Kodok Goreng Mentega - Indonesian "Butter Fried" Frog Legs

Kodok goreng mentega (butter-fried frog legs) is normally served in most Indonesian-Chinese eateries. Do the frog legs really get to be fried in a truckload of butter? Not exactly, it's more stir fried, with just a bit of butter (butter is expensive!), and lots of garlic, onion and sauces, typically soy, sweet soy and Worcestershire sauce. In typical Indonesian Chinese restaurants, you can see various proteins listed under goreng mentega/butter fried, from poultry to seafood, including frog legs.

When I saw these plump little frog legs in the supermarket for HK$33...I immediately grabbed it without thinking. I forgot that SC wouldn't be able (too lazy) to handle the tiny little pieces of meat on tiny little bones...I just thought of myself. Oh wells, I can just peel the meat off for him, right? At least that was the plan :)

Recipe
- about 0.5 lb frog legs (more would be nice ^_^)
- 1 onion, sliced thinly
- 0.5 cm ginger, crushed
- 2 cloves garlic, crushed
- a sprig of spring onion, cut into long chunks
- olive oil, butter, light soy sauce, sweet soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, pepper, a bit of corn starch, a bit of hot water

Marinate frog legs in a bit of Worcestershire sauce, a dash of soy and corn starch while preparing other ingredients. Once done, quickly fry frog legs in hot oil with a teaspoon of butter, set aside, drain excess oil with paper towel. Saute garlic, ginger and onion in olive oil with 1 teaspoon of butter, add sauces (ratio of soy and sweet soy = approximately 1:2), add a bit of hot water if you want more sauce, once you've achieved the desired balance of flavors, add frog legs into the sauce, mix well, do not overcook, add spring onion, serve with steamed rice.

Just like most of my favorite Indonesian dishes, I enjoyed devouring this dish with my bare hands...licking the frog bones, my fingers and the plate in the process. You gotta love all the yummy noises you're bound to make :)

Fried Shrimps with Indonesian Sweet Soy Sauce - Udang Goreng Tepung Saus Kecap Manis

During those last few no-appetite-everything-taste-horrible months, what have I been eating? Just one or two spoonful of rice with a bit of healthy dishes, thanks to SC's parents home nearby. As a token of my appreciation, once I felt good enough to whip something up, I'd bring homemade cakes, desserts or a dish to family dinners.

This was one of those days.

SC's family dinner will be attended by a bunch of lazy boys who won't eat anything with bones or shells. I gotta make something they can pop into their mouth without having to struggle and wrestle with any inedible parts.

Hm, I had a pack of shrimp meat in my fridge.

Perfect.

Let's do some Fried Shrimps with Indonesian Sweet Soy Sauce

Ingredients
- 1 lb shrimp meat, cleaned, deveined, butterflied
- For frying: corn starch; 1 egg, beaten; bread crumbs seasoned with a bit of salt & pepper; olive oil
For the Sauce:
- half an onion, sliced thinly
- 2 cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed
- 1 cm ginger, peeled and crushed
- sweet soy sauce (the dominant flavor), worchestershire sauce, ketchup, light soy sauce, pepper
- a bit of corn starch and water for thickening
- freshly squeezed lemon juice

Ready?
Season shrimps with a bit of salt and pepper, and squirt some lemon juice on them. Prepare the frying ingredients on plates and bowls just like below...


Heat up some oil for frying.


Dip shrimps into corn starch, then egg, then seasoned bread crumbs...


...and dip into hot oil, fry over medium heat...


...until they're gloriously golden.

Do this dish right before serving. If you had to wait, you can recrisp the shrimps in the oven for a few minutes.

Now, the sticky sauce.

Saute garlic, onion and ginger in a bit of oil until fragrant, pour kecap manis (Indonesian sweet soy sauce), light soy, worchestershire sauce, ketchup, mix well. Add a bit of water, bring to boil, taste and adjust flavors until you achieve the perfect balance of sweet and savory with a bit of a tang. Thicken with corn starch and water mix, do not pour over shrimps until right before serving.

To serve...

Place crispy shrimps on a plate, pour sauce over and squeeze more lemon juice if you wish.

The boys loved the shrimps, SC's mom wiped the caramelized onion clean...

...and SC's dad ended up doing the dishes.

Opppps :D

Guest Blogging @Rasa Malaysia - Sate Ayam/Babi Kecap

Ohmygod, ohmygod, ohmygod, ohmygod!
OH. MY. GOSH!
I am guest blogging for the first time!
What should I do?
What should I make?
...and most importantly....
What should I wear?

Thanks a million to Bee of Rasa Malaysia for being my first.
(Is it just me? or does it sound so wrong somehow? Heheh ^_^)

Finally, I made...something that's made me a hit in parties....
Sate Babi/Ayam Bumbu Kecap

Hop on over to Bee's wonderful blog full of gorgeousness and deliciousness to check out the full recipe and story.

So what did I finally wear?
Just be glad it was not nothing.

Kering Kentang & Tempe - Caramelised Soy Bean Cake & Potatoes

Friday was a day off (yay! doing my little day off dance at the background), and I was thinking how to spend the day.

I ofcourse chose to conveniently "forget":
- an avalanche of dirty laundry at the corner of my bedroom (and living room, and bathroom, and dining room) screaming to be brought to the laundry shop
- floor desperately needs vaccuming
- furniture begging for dusting
- the bathroom laughing hazardously every time I almost slipped on the life threateningly dirty tiles
- clean dishes, pots and pans mocking me as they took over my tiny kitchen
...the list is endless...

But all I could think about was how I've been missing kering tempe, and how inconvenient it is to do kering tempe on work days. So, dodging the dirty laundry, pirouetting past the dusty furniture, pranching over the dirty floor, I went straight to the nearest Indo shop and bought myself a pack of tempe (Indonesian soy bean cake), and got it going. I love the wet and moist version, not the dry and crunchy one, but both are delicious. :)

Ingredients
- 1 pack of soy bean cake, diced
- 1 medium potato, diced
- 2 cloves of garlic, crushed
- 4 cloves of shallot, sliced
- a bit of ginger, crushed
- 3 red chilli, remove seed, sliced
- palm sugar
- kecap manis
- salt, pepper
- 3 tbsp of coconut milk
- cooking oil


Soak palm sugar in a bit of hot water (I used 3 of those) until totally dissolved

Tempe - the soy bean cake - tempe can be used as a meat replacement

Dice the tempe into a tiny rectangular shape, sprinkle with salt

Fry until golden but not too dry. This can already be eaten. I had to fight myself not to "sample" too much
I like the softness of potatoes as a contrast to the crunchy tempe. Fry the diced potatoes until golden.

Saute garlic, chilli, shallot, ginger in hot oil, add tempe and potato, add the dissolved palm sugar, salt, pepper, kecap manis, stir in the coconut milk, bring it to boil, serve.

Serve with hot steamed rice.

OK. I couldn't live in a dirty flat. So, finally spent the whole afternoon off cleaning. The kering tempe made a perfect reward :)

PS. Retno of Kedai Hamburg also made her version of Kering Tempe. Check it out! :)