How to cook Rendang Padang

This is the recipe for Rendang Padang if you want the glorious taste without that overly-rich oil feel that makes you weep with guilt after. - Recipe taken from The New Paper (Sunday) 20th April 2012. Original recipe is from Madam Tumiar Simandijuntak, 78 from Medan, Sumatra.

Recipe for Rendang Padang:


Ingredients:

• 1 kg of Beef, cut into 4cm-thick slices
• 10 dried chillies
• 4 red chillies
• 10 shallots
• 5 cloves of garlic
• 5 cm-thick piece lengkuas (galangal)
• 5 cm-thick piece old ginger
• 4 stalks of lemongrass (use only 7cm of the root part)
• 4-5 kaffir lime leaves
• 1 daun kunyit (tumeric leaf)
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 2 coconuts (only grated white portions)
• 2 slices of assam keping (sour fruit)
• 1 tbsp of tamarind mixed with 2 tbsp of water. Strain and reserve.
• 250ml of water
• 2-3 tbsp of cooking oil

Method:

1. Soak the dried chillies for 20 mins. or until soft. Rinse chillies and set aside.
2. Put half of the grated coconut in a muslin cloth and pour in the 250ml of water. Squeeze to extract the coconut milk. Refrigerate.
3. Heat the wok or a non-stick frying pan. Fry the remaining grated coconut over low heat, stirring constantly to prevent it from burning. Do not use oil. It should take around 30 mins. to get the grated coconut to brown.
4. Allow to cool, then blend till fine. Set aside 3 tbsp for use later. Store the remainder in a glass jar and refrigerate.
5. Grind the dried chillies, red chillies, shallots, garlic, lengkuas, old ginger and lemongrass together to make the rempah. Use a little water to help the process if you are using a blender.
6. Heat 2-3 tbsp of oil in a pot over a small fire. Add the rempah and fry until it browns and give off a strong aroma.
7. Add daun kunyit and lime leaves.
8. Add beef and fry until the beef is coated with rempah.
9. Add the coconut milk and 1 tsp of salt or more to suit your taste, and the ground coriander.
10. Next the assam keping and tamarind juice. Cover and allow to simmer over low heat, stirring occasionally, for two hours until the beef is tender.
11. Add in 3 tbsp of the toasted grated coconut and stir thoroughly.
12. Serve with hot rice.

Credit: Hedy Khoo - hedykhoo AT sph DOT com DOT sg 
Photo Credit - Camemberu

How to make Ikan Pepes

A slightly less risky snack of cooked fish, wrapped with pounded ingredients and grilled in a banana leaf parcel. Looks good, smells great, but wasn't anything special. Simple Singapore food.

Ingredients for Ikan Pepes:

• 4 medium sized fish (horsemackerel)
• 10 dried chillies (soaked in water)
• 6 shallots
• 3 garlic
• 1 thumb-sized turmeric
• 1 slice ginger
• 1 lemon grass
• 1 thumb-sized galangal (lengkuas)
• 1/2 grated coconut
• 1 tsp salt
• banana leaves

Method:

1. Wash and clean fish. Drain.
2. In a mortar, pound chillies, shallots, garlic, turmeric, ginger, lemon grass, galangal to a fine paste. Keep aside.
3. In a medium bowl, combine pounded ingredients, grated coconut and salt. Mix well and coat each fish with the mixture. Wrap each fish in banana leaf. Place in oven and bake (or grill over a charcoal fire) for 30 minutes, turning over once or twice during baking.
4. Enjoy!

Printable Version - Ikan Pepes

Image Credit by avlxyz

Sayur Asam (Asam Rebus)

A must-have item on the menu for every Javanese Singaporean. This soup has some kind of appetizing effect because of the use of tamarind or (dried) sour starfuit as one of the ingredients.

