My Mom's Fried Wontons (Pangsit Goreng)

My mom was a great cook. This is one of my favorites. I finally learned how to make these after I moved to USA.

My Mom's Fried Wontons

Ingredients:

• 100 gr chicken
• 100 gr shrimp, shelled
• 3 tbsp fried shallots
• 2 tbsp garlic powder
• 3-4 tbsp Lee Kum Kee oyster flavored sauce
• 1 tbsp egg beater (optional)
• black pepper
• wonton wrappers
• oil for frying

Instructions:

1. Put all ingredients, except wonton wrappers and oil, in the food processor. Mix until they're well blended.
2. Put half a teaspoon of the filling in the middle of wonton wrapper. Fold it into a triangle shape. Pick-up the 2 ends, where the fold is, and wet them with a dab of water on your finger. Pinch the two corners together. Repeat with the remaining wontons.
3. Fry in hot oil (350 degrees Fahrenheit) until they're golden brown.
4. Serve with sweet & sour sauce.

Image from resep-dapur-online.blogspot.com

My Mom's Spring Rolls (Lumpia)

I love spring rolls, and my mom's is my favorite. I haven't found spring rolls like that in the U.S. When I go to chinese restaurants here, all spring rolls and egg rolls taste the same, and they're full of cabbage.

My Mom's Spring Rolls

Ingredients:

• 125 gr raw shrimp, shelled and cut into small pieces
• 125 gr chicken, cut in small pieces
• 1 bag of carrot sticks
• 1 can of bamboo shoot strips, drained
• 1 pack of spring roll wrappers
• 2 or 3 cloves of garlic, chopped
• 2 or 3 tbsp of Lee Kum Kee oyster flavored sauce
• 2 or 3 tbsp of kecap manis (sweet soy sauce)
• a splash of soy sauce
• a dash of black pepper
• Oil for frying spring rolls

Instructions:

1. Spray wok/frying pan with non stick oil spray, put it over medium heat. Add bamboo shoot strips. Stir fry for about 5 minutes. Put on a plate, set aside.
2. Blanch carrot matchsticks for 2-3 minutes. Drain. Set aside.
3. Using the same wok/frying pan, spray again with non stick oil spray. Add chopped garlic, stir-fry until fragrant. Add chicken, and then shrimp (after chicken is half cooked), stir.
4. Add oyster flavored sauce, kecap manis, soy sauce, and black pepper. Toss, so that everything is mixed well. Taste. Add seasoning if needed. Stir fry for a few minutes, until the filling mixture is dry enough.
5. To assemble rolls, place a spring roll wrapper on a clean working surface. Place one heaping tablespoon of the filling on the wrapper (if using large wrappers, you will need more). Tips: Spread the filling lengthwise along the spring roll wrapper nearer the end closest to you. Also, try not to include too much of the liquid left in the bottom of your wok/pan (a slotted spoon works better for this) - drier filling is better.
6. Fry in hot oil, until brown and crispy.
7. Serve with your favorite dipping sauce (this one is actually good without any dipping sauce)

Image is from kaleidoscope.cultural-china.com

Kue Lumpur Ubi Ungu (Indonesian Purple Yam Mud Cake)

This is one of my favorite sweet snacks when I still lived in Indonesia. It's rich and creamy. I haven't had it for years. Well, a couple of days ago, my husband brought home frozen grated purple yam. I thought "What am I going to do with this?" I started searching on the net, found all kinds of recipes, including purple yam donuts, but I don't really want to make fried food right now. Then yesterday, I found potato mud cake recipe on a blog. So I thought "Hey .. I can make this and substitute the potatoes with purple yam ..." I made some this morning. They were sooooo ... good (I ate 2 pieces already ;p).

INDONESIAN PURPLE YAM MUD CAKE

Ingredients:

• 250 grams mashed cooked purple yam
• 150 grams all purpose flour
• 150 grams sugar (125 grams, if you prefer less sweet)
• 25 grams milk powder (I didn't use it, because I didn't have it)
• 100 grams margarine, melted (I used Smart Balance)
• 300 ml. coconut milk (I used light coconut milk)
• 2 eggs
• vanilla

Directions:

1. Mix mashed potatoes, flour, sugar, and milk powder until they're fully incorporated
2. Put in eggs, then coconut milk. Mix well
3. At last, put in melted margarine. Mix well.
4. Use muffin pan that has been sprayed with PAM, fill each one half full.
5. Put in the oven (pre-heated 350 F degrees)
6. When they're about half baked, take them out and put some raisins (optional). Put them back in the oven for about 5 minutes.

NOTE: I used Ninja Kitchen System, not mixer, to make the batter. Baking time is approximately 10-12 minutes.

Chicken and Pepper Egg Rolls

I'm doing No Sugar Challenge for the whole month of January, so I regularly search for no sugar added recipes. Then, I found this Chicken and Pepper Egg Rolls recipe on Disney Family website. They are very easy to make and taste pretty good.

