Nasi Tim Ayam Jamur--Steamed Rice with Chicken and Mushrooms

Nasi tim ayam jamur is a dish that qualifies for Indonesian comfort food.  A Chinese influenced dish, it is not widely seen on menus outside of Java.  In fact, it's a dish I don't recall seeing very often in restaurants on Java.  If you do encounter it, it's likely to be in a city with a fairly sizeable Tionghoa population.

It is not a difficult dish to prepare, and it has the added benefit of being a dish that can be assembled ahead of time and served when you are ready.  It can be made as a communal dish or in individual servings.  Traditionally it might be served with acar (a cucumber and carrot pickle), but since I had recently made some do chua (Vietnamese pickled carrot and daikon), I served it with that.  A quick stir fry of caisim (choy sum) with chilies and garlic completed the meal.

I used a whole chicken in preparing this dish, using the breast for this dish, the wings and legs for some ayam pong teh, and the backbone and ribs to make the chicken stock.  Tjing doesn't care for chicken breast usually, so this is one way to make it palatable for her.  You could, of course, just buy some boneless, skinless chicken breast (or thighs), and use some canned low-sodium chicken broth instead of making your own.

Nasi Tim Ayam Jamur

printable recipe

1 whole boneless, skinless chicken breast
2 cups rice, rinsed and drained
4 cups chicken stock (divided)
1/2 lb fresh mushrooms (in Indonesia, fresh straw mushrooms are the mushroom of choice, but you may choose to use oyster, button, shitake, or other mushrooms--I used shimeiji, Japanese brown beech mushrooms, because they were available and cheap)
4 TBS oil (approximately)
5 cloves of garlic, peeled and finely minced
1-inch slice of ginger, peeled and finely minced
1/2 tsp ground white pepper
2 TBS oyster sauce
2 TBS kecap manis (sweet soy sauce)
1 TBS kecap asin (regular soy sauce)
4 green onions, sliced

Cut the chicken into small cubes.  Chop the mushrooms so that they're about the same size as the pieces of chicken.  Heat a wok or skillet over medium high heat and add about 2 tablespoons of oil.  When the oil is shimmering, add the ginger and garlic and fry briefly, not allowing them to brown. Stir in the chicken and fry for about a minute before adding the mushrooms.  Add the oyster sauce, kecap manis, kecap asin and white pepper.  Cook for about a minute longer.  Remove from heat.

In a sauce pan, heat 2 tablespoons of oil over medium high heat.  Stir in the rice.  Stir well, making sure all the grains get coated with oil.  Add 2 1/2 cups of the chicken stock.  Stir and bring to a boil.  Once the stock comes to a boil, cover and remove from heat.  Allow the rice to absorb the liquid, about 10 or 15 minutes.

In heat proof bowls (you may choose which size you prefer--I have used both 1 1/2 cup ramekins and 3/4 cup ramekins) place a layer of the chicken mushroom mixture on the bottom.  Top this with a layer of rice to the top of the ramekin or bowl.  Spoon an additional tablespoon or two of the chicken broth over the top.  Place the filled bowls in a steamer and steam for 15 minutes.  The bowls may be filled earlier in the day (or a day earlier) and steamed when you are ready for dinner. 

To serve, invert a plate over the top of a ramekin.  Holding on tightly to both, flip them over, tap on the ramekin, and the chicken and rice should release, forming a mound of deliciousness on the plate.
Traditionally, a cup of the broth seasoned with the slices of green onion is served along with the rice.

Rengginang--Fried Rice Crackers

When I made some sambal serai--lemongrass sambal--a few weeks back, I thought it needed something other than some grilled food to accompany it.  The sambal is great with a meal, but I wanted to be able to enjoy it as a snack.  Rengginang--which are a kind of rice cracker made from sticky rice--make a perfect accompaniment.  They are light and savory, easy to make, and store well.

Rengginang are nothing like the tasteless puffed rice crackers that were popular with dieters many years ago.  Who knows, maybe they are still popular.  Nutritionally, they were equivalent to eating styrofoam. Unfortunately, styrofoam probably tastes better.  Rengginang taste like toasted rice with a hint of garlic and shrimp.  In Indonesia you can also get a sweetened version, but I've always been partial to the savory ones.  While they are usually about 3 inches in diameter, you can find platter-sized ones that are 10 inches or more across. 

