Seafood Dumplings in Peanut Sauce

(My version of the Indonesian street food Siomay Bandung)

Food cravings drove me to be extra creative lately. Especially since the latest strong desire and taste I had were for authentic Indonesian dishes! Example number one, Siomay Bandung: steamed seafood dumplings drizzled with peanut sauce (Bandung is the city of origin of the dish) .

Back when I was little in Surabaya, the seller of siomay would pedal his bike, that had a small wooden box attached to the back to carry a steamer full of siomay and the sauces, all over the neighborhood in late afternoon. Street food hawkers, in my family’s neighborhood, seemed to have their own particular schedule: bakery and bread in the morning, fruit salad (rujak) in the afternoon, siomay and meatballs later in the afternoon, while satay, fried rice, fried noodle, would come at night. The siomay man would call out, “May, Siomay…” while sounding his bicycle horn over and over. I’d recognize that sound immediately and ran toward the terrace to call and stop him in front of our house. A big chunk of my childhood memories is filled with lots of good eats!

There are tons of recipes out there to create this dish from scratch. But I was far too hungry for it and couldn’t, wouldn’t, be patient enough to do so. Entered an idea, a simpler way to prepare Siomay Bandung with pleasing result.

Here’s how I do my version. We’ll need:

A dozen fish meat balls (frozen section, Asian grocery store)
A packet of shrimp dumplings (frozen section, Asian grocery store)
A dozen of fried tofu balls (vegetable section, Asian grocery store)
Three tablespoon of sweet soy sauce (Indonesian food product section, Asian grocery store)
Two tablespoon of chili sauce (Indonesian food product section, Asian grocery store)
½ cup of peanut sauce with garlic, ginger, and lemongrass (Brand: House of Tsang , Bangkok Peanut Sauce, Dipping Sauce. Found at Kroger).
Juice from ½ of lime
1 tablespoon of canola oil
A handful of frozen green beans

Steps:

Set steaming pan above the pot filled halfway with water. Bring to a rolling boil over medium heat.
Place fish meat balls, shrimp dumplings, tofu balls, green beans on the steamer and drizzle them with canola oil.
Cover the pan and steam for about 8-10 minutes to thaw and warm up (they are precooked)
Cut them up to smaller pieces.
Mix all of the sauces and lime juice in a bowl.
Serve the pieces on a plate and drizzle with the sauce.

Selamat Makan! (Enjoy your meal!)

Have a great weekend!

Smoked Salmon in Spicy Coconut Milk Sauce

Seafood Recipes

Smokey, spicy, aromatic, and easy to make. Inspired by a native dish of an area in East Java, I recently added smoked salmon in spicy coconut milk sauce into my list of favorite menu. The idea is simple: add sauce (and flavors) to an otherwise dry fish. As for the sauce, all it takes: mix coconut milk with garlic, shallots, and chili peppers and bring it to a boil. Then add galangal root for some lemony aroma. That’s it. (The original recipe involves serving a type of smoked fish that is not available in the States. So I substitute it with smoked salmon.)

Here’s my easy recipe:

We’ll need:

2 fillets of smoked salmon
3 garlic
3 shallots
5 Thai peppers (or other type of chili peppers that you prefer)
Salt
7 fl oz of light coconut milk (1/2 can of the regular 14 fl oz—Use the rest of the milk for Braised Collard Greens, next blog post)
1 inch cut of galangal root, smashed (No galangal root? Substitute with zest from one lemon or lime)
1 tablespoon of vegetable/canola oil

Steps:

Chop garlic, shallots, and Thai peppers in a food processor
Heat up a medium size pan over medium heat and add oil
Sweat garlic, shallots, and peppers for about one to two minutes
Add coconut milk, salt, and galangal root to the pan. Stir until it starts to bubble.
Add the fish fillets and coat with the sauce. Since the fish is already smoked/cooked, I just need to mix it with the sauce. I let it sit in the bubbling sauce for two or three minutes.
Discard galangal root
Serve with hot jasmine rice and braised collard greens

Thanks for reading and have a great week!

Mango Sambal Over Broiled Tilapia

Condiment, Seafood Recipes

In Surabaya, there’s this incredible sambal mangga or chili pepper condiment that is mixed with thin-sliced mango. (In Bahasa Indonesia: sambal refers to crushed chili peppers mixture and mangga means mango.) The condiment is usually served with grilled fish, squid, or prawn, and steaming hot jasmine rice. It is simply to die for, as my sister would say. This sambal and the grilled seafood are my must-haves when I return to my homeland. Here’s what the condiment looks like. Whenever I look at this picture, I experience a Pavlov’s dog moment. Ding!

