Ayam Betutu (Grilled Chicken Recipe)

Ingredients:
5 tablespoons oil
100g young cassava leaves, boiled until tender, cut into serving pieces
1 chicken (weighing 1½kg)
banana leaves/aluminum foil, for wrapping

Spices (ground):
8 red chilies
5 bird's eye chilies
5 candlenuts, roasted
10 shallots
1 teaspoon dried shrimp paste
5 cloves garlic
1 tablespoon coriander, roasted
1½ tablespoons sliced lemon grass (use only the bottom white tender part)
2 teaspoons peppercorns
1 tablespoon chopped galangal
½ teaspoon powdered nutmeg
2 teaspoons chopped turmeric
4 kaffir lime leaves
2 teaspoons chopped ginger
2 teaspoons chopped lesser galangal
salt and sugar to taste

Directions:
Heat oil and sauté the ground spices until fragrant and dry. Set aside and allow to cool. Divide into 2 parts. Combine 1 part with cassava leaves. Stuff the mixture into the chicken and secure with toothpicks. Rub the chicken with the remaining ground spices. Wrap the chicken with banana leaves and tie with a string. Grill in the oven at medium heat (180°C) for 2-3 hours or until cooked. Remove from heat and cut before serving. Another way to cook the chicken is to steam it for about 45 minutes before grilling in the oven for an hour. Betutu is a special dish from Bali. In Bali, usually the Balinese use duck wrapped in banana leaves and wrapped again with stalks of palm leaves. The duck is then buried in the ground and covered with hot charcoal for 6-7 hours until cooked.

Tahu Gimbal (Bean Curd Shrimp Fritters Recipe)

Ingredients:
2 pieces large bean curd (8 x 8 x 2 cm), quartered
Oil for deep-frying
4 cabbage leaves, finely sliced

Shrimp Fritters:
100g flour
¼ teaspoon baking soda
1 egg, beaten
2 teaspoons salt
1 clove garlic, ground
¼ teaspoon pepper
100g bean sprouts, tailed
200g shrimps, discard the head
1 tablespoon chopped Chinese parsley
125cc water/thin coconut milk
Oil for deep-frying

Peanut Sauce:
2-3 tablespoons sweet soy sauce
125cc water

Spices (ground):
150g peanuts, roasted and peeled
2-3 shallots
10 bird's eye chilies
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar

Directions:
Deep-fry bean curd until golden brown, then set aside. Shrimp Fritters: Combine flour with baking soda, egg, salt, garlic and pepper. Mix well. Add bean sprouts, shrimps, Chinese parsley and coconut milk. Deep-fry 1-2 tablespoons of the mixture until golden brown. Drain and set aside. Peanut Sauce: Combine sweet soy sauce with water and ground spices. Mix thoroughly. To serve: Cut bean curd and shrimp fritters into serving pieces. Arrange on a serving plate, add sliced cabbage and pour the peanut sauce over.

Crab Curry Recipe (Gulai Kepiting)

Ingredients:
5 crabs
3 tablespoons oil
1 stalk lemon grass, bruised (use only the bottom white tender part)
1 salam leaf (or bay leaf as a substitute)
2 kaffir lime leaves
1 liter coconut milk from 1 coconut
salt to taste

Spices (ground):
5 red chilies
1 teaspoon chopped ginger
1 teaspoon chopped turmeric
2 teaspoons chopped galangal
1 teaspoon coriander, roasted
3 candlenuts, roasted
a pinch of cumin, roasted
¼ teaspoon shrimp paste
2 cloves garlic
5 shallots
1 teaspoon tamarind juice

Ingredients:
Clean crabs and discard the shell and gills. Cut in half. Heat oil and sauté ground spices, lemon grass, salam leaf and kaffir lime leaves until fragrant. Add coconut milk and salt and bring to the boil. Toss in the crabs and simmer until cooked.

Laksa (Indonesian Rich Noodle Soup Recipe)

Ingredients:
200g dried vermicelli
3 tablespoons oil
2 salam leaves (or bay leaves as a substitute)
1 stalk lemon grass, bruised (use only the bottom white tender part)
250g shrimps, shelled and de-veined
1½ liters coconut milk from 1 coconut
2 tablespoons shredded coconut, roasted until golden brown, pounded
200g bean sprouts, tailed, blanched, drained and set aside
1 chicken (850g), boiled and shredded
4 eggs, boiled, shelled, cut into 8 pieces
2-3 tablespoons fried shallots
50g basil leaves

Spices (ground):
1 tablespoon coriander, roasted
3 cloves garlic
7 shallots
2 teaspoons chopped galangal
2 teaspoons chopped temu mangga/temu pao or 1 teaspoon chopped turmeric
3 candlenuts, roasted
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon sugar

Directions:
Blanch the dried vermicelli with hot water until tender. Drain, then set aside. Heat the oil and sauté ground spices, salam leaves and lemon grass until fragrant. Add shrimps, coconut milk and pounded coconut. Bring to the boil and stir occasionally to prevent the coconut milk from curdling. Sambal: Grind 10 red chilies and 2 boiled bird's eye chilies with 1 teaspoon lime juice. To serve: Arrange vermicelli, bean sprouts, chicken and sliced eggs in a bowl. Pour hot gravy to cover these and sprinkle with fried shallots and basil. Serve with sambal. Temu mangga or temu pao gives a soft yellow color and has a delicious mango aroma. Use 1 teaspoon chopped turmeric as a substitute.

Cajun Tofu

Ingredients:
2 pounds firm tofu, drained and cut into 3/4-inch cubes *
1 medium red bell pepper, finely chopped
1 medium green bell pepper, finely chopped
1 large white onion, finely chopped
1 cup chopped celery
2 cans cooked, peeled tomatoes
4 cans tomato sauce
1 gallon water or vegetable stock
2 tablespoons finely chopped parsley
1/2 cup finely sliced green onion tops
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
2 teaspoons salt
Diced red chiles, to taste
1 minced habañero pepper
2 1/2 teaspoons black pepper
2 teaspoons garlic salt
3 teaspoons paprika
3 or 4 fresh bay leaves
Fresh parsley sprigs

Directions:
Fry tofu in very hot olive or peanut oil until golden to seal. Pour oil from above into bottom of stock pot, adding enough to cover the bottom of the pot, if
necessary. Make a roux by adding an equal amount of flour, cooking until thickened. Add remaining ingredients except parsley. Simmer for 25 minutes.
Add drained tofu, place lid on pot and simmer for another 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add bay leaves and let cool for 15 minutes. Reheat if
necessary and serve over steamed rice. Top with fresh parsley.

Chicken Serunding

Ingredients:
To pound into a paste:
8 dried chillies (soak in water)
8 shallots
4 nips garlic
1 cm ginger
1 cm galangal (lengkuas)
2 lemon grass
1 tbsp coriander seeds
1 tbsp cummin seeds
1 tbsp fennel seeds
1 chicken
(clean and cut into 4 large pieces)
500 ml thick coconut milk
2 turmeric leaves (shredded)
1 tbsp brown sugar
salt to taste

Directions:
Boil the chicken until cooked.
Shred the chicken into pieces with your fingers. Keep aside.
Heat a wok, combine coconut milk and the pounded ingredients and leave it to simmer
gently.
Once oil surface from the gravy, add in shredded chicken, sugar, and salt.
Stir and cook until dish is really dried.
Add in turmeric leaves and dish out.