Making these is a multi-step process, but it is not difficult.  Soak, steam, mix, steam, dry, and fry.  There's also a little grinding of garlic, but those are the basic steps.  While I like a little sambal with mine, you could really use them with almost any dip, especially salsas.  The dried disks can be stored until you are ready to fry them.  The fried rengginang will keep for at least a week in an airtight container. 

Rengginang--Fried Rice Crackers

printable recipe

1 kilo glutinous rice (approximately 5 cups)
6--8 cloves of garlic, peeled, and pounded to a paste
2 tsp salt
1 tsp terasi (optional)
2 TBS ebi (dried shrimp) soaked in hot water for 10 minutes, drained, and pounded to a paste (optional)
400 ml (1 3/4 cups) water

Soak the rice in water for two to four hours.  Drain, then steam the rice for 15 minutes.  Remove the rice to a large bowl.

In a mortar, pound the garlic, salt, terasi, and ebi (if using) into a smooth paste. Stir this paste into the 400 ml of water.  Pour this into the partially steamed rice and mix well.  Allow the rice to absorb the seasoned water.

After 15 to 20 minutes, when the rice has absorbed the added liquid, return the rice to the steamer and steam for another 30 minutes.  Remove the rice from the steamer and form into disks about 1/4 inch to 1/2 inch thick (.5 cm to 1 cm). 

If you live in a warm, sunny climate, place the disks in a single layer on some sort of rack or porous surface and allow them to dry.  This may take several days.  I hurried the process by putting them into an oven which I turned on to the lowest possible setting.  I meant to turn the oven off after five minutes, but forgot, so I dried them a little faster and at a higher temperature than was ideal.  Still, they fried up fine.  If you have a dehydrator, I would think that would be ideal for drying these.

Once dried, they are ready to be fried.  Heat oil in a wok or other pan to around 385º, maybe a little hotter.  Slide a disk into the hot oil.  It will sink to the bottom, but should rise almost immediately.  Cook in small batches.  Each only takes twenty seconds or less to cook.  The important thing is to have the oil hot enough so that the disks will rise to the surface almost immediately.  If the oil is too cool, the disks will remain on the bottom and you will have a hard, unpleasant cracker.

Crab Fried Rice

Fried rice is one of those dishes that I generally avoid at restaurants.  It's a great way to get rid of leftovers, but that's not why I go to restaurants.  Moreover, it is often greasy, fried in too much oil.  At home, fried rice is a treat.  It's quick, easy, and not greasy at all.

 Crab fried rice is not a dish of leftovers.  Although I originally had this version at a restaurant near the school where I taught in Jakarta, this is not an Indonesian style of nasi goreng.  Indonesian nasi goreng features kecap manis and is a dish that I associate more with breakfast.  This crab fried rice is more subtly spiced and allows the crab to stand out.  The addition of corn adds a little sweetness and texture to the rice.

It's important to use good quality crab meat when making this dish.  You could add other ingredients if you like, but I prefer to let the crab be the star of the show here.  That's the same reason I would feature this as the main dish of the meal, not peripheral to any other dish.

Crab Fried Rice

(printable version)

4 cups cold, cooked rice
1 cup good quality crab meat
2 shallots, minced
1 clove of garlic, minced
1--2 red chilies, finely diced
kernels from 1 ear of corn, about 1/2 cup
2 large eggs
3 green onions, thinly sliced
2 TBS fish sauce
1 tsp light soy sauce
3 TBS Thai basil, finely chopped
2--3 TBS vegetable oil

Beat the eggs with 1 tsp of the fish sauce.  Heat a wok or frying pan over medium high heat.  Add a little oil to cover the bottom.  Fry half the egg mixture to make a thin omelet.  Remove and repeat with the remaining egg.  Let the omelets cool, then roll and slice into thin strips.

Heat the remaining oil in the wok.  First, fry the corn for about a minute.  Then, add shallots and garlic and briefly fry.  Next, add chilies and fry another 30 seconds or so.  After this, add green onions and then stir in rice, breaking up any clumps.  Then, add crab meat, fish sauce and soy sauce.  Stir well to distribute the ingredients evenly.  (If necessary, add a little water to help break up any rice clumps.) Finally, stir in the Thai basil just before removing from heat.  Decorate the plated rice with the omelet strips before serving.

