Ayam Betutu

It's been while since my last post so now I'd like to share a recipe of a very popular festive dish in Bali called "Ayam Betutu". It's a slow-cooked chicken stuffed with a mixture of spices called "base genep", wrapped with a combination of banana leaf and palm tree fibre, and buried underground with hot coal to cook for 4-6 hours. Yes, it sounds very labour intense, but the result is a very moist and soft chicken with the complex flavour of the spices penetrating every part. My version of this dish is a lot easier but with a similar result.


Ayam Betutu

1 whole chicken (weight 1.5 to 2 kg)


For "Betutu" spice:


2 tbs chopped fresh galangal
1 tbs chopped fresh ginger
1 tsp ground turmeric
2 stems lemongrass, chopped
4 cloves garlic
2 shallots
2 kaffir lime leaves
1 red chilli, de-seeded and chopped
2 clove, ground
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
2 candlenut or macademia nut
a pinch of shrimp paste
1 tbs palm sugar or brown sugar
1 tsp tamarind paste
1 tbs vegetable oil


Grind all the ingredients above in a blender until they turn into a paste. Fry the paste for a few minutes until fragrant then marinate the chicken with it. Put the remaining paste inside the cavity of the chicken. Place the chicken in a roasting tin and cover with some foil. Cook in a pre-heated oven at 160 C for 1.5 to 2 hours or until the meat falls off the bones. Serve with steamed rice and steamed kale or spinach.

TheRumblingKitchen: Grilled Chicken With Homemade Barbecue Sauce

TheRumblingKitchen: Grilled Chicken With Homemade Barbecue Sauce: "Cooking chicken on a barbecue is a bit tricky. To get the right result you need to pre-cook it in the oven before you put it under the grill..."

Grilled Chicken With Homemade Barbecue Sauce

Cooking chicken on a barbecue is a bit tricky. To get the right result you need to pre-cook it in the oven before you put it under the grill or on a barbecue, if not you might end up with an undercooked chicken. In this recipe I marinated the chicken with our homemade barbecue sauce (me and my wife argue over which of us created it). We did our research on the internet and came up with this recipe which combines Western and Asian flavours. It's a good cupboard staple to have because it's so versatile. Use it on a pizza instead of tomato sauce or to marinate pork ribs for a barbecue. I served my grilled chicken with a grilled corn on the cob which I had marinated with a mixture of the barbecue sauce and some butter. We also had a bowl of salad, some slices of focaccia bread and it was a great barbecue combo on a plate.

For the barbecue sauce:

Ingredients:

1 tbs vegetable oil
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 inch fresh ginger, chopped
1/2 big fresh red chilli, chopped
1 star anise
2 tbs molasses or black treacle
1 tbs dark soy sauce
5 tbs tomato ketchup
1 tsp wholegrain mustard
1 tsp smoked paprika
salt and pepper

Heat the oil in a sauce pan and fry the garlic,chilli and ginger until fragrant. Add the rest of the ingredients with a splash of water and simmer on a medium heat until the sauce has thickened up and is syrupy.

For the grilled chicken and corn on the cob:

Serves 2

2 chicken legs (including thighs)
2 corn on the cobs
1 tbs of butter, melted

Marinate the chicken with the barbecue sauce and cook in a pre-heated oven at 200 C for 15 to 20 minutes. While the chicken is cooking you can start preparing the corn on the cobs, by mixing the melted butter and barbecue sauce and marinating the corns with the mixture. Cook the corn under the grill, turning regularly until each side is cooked. After that continue to cook the chicken under the grill until the skin turns crispy. If you have a griddle pan you can use it instead of the grill but it will produce a lot of smoke in your kitchen. If you are having a barbecue, even better. This dish will guarantee everybody is licking their fingers and their plates.

Balinese Street Food

"Nasi campur" as I mentioned in my previous post is one of the most popular dishes in Bali and you can easily get it in every "warung". In this post I'd like to share a recipe of my favourite accompaniment to "nasi campur"; it's a type of sweetcorn fritter with spices and in Bali we call it "perkedel jagung", "jagung" means corn and I assume "perkedel" means fritter. I'm not entirely sure because the origin of this food is Java but it's so popular in Bali now so it has became part of Balinese cuisine.


