Can we have english food? (Week 23 - Indonesia)

We have been doing this challenge for nearly 6 months and my 7 year old is asking about English food. The other day I cooked sausage, mash and beans and he loved it. I wonder (like all parents do more often than not) if I am doing the right thing. However, yesterday he asked a friend around for tea and proudly announced that he wasn't sure what country we would be eating from that day but Mum was cook at cooking so it will taste all right whatever it is.


Last week we were in Indonesia, while this week we have been tasting the delights of Venezuelan food - next week we are off to Portugal!


So, Indonesian.....


We, as a family, love Asian food and the meals we had from Indonesia were lovely. I didn't do so many this time as IU was conscious of my sons thoughts about not eating so much English food. I was surprised about the curry, as I didn’t expect it to taste so yummy; however it did take a long time to char all the slices of aubergine – it would have been quicker under the grill; but I don’t have use of one of those. In actual fact I only have use of 2 rings and an oven; yet it doesn’t stop me from making all these delicious meals.

I did a salad to accompany the omelettes and instead of making individual ones I did a 3-egg omelette for my husband and my son and I shared another 3-egg omelette with salad. I think the recipe refers to a snack amount so I used 6 eggs for 2 adults and a hungry 7 year old for our main meal; however I stuck to the filling quantities. It was very nice; although I think I overcooked the filling a little as all the liquid had evaporated. 

Cooked with score (out of 100):

Gulai Terung Daging (Beef and Aubergine Curry).…………………………….90

Omelettes with spicy Meat Filling………………………………………………………86

Both recipes from “Around the World in 450 Recipes”

Gulai Terung Daging (Beef and Aubergine Curry)

Serves 6
120ml / 4 fl oz sunflower oil
2 onions, thinly sliced
2.5cm / 1in fresh root ginger, sliced and cut in matchsticks
1 crushed garlic clove
2 fresh red chillies, seeded and very finely sliced
2.5cm / 1in fresh turmeric, peeled and crushed or 5ml / 1tsp ground turmeric
1 lemon grass stem, lower part sliced finely, top bruised
675g / 1 ½ lb braising steak, cut in even sized bites
400ml / 14 fl oz can coconut milk
300ml / ½ pint water
1 aubergine, sliced and patted dry
5ml / 1 tsp tamarind pulp, soaked in 60ml / 4tbsp warm water
[A popular alternative is to use lime juice (or sometimes white wine or rice vinegar) mixed with an equal quantity of light brown sugar]
Salt and pepper
Finely sliced chilli, (optional) and deep-friend onions, to garnish
Boiled rice, to serve.

1. Heat half the oil and fry the onions, ginger and garlic until they give off a rich aroma. Add the chillies, turmeric and lower part of the lemon grass. Push to one side and then turn up the heat and add the steak, stirring until the meat changes colour.
2. Add the coconut milk, water, lemon grass top and seasoning to taste. Cover and simmer gently for 1 ½ hours or until the meat is tender (I cooked mine in the oven).
3. Towards the end of cooking time, heat the remaining oil in a frying pan. Fry the aubergine slices until brown on both sides.
4. Add the browned aubergine slices to the beef curry and cook for a further 15 mins. Stir gently from time to time. Strain the tamarind and stir the juice into the curry. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Put into a warm serving dish, garnish with the sliced chilli – if using and the deep-fried onions and serve with boiled rice.
    
   
   

Omelettes with spicy Meat Filling

Serves 4
For the filling
1cm / ½ in cube terasi (shrimp paste)
4 macadamia nuts or 8 almonds
1cm / ½ in fresh lengkuas peeled and sliced, or 5ml / 1tsp leugkuas powder (ginger) optional
5ml / 1tsp ground coriander
2.5 ml / ½ tsp ground turmeric
5ml / 1tsp salt
30ml / 2 tbsp oil
225g / 8oz minced beef
2 spring onions, chopped
½ a celery stick, finely chopped
30 – 45 ml / 2-3 tbsp coconut milk


For the omelettes
Oil for frying
4 eggs (I used 6) beaten with 60ml / 4 tbs water

1. Grind the terasi to a paste, with the garlic, nuts and fresh ginger (if using), add the coriander, turmeric and ginger powder (if using) and the salt
2. Heat the oil and fry the mixture for 1-2 minutes. Stir in the beef and cook until it changes colour. Continue to cook for 2-3 minutes. Stir in the spring onions, celery and coconut milk. Cover and cook gently for 5 minutes.
3. Meanwhile prepare the omelettes. Heat a little oil in an omelette or frying pan. Season the eggs and use to make 4 think omelettes (or do as you see fit) in the usual way. When each omelette is almost cooked, spoon a quarter of the foiling on top and roll up. Keep them warm while making the remaining omelettes.
4. Cut the rolled omelettes in half and arrange on a serving dish. Serves garnished with a few salad and celery leaves.
    
    
    

The country of Indonesia is ethnically diverse, with around 300 distinctive native ethnic groups and over 740 different languages and dialects spoken in the country. The country is part of the Malay Archipelago covering 5,150 km's (3,200 miles) east to west, between the Indian and Pacific Oceans. Scattered over either side of the equator is the 17,508 islands, of which about 6,000 are inhabited. The largest of these islands are Sumatra, Java, Kalimantan (Indonesian Borneo), Sulawesi, and the Indonesian part of New Guinea called Papua. It is also situated in the area called the "Ring of Fire" as the country has some 400 volcanoes, about 150 of these are active, which is around 75% of all currently active volcanoes on Earth. In July 2013, Indonesia was the world's fourth most populous nation with its capital (and largest city) Jakarta, on the island of Java being the world’s ninth largest city with 14miliion inhabitants. Indonesia's tropical wilderness supports some of the highest level of biodiversity in the world. The giant Komodo dragon, Javan rhinoceros, tigers, orang-utans, elephants, and leopards are all found in the jungle forests. The economy of Indonesia centres on agriculture and oil, with approximately 90% of the population involved in agriculture. Indonesians are fanatical about the game of badminton, often winning gold medals at the Olympic Games in the sport. Football (soccer) is also a popular sport in the country.

 

CUISINE

Rice is the staple food in most parts of Indonesia though some variation is found in some of the islands in eastern Indonesia where staple food ranges from corn, sago, cassava to sweet potatoes. But things are changing fast and here also rice is catching them up in popularity. Nasi goreng (fried rice), mie goreng (fried noodles) and gado-gado (vegetables topped with peanut sauce and sliced boiled egg) are some of the typical Indonesian dishes. As Indonesia is an archipelago, fish is one of the favourite food items and various types of fish feature prominently in the diet. Seafood is found in abundance and has great variety such as lobster, oyster, prawns, shrimp, squid, crab, etc. Coconut is ubiquitously available and apart from being used as cooking oil its milk and pulp is used as an ingredient in many dishes. Beef and chicken are widely available; pork is only found in Chinese restaurants or in non-Muslim regions. Coconut, chilli, soy sauce and peanut sauce are common flavourings. Some of the major fruits found in Indonesia are jackfruit, durian, starfruit, papaya, pineapple and mango. Besides traditional Indonesian food, Chinese and Continental dishes are also hugely popular in Indonesia.