Begedil (Aardappelkoekje met gehakt)

I received a note in my mailbox from my neighbour, a student who's doing a project on food from around the world. I responded to it, met him and showed him my Malay Spice page on Facebook. He chose 2 recipes - Cucur Sayur (veg fritters) and Begedil (as shown here). I told him that these 2 are one of the simplest to make and he's happy with it as he too can then try it out. I thought he would choose something more special (to me at least) but he made me realised that simplicity is also good. I look forward to his finished project as he intends to make a cookbook and share it with the neighbourhood.

Begedil is a really simple and common dish that you can find at the Malay stall in Singapore. Some people think that it's time consuming but it's always a hit! One is never enough. Simple food can also be comfort food. :)



Ingredients :
1/2 kg fried potatoes
200g fried minced meat
spring onion, parsley 
fried shallots (optional)
a pinch of salt, white pepper
1 egg (beaten)
oil - for frying




Method :
1) Mash the fried potatoes in a big bowl.
2) Cut the spring onion and parsley fine. Add them and the fried minced meat into the bowl.
3) Add salt, pepper and fried shallots into the bowl.
4) Mix the ingredients thoroughly.
5) Take some of the mix into your hands and make it into a round/a ball. Continue to make them till the mix is finished. (Beware: it is already tempting to eat these.) :)




6) Heat up the oil. Dip the begedil into the beaten egg and put it directly into the pan. 
7) Fry till the egg is done on both sides.

Kuih Bakar Berlauk

My family and I were invited to a Chinese New Year gathering in Eindhoven recently. It was a rather long drive from Amersfoort. But It would also be fun meeting other Singaporeans in a gathering for the first time. 
It took me a while thinking what I should make, since it was a potluck. I wanted to try making something new and decided on 'Kuih Bakar Berlauk'. While I was looking for the recipe, I realised that there were things that I had to do differently. Original recipe calls for it to be done on a stove using a mould that I do not have. (see picture below)

# 'Kuih bakar berlauk' literally means a baked savoury dish cake.
   'Kuih bakar berlauk' betekent letterlijk een gerecht van gebakken cake. 'Lauk' betekent vlees of      
   groentegerechten en dus hartig. 

That's when I put on my thinking cap and made do with what I have. I baked it in the oven and used a less conventional mould (mini cupcakes). My verdict - The taste is still there, perhaps a slightly different texture. 




(A) Ingredients for the batter (about 100 pieces):
600 g flour
500ml coconut cream (I used KARA) + water
5 eggs
2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cm of ginger (finely chopped) - I did not add
1 teaspoon yellow food colouring (powder) 

(B) Ingredients for the meat (I used minced meat) :
300 g minced meat
1 - 2  teaspoon white pepper 
1 - 11/2 tablespoon of meat curry powder
1 medium sized red onion *
1/2 cm of ginger *
5 tablespoon of oil
Salt to taste
 ( * finely chopped)

For toppings:
parsley, fried onions, sliced red chilli (deseed)

Method (B):
1) Heat up the oil. Fry the finely chopped or blended red onion and ginger till slightly fragrant. Add the curry powder. Mix till its even. (add a bit of water, if needed)
2) Add the minced meat and stir evenly.
3) Add salt and white pepper and water, if needed. Fry till the meat is cooked and till dry. After it is done, let it cool.

Method (A):
1) Beat the eggs, salt and ginger. 
2) Add the flour and coconut cream. Pour some water and mix till you get a smooth consistency.
    (The mix should neither be too thick nor watery). Add the colouring.
3) Add some of the cooked meat into the mixture. I added about 1/4 of it as my moulds are mini.

Now, let's bake them!
1) Preheat the oven to 180 deg C.
2) Grease the moulds with oil. 
3) Pour the mixture into the moulds. 
4) For the toppings - put the minced meat, parsley, red chili and fried onions.
5) Bake for 15 - 20 mins. 

Bakwan / Cucur Sayur (Groente Koekje)

Bakwan (Cucur) Sayur / Groente Koekje is een populair Maleisische en Indonesische hapje. Er zijn 

verschillende Cucur, zoals met maïs, banaan, garnalen.

Ingrediënten:

200g tarwebloem

½ theelepels bakpoeder

2 rode uien - gesneden

1 – 1½ kopjes water

1 a 2 theelepels zout

¾ theelepel zwartepeper

2 lente ui

Groentemix (Ik gebruikte ‘Basis Roerbak Mix’ van Jumbo)   of

mix 1 wortel, 50g taugeh, 3 koolbladeren

                                                         olie om te frituren

                                                         * je mag ook garnalen toevoegen

1) Doe de bloem en bakpoeder in een grote kom. Voeg zout en water toe. Roer de   ingrediënten tot een beslag. 

2) Meng de groente en voeg toe aan de kom. Schenk iets water bij als het beslag te dik is. (Voeg de garnalen toe als je wilt.) 

