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!

=======================

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

========================

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

058 - CREPES!

Welcome back people!

Phew, it’s been 2 weeks since my last post. Sorry for going A.W.O.L, I just can’t resist a cheap return ticket to Singapore on board the fabulous Air France! Yes sir, I got a USD 160 return trip with their newly retrofitted Boeing 777-300ER. Which, in short, is F*CKING AWESOME!

I’ve published my report about the flight here, but since this is food blog, let me talk to you about their meal. They served a three course meal in one plate. 

This is the best i could manage that night. Not bad, eh?

First one I tried is this cabbage/cucumber salad with lemon dressing topped with (a rather dry) grilled chicken. Thank God for the dressing, totally saved me from bad experience with the chicken. Second was a bread roll (I think it was wheat), paired with Camembert cheese. Cheese was off the shelves, so nothing there to complaint about. Last was a lemon-sugar cake. It was so sweet; I don’t think I can finish it. But thank God for the Coffee (now this one is delicious!), the bitterness counteract the sweetness perfectly.

Anyway, that story doesn't have anything to do with today’s recipe.

Let’s make some CREPES!

====================

For 4-6 piece of crepes (depending on your size), you will need:

1 Cup of Flour

2 Eggs

Pinch of Salt

1 Cup of Cold Milk

2 Tbsp of Melted Butter/Margarine

(optional) 1 Tbsp of Vanilla Extract

====================

Ready? Here We Go!

Step 1 – Grab a large mixing bowl and proceed to crack your eggs. Grab a whisk and start stirring gently to mix.

Step 2 – Slowly pour the melted Butter/Margarine in. Once that’s done, do the same with the milk. Slow and steady. Gentle like the night. Don’t go it to quick, or else it won’t combine, and might separate.

Step 3 – Add the salt (and vanilla extract if you want), gently stir to combine.

Step 4 – Add the flour, a little at a time. Use the whisk slowly to avoid it from making a mess in your kitchen (at this point, 4 out of 5 of you probably done a little mess already :p)

Step 5 – Now, this is optional, but I like my batter to be lump free and as smooth as Scarlett Johansson’s tummy. So what do I do? I grabbed a fine strainer (mine turned out to be flour sifter), and run the batter through it. The results were a feast for the eyes. A lovely lump-free batter ready for the pan!

Step 6 – Heat your non-stick pan on medium high heat. Remember, non-stick is necessity for crepes, regular pan just don’t cut it. You don’t need to grease your pan, because the batter is not sticky at all. Once it’s hot, quickly pour your batter. Now, you probably wander how much would you need right? For this one, I use my ½ cup sized measurement cup to ensure standard shape of the final product.

Step 7 – Watch the pan, when you see holes forming, it’s almost done. I ended up cooking the first side for about 1,5 minute, and the other for 1 minute. Once it’s done, line the plate with paper towels between each crepes to avoid it from sticking.

Step 8 – Serve!

I love crepes. Seriously love ‘em! I can eat them for breakfast all day.

The great thing about Crepes is that there are no limit on how one would enjoy it. With powdered sugar and lemon? Check. Nutella? Check. Maple Syrup? Check. Crème Fraiche? Check. ANYTHING!

Give this a go, and let me know how it turns out. Either comment here or tag me on Instagram (my username is @gilangshanahan btw).

Cheers

xx

057 - INTERNET

I bet you a good 100.000 rupiah that you’ve eaten this dish at least once during your whole lifetime. This is a dish a lot of mother would probably lock inside a closet so their children wouldn't even land their tongue near this dish. 

It’s savory, full of fat and calories, but most important of all, TASTY.

Let’s give a round of applause to INTERNET.

No, don’t worry, we’re not literally eating it. INTERNET stands for INDOMIE-TELOR-KORNET (Noodle-Eggs-Corned Beef). 

If you never heard of it yet, ‘Indomie’ is the market leader for instant ramen in Indonesia. With that being said, it’s the top of mind of customer for instant ramen product. Over the time, people got accustomed to it by referring any (and I mean, ANY) kind of instant ramen product from various maker as ‘Indomie’. Well, good for them!

So, I haven’t been able to figure out who came up with this recipe in the first place. But I suspect a drunk college student was the one to found out about this delicious abomination.

My twist on this recipe is simple and easy to follow. Rather leaving the Corned Beef plain as-is, I’d rather give it a nice spice kick to it by adding some Paprika and Curry powder. This will help cut the saltiness and give it a nice contrast to the overall dish. Not forgetting the greens, you can add any greens you want.

============================

For 1 Servings, you will need;

1 Packet of Instant Noodles. Any flavor would be fine

80 grams of Corned Beef. Get the plain ones without Mushroom or other funky stuff.

½  Tsp of Black Pepper

1 Tsp of Curry Powder

1 Tsp of Paprika powsder

2 Tsp of Corn Starch

1 Egg.

Green Onions

===========================

Ready? Here We Go!

Step 1 – Mix the Corned Beef with Curry Powder, Paprika Powder, and Cornstarch. Mix well and set aside.

Ah, all the glory in a bowl

Curry powder

Paprika Powder

Black pepper

Corn Starch

Mix it up!

Ready to go

Step  2 – Get a non-stick pan, heat it on medium-high. Add some cooking oil and put the Corned Beef mix in. Cook it in a flash; around 2 minutes to heat through and let the seasoning woke the flavor up. Once done, transfer to a plate and set it aside.

Oil

Step 3 – Boil your eggs PRECISELY for 5 minutes and 15 seconds. This will create that distinct melting yolk. Once the egg is done, transfer to a bowl filled with ice water to cool.

Step 4 – Cook your noodles to your own personal liking. Here’s a tip to get a clear broth; discard the water used to boil the noodles, and boil a new one. That way, you will get a nice clear broth, not a murky one.

Step 5 – Assemble! Broth-Noodle-Corned Beef-Egg.

Seasoning Mix

Chili powder

Boiling water

Noodles

Beef

EGGS!

Step 6 – Serve!

This right here is every child’s dream. It’s a trip to nirvana with all the sodiums and fats. Healthy? F*ck no. There’s no way we can make this dish a healthy one.

Corned Beef has long bad reputation of being overly salty. No wonder, the salt is there to help preserve it in the first place. So my seasoning mix is a great way to change the way it taste. Feel free to experiment with yours!

Cheers.

xx