Winter Soup With Meatballs

During winter time we prefer to eat something warm and it's almost every day I serve soup for the family. For my soup usually I use season vegetables.... it's not only healthy and delicious, but also full of vitamines... things that we need against the cold and winter period.

Further, there is nothing special with my soup except that this soup surely will keep me warm and healthy to pass winter season... ^_^

This is my entry for Masak Bareng Yuuk event which this month the theme is All kinds of soup.


Winter Soup With Meatballs

For the meatballs
500 gr runder meat
1 egg white
2-3 eatspoons corn or tapioca flour
1-2 eatspoon(s) fried garlic
1/2-1 teaspoon pepper powder
1/4 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon STTP (sodium tri poli phospat)
salt
crushed ice cubes or you can place the meat in vriezer first for about 45 minutes before blending.

Directions:
- in the food precessor grind the lean beef with chrused ice cube 2-3 times until they all sticky.
- add the rest of the ingredient until they all mixed together
- scoop with 2 teaspoons and make a round ball
- boil some water, drop the meatballs in it. When it floats the meatball is done.
- with this recipe you'll have approx. 600 - 700 gr meatballs which some meatballs can be frozen for further use.

The soup
beef ribs( bones) to make the stock
3-5 cloves garlic, sliced, fried, grinded
salt as desire
1/4 cup thin soy sauce(or regular soy sauce)
1 tsp black pepper
1 ltr water
Vegetables you like such as carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, leek, capsicums, etc.

- Add salt on boiling water
- Put the ribs (bone) to make stock
- Add the soy sauce, black pepper, salt and grinded garlic
- Boiled and shimmer
- Add the vegetables and the meatballs, cook until the veggies are cooked.
- Serve hot.

Gulai Kambing // Spiced Lamb

Gulai kambing or lamb which is cooked in a curry-like coconut milk soup is belonged to street hawker and is quite popular in Indonesia. It is easy to be found in almost every corner of the city. What I like from this dish is the rich aroma of spices and distinctive flavour of lamb mixed together in the mouth. The lamb stew is usually served with Acar (pickled of carrots and cucumber) but my version is served with Acar Kuning and Sambal. Hmmm.. makes me hungry again by writing this.

I have this recipe from my mother, she said the gulai will taste better by using fresh ingredients and toasted for a while on a dry wok. But my style is always the easy and quick way of cooking except if I have plenty time to stand behind the kitchen maybe I'll do the same as her way... ^_^

This is also my entry for event Masak Bareng Yuuk (Cooking Together) for the month January 2010, and the theme is Panganan Kaki Lima (Street hawker Food).

Gulai Kambing // Spiced Lamb

Ingredients:
1/2 kg lambs
1 stick sereh (lemon grass)
salt, pepper
750 ml coconut milk

5 shallots
3 cloves garlic
3 candlenuts (kemiri)
1 teaspoon kunyit (curcuma) powder
4 red chillies
1/4 teaspoon jinten (cumin seeds)
1/2 tablespoon ketumbar (coriander) powder
1/2 teaspoon pala (nutmeg) powder
1/2 teaspoon cinamon powder
1/2 teaspoon laos (galanga) powder

Directions:
- Cut the lamb into bite-size chunks.
- Blend all the spices in a blender or using a mortar to have a smooth paste.
- Heat up the oil in a large pan, add the paste and lemon grass and saute until fragrant.
- Then add the lamb, stirring frequently.
- Pour the coconut milk and bring to boil. Stirring constantly, season with salt and pepper, then lower the heat and allow to simmer until the meat is very tender, approximately 40 minutes.
- Serve with steamy rice, acar, sambal and krupuk.

Belgian Shrimp Croquettes // Garnalenkroketjes

In Belgium, we call this "Garnalenkroketjes" and commonly filled with grey shrimp or North sea shrimp. They are easy to find in every fish shop or packed in the freezer at the supermarkt.

When I found the recipe I immediatelly wanted to try making it myself. But my hubby said why didn't I just buy it from the store. He said I would put myself in trouble and he wasn't so certain that the taste would be good too. But, as any other women in the world, off course I didn't listen to what he said.. so I still made it myself. When he saw the croquettes done, he wanted to taste the croquettes straight away off couse.. and the results, he put his thumbs up!!! Yaaaiiii, my first homemade Belgian shrimp croquettes were as delicious as from the package or even better. Here now I'm sharing it with you. It's very easy yet delicious.

Belgian shrimp croquettes

(Source: Smulweb)

Ingredients:
30 g butter
30 g flour
2 dl milk
1/2 dl cream
2 eggs
150 g North sea shrimp (any small shrimp will work)
pepper
1 dash of oil
breadcrumbs
frying oil

Directions:
1. Melt the butter and stir in the flour until a yellow paste.

