Indonesian Food #5
1. RENDANG 
Rendang is a dish that most people expect to see on the table when Hari Raya dawns.

There are various types of rendang, and depending on which state you originate from, chances are that you would have tried the flavoursome Malay dish at some point in your life.

With meat as its main ingredient, the dish’s robust flavour is derived from an exciting mix of aromatic culinary herbs and vegetables such as galangal, turmeric, lemongrass, chillies, shallots, ginger, garlic, daun limau purut and tumeric leaves.

Of course, the addition of coconut milk and kerisik gives rendang its desired richness and texture, the gravy of which permeates into the meat of choice, which can either be chicken, beef, lamb, duck or liver.
Some cooks like using dried chillies to prepare the reddish orange hued rendang or rendang hijau with fresh green chillies, while others prefer Rendang Tok — the deep dark brown slightly sweet version from Perak.

The dish happens to be a personal favourite when I decide on Malay food for a meal, and especially during Hari Raya, rendang, serunding and lemang are must-haves.


I almost missed out on an intriguing flavour at Le Meridien Kuala Lumpur’s Latest Recipe but luckily, executive sous chef Zubir Mohd Zain spoke in-depth about his latest creation for Ramadan — Rendang Ayam Pencen Pucuk Ubi which prompted me to get up and go in search of it.

What’s outstanding about this rendang creation is that the green chillies, used in abundance in the recipe, gives it a unique green shade.

However, it is Zubir’s inclusion of young tapioca leaves in this slightly spicy chicken stew that intrigued me.
“This particular rendang is similar to the Minangkabau version where green chillies are used but I chose to add pucuk ubi to the gravy to give texture and flavour to the dish,” he said.

The tapioca leaves in the dish gives it a mild bitter, sweet aftertaste that does not come across as pungent because of the luscious gravy, made using numerous herbs, spices and coconut.

There are other dishes to whet your appetite at the restaurant during the fasting month.

The appetiser, main course and desserts change daily but look out for the daily feature and specials of the day near the Indian Corner.

Zubir’s Roasted Baby Lamb marinated in Arabic spices is the star item of the month as it is served everyday while specials of the day differ from day to day with scrumptious finds such as Red Snapper with Portuguese Sauce, Roasted Duck with Kurma Spices and Almonds, Roasted Spiced Turkey with Honey and Balinese Baked Fish.

For this Ramadan, there are up to 200 dishes for diners to break their fast with.

Among the tantalising dishes being dished out by the kitchen are Malay kerabu, Mee Rebus Johor, rojak buah, Asam Pedas Ikan Jenahak with Mentimun Tua, Udang Harimau Masak Serai, Dalcha Kambing Pulau Pinang Tumis Darat Kacang Mungai, Daging Batang Pinang Goreng Lada Hitam and Rempah Sangai.

For those who prefer to break their fast with something else, there are several other enticing choices from the Japanese, Indian, Malaysian Hot Plate, pau and dim sum, chicken rice, noodle, pasta, hot wok, carving, teppanyaki, ice cream and waffle stations.


The buffet dinner is available until Aug 6 and is priced at RM128++ per person (from Monday to Friday), RM118++ per person (Saturday and Sunday) and RM88++ per person (for bookings after 9pm from Monday to Thursday).

RECIPE OF RENDANG

Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 3 hours

INGREDIENTS (FOR 6 PEOPLE)
3 lb beef, cut into chunks
5 tablespoons oil
Whole spices
1 cinnamon stick
5 garlic cloves
3 star anise
4 green cardamom pods
Whole spices, dry roasted and then ground into powder
1 tablespoon fennel seeds
1 tablespoon cumin seeds
1 ½ tablespoon coriander seeds
Wet Paste
3 stalks lemongrass, white part only, thinly sliced
1 2-inch piece of galangal
1 1-inch piece of ginger
10 shallots
1 2-inch piece of turmeric root
6 kaffir lime leaves, finely chopped
6 garlic cloves
10 red hot chili peppers, soaked and seeded
2 cups coconut milk
5 tablespoons kerisik (grated coconut, toasted and crushed) (optional)
2 tablespoons pure tamarind extract
Salt
Palm sugar (to taste)

PREPARATION
  1. Mix all the wet paste ingredients in a blender or food processor.
  2. In a skillet, toast coriander, cumin and fennel seeds for 2 to 3 minutes, then grind in a spice grinder or using a mortar and pestle.
  3. Add oil to the skillet, bring the heat to medium-low, add the whole spices and sweat for a few minutes.
  4. Add the wet paste into the skillet and cook over medium-low heat for 20 to 30 minutes or until the oil begins to separate from the ingredients.
  5. Add the dry ground spices to the pan and mix with the wet paste.
  6. Fry for about 5 minutes, being careful not to burn the mixture.
  7. Add the meat, coat with paste and fry for about 1 minute.
  8. Add the coconut milk. Bring to a boil then reduce heat to low.
  9. Simmer very gently uncovered for about 3 hours or until the meat is cooked and the sauce is reduced considerably.
  10. Add keresik (optional) and tamarind and simmer for another 20 minutes.
  11. Add salt and palm sugar to taste
Sumber :