Ingredients:

• 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into thin strips
• 2 large bell pepper, any color, cut into thin strips
• 1 medium size onion, thinly sliced
• 2 tablespoons of soy sauce
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon of freshly grated ginger
• 12 egg roll wrappers
• oil for frying

Directions:

1. Heat a large pan over medium-high heat and add 2 tablespoons oil. Cook chicken strips until they're no longer pink. Push to one side of the pan.
2. Add pepper and onion, cook for 5 minutes, stirring often.
3. Add soy sauce, garlic, and ginger, stir well. Cook until most liquid has evaporated.
4. Remove from heat and cool for 15 minutes. This is important; adding hot ingredients to egg roll wrappers will cause them to break down and leak.
5. Once cooled, lay several strips of chicken, onion, and pepper in the center of an egg roll wrapper that has been laid on a surface with one point toward you. Fold the right point over and under the filling. Fold the top and bottom points down, and roll from right to left, securing the left point with a touch of water.
6. Repeat with all wrappers and filling. Heat 1/2 inch of oil in a skillet over medium heat. Fry egg rolls, turning over once during cooking, until golden brown. Drain on paper towel.
7. NOTE: Alternatively, these can be baked in the oven at 350 degrees F for 10-12 minutes or until brown.

The only thing that I did differently was that I roasted the onion & bell pepper first.

SAIGON MARKET

I live in a small town that has grocery stores, but no Asian store. Although grocery stores carry some Asian food/ingredients, but none is Indonesian. Thank goodness for Saigon Market.

Saigon Market has variety of Asian food/ingredients from Vietnamese, Philippines, Chinese, Indonesian, Indian, and more. They also sell fresh vegetables. I have been one of their loyal customers for almost 10 years. I can get Cap Bamboe instant seasoning, krupuk udang, Indomie & a few other Indonesian items.

This is the latest item that they just added in the store: Chocolate Covered Ants. I'm going to get some next time I go there :o)

Overall Rating: *****

Customer Service: Excellent

Cleanliness: Very good

Variety: Very good

Price: Reasonable

My wish is that someday Saigon Market would open a store in my town ^_^

VOTE for Komodo National Park as One of the Seven Wonders of Nature

I haven't been to Komodo Island. I was quite close to it, when I was visiting Flores.

Komodo National Park is located in between Sumbawa and Flores islands. It was established in 1980 to conserve the unique Komodo Dragon and its habitat. In 1986, the park was declared World Heritage Site and A Man and Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO. The park is also known as the best dive site in the world.

The affordable way to go to Komodo island is by flying from Denpasar airport in Bali to Labuan Bajo, a little town in Flores and also the access point to and from the park). It's very easy to arrange the trip from there, even in short notice.

Now, Komodo National Park is one of 28 nominees to be part of the New 7 Wonders of Nature. You can submit your vote on New 7 Wonders of Nature website between now and November 11th, 2011. Your vote for National Komodo Park is highly appreciated.

Images are from Google Image

Mie Ayam Jamur (Asian Style Chicken & Mushroom Noodles)

This dish is one of my favorites. It's not difficult to make either. I apologize for not giving accurate measure for the recipes. I guess because I'm used to "eye ball" everything. The important thing is that you have to taste it, and adjust the seasoning if necessary.

Ingredients:

• Egg noodles
• Chicken breasts
• Shiitake mushrooms
• Chicken bouillon
• Sweet soy sauce
• Fresh garlic or fried garlic
• Fresh cracked pepper
• Lee Kum Kee oyster flavor sauce
• Water
• Canola/EVOO
• Sesame oil (optional)

Instructions:

• Chop 2-3 garlic cloves
• Cut-up chicken breasts into small cubes.
• Heat the pan/wok (medium heat) that has been sprayed with PAM or put a little cooking oil
• Saute garlic, then put in chicken
• When the chicken is cooked, put in sliced shiitake mushroom
• Put some water, just enough to cover chicken & mushroom
• Season with chicken bouillon, cracked pepper, sweet soy sauce
• Stir until all ingredients mix well
• Simmer until 75% of the liquid is absorbed. Set aside
• Boil water and cook noodles according to the package
• Put a little canola oil or EVOO (and sesame oil, if you like) on noodles, just enough for them not to stick together
• Put some cracked pepper and some Lee Kum Kee Oyster Flavor Sauce
• Mix them well
• Put some noodles in a bowl, with chicken & mushroom topping
• You can garnish with fried shallots, and maybe fried wontons or tempura shrimp on the side
• Serve immediately

NOTE: You don't need to follow the recipe religiously. You can tweak and twist it however you want. If you use dry shiitake mushroom, soak them in warm water for a couple of hours or until they're soft. If you use fried garlic, you can put it in after you put the water and seasonings.