Pickled Bitter Mustard Soup

I usually see people using pickled bitter mustard for double boil soup with pork ribs. But the soup that I used to have during my childhood is not a double boil type, so it's much easier to make.

What you need:

1 pack 200g pickled bitter mustard

300 gr lean pork (healthier choice, can change this with pork ribs)

400 ml bonito stock

5 cloves of garlic

1.2L water

How to:

1. On the pot, saute garlic until fragrant, and add on pork.

2. When pork is half done, add on the pickles, stock and water

3. Leave it to simmer for about 40 minutes

4. If the soup is too tasty for your liking, add on water until you get the taste that you like

My favorite is to add on rice into the soup.

Enjoy!

My Version of Gulai Singkong

I made a different version of the cassava leaves dish, quite sometime ago (here and here). This time, I made gulai singkong, not as healthy because of those coconut milk, but I got a feeling it'll be different if I use milk instead. If you google the recipe (example, here), you'll see the long list of ingredients to my horror. So, I decided to cut all those out without taking out the flavor. Let's see if you agree to it :).

What you need:

500 gr Cassava leaves - boiled for about 7 to 10 minutes, strained and cut

100 gr anchovies (the small ones)

500 gr coconut milk

water (as needed to thin out the coconut milk)

6 pc lime leaves

3 tbsp oil

Condiments:

1/2 round garlic (about 5-6 cloves)

2 medium sized red onion - you can cut all those small shallots, but I don't like peeling those tiny shallots, waste energy

10 gr macadamia nuts

5 tsp salt

2 tbsp sugar

1/2 pack of chili padi (about 50gr)

How to:

1. On food processor, add on all the condiment ingredients and blend it until smooth

2. On a pot, heat up oil and saute the condiment and the lime leaves until fragrant

3. Add on anchovies, keep on saute-ing until well mixed
4. Add on Cassava leaves, coconut milk and water
5. Simmer the cassava leaves until the gravy reduced and thickened, and the leaves are soft

For a very Indonesian lunch, you can have it together with pepes tahu.

Enjoy!

Scallop Porridge

Porridge is one of those easiest thing to cook. But you'd always wonder how to make a really good porridge. What's the proper rice:water ratio? What are other stuff to put into? I happened to come across a variety show which cover this simple dish in a very short segment and the recipe is just nice. Mind you it's not that cheap coz it use dried scallops but it tastes good! The texture is just right, not too thin or thick and like any porridge, it's light on your tummy!

What you need for 4 person portion:
300 gr rice
2 tsp vegetable oil (I use sesame oil, instead)
2 tsp salt
3 L water
12 pc dried scallops (medium size) ~ soaked and shredded

How to:
1. Place the rice on a strainer and soak it and lift up the strainer and place the rice on a bowl.
2. Coat the rice with oil until well mixed.
3. On a pot, put water and start to boil it under slow fire, add on the coated rice, salt and the scallops
4. Cook the rice for about 40-50 minutes. Pointer: by the time the rice blooms that's when you off your fire.
5. Serve hot and with toppings like: Century eggs (Pi Tan), fermented tofu, pickled lettuce, chinese doughnuts.