Spicy Sweetcorn Fritters

Ingredients:


275g can sweetcorn, drained
65g plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 egg
2 tbs soy sauce
4 kaffir lime leaves, finely shredded
1 clove garlic, chopped
2 inches fresh lemongrass, finely chopped
1/2 fresh red chilli, finely chopped
1 handful fresh coriander, chopped


Put the sweetcorn in a food processor and process until fairly smooth. In a bowl whisk the egg, add the flour and baking powder and mix into a batter-like consistency. Add the rest of the ingredients and the sweetcorn into the batter, season with salt and pepper and mix thoroughly. Heat the oil in a large frying pan. Drop 6 separate tablespoonfuls of the batter and fry at a medium heat until golden brown on each side. Repeat with the remaining batter. Serve the fritters with some chilli jam (you can get the recipe from my previous post).

A Humble Risotto

Summer is approaching and the best thing to do to celebrate it is to use the best of summer vegetables. In this recipe I gave the humble risotto a lift by using a winning combination of tomato and basil. I slow-roasted the tomatoes in the oven to bring out the intense flavour and served it with some fresh and crunchy salad to balance the creaminess of the risotto. We invited one of our friends for dinner and served this risotto. It got good feedback from her -coincidently she's a vegetarian. But I think this risotto is good enough to serve to carnivores and it might change their mind about meat-free food.

Tomato and Basil Risotto with a Crunchy Salad

Serves 2

Ingredients:

200g arborio rice

10 cherry tomatoes, halved

1 tbs olive oil

1 onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, chopped

a sprig fresh thyme, chopped

1/2 red or yellow pepper, sliced

1/3 courgette, sliced

1 cube vegetable stock diluted in 500ml boiling water

1 tbs crème fraiche 

75g cheddar cheese, grated

a handful fresh basil, roughly chopped

salt and pepper

For the salad:

5 radishes, thinly sliced

2 black or green olives, chopped

a handful salad cress

1 tbs sunflower seeds, dry roasted on a frying pan

1 tsp virgin olive oil

3 drops sesame or walnut oil

1 tsp lemon juice

salt and pepper

Start by preheating the oven to 140C, then arrange the halved tomatoes on a roasting tray, sprinkle with a teaspoon of caster sugar, season with salt and pepper and roast in the preheated oven for about 30-45 minutes. 


While the tomatoes are in the oven you can start preparing the ingredients for  the salad. For the salad dressing, in a bowl whisk the virgin olive oil, sesame oil, lemon juice, season with salt and pepper and set aside. 


For the risotto, heat the olive oil in a deep frying pan, add the onion and sweat until translucent. Add the garlic and thyme and continue cooking until fragrant, then add the rice, pepper and courgette and stir until all the rice is well covered with the oil. Keep stirring while adding ladlefuls of stock from time to time to the rice for about 15 minutes. Taste the rice for seasoning and texture, the rice should be 'al dente' soft on the outside but still has a bite in the middle. If you run out of stock before the rice is cooked, add some boiling water. 


Once the rice is cooked, add the slow roasted tomatoes, fresh basil, crème fraiche and grated cheddar into the pan and stir well. Turn the heat off and put the lid on the pan and let the risotto rest for 2 minutes. 


Meanwhile prepare the salad by tossing the radishes, salad cress, toasted sunflower seeds and chopped olives in a bowl with the dressing that you prepared earlier. Serve the risotto on a warm plate with a handful of the crunchy salad on top.

TheRumblingKitchen: Balinese Street Food III

TheRumblingKitchen: Balinese Street Food III: "I got a special request the other day from my wife, Clare to cook one of her many favourite Balinese foods. We call it 'Ayam Goreng Lalapan'..."

Balinese Street Food III

I got a special request the other day from my wife, Clare to cook one of her many favourite Balinese foods. We call it "Ayam Goreng Lalapan"; ayam goreng means fried chicken and lalapan means accompaniments. So basically it's a spicy deep fried chicken accompanied by some spicy tomato sauce (Sambal), yet another spicy Balinese salad and some steamed rice. Yes I mentioned a lot of spicy words here but don't be put off by it because you could always use less chilli to adjust to your own taste. I'm Balinese but to be honest I can't handle hot food as much as Clare can - I really trained her well. As I mentioned above the chicken in this dish should be deep fried until crispy but in this recipe I roasted the chicken instead, and the result was as good as deep frying but less greasy. I didn't put the recipe for the steamed rice as you can check it out on my fried rice recipe. As I have mentioned in my previous posts, the less well-known ingredients in this recipe, such as shrimp paste (fermented ground shrimp) and kaffir lime leaves, are widely available at your local Asian or Chinese supermarket.


Crispy Spicy Chicken Legs with Spicy Green Bean and Beansprout Salad and Spicy Tomato Sauce (Sambal).