2. GULAI AYAM

Gulai Ayam (Padang Chicken Curry) is originally from West Sumatra (Padang). Since Padang people have the strong desire to better themselves economically, many of them moved out of their area to other areas in Indonesia to get better jobs. Some of them even moved to Singapore and Malaysia. Thus, Padang food, including Gulai Ayam, can be easily found in any Padang restaurants all over Indonesia since once they moved, they started to open Padang restaurants. Their food is quite popular in Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore. One of the most well known Padang food is Beef Rendang.

The food from Padang tends to be hot because they use a lot of chili peppers. Indonesians also have their Kari Ayam (Chicken Curry). This Kari Ayam normally doesn't use chili peppers and thus, it is not hot like Gulai Ayam. In my recipe, I substitute chili peppers with sambal oelek since it is sometimes not easy to find red or Thai chili peppers in the Asian grocery stores in my area. I use Huy Fong brand for sambal oelek since they don't add shrimp paste or garlic to it and thus, I got the chili pepper I need without any other flavors I don't want. I intentionally make the recipe mild. You can add more sambal oelek to make it hot. Traditionally, the dish is normally served with steamed rice and other Padang main dishes, such as beef rendang, telor balado, etc. I have those recipes on my website, too. So, please feel free to browse my websites for them.

The recipe serves for 2-3 people. 



Ingredients:
3 small size shallots or 1 large size shallot, halved. They will be processed in food processor.
3 cloves of garlic, halved. They will be processed in food processor.
1/2" fresh ginger, peeled and roughly chopped. They will be processed in food processor.
1 teaspoon turmeric powder
2 teaspoons coriander powder
1/2 tablespoon sambal oelek or to taste. If you like heat, add more sambal oelek. I use Huy Fong brand for sambal oelek since they don't add shrimp paste or garlic to it and thus, I got the chili pepper I need without any other flavors I don't want.
1 teaspoon cumin powder
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg powder
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 lemongrass, white part only, smashed with the back of your knife to release the flavor and aroma
1 cinnamon stick
6 chicken drumsticks. You can also use other chicken parts, such as breast or thigh. If using breast, use 3 chicken breasts.
2 kaffir lime leaves or 1/4 teaspoon lime zest. For kaffir lime leaves, tear the edge of the leaves so that it will release the flavor and aroma.
1 cup water or more depending on the size of your pot
1 cup coconut milk
1 teaspoon salt or to taste
1 tablespoon brown sugar or to taste
1 tablespoon tamarind water or to taste. To make tamarind water, dissolve 1 tablespoon of tamarind paste in 6 tablespoons boiling water for about 10 min. Discard tamarind paste using a strainer. Since you only need to use 1 tablespoon, you can keep the remaining tamarind water in a small jar. You can use it to make Pad Thai among other things.
pinch of pepper or to taste

Methods:
  1. Put shallots, garlic, ginger, turmeric powder, coriander powder, sambal oelek, cumin powder, and nutmeg powder in a food processor. Pulse the food processor so that it becomes smooth paste.
  2. Turn on the stove to medium high heat. Add vegetable oil to a pot. Add seasoning paste, lemon grass, and cinnamon stick to the pot. Saute them until they become become fragrant. Add chicken into the pot and saute it for about 3 min until it is coated with the seasoning paste and it changes color to yellow, the color of the seasoning paste. Add kaffir lime leaves or lime zest, water, coconut milk, salt, brown sugar, tamarind water, and pepper into the pot. Make sure the liquid completely covers the chicken. If the liquid doesn't cover the chicken, add more water but you want to use just enough water to cover the chicken. Do not use too much water since we will reduce the liquid during cooking. Adding too much water will increase the cooking time. Cook the chicken until the liquid starts to gentle boiling. Reduce the heat to simmer. Taste the liquid and add more sugar, salt, or pepper if needed. Let it continue cooking until the chicken is soft and fully cooked and the liquid is slightly thicken to your desire. Turn off the heat.
  3. Serve it warm with steamed rice.




Notes:
To make tamarind water, dissolve 1 tablespoon of tamarind paste in 6 tablespoons boiling water for about 10 min. Discard tamarind paste using a strainer. Since you only need to use 1 tablespoon, you can keep the remaining tamarind water in a small jar. You can use it to make Pad Thai among other things.

If you like Gulai Ayam to be thicker, you can continue cooking it until it reaches the thickness consistency you want. Some people prefer not to have it thick. If that's the case with you, as soon as the chicken is fully cooked and soft, turn off the heat.

Sumber :
http://www.indonesiancooking101.com/catalog/?recipe_name=Gulai%20Ayam%20(Padang%20Chicken%20Curry)



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