061 - ONION RINGS!

Here we are.  Another new post, another new recipe. This recipe is for my favorite side dish when I’m eating fast food. Well, second favorite actually, because frankly, who can beat French fries?.

It’s ONION RINGS, and you’re gonna love it.

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For 2 medium sized portion, you will need;

2 Large Onion. Be careful, onions that are too big tend to have 2 cores, rendering it useless for this dish.

1 cup of All-Purpose Flour

1 Cup of Corn starch

3 tsp of Salt

1 tsp of Paprika

1 tsp of Garlic Powder

1 tsp of Onion Powder

2 tsp of Dried Parsley

1 egg

200 ml of Soda Water, cold.

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Ready? Here We Go!

Step 1 – Trim off the top and the bottom of the onion then proceed to peel the skin. Cut it into thick circles, and then use your fingers to pop each layer into rings. So easy, kindergartens will beat you to it. Set aside.

Step 2 – Get a large bowl and pour the all-purpose flour in. Dredge each onion into flour. Remember, dredgy onion will help the batter sticks better.

Step 3 – With the leftover flour, add the Cornstarch, Salt, Pepper, Paprika, Onion Powder, Garlic Powder, and Parsley in. Give it a stir, then add your egg.. After a light whisk, slowly pour the soda water in. Watch out, it’ll sizzle. The batter consistency should match of that Crepe I made few weeks earlier.

Corn Starch

Salt

Pepper

Paprika

Onion Powder

Garlic Powder

Dried Parsley

Egg goes in

Soda Water!

Finished product

Step 4 – Pour a generous amount of oil into the pan, set the stove on medium-high heat. Once it gets smoking hot, dip the onion into the batter, shake off the excess, and deep fry for 1-2 minutes, or until golden brown. Once crisp, let it dry on paper towels.

Step 5 – Serve.

See? It’s good.

Cheers.

xx

060 - MAC AND CHEESE

I’m back people. First of all, apologize for lack of updates. You see, last week, I got a deal on airfare tickets courtesy of our recently crowned 5 star national airline, Garuda Indonesia. It was too good to miss. So yeah, I went to Singapore for a day. LITERALLY, a day. Had the first flight out, and went back on the 3^rd from last. Safe to say, I’m basically spent. Dammit.

Anyway, let’s learn how to make an easy Mac and Cheese. I love Mac and Cheese. I remember getting my first Kraft dinner Mac and Cheese. It was essentially a forbidden food in our kitchen. Why? It’s carbs and fats. It ain’t good for the body. But who am I kidding? Those things are nostalgic. It brings comfort of home to your tummy. Who am I to say no?

Here are the lists of ingredients;

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For 2 servings, you will need;

180 grams of Macaroni. Don’t use other pasta, please.

50 grams of Butter

50 grams of All Purpose Flour

400 ml of Milk, cold.

150 grams of Cheddar Cheese. Grated

(optional) 1 tbsp of Grated Parmesan Cheese

Salt to taste

Pepper to taste

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Ready? Here We Go!

Step 1 – Fill a pot with enough water to cook the pasta, add salt, and let it boil. Once boiling, add the Macaroni in, cook in approximately 8 minutes for al dente. Once done, strain it and set aside.

Salt

Covering helps the water to boil faster

Macaroni

Precisely!

Perfect!

Step 2 – Get a non-stick pan/pot and set the heat to medium-low, melt the butter. Once melted, add the flour and whisk vigorously to combine. The goal here is to make a Roux. Roux is a base for a lot of French sauces, or, in this case, cheese sauce. We are actually cooking the flour so there won’t be any flour taste left when the sauce is done. This should take about 3-4 minutes.

Butter

All ready to go

Flour goes in

Whisk! and don't stop!

All combined, and cooked up

Step 3 – Add the cold milk little by little while you continue whisking. The mixture will turn into lumps. BUT DON’T WORRY! They always do. Now all you gotta do is continue whisking while adding the milk constantly. When you’re down to your last pour, the mixture will be liquidy and thick enough to actually look like a sauce! Let the mixture come so a simmer on medium-low for another 2-3 minutes.