Ingredients:

2 medium sized chicken legs

For the spice paste:

2 cloves garlic

1 shallot

2 inches lemongrass, chopped

1 tsp coriander seeds

1 candlenut or macadamia nut

half of red chilli

1/2 tsp ground turmeric

1 tbs coconut milk

salt and pepper

Crush all the spice paste ingredients in a blender or a food processor with a tablespoon of vegetable oil and then rub the mixture onto the chicken legs. Simmer the chicken legs in a pan on a medium heat with 150ml of water for about 20 minutes. After that continue to cook the chicken legs in a preheated oven at 180C in a roasting tin for about 20 minutes or until the skin is golden brown and crispy. While the chicken is cooking you can start preparing the other components of the dish.

"Sambal"

For the "Sambal":

3 medium sized tomatoes

1 fat clove garlic

1 shallot

1 red chilli, less if you prefer it mild

1 kaffir lime leaf

1/4 tsp shrimp paste 
1 tsp brown sugar

salt

Blanch the tomatoes, chilli, garlic and shallot in boiling water for 3 minutes and then put in a blender with the rest of the ingredients and blend until it turns into a chunky paste. Heat 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil in a sauce pan and cook the sambal on a mediun heat for about 30-40 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent from sticking.

For the spicy salad:
a handful beansprouts
100g green beans, chopped

3 shallots, finely sliced
1 clove garlic, finely sliced
1/2 chilli, finely sliced
a pinch shrimp paste (optional)
75g fresh coconut, shredded and dry toasted in a frying pan
2 fresh kaffir lime leaves, thinly sliced
1/2 tsp lime juice
salt and pepper


Blanch the green beans and the beansprouts for about 3 minutes in a pan of boiling water, after that refresh in cold water, drain and set aside in a bowl. Fry the sliced shallot, garlic, chilli and shrimp paste (if using) in a pan with hot oil until crispy. Add the fried shallot mixture into the bowl of boiled green beans and beansprouts together with the toasted fresh coconut, thinly sliced kaffir lime leaves, lime juice, salt and pepper and toss with your hand until properly mixed.


Serve the crispy chicken legs on top of the spicy green bean and beansprout salad, a portion of warm steamed rice, a blob of the "sambal" and some "kecap manis" (Indonesian style sweet soy sauce) on the side. Eat while it's still hot.

Paneer Kebabs

Masterchef, one of my favourite culinary shows on TV, is on air now. I saw one of the contestants last week was making this vegetarian dish and got through to the next stage. It's got to be an outstanding veggie dish to be able to beat the meat dishes that were presented by most of the other contestants. It was Paneer Kebab with Cucumber Raita, Coriander Chutney, and Pilau Rice. Paneer is a fresh Indian curd cheese and has a similar texture to halloumi, so if you can't find it you can substitute it with halloumi instead.  Inspired by that dish I was trying to make my own version of it and it was rather nice because the spiciness of the kebab and the freshness of the chutney and the raita works really well. Most of the ingredients that I mention here are widely available at your local Asian supermarkets.


Tandoori Spiced Paneer Kebabs with Fresh Coriander and Coconut Chutney, Cucumber Raita and Pilau Rice

Ingredients

For the Tandoori Paneer

250g paneer, cut into cubes

1 whole red pepper, cut into cubes

3 mushrooms, cut into quarters

1/2 aubergine, cut into cubes

For the marinade

150ml plain yoghurt

75ml double cream

2 garlic cloves, crushed

1 tsp chopped ginger

1/2 tsp cayenne paper

1 tsp ground coriander

2 tsp garam masala

1/2 tsp turmeric

1 handful fresh coriander, finely chopped

2 tsp lime juice

salt and pepper

Mix all the ingredients for the marinade in a bowl and season with salt and pepper. Mix the marinade with the paneer, aubergine, mushrooms and red pepper and set aside to marinate for 15 minutes.

For the fresh coriander and coconut chutney


100g fresh coconut, roughly chopped
1 whole bunch fresh coriander
5 mint leaves
1 small garlic clove, chopped
1/2 green chilli, deseeded and chopped
1 tbs plain yoghurt
1 tsp lime juice
salt and pepper

Fresh Coconut and Coriander Chutney

Combine all ingredients in a food processor or a blender, season with salt and pepper, blitz for about 5 minutes and put in a bowl and keep refrigerated until needed.