Lemongrass and Kaffir Lime Risotto--Daring Cooks Challenge

As usual, I waited until the last moment to get the challenge done. My wife doesn't care much for risotto, so I wanted to do something a little different. In addition to infusing the stock with lemongrass and some kaffir lime leaves, I dehydrated several of the kaffir lime leaves and crumbled them into the risotto. I also added some diced red pepper and shallots. I think some lime juice would have brightened the dish. The basic recipe for the challenge can be found here.

The 2010 March Daring Cooks challenge was hosted by Eleanor of MelbournefoodGeek and Jess of Jessthebaker. They chose to challenge Daring Cooks to make risotto. The various components of their challenge recipe are based on input from the Australian Masterchef cookbook and the cookbook Moorish by Greg Malouf.

It's Been a Lontong Coming

First, let me explain. It has been three weeks since I last posted. It's not because of any one thing, but a combination of the start of the school year and some computer hiccups.

The start of the school year is always a stressful time, this year more than most. Eight and a half years ago, I resigned my teaching position--tenured, mind you--because my principal treated staff and students with equal contempt. As an example of her management style, she wanted teachers whose "data" about their students was "messy"--incomplete, missing information about how much school they had completed, whether their goal was to improve their literacy skills or an unspecified personal goal--to wear the "apron of shame" during staff development meetings. Seriously, an actual apron with something like "My data's a mess" printed on it. There were a number of other things that happened that I won't bore you with.

I decided I would never again teach adult education classes--as much as I enjoyed the students--because I was disgusted with the administration. A day after 9/11/2001, I get a call from the ESL coordinator of what might be considered a rival school in the same district asking me if I might consider taking on a class or two. As much as I respected her, for I had been to some workshops she had led and had been impressed by her tact and skill, I declined. I had had enough of the shite of this particular school district and just didn't want to deal with it anymore. I was content doing the community college gig, and possibly working towards getting on full-time there. But the coordinator kept pressing me and I eventually agreed to give it a go. Eight years later I'm still there.

Then, in May, the school district decided it must make more drastic cuts. A change in state law allowed it to loot adult education funds for K-12 classes. Although more than $500,000 in cuts had been made in each of the last two years, more cuts had to be made. The adult education division suffered a 26% cut, yet not a single administrator was eliminated. Instead, they were shuffled around and now once again I am working for the principal from hell although her school has been closed and she is now based at a high school that has been closed for several years. Two weeks after the start of the school year my schedule went from a standard 8:30 to 3:30 shift to a split shift starting at 8:30 a.m. and ending at 8:30 p.m. two nights a week. Ain't life grand? This, in addition to the community college class I teach to 9:35 p.m. two nights a week and the minor computer problems are why I've been so lax about posting. So it goes.

Lontong is the perfect accompaniment to a number of Indonesian and Malaysian dishes. Although it is little more than rice cooked in a container too small to comfortably fit in--think of Marlon Brando in his later years trying to fit into his On the Waterfront jeans--dishes served with lontong taste better than if they were simply served with rice. Soto ayam, gado-gado, sate ayam, opor ayam, and tahu lontong are not the same when served with plain rice. The denseness and concentration of rice in the lontong, along with the floral notes from the banana leaf, compliment the sauces and kuahs of those dishes. Instead of simply being absorbed by the rice, the liquids stand out and you are able to enjoy the subtle complexity of spices. Opor ayam with lontong is a totally different experience than when it is served with steamed rice.

There appear to be differing schools of thought on how to prepare lontong. Some like to partially cook the rice before rolling it in squares of banana leaf and finishing the cooking. Others suggest putting raw rice in the banana leaf cylinders and doing all the cooking in the leaves. Although cooking the rice partially gives one a little better control of the rolls (it's easy to fill the leaves too full with the uncooked rice), I prefer doing all the cooking in the rolls.

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Thai Basil Claypot Rice

Moo Paht Bai Graprao--Pork Fried with Basil is one of my favorite Thai dishes. I also like the basil fried with chicken or shrimp. It's a comforting dish that comes together quickly. Many times when I don't have anything specific in mind for dinner I'll to a quick stir-fry with basil. It's something that comes together in a few minutes and makes a great leftover to bring to school the next day.

I'm also fond of claypot rice. My wife makes a version her mother made with minced pork, garlic and choy sum which I like very much but which she keeps as a closely guarded secret. Like the stir fried basil dishes, claypot rice is a dish that comes together easily and makes great leftovers.