Ingredients for Sayur Asam:

Vegetable for the soup

• 100 g long bean
• 1 chayote
• 50 g corn
• 100 g young jackfuit
• 50 g Gnetum gnemon leaves and fruits (Belinjau)
• 50 g raw peanuts
• 105 g galangal
• 2 salam leaves
• 20 g fresh tamarind or Asam Jawa tamarind paste, or 5 (dried) Belimbing sayur

Spice paste, using food processor grind the following ingredients:

• 1 fresh red chili pepper
• 2 shallot
• 2 g belacan
• 1/2 tbl. salt

Method:

1. Clean the vegetables, cut into bite size
2. Boil 1.2 liter of water in a pot
3. Put the spice paste and the ingredients, with vegetables needs longer cooking time first (corn, peanuts, young jackfruit, etc.)
4. Add salt and sugar to taste

Recipe Source: Cookbook:Sayur Asem
Image Credit: tephaniewong

How to cook Kangkung Belacan

Kangkung, also spelled kangkong belacan is a common dish in Singapore. This dish is easy and simple to make. Kangkung Belacan is a classic Malay recipe stir fried with spices and served hot at dinner!

Ingredients for Kangkung Belacan:

• 300gm Kangkung (Water Spinach)
• Oil
• Salt and msg to taste

Spice Paste:

• 1 tablespoon dried shrimp, soaked in hot boiling water until softened, drained
• 3 chilies
• 3 red onions, peeled, sliced
• 2 garlics, peeled, chopped
• 1 teaspoon belacan (Shrimp Paste)

Method:

1. Grind the spice paste ingredients until smooth
2. Put the cooking oil in a wok over medium-high heat, add the spice paste and cook for 3-4 minutes or until fragrant.
3. Add in Kangkung, and stir-fry at high heat until well mixed (This should take less than 2 minutes!).
4. Add salt and msg to taste. (Add very little salt to taste as the belacan is already salty)
5. Do not over-cooked! Kangkung tend to softened very fast.
6. Searve hot over steamed rice and bbq fish.

How to make Jemput-Jemput Pisang

This Jemput-Jemput Pisang recipe is made with over ripe banana which gives it a lovely banana flavour at its best. Related recipe - Easy Goreng Pisang recipe (Thai Fried Bananas).

Ingredients:

• 2 over ripe banana mashed (preferable over ripen pisang emas)
• ½ cup sugar
• 1 dash salt
• 1½ cup self-raising flour (sifted)
• Oil for deep frying

Method:

1. Mixed above ingredients well together until it is homogenize. Make sure that the overall mixture is neither too dry nor too watery. 
2. Heat the wok with vegetable oil (almost 1 litre for deep frying) with medium fire. Slow down the fire as we are going to fry the batter. 
3. Use a clean spoon dip with oil before scoop the dough into the medium heat frying oil. Fry the jemput-jemput pisang gobs until it turns dark brown. 
4. Tossed its from the oil to plates with kitchen serviette paper. Serve hot as snack.

Note: Deep fry the Jemput-Jemput Pisang in medium heat as sugar tend to make the fritter black quickly on the outside. If you use regular flour make sure you add in some baking powder to make the dough fluffy and soft.

Don't forget to Print this Recipe

Bakwan Jagung (Deep Fried Corn Fritters)

Bakwan Jagung Recipe. Easy recipe, simple side dish and tastes really good. Bakwan Jagung or Deep Fried Corn Fritters, are normally being sold from carts on street corners in Indonesia. Bakwan Jagung can be eaten on its own or dip it with chili sauce. Enjoy Bakwan Jagung as a snack!

Ingredients for Bakwan Jagung:

200 gram canned sweet corn
1 stalk chopped spring onion
1 stalk chopped celery
100 gram wheat flour
1 small chopped onion
2 cloves chopped garlic
1 tsp white pepper
1 egg
Water
Salt and sugar to taste
Oil for deep frying

How to make it:

1. Mix all ingredients in a bowl and make a dough ( good mixing : not too thick and not to liquid/fluid ).

2. Heat the oil in deep wok and and fry 1 tablespoon of mixture untill golden brown.

3. Serve with chili sauce and chopped corriander leaves on the top.