Mango Chili Pepper Condiment at Asia Baru Restaurant in Surabaya

Thin-sliced mango in chili peppers: A condiment at Asia Baru Restaurant in Surabaya (Picture by Harini, 12/12)

Inspired by mango sambal at a local seafood restaurant in Surabaya, I created something similar to accompany my broiled Tilapia.

Tilapia covered by Mango Sambal by Harini

Here is how I do the manggo sambal (My recipe for the broiled Tilapia is right below it.)

Warning: Spicy!

We will need:

1 mango (I find one that is ripe but not too soft)
3 Thai peppers
5 hot finger peppers
2 shallots
1 garlic
1 small tomato (or 4 grape tomatoes)
Salt

Steps:

I peel the mango and gently slice it into thin cuts (lengthwise). Then stack the mango meat together and start slicing them into skinny cuts. Plate them and set aside.
Make the sambal in a food processor by mixing and chopping: Thai peppers, tomato, hot finger peppers, shallots, garlic. Add salt.
Mix the mango and sambal together.

For the broiled Tilapia: (or your preferred mild-tasting fish), we’ll need:

4 fillets (thawed)
Salt
Pepper
Ginger powder (a pinch)
Turmeric powder (a pinch)
Coriander powder (a pinch)
1 tablespoon of vegetable oil
1 Lime (lemon works too)

Steps:

In a bowl, mix vegetable oil, salt, pepper, ginger powder, turmeric powder, coriander powder, lime juice from half of lime
Coat the fillets with the marinade and let them sit for 15 minutes. Make sure they are coated evenly on both sides.
Heat the oven broiler
Grease the oven tray and place the fillets on it. Broil for 8-12 minutes (no turning) until the fillets turn golden brown, crispy on the outside, and flaky in the inside. Give at least 6 inches of distance between the broiler and the tray.

Plate the fish and top with the mango sambal. Serve with hot jasmine rice. Add some more lime juice from the other half if necessary.

Ding!

More Tilapia recipes:

Crispy Baked Tilapia

Spiced Up, Steamed, and Broiled Tilapia

Have a great weekend!

Eating Out in Indonesia

Culinary travel

I had just returned from paradise. A tropical and food paradise. Hence the long pause in my food blogging activity. Jeff and I flew back to our homeland, Indonesia, this past December. I took a break from cooking for about three weeks and we ate out almost every single day. In those days we didn’t eat out, our parents and relatives sent food for us! Our families spoiled us with both home-cooked and street food. Ah…the beauty of returning home.

What else can I tell you here about our culinary travel while visiting our families? Ooo yeah, seafood! The plentiful, never ending seafood! Tons of different kinds. The place is heaven for serious seafood enthusiasts such as yours truly.

In this first blog entry in 2013, I wanted to display a few original dishes from the motherland. Since most of my cooking is heavily influenced by Indonesian taste, especially East Javanese and West Sumatran, I thought I’d share images of the real deal, our favorites, and some street food. They will also serve as my cooking inspiration later on.

Eaters discretion is advised

Street food: Bubur Madura

Street food: the sweet Bubur Madura (made of rice flour and drizzled with melted palm sugar.)

Jeffri’s Favorite: Sate Kelapa (chicken or beef satay with shredded coconut)

A big time favorite: Nasi Campur (vegetable, hard boiled egg, and Javanese beef steak over white rice)

Nasi Madura or Madurese Rice (white rice topped with fried tempeh, beef, vegetable stir fry, hard boiled egg, and a VERY spicy sambal or chili paste)

Kupang Lontong and Sate Kerang. Kupang Lontong is East Javanese traditional and favorite food. (Kupang Lontong is small shellfish with rice cake in a broth cooked with shrimp paste.)

Sate Kerang (small clams satay). They are normally served with Kupang Lontong.

Roti Bakar or Toast with fruit jam

Rujak Buah (fruit salad with peanut, chili pepper, and palm sugar dressing)

Beef Soto Seller

Fried tofu with vegetable filling

My favorite breakfast menu: Bubur Ayam (chicken porridge topped with fried shallots, green onion, sambal, and a little bit of soy sauce).

“To die for”: Grilled prawns

“To die for”: Sambal Pencit (young mango in chili paste, a condiment)

“To die for”: Grilled seafood (Baronang fish) with the spicy condiments. (Asia Baru Restaurant, Surabaya)

Traditional tea drink with ginger, lemongrass, lemon, and honey (Ubud, Bali)

Jogjakarta’s Nasi Kucing or cat’s rice (the name refers to the very small portion. I guess cats eat very little). It’s got rice with sambal, fish, and tempeh.