From Mama’s Kitchen With Love: Indonesian Recipes To Try At Home

Serve your favourite Indonesian dishes for dinner tonight!

This month, we are featuring dishes from Indonesia as part of our recipe series, brought to you by Mama’s Kitchen. This restaurant in Central serves homecooked meals prepared by mums from all parts of the world. So much of the Indonesian culture revolves around food, either out for a special occasion or at home with family. And we’re helping you bring a bit of that culture to your home! Here are three recipes of some of the most popular Indonesian dishes. They’ve been made by Mama Ryan Pitt, who learnt to cook when quite young thanks to her own mother. From her kitchen to yours, Selamat Makan!

Read more: From Mama’s Kitchen With Love: 3 Filipino Recipes To Try Tonight

Ingredients:

• 500 grams lean chicken thighs
• Bamboo skewers

For Satay Spice Paste:

• 2 tsp turmeric
• 1 inch galangal
• 1 inch ginger
• 3 cloves garlic, peeled
• 4 shallots, peeled
• 2 tsp coriander seeds
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 5 tbsp Indonesian sweet soy sauce (Kecap Manis)

For Peanuts Sauce: 

• 1½ cups peanuts (roasted and unsalted)
• 2 tbsp Indonesian sweet soy sauce (Kecap Manis)
• 2 tbsp of cooking oil
• 1 cup water
• 2 cloves of garlic, peeled
• 4 medium shallots, peeled
• 2 Kaffir lime leaves
• 2 candlenuts
• 3 to 5 red chillies (optional)

Method:

1. Cut chicken meat into small cubes.
2. Grind the spice paste ingredients in a food processor. Add in a little water, if needed. Marinate chicken pieces with the spice paste overnight.
3. Soak the wooden skewers in cold water for at least 30 minutes to prevent them from burning.
4. Thread the meat onto bamboo skewers and grill for 3 to 6 minutes (depending on the size of the pieces).
5. Serve with peanut sauce (method for peanut sauce below).

For Peanut Sauce:

1. Crush the peanuts with mortar and pestle or use a food processor to grind the peanuts, then put them in the bowl and set aside.
2. Grind the garlic, shallots, Kaffir lime leaves, candlenuts and chillies in a food processor. Blend until very fine. Add a few tablespoons of water, if needed.
3. In a saucepan, heat the oil on medium heat and add the paste.
4. Add the peanuts, sweet soy sauce and water. Stir to combine well.
5. Reduce the peanut sauce on medium-low heat, stir continuously for about 5 to 10 minutes (or until it thickens to your desired consistency). You can keep the peanut sauce in the fridge for one month in an airtight jar.

Ingredients:  

• 1 pack of Indonesian egg noodles
• 1 carrot, sliced into juliennes
• 1 cup of Choi sum, cut into 5cm-pieces
• 2 stalks celery, chopped
• 3 spring onions, chopped

Paste Ingredients:

• 3 garlic cloves
• 4 shallots
• 2 candlenuts
• 1 tsp white pepper

Sauce Ingredients: 

• 2 tsp soy sauce
• 2 tbsp Indonesian sweet soy sauce (Kecap Manis)
• 1 tbsp oyster sauce

Optional Ingredients: 

• 100 grams of shrimp, shelled and deveined
• 100 grams of sliced chicken breast (small bite-size pieces)
• 1 egg

Method:

1. Bring a pot of water to a boil and add the noodles. Prepare as per instructions on the packet (only cook until al dente as you will finish cooking the noodles later). Drain well and set aside.
2. Combine the paste ingredients – garlic, shallots, candlenut and white pepper – in an electric grinder and process till smooth.
3. For the sauce, whisk liquids together in a bowl. Set aside.
4. Heat the cooking oil in a wok or deep frying pan and stir-fry the paste over medium heat. As the paste turns light brown and fragrant, add either the optional items or the vegetables. If you are not adding chicken and shrimp, go ahead to point 6.
5. When adding chicken and shrimp, first add the chicken and cook until half the surface turns white. Then put the shrimp and cook for one minute until the chicken is mostly cooked.
6. Add the carrots and toss it until half cooked. Then add the Choi sum.
7. Add the noodles and the sauce, then stir everything together.
8. Increase the heat to medium-high and cook the noodles and sauce until desired consistency. For dry noodles, cook longer. For wet noodles, cook briefly.
9. Add celery and spring onions, cook until the greens have wilted (1 to 2 minutes will suffice).
10. Turn off heat and transfer to serving plates. You may place a fried egg on top of the noodles to serve.

Ingredients:

For The Coconut Filling:

• 500 grams shredded coconut (fresh or dry)
• 300 grams brown sugar (l use coconut sugar)
• 1 fresh pandan leaf, tied into a knot (watch this video if you haven’t done it before, though you only need to use one)
• ½ cup water
• A pinch of salt

For the Wrap/Crepe:

• 250 grams all-purpose flour, sifted
• 750ml coconut milk
• 2 eggs
• 3 drops of pandan essence
• A pinch of salt

Method:

1. First, make the coconut filling. Put the sugar with water in a pot over medium heat. Reduce the heat to low and simmer uncovered for about 10 minutes. Stir occasionally until the sugar is dissolved and the mixture turns syrupy.
2. Add the coconut, salt and the knotted pandan leaf (this adds a nice flavour). Cook and stir constantly for 10 minutes.
3. Once the mixture dries up, take it off the heat, discard the pandan leaf and set it aside.
4. Now let’s move on to making the crepe. Combine the flour, eggs, coconut milk, salt and pandan essence in a mixing bowl. Whisk into a smooth batter that has a pouring consistency. Strain to remove any lumps.
5. Preheat a nonstick saucepan over low heat. Lightly grease the pan with a small amount of oil. Stir the batter and pour one scoop onto the pan with a ladle. Turn the pan to obtain a thin round layer. Cook until the crepe sets and begins to brown, then flip it over and cook for a few seconds on the other side. Remove it from the heat. Continue to make the crepes until all the batter is used up. Set aside to cool before assembling.
6. To assemble, place a crepe on a flat surface and top with 2 tbsp of the coconut filling. Fold one side of the crepe over the filling, then fold in the sides and roll up tightly into a cylinder. Enjoy!