3) Verhit olie tot 175◦c. Schep een eetlepel van de mix en frituur dit tot beide kanten licht   bruin wordt. (Even omdraaien tussendoor) Je kunt er meerdere tegelijk frituren, zolang ze     los van elkaar blijven.

Serveer ze met een pikante chilisaus!

Sambal Tomato

Sambal tomaat wordt het best gegeten met geblancheerde groenten, gebakken tofu / tempeh / kip. Omdat de ingrediënten allemaal gebakken zijn, kan je de sambal voor maximaal een maand in de koelkast bewaren.





Ingredients :
(A)
1 medium-sized red onion, sliced to about 8 slices
2 garlic - sliced
3 red chillies - sliced
1 medium-sized tomato - cut to 4 pieces
(B)
2 cm belacan / trassi / shrimp paste - pan-fried without oil
1 tbs fried anchovies (optional)
1 tsp of sugar (depending on your taste)
lime

Method:
1) Heat up some oil. Fry the ingredients (A) till soft. And let them cool.
2) Put ingredients (A) shrimp paste and fried anchovies into the blender,
    Blend the ingredients.
3) Re-heat the remaining oil (might need to add a bit more) and fry the blended ingredients.
    Add sugar to taste. (Salt - optional)
4) Squeeze some lime before serving.

Since the ingredients are all fried, it can be kept for up to one month in the fridge.

MidWinter Markt @ De Nieuwe Stad (Amersfoort)

We joined the MidWinter Market for the first time on 18 December 2016. It started at 1100 so we were there earlier to set up the table. As the crowds started to come in during lunch, we had no electricity! Well, the power supply came back after an hour.

That's when we started to get busy, I mean REAL busy!People were sampling and ordering the food, asking where our restaurant is, if we do catering, etc! All in all, we had a fun time, with our boys helping out too.

Pumpkin Muffin / Pompoen Muffin

How do I love autumn? Let me count the ways....

I happened to come across a few recipes using pumpkin as autumn begins. Had my first hook at Starbucks, of course I had their signature 'Pumpkin Spice Latte'. And then my search for pumpkins began...
                                

I didn't realise that it was not easy to get pumpkins in The Netherlands. They do not come in abundance and they are usually quite small. Of course then I was informed that apples and pears are more of the Dutch thing than pumpkins.

I grabbed hold of a few small ones and decided to make Pumpkin Muffin first!





What's in it that makes my kitchen smells so sweet? I'd say 'Pumpkin, Spice and Everything Nice'.

Ingredients:

(A) 200g pumpkin - boiled and mashed
      1 egg, 100g castor sugar, 40g sunflower/corn oil
      45g butter - melted, 1 teaspoon vanilla essence

(B) 190g flour, 1 teaspoon baking powder
      1/2 teaspoon baking soda, a pinch of salt
      1/2 teaspoon cinnamon powder
      sliced almonds as garnishing


Method:

1) After mashing the boiled pumpkin, add in all the ingredients (A). Mix
    them well with a whisk.

2) Add all the ingredients (B) and mix them well. You may want to add raisins too.

3) Pour the mix (A) into (B) and mix them well. Do not stir too much or the muffins will become
    hard.

4) Pour in the muffin mould about 3/4 full and garnish it with the sliced almonds.
    Bake at 180 deg C for 30 mins or till they are done.    

     

Black Pepper Beef

Het is al een tijdje, maar ik ben terug. :)
Sinds het einde van de zomervakantie, heb ik het druk met nieuwe 'ventures' en het is tijd dat ik doe de dingen die ik leuk vind.

Dus mijn 'eerste' post is Black Pepper Beef.


It's been a while but I am back. :)
Since the end of the summer holiday, I've been busy with new ventures and it's about time that I take a notch down and do the things that I enjoy.

So my 'first' post after being on MIA for a month is Black Pepper Beef.

Een makkelijk recept maar erg lekker. Zorg ervoor dat de peper goed wordt fijngemalen, anders overheerst dit teveel. Serveer met rijst of noedels. 

Ingredients:
500 grams of beef, sliced thinly and boil until tender
1 tablespoon flour, A pinch of salt
1 large onion, cut into round
1/2 inch ginger *
3 cloves garlic *
1/2 tablespoon whole black pepper, crushed 
2 tablespoons oyster sauce 
1 tablespoon dark soy sauce 
Salt and sugar to taste (I did not add)
Mushrooms / capsicum
1/4 cup water

Sliced chives for garnish







Method:
1) Drain the meat, then mix with the flour and a pinch of salt. Fry the meat till it is brown.
2) Leave approximately 3 tablespoons of oil. Sauté the chopped garlic and ginger * (I sliced the
   ginger thinly) until fragrant. Then add the oyster sauce and black pepper. Stir well and cook briefly.
3) Add the meat, dark soy sauce and mushrooms/capsicum, mix well and add water. Cook over
    medium heat until thickened. Add the onion rings, a little sugar and salt to taste and stir.
4) Sprinkle chopped chives before serving. Best eaten with hot steamed rice.