2. Gradually add the milk and stirring well until a thick sauce.

3. Separate the eggs. Beat the yolks and add to the sauce. Stir in the shrimp and add the pepper.

4. Spread the masses and let cool. Form the croquettes.

5. Beat the egg whites separately with a dash of oil, rolling the rolls by the breadcrumbs, egg white and then the breadcrumbs. Press well and make sure that the wraps are everywhere covered.

6. Bake in the hot frying oil until brown and crispy.

**You can add chopped parsley in the masses too if you like.

Udang Masak Sereh // Lemongrass Shrimp

This is my entry for event Masak Bareng Yuuk which theme for this month is "Indonesian Food - Shrimp".

If you're googling for this recipe, you'll find many similar name. Everything is possible due to the ingredients are so simple, which is typical for asian dish, so almost everybody giving a similar name. The difference with mine is I use oyster sauce and gula jawa in the ingredients. A sweet spicy and fragrant shrimp dish for the whole family.


Lemongrass Shrimp

Ingredients:
1/2 kg shrimps, tail on, deveined
3 sticks lemongrass
1 teaspoon fresh galanga/laos
1 teaspoon coriander powder
1 clove garlic
2 shallots
2 lbs citrun leaves
1 tablespoon oystersauce
2 tablespoon citrun juice
1 tablespoon gula jawa
red chilies
leeks

Directions:
1. Cut the lemongrass, galanga, red chilies, garlic and sjallots in thin slices.
2. Heat the oil in the wok, stir fry the sjallots and garlic until fragrant.
3. Add the lemongrass, red chilies, coriander powder, galanga and citrus leaves in the wok. Stir fry until fragrant.
4. Then put in the shrimp, oystersauce, citrun juice and gula jawa, stirring until the shrimp colored.
5. Sprinkle richly with thin slices leeks and more red chilies if desired, stir all together again, ready to serve.

Urap Ketan Hitam Saus Gula Jawa

This Indonesian sweet dish is stuck in my memory. I used to eat it when I was small. Every morning my mom went to the local market and always came home with it and other snacks. The sellers who sell this sweet also sell other sweet dishes called "jajan pasar". Along with it (as I remember) in one wrap banana leaf there were also "tiwul", "gerontol jagung" - corn flowers with grated coconut, "gethuk"- steamed-cassava cake, " and cenil" - colorful sago palm sweet. I don't really have a knowledge to make it, but based on my strong memory of this dish and how it tasted I try to figure out myself to make it. The proportions of the ingredients are just approximately, it's possible to reduce or to raise the coconut milk.

This is also my entry to participate a foodie event called "Masak Bareng Yuk" which theme is rice.

Urap Ketan Hitam Saus Gula Jawa (Black glutinous rice sprinkled with grated coconut and brown sugar sauce)

Ingredients:
250 gr black glutinous rice, rinse and soak for 3 hours
250 ml coconut milk
1 tspoon salt
2 pandan leafs

Directions:
1. Steam black glutinous rice until half-cooked. Put into a heat-resistant bowl.
2. Cook the coconut milk, salt and pandan leafs.
3. Pour the cooked-coconut liquid in steamed glutinous rice. Mix well until all liquid absorbed.
4. Steam again until the glutinous rice cooked. Serve with gula jawa sauce and steamed grated coconut.

Sauce:
100 gr gula jawa
1 pandan leaf
200 ml water

Cook the water, pandan leaf and gula jawa until dissolved.

Fried Rice With Red Curry

Another lesson to cook economically..:o))
Leftover food.. hmmm. I don't know why, maybe I cook too much or my family eats so little... I always have leftover, not in big amounts, but not enough to be eaten for 4 people and too much for 1 persoon. So here I have another idea to create something else and slightly different than classic nasi goreng. This time instead of using sambal I add with red curry. It really tastes special and rich... and my hubby loves it... :o)

This is also my entry for event Masak Bareng Yuk!!! (Let's Cook Together!!!).

See the ingredients I got here:
Steamed rice
Leftover fried chicken, shredded
Leak
2 cloves garlic
2 kemiri nuts
Salt, pepper & chicken stock powder
Red curry paste (it's more spicy than sambal, use wisely..)
Kecap manis (Indonesian dark sweet soysauce)


Directions:
1. Heat the oil in the wok. Stir fry crushed garlic and kemiri nuts until fragrant.

2. Add the leak and a teaspoon red curry. Stir fry until leak soft.

3. Add shredded chicken, stir fry thoroughly.

4. Add the rice, few spoons kecap manis and if necessary add a bit water to moist, stir fry until all ingredients blend together. Ready to serve.