Bebek Bengil - Dirty Duck Diner

I was told by many the Bebek Bengil is a must-try in Ubud, Bali, Indonesia and since we already had a big Western meal last night at the Mozaic, one of Asia's top 5 restaurants, I thought this would present a good counter balance being local.

I have to say, my heart sank when I read the menu that the duck is first steamed then deep fried. I'm not a fan of anything deep fried and with my recent encouraging encounters with ducks, I was not at all in the mood for a deep fried duck. I anticipated that it would be such a waste of its lovely meat.

The presentation and plating further dampened my already lacklustre enthusiasm. Chef was right, plating IS important. This duck came across as dry as a bone and flat as a pancake. And placing a miserable piece of watermelon next to it clearly didn't help. I did not even feel like trying it.

Anyway, it tastes like KFC (Kentucky Fried Chicken) if you must read on. Not sure why the restaurant is able to pull such a crowd, local and foreign diners. I'm so sure my duck looks and tastes better and is much healthier. But the difference is they are a successful business and me, I don't even have a stall to call my own. Maybe I should set up a street sous-vide duck stall just outside their compound.

On my way out just half an hour later, I spotted a stray cat striding across the dining hall, a clear sign to me that there is food safety and hygiene problems in this kitchen. Hmm...a new meaning to "dirty duck". Many locals and travellers alike have recommended this place but I for one would not come back again. I didn't like it one beak.

Food to get you in the mood

During my weekend stay in Ubud, Bali, Indonesia, I ordered a roast beef salad at the resort restaurant. It's just another roast beef salad but it got me quickly in a holiday mood because everything about it was right. Colour, texture, freshness, flavours coming together. Whoever made this dish did not treat it as "just another salad". He took pain and care and I noticed and appreciated and loved. I could stare at my own pictures forever.

Beef strung on a lemongrass with freshly pound chillies dripping down my waiting fingers. Heaven.

It seemed the greens on my table conspired with the natural forest I was staring out into (one of the few remaining in Indonesia, may I add) to make my holiday one of pure culinary pleasures. Speaking of which, I am having my dinner at Mozaic tonight, rated one of Asia's top 5 restaurants for 3 consecutive years. I can't wait to be culinarily-educated and palate-trained by Chef Chris Salans.

Word of the Week: Rempah

Many people, my mom included, believe a good rempah can only be made using mortar and pestle.
A food processor is a strict no-no.

Rempah - I learned this word from a classmate in culinary school during our lesson on Malay cuisine.  Apparently a common term amongst Peranakans (Straits Chinese), Rempah is a Malay word used to describe the spice paste used in many dishes throughout Southeast Asia.

I've never been big on chillies and spicy food but the Chef who specialised in Malay cuisine changed my mind and palate, and I have a much deeper appreciation now for rempah. Here's a typical rempah recipe which I absolutely adore - the die-die-must-try sambal roast chicken. I have tested this dish and received good feedback from family and friends. It's worth every calorie count! See if this picture helps to entice you to try it.

And in view of the coming holidays, let me end on this note. The Little Drummer Boy knew something about rempah that others didn't. Hear ye, hear ye!

Come, they told me, pa-rempah-pum-pum
A new born King to see, pa-rempah-pum-pum
Our finest gifts we bring, pa-rempah-pum-pum
To lay before the King, pa-rempah-pum-pum
Rempah-pum-pum, Rempah-pum-pum
So to honour Him, pa-Rempah-pum-pum
When we come.

Word of the Week: Lemang

I'm on a road trip in East Malaysia. One of the most traditional dishes here is Lemang which the Malays prepare in celebration of Hari Raya. It is sticky rice with coconut milk, wrapped in banana leaves and stuffed into thick bamboo sticks, then smoked over charcoal for 7 hours. We had Lemang for lunch yesterday for a mere seven ringgit.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

A die-die-must-try recipe: Sambal Roasted Chicken

Sambal Roasted Chicken: already half-cooked using dry, direct heat and now
second half to be roasted in the oven for half an hour at 180C. 

Lesson on dry heat continues today with Malay cuisine. Today's 2 dishes are Sambal Roasted Chicken and Sambal Ayam Bunga Kantan (Spicy Chicken with Ginger Flower). I wasn't super thrilled hearing the recipe and dragged my feet on preparing the mise en place but when the sambal (spice paste) started simmering in the pot, it had my full, undivided attention. The aroma filled the entire school! Our class of 15 agreed unanimously this is by far the best recipe we have tasted since joining this course, and I strongly recommend for you to try it. It's worth your every calorie count.

Here are pictures of most of the ingredients we used.

Galangal, also known as blue ginger or lengkuas.
It's stronger than ginger.

Candlenut or Buah Keras. Looks like macademia. It has no
flavour and is used as a natural thickening agent.

Kaffir lime leaves, also commonly found in Thai cuisine

Dried chilli. Soak in water and boil to soften.

Fresh red chilli

Fresh Garlic

Belachan or dried shrimp paste. Pungent and very salty but will add another layer of flavor to your food.
1 tsp for every 300g chicken

Fresh Shallots

Coriander seeds. We pounded this on the mortar to get coriander powder. I strongly recommend that you buy the powder!

Gula melaka or palm sugar, ie, hard sugar from coconut palm.
Good ingredient to add if your paste gets too salty.

Ginger flower or bunga kantan, also used in local rojak and laksa.
Slice diagonally and thinly. 