For the raita


3 tbs yoghurt
1 tbs roughly chopped cucumber
5 mint leaves, chopped
1 tsp finely chopped onion
salt and pepper


Combine all ingredients in a bowl, mix well using a fork and set aside


For the pilau rice


180g basmati rice
380ml boiling water
2 tbs vegetable oil
1/2 onion, chopped
1 bay leaf
2 inches cinnamon stick
2 whole green cardamoms
2 cloves
1 tbs sultanas
1 tbs toasted flaked almonds for garnish
salt and pepper


Sweat the onion on a deep saucepan until translucent, add the bay leaf, cinnamon stick, cloves and cardamoms and fry for another 3 minutes. Then add the rice, sultanas and water, and season with salt and pepper. Turn the heat down to the lowest setting and slowly simmer with the lid on for about 15 minutes until the rice is cooked and fluffy. 
While the rice is cooking you can start cooking the kebabs. Thread the paneer and the vegetables alternately onto wooden skewers and cook under a grill on medium heat for 5 minutes on each side or until all the vegetables are tender. Serve the kebabs with the rice, chutney and raita.

Balinese Street Food II

Nasi campur (mixed rice) is the dish most commonly eaten by Balinese people and is available in almost every warung (food stall) in Bali. It consists of a portion of steamed white rice, accompanied by an assortment of meat, fish and vegetables, and it won't be complete without the spicy tomato and chilli sauce (sambal) and some prawn or other type of crackers. The style of these assortments differ from warung to warung guaranteeing you can get something slightly different every time. One popular example is some sort of fishcake with a spicy and aromatic taste. It would normally contain 1/4 fish and 3/4 mashed potatoes and other ingredients. I don't really know what type of fish they would use but I could imagine that it could be some kind of oily fish with a tasty fishy flavour. So inspired by that dish, last night I tried to recreate it with my own interpretation according to my memory of the flavour. I used salmon but I suppose you can use any other type of fish or a mixture of it such as haddock, coley, pollock, or even mackerel. Most of the ingredients that I mention here would be available at your local Asian supermarket.

Spicy Fishcakes with Chilli Jam

For the chilli jam


Ingredients:
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 tsp chopped ginger
1/2 red chilli, chopped
3 tomatoes
1 kaffir lime leaf, chopped
2 tbs brown sugar
1 tbs dark soy sauce
1 tbs vinegar
salt and pepper


Blitz the tomatoes, chilli, ginger, and kaffir lime leaf in a blender or a food processor until fairly smooth. Transfer to a sauce pan with the remaining ingredients. Bring to the boil, reduce the heat then simmer gently and stir occasionally to prevent from sticking  for about 20-30 minutes until thick and jam-like. Set aside and leave until cool. 


For the fishcakes


Ingredients


(Makes about 4)


2 salmon fillets
200g potatoes, boiled and mashed
1 tsp chopped ginger
1 clove garlic, chopped
1/2 red chilli, deseeded and chopped
1 stalk lemongrass, chopped
2 kaffir lime leaves, chopped
1 tbs dark soy sauce
2 tsp fish sauce
1 tsp sesame oil
2 spring onions, sliced
a handful fresh coriander, chopped
salt and pepper
1 egg, beaten
1 bowl of fresh breadcrumbs, made from 4 slices of bread, blitzed in a blender or food processor.


Pre-heat the oven to 180C, place the fillets in a baking tray skin-side down and bake in the preheated oven for 15-20 minutes. Once cooked set aside until cool. While the fish is cooking you can start preparing the other ingredients. Mix all the ingredients except the egg and breadcrumbs, and when the fish has cooled down remove the skin, shred the fillets using a fork, add to the mixture and mix thoroughly. Shape the mixture into medium-sized patties, dip into the beaten egg and roll in the breadcrumbs until well covered. Put the patties inside a fridge for 15 minutes to firm them up, then deep fry in hot oil until golden brown and serve with chilli jam on the side.

Pan Fried Sea Bream with Moroccan Spiced Vegetables, Crushed Potatoes and Harissa

I didn't have any plans to cook this dish last night but when I was at my local Chinese supermarket and saw a nice-looking whole Sea Bream in the fridge for £3.80 (what a bargain!!) I couldn't resist the temptation to buy it. I don't buy Sea Bream very often because they can be quite pricey, but along with Sea Bass they are one of my favourite fishes because of their firm texture and delicate flavour. You don't normally need to do a lot with them, simply grilled or barbecued until the skins crackle and served with potato salad and herby tomato salsa would be enough. But as I had the time to do something more, I decided to fillet, pan fry and serve it with Moroccan spiced vegetables, crushed potatoes and harissa (Moroccan style spicy sauce). I got the harissa recipe from one of Gordon Ramsay's cookbooks. I'd made it before with Mackerel and it worked really well so I thought it would go well with the Sea Bream, and to stick with the Moroccan theme I served it with some roasted vegetables marinated in Moroccan spices. 