Since I couldn't get my wife to part with her mother's recipe, I decided to do a mash-up of Thai basil pork and claypot rice with mushrooms. While I don't think it's quite as tasty as my wife's claypot rice, it was delicious, quick and comforting. A great one-dish main for a busy school night.

Thai Basil Claypot Rice

12 ounces pork, diced (you could easily substitute boned, skinless chicken thighs)
8--12 dried shitake mushrooms, soaked in water 30 minutes, diced
2 shallots, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 inch piece of ginger, peeled and minced
2--4 thai chilies, thinly sliced or minced
2 TBS fish sauce
1 TBS kecap manis (sweet soy sauce)
1 TBS water
2 cups rice
3 cups chicken broth
1 cup Thai basil

Mix the pork, mushrooms, shallots, garlic, ginger, chilies, fish sauce, kecap manis and water. Marinate for at least 15 minutes.
Put rice in claypot. Stir in chicken broth and bring to boil. After a minute or two of boiling, place pork mixture on top of rice, cover and simmer for about 15 minutes until all the liquid is absorbed and the rice is cooked. Add the basil leaves and stir the meat and basil into the rice. Remove the claypot from the heat and let the rice stand for five minutes or longer before serving.

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Daring Cooks--Rice with Mushrooms, Squid and Artichokes

Having started this blog largely so I could participate in the Daring Bakers challenges, figuring that it would give me an excuse to bake more often, I was pleased to discover the Daring Cooks component. I am more fond of savory foods than sweet ones, so I looked forward to trying my hand at the challenges presented by the cooks. There's a bit of delay in being admitted into the inner sanctum of the Daring Kitchen in order to take part in the challenges, so this is my first Daring Cooks challenge. This month's challenge was hosted by Olga from Las Cosas de Olga and Olga’s Recipes. It was rice with mushrooms, cuttlefish and artichokes by José Andrés. You can watch him make the dish here.

Although there are several steps to making this dish, it is really not difficult. I made several adaptions based on personal preference and availability. I used squid instead of cuttlefish. I also used brown beech mushrooms and canned artichoke hearts from Trader Joe's. In spring I would choose to use fresh artichokes as the canned ones seem watery and insubstantial. Instead of making a fish stock, I used two cups of clam juice mixed with four cups of water.

This was a delicious recipe, one that got rave reviews from my wife. She is quite particular in rating rice dishes and does not usually like risotto. I made the dish expecting to hear bland praise at best. Instead, she positively gushed about the combination of rice, squid and allioli. Thanks for the recipe, Olga.

It really is the allioli that brings this dish together. I worried that I wouldn't be able to bring the four ingredients--garlic, lemon juice, salt, and olive oil--together in an emulsified whipped cream-like mass, but it worked wonderfully. I actually used juice from a kalamansi lime instead of lemon juice, but there were no problems. The key seems to be adding the olive oil very slowly to the garlic at first. You can add it much more quickly once you have gotten the process underway.

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Rice with mushrooms, cuttlefish and artichokes

Ingredients (serves 4):

• 4 Artichokes (you can use jarred or freezed if fresh are not available)
• 12 Mushrooms (button or Portobello)
• 1 or 2 Bay leaves (optional but highly recommended)
• 1 glass of white wine
• 2 Cuttlefish (you can use freezed cuttlefish or squid if you don’t find it fresh)
• “Sofregit” (see recipe below)
• 300 gr (2 cups) Short grain rice (Spanish types Calasparra or Montsant are preferred, but you can choose any other short grain. This kind of rice absorbs flavor very well) – about 75 gr per person ( ½ cup per person) Please read this for more info on suitable rices.
• Water or Fish Stock (use 1 ½ cup of liquid per ½ cup of rice)
• Saffron threads (if you can’t find it or afford to buy it, you can substitute it for turmeric or yellow coloring powder)
• Allioli (olive oil and garlic sauce, similar to mayonnaise sauce) - optional

Directions:

1. Cut the cuttlefish in little strips.
2. Add 1 or 2 tablespoon of olive oil in a frying pan and put the cuttlefish in the pan.
3. If you use fresh artichokes, clean them as shown in the video in tip #7. Cut artichokes in eights.
4. Clean the mushrooms and cut them in fourths.
5. Add a bay leaf to the cuttlefish and add also the artichokes and the mushrooms.
6. Sauté until we get a golden color in the artichokes.
7. Put a touch of white wine so all the solids in the bottom of the get mixed, getting a more flavorful dish.
8. Add a couple or three tablespoons of sofregit and mix to make sure everything gets impregnated with the sofregit.
9. Add all the liquid and bring it to boil.
10. Add all the rice. Let boil for about 5 minutes in heavy heat.
11. Add some saffron thread to enrich the dish with its flavor and color. Stir a little bit so the rice and the other ingredients get the entire flavor. If you’re using turmeric or yellow coloring, use only 1/4 teaspoon.
12. Turn to low heat and boil for another 8 minutes (or until rice is a little softer than “al dente”)
13. Put the pan away from heat and let the rice stand a couple of minutes.