Turmeric powder

Top tips for a good spice paste in Malay cuisine from Chef:

1. You must have enough oil to cover all the paste when in pot. This is important in Malay cuisine. Don't be afraid of using too much oil!

2. Heat must be medium to low so as not to burn the paste.

3. Don't stir too often. Stir and let rest. The paste needs time to simmer and release the oil for aroma and taste.

4. Every part of the paste must be sizzling.

Paste is all covered in oil. 

There is a shine in the paste, meaning, oil is released. A good sign.

Don't be afraid to see oil. It gives out good aroma and flavour. " Fat gives flavour, " Julia Child.

I abandoned all notions of healthy eating for this culinary adventure.

It's worth every calorie count.

When half done, we popped it in the oven to roast for another half hour at 180C. It should look somewhat charred and "dried up" after 30 minutes.

It was supposed to be food tasting but there was nothing left after 10 minutes. The class loved this dish!

Moist inside.

I tried to plate it while others were attacking the food savagely.
On the left is sambal roast chicken, right is spicy chicken with ginger flower.

So finally, here's the recipe for both dishes. Perfect for Hari Raya next week. Ingredients are similar but the taste is distinctly different and yummilicious!

A. Sambal Roast Chicken

Ingredient:

One whole chicken cut into half. Use kampung or free range chicken.

2 inches galangal slices

4 lime leaves

2 stalks lemongrass, bruised

200ml coconut milk (or santan)

3-6 Tbsp cooking oil

1 Tbsp gula melaka or palm sugar

1.5tsp salt

Spice paste:

8 dried red chillies, seeded and soaked to soften

6 shallots

3 garlic cloves

1.5 inch ginger

2 tsp ground coriander

1 tsp ground cumin 

Method:

1. Roast coriander and cumin to release oil and aroma.

2. Pound all spice paste ingredients together to a fine paste. Set aside.

3. Heat oil in pan. Stir-fry spice paste until fragrant, about 10 min. 

4. Add coconut milk, lime leaves, lemongrass, galangal, salt and gula melaka. Stir well. Add chicken and cook for about 15-20 min over simmering heat, turning a few times until it's half-cooked. (Skin will blister and separate from meat).

5. Preheat oven to 180C

6. Transfer chicken to a roasting pan and pour sauce over it.

7. Roast for 30 min or until browned. Ready to serve.

B. Spicy Chicken with Ginger Flower (Sambal Ayam Bunga Kantan)

Ingredients:

600g boneless chicken legs cut into bite-sized pieces

10 shallots thinly sliced

8 dried chillis soaked in warm water, seeded

6 fresh chilli

8 garlic cloves

5 candlenut

5 lime leaves

4-6 Tbsp cooking oil

2 Tbsp water

2 tsp belachan (dried shrimp paste)

2 stalks ginger flower, thinly sliced

0.5 tsp turmeric powder

0.5 cup tamarind juice (or assam) - for colour, taste and texture. 

0.5 tsp coriander powder

Method:

1. Pound candlenut, chilli, shallots, red onion and shrimp paste in a mortar to fine paste

2. Heat oil in frying pan over medium heat, stirring regularly so as not to burn, and until fragrant. Add tamarind juice to fluff up the paste

3. Add chicken and lime leaves. Continue cooking, stirring regularly until chicken is done, about 10 mins. Season with salt and sugar to taste. Lastly, add the sliced ginger flower, cook for 5 mins.

4. Transfer to serving plate. Serve with steamed rice.

Enjoy and Selamat Hari Raya Adilfitri!

Nonya Kueh- Seri Muka

A kueh I've bought and eaten countless times, but somehow this time, I wonder what goes into it and how it's assembled. My curiosity is aroused and my culinary sense awakened. I decided to google and youtube (yes, that's also a verb) it. Soon, I had all my ingredients prepared. I was ready to venture back into the kitchen with my newfound knowledge and confidence gained through wading through the web.  Below are some of my pictures to share this process.

Steamed glutinous rice with coconut milk. Throw some 

pandan leaves on top to give that added aroma!

This needs low steam otherwise you get pot marks 
on the surface like mine here LOL

I am quite proud of this attempt and encouraged to try other recipes now. 
Bye bye, Bengawan Solo, I don't really need you that much now. 

OK somewhat rough on the edges but pretty good first attempt, and taste was lemak too. 

Recipe 

(A)

• 300gm glutinous rice
• 50ml coconut milk
• 200ml water
• 1 tsp salt

(B)

• 150ml eggs
• 150ml coconut milk
• 150ml pandan juice
• 180gm sugar
• 15gm cornstarch
• 30gm all purpose flour

Method:

1. Soak rice for at least 2 hours. Drain water (into one of your potted plants!). Put rice into a baking pan suitable for steaming. Mix it with coconut milk and salt. Add in water. Make sure the water is abt 3mm above the rice but not higher than 1cm. (How one does that beats me!)

2. Steam rice on high heat for 20-30 minutes until rice turns translucent. Remove from heat and immediately fluff rice with a fork or chopstick. Place rice into a 8" round pan or 7" square pan. Level and press rice to compact it. Do this while the rice is still hot. Return compacted rice in pan to steamer and steam until custard is ready

3. Mix all the ingredients in (B) and cook in a heavy saucepan on low heat, stirring slowly all the time to ensure it doesn’t burn until it thickens slightly. Remove from heat. Pour (3) over compacted rice and steam on medium low heat for 25 minutes. 

Afternote: Just came back here to attribute this to Wendy's blog. Thanks, Wendy.