Pan Fried Sea Bream with Moroccan Spiced Vegetables, Crushed Potatoes and Harissa

Serves 2

Ingredients:

1 whole sea bream, filleted and bones removed (ask the fishmonger to do it for you)

1 tsp ras-el-hanout (a mixture of Moroccan spices, available at Tesco or Sainsbury's)

salt and pepper

Sprinkle each side of the fillet with the spices and salt and pepper and set aside to marinate for 15 minutes or more.

For the harissa:

1 whole roasted red pepper, deseeded and skinned

1/2 fresh red chilli, deseeded

1 small garlic clove

1 tsp tomato puree

few threads of saffron

1 tsp balsamic vinegar

1/2 tsp caster sugar

a pinch of ground cumin
a pinch of ground coriander

1/2 tsp sweet paprika 

1 tsp lemon juice

1 tbs virgin olive oil

Put all the ingredients in a blender or food processor, blitz into a puree and set aside.

For the spiced roasted vegetables:

4 mushrooms, sliced
1 red or yellow pepper, sliced
1/2 aubergine, sliced
1 tsp ras-el-hanout
1/2 tsp ground coriander
a pinch of ground cumin
1 tsp sweet paprika
1 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tbs olive oil
salt and pepper


Mix all the ingredients above in a baking tray and season with salt and pepper. Bake in a preheated oven at 160 C for 20 - 30 minutes. While the vegetables are in the oven you can start preparing the crushed potatoes:


300g maris piper potatoes
a knob of butter
1 garlic clove, chopped
10 pitted black or green olives, chopped
1 tbs olive oil


Cut the potatoes into wedges and boil until tender. Melt the butter in a frying pan, fry the garlic until fragrant then throw the boiled potatoes, chopped olives and the oil into the pan. Stir thoroughly for a few minutes on a low heat and season with salt and pepper. Set aside and keep warm. 


Meanwhile heat a non-stick frying pan on a high heat and add 1 tbs of vegetable oil. When the oil is hot fry the fillet on the skin-side first for about 5 minutes then turn the heat down a bit and fry the other side of the fillet for another 5 minutes.


To serve arrange the crushed potatoes and roasted vegetables in the centre of a warm plate and put the fillet skin side up on top of them. Smear the harissa on each side of the plate, garnish the fillet with a slice of lemon and sprinkle with some toasted sunflower and sesame seeds.

TheRumblingKitchen: Balinese Street Food

TheRumblingKitchen: Balinese Street Food: "As a Balinese man having moved the UK the first thing that I really missed was the convenience of getting delicious freshly cooked foods at ..."

Balinese Street Food

As a Balinese man having moved to the UK the first thing that I really missed was the convenience of getting delicious freshly cooked foods at any time of the day. I missed all those "warungs" dotted along the street, the noise of the street vendors banging their wok stirring the fried rice or noodles and the smell of barbecued satay on the charcoal barbecue pits that just makes your stomach rumble. So today I'd like to show you how to recreate one of the most loved street food dishes "Nasi Goreng" or you may call it fried rice. It's a very simple, quick and easy dish to prepare, and you can add almost any leafy vegetables that you want or any sunday roast dinner meat leftover. But now I'll show you the basic recipe for it 

Ingredients
Serves 2


180g easy cook rice
1 tbs vegetable oil
1 whole onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 cm ginger, chopped
1/2 fresh red chilli, chopped (less if you prefer it mild)
1/2 carrot, cut into matchsticks
4 mushrooms, sliced
1 handful bean sprouts
2 spring onions sliced
1 tbsp tomato ketchup

1 tbsp dark soy sauce

1 tsp oyster sauce

1/2 tsp sesame oil

2 eggs
salt and pepper
few sprigs fresh coriander to garnish


Cook the rice according to the instruction on the package and set aside. While the rice is cooking prepare all the vegetables and other ingredients. When all the ingredients are ready, heat the oil in a wok or  deep frying pan, throw the onion into the pan and cook until translucent. Add the ginger, garlic, chilli and stir fry for a few minutes. After that add all the vegetables and keep stirring for 3 minutes and then add the cooked rice and all the sauces and stir fry for 5 minutes until the rice is mixed properly with the sauces and season with salt and pepper. Meanwhile heat another frying pan and fry the eggs sunny side up. Serve the "Nasi Goreng" with chopped fresh coriander and a fried egg on top.