See how the milk turns the mixture into lumps?

lumps! Lumps! LUMPS~!

Weehee! No more lumps!

Step 4 – Add the shredded cheese in, and whisk to melt. Add the salt and pepper to round up the flavor, and boom. Cheese sauce is done!

Cheddar

(optional) Parmesan

Mix!

Ey ey, good lookin'!

Salt and Pepper

SEX!

Step 5 – Combine the macaroni and the sauce. Nothing else you need to do. Seriously.

Step 6 – SERVE!

Mac and Cheese is awesome. It’s a perfect food for your Sunday lunches. It taste good, and it actually make you feel good! Well, unless you’re on a diet.

Anyway, you can spice things up in a lot of way, possibilities are endless. But I like it simple like this

Cheers

xx

059 - Perkedel Jagung / Corn Fritters!

If there’s one comfort food I can finish in no time is Perkedel Jagung. That’s Corn Fritters for all you non-indonesian speaking people out there. Done correctly, it reminds me of Sunday lunch in my house with my parents and sister. Grabbing a plate, scooping a hot rice, picking a fried chicken, and the fritters.

GOD-DAMN-CORN-FRITTERS.

That sh*t good. That sh*t wack. That sh*t is OFF THE CHARTS.

-Excessive use of swear word ends here-

Anyway, this is my take on my house recipe. It’s spicy sure, but trust me, you wouldn’t go easy with the chili on this bad boy.

To nail the perfect fritters, you will need to make sure that the batter isn’ thin. Thin batter is a no go. We want it fluffy and crispy, that’s why corn starch and baking powder plays a role here!

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To make 14 patties, you will need:

120 Grams of All Purpose Flour (Add more if the batter isn't thick yet later on)

100 ml of Water

1 Egg

2 Tbsp of Corn starch

1 tsp of Baking Powder

300 grams (1 can) of canned sweet corn. You can use fresh ones if you’d like to go through the meticulous process of removing the kernels.

30 grams of Green Onion/Scallion

30 grams of Red Chili

1 tbsp of Dried Chili Flakes

3 Garlic

5 Shallots

Salt to taste. I used 1 Tsp for this recipe

Pepper to taste. Again, 1 Tsp for me

1 Tsp of Dried Paprika Powder

1 Tsp of MSG (Optional)

1 Tsp of Onion Powder (Optional)

Oil for frying

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Ready? Here We Go!

Step 1 – Chop or grind the Garlic and Shallots into fine mush. Slice the Green Onion diagonally. Chop the red chili into small pieces. Set Aside

Peel both Garlic and Shallots prior to slicing them

Dice them!

Transfer to a mortar and pestle to mush!

Slice the chili

Slice the Green Onion too!

Step 2 – Drain the Sweet Corn, removing as much water as possible.

Step 3 – Sift the Flour, Corn Starch, and Baking Powder. Add egg and water in, whisk to combine. Don’t forget, avoid the lumps!

All purpose flour

Cornstarch

Baking Powder

Sift the bastard!

See how nice it is?

Add the water

..and Eggs

start whisking!

See just how lump free this batter is?

Step 4 – Add the Corn, Garlic, Shallots, Green Onion, Red Chili, and Dried Chili Flakes in. If you’re adding the optional Paprika Powder and MSG, add them in too at this point. Stir to combine. If the mixture feels too thick, add a bit more water. Too thin? Add more flour.

Porn..I MEAN, CORN.

Chili and Green Onion

Pepper

Salt

Chili Flakes

Paprika

Onion Powder

MSG. Okay, i know a lot of you probably think this isn't healthy, but remember, everything consumed in considerate amount is fine.

Mix! ...but wait..did i miss something?

OH! Right! here's the shallots and garlic from earlier

Mix!

Step 5 – Heat the oil medium high heat, cook for approximately 2-3 minutes depending on the size. Don’t forget to flip to evenly cook ‘em.

AYE!

Step 6 - Serve

I love this recipe. This dish will always have a special spot in my heart.

Give it a go! and as always, tag me your effort in the comments, instagram, path, twitter, or wherever you can find me!

Cheers

xx