add chopped onion.

4. Remove and pour into a serving bowl. Sprinkle with the celery and fried onion on top.

Goat soup 

Goat curry and Soup served with steam rice.. yummy :)

BAKED CHICKEN WINGS WITH GRATED COCONUT + PIGEON EGGS WITH PRAWN AND MUSHROOM

My plate :)

BAKED CHICKEN WINGS WITH GRATED COCONUT 

Ingredients:
8 chicken wings
350 ml of coconut water
puree:
4 cloves garlic
3 red onions
1 ½ tsp coriander powder
2 tsp salt
1 teaspoon brown sugar
1/4 teaspoons turmeric powder
2 candle nut
2 bay leaves
2 stalks lemongrass, crushed
Grated Coconut:
3 red onions, mashed
2 garlic cloves, mashed
¼ tsp cumin, crushed
1 tbsp finely chopped ginger
2 bay leaves
1 stalk lemongrass, crushed
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
250 grams of grated coconut
2 tsp tamarind water
Oil for frying

Method:

1. Boil chicken with coconut water, puree spices, bay leaves, and lemongrass for about 3-4 mins. Set aside. 

2. Place a large wok over high heat. Once the wok is very hot add oil for deep-frying chicken for about 2-3 minutes or until the chicken wings are slightly cooked. Transfer the chicken wings to a baking tray and set aside.

3. Coconut grated:  Place a large wok over high heat and add 2 tbsp oil. Saute onion, garlic, and cumin. Add ginger, bay leaves, lemon grass, sugar, and salt, Stir for about 2 minutes. Add the grated coconut and tamarind water. Stir again for about 3 minutes and 

pour into chicken wings. Preheat oven to 220 C. Put into pan and bake in oven for 30 minutes until coconut dry and chicken brown.

(For Grated coconut I am using fine desiccated coconut from McKenzie)

PIGEON EGGS WITH PRAWN AND MUSHROOM

Ingredients:

4 tbsp olive oil, divided

600g large prawns

1/2 onion, thinly sliced

1 red capsicum, sliced

1 green capsicum, sliced

150g green beans, ends trimmed, sliced in half on an angle

1 chili, seeded and finely chopped (optional)

1 tbsp finely chopped ginger

2 garlic gloves, finely chopped

1 tbsp rice wine vinegar

1 tbs fish sauce

1 tbsp kecap manis or 1 tbsp dark soy sauce mixed with 1/2 tsp brown sugar

1 tbsp chili, sliced

2 tbsp oyster sauce

1 can shiitake mushroom

1 can pigeon eggs

1/4 cup coriander leaves

Steam rice to serve

Method

• Place a large wok over high heat. Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil and then add half of the prawns. Stir-fry prawns for about 1 -2 mins or until prawns are semi cooked. Immediately transfer the prawns to a plate and set aside.  Return the wok to high heat and repeat with remaining prawns. (Working in two batches will allow the prawns to sear properly and transferring the prawns to a baking sheet prevents them for overcooking).
• Return the empty wok to high heat, add 1 tbsp of olive oil and onions. Cook for 2-3 mins or until they have just softened, Add the mushroom, capsicum, green beans, chili, ginger and garlic.  Stir for about 3 minutes or until just begin to soften. Add remaining tbsp of oil if necessary.
• Return the prawns to the wok and stir for 2 mins or until the prawns are heated through. Add the rice wine vinegar, fish sauce, kecap manis, chili, oyster sauce and continue to stir fry for a further 1 to 2 mins or until vegetables and mushroom are tender. Add the pigeon eggs. Stir for 2-3 mins until the sauce reduces slightly.
• Serve immediately with steamed rice.

Our dinner table :)

TO ROAST TURKEY

This my guide will give you a good idea of what size turkey to buy for your requirements.

• 3-4kg (6-8lb) gives 8-10 serving.
• 4-6kg (8-12lb) gives 10-15 serving
• 7-8kg (14-16lb) gives 18-22 serving

If the turkey is a fresh one cover loosely with foil and leave in the refrigerator until required. If The bird is frozen, remove form its wrappings and cover loosely with foil, and thaw in a cool place for 1 1/2 - 3 days, depending on its size.  Turkey can be roasted in a slow or fast oven. Cooking time for slow method at 160 c, 325 f are:

• 3-4kg (6-8lb) takes 3-31/2 hours
• 4-6kg ( 8-12lb) takes 31/2 -4 hours
• 6-8kg (12-16) takes 4-6 hours

Accompaniments

I served the turkey with steamed beans and baked potato and pumpkin. The potato and pumpkin were cooked with the turkey. The traditional accompaniments with turkey is cranberry sauce and/or gravy.

Turkey stuffing : I used a cooked, jasmine rice base and added chopped bacon, garlic, onion and herbs(parsley/rosemary). I cooked the mixture lightly in a frypan before placing in turkey (I apologize for the beer. That was my husband's idea.haha)

Turkey for Xmas dinner :)

From oven

SAUSAGE TWISTS

For family Occasions.

Sausage rolls would be a practical and inexpensive beginning to meal.

Ingredients and Method:

400g small chipolata sausages. Puff pastry made with: 1 cup flour; pinch salt. 25g butter and water to mix (or buy frozen puff pastry) to glaze: little beaten egg.  Broil, fry or bake the sausages for about 6 mins until partially cooked.  Allow to cool. Make the pastry and roll out until wafer thin.  cut into strips and roll around the sausages, as shown in the picture.  Put on a baking sheet. Brush with beaten egg.  Bake for 15 minutes towards the top a very hot oven, 450-475F.  Reduce the heat after 7-8 mins if necessary. Serve with a variety of sauces.

Sausage Twists with Pineapple sweet sour sauce

DEEP-FRIED PRAWN WONTONS WITH SWEET CHILLI SAUCE

Deep-fried wontons  with sweet chilli sauce

Ingredients:

20 eggs- pastry wonton wrappers
20 greeen king prawns, peeled and deveined leaving tails intact
Vegetables oil, for deep-frying
4 green onions, julienned
Pickled pink ginger, to serve if you desired
Sweet chili sauce
1 cup lemon juice
75g caster sugar
2 teaspoons peanut oil
1 clove of garlic, finely sliced
1 1x2 cm piece of ginger, peeled and finely chopped
1/2 teaspoons sea salt
2 fresh, large red chilies
   seeded and finely chopped
2 fresh, large red chilies, seeded and finely chopped
Fish sauce, to taste

METHOD

For sweet chili sauce, combine lemon juice and sugar in a saucepan and cook over medium heat until reduced by half, or until syrup consistency.

Heat peanut oil in a small saucepan and cook garlic and ginger over low heat until golden. combine garlic mixture, salt and chili in a mortar and pestle and pound until a fine pasta forms.  Stir in lemon juice and season to taste with fish sauce if necessary, to balance flavor between sweet, salty and hot.

Place wonton wrappers on work surface and place prawns diagonally across form corner to corner.  Brush a litter water on edges of wonton and fold around prawns so that the tails are poking out.

Deep-fry prawn in hot vegetables oil until golden.  Drain on absorbent paper.

Place wontons on a plate and serve with a small pot of sweet chilli sauce and small piles of julienned green onion and pickled pink ginger if you like.

Deep-fried prawn wontons with sweet chili sauce ready to go :)