Sofregit (a well cooked and fragrant sauce made of olive oil, tomatoes, garlic and onions, and may at times
different vegetables such as peppers or mushrooms)-

Cooking time: aprox. 1 hour
Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons of olive oil
• 5 big red ripe tomatoes, chopped
• 2 small onions, chopped
• 1 green pepper, chopped (optional)
• 4 or 5 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 cup of button or Portobello mushrooms, chopped (optional)
• 1 Bay leaf
• Salt
• Touch of ground cumin
• Touch of dried oregano

Directions:

1. Put all the ingredients together in a frying pan and sauté slowly until all vegetables are soft.
2. Taste and salt if necessary (maybe it’s not!)

Allioli is the optional part of the recipe. You must choose one of the two recipes given, even though I highly recommend you to try traditional one. Allioli is served together with the rice and it gives a very nice taste

Allioli (Traditional recipe)
Cooking time: 20 min aprox.
Ingredients:

• 4 garlic cloves, peeled
• Pinch of salt
• Fresh lemon juice (some drops)
• Extra-virgin olive oil (Spanish preferred but not essential)

Directions:

1. Place the garlic in a mortar along with the salt.
2. Using a pestle, smash the garlic cloves to a smooth paste. (The salt stops the garlic from slipping at the bottom of the mortar as you pound it down.)
3. Add the lemon juice to the garlic.
4. Drop by drop; pour the olive oil into the mortar slowly as you continue to crush the paste with your pestle.
5. Keep turning your pestle in a slow, continuous circular motion in the mortar. The drip needs to be slow and steady. Make sure the paste soaks up the olive oil as you go.
6. Keep adding the oil, drop by drop, until you have the consistency of a very thick mayonnaise. If your allioli gets too dense, add water to thin it out. This takes time—around 20 minutes of slow motion around the mortar—to create a dense, rich sauce.

José's tips for traditional recipe: It's hard to think that, when you start crushing the garlic, it will ever turn into something as dense and smooth as allioli. But don't give up. It's worth the extra time and effort to see the oil and garlic come together before your eyes. Just make sure you're adding the olive oil slowly, drop by drop. Keep moving the pestle around the mortar in a circular motion and keep dreaming of the thick, creamy sauce at the end of it all.

Allioli a la moderna (Modern recipe)
Cooking time: 3-4 minutes
Ingredients:

• 1 small egg
• 1 cup extra-virgin olive oil (as above, Spanish oil is highly recommended)
• 1 garlic clove, peeled
• 1 Tbs. Spanish Sherry vinegar or lemon juice (if Sherry vinegar is not available, use can use cider or white vinegar)
• Salt to taste

Directions:

1. Break the egg into a mixing bowl.
2. Add 2 tablespoons of the olive oil and the garlic cloves, along with the vinegar or lemon juice.
3. Using a hand blender, start mixing at high speed until the garlic is fully pureed into a loose paste.
4. Little by little, add what's left of the olive oil as you continue blending.
5. If the mixture appears too thick as you begin pouring the oil, add 1 teaspoon of water to loosen the sauce.
6. Continue adding the oil and blending until you have a rich, creamy allioli.
7. The sauce will be a lovely yellow color.
8. Add salt to taste.

José's tips for modern recipe:
(1) If you do not have access to a hand blender, you can use a hand mixer (the kind with the two beaters) or a food processor. If you use a food processor, you must double the recipe or the amount will be too little for the blades to catch and emulsify.
(2) What happens if the oil and egg separate? Don't throw it out. You can do two things. One is to whisk it and use it as a side sauce for a fish or vegetable. But if you want to rescue the allioli, take 1 tablespoon of lukewarm water in another beaker and start adding to the mix little by little. Blend it again until you create the creamy sauce you wanted.

Olga’s Tips:
(1) In Spain, rice is not stired as often as it is when cooking Italian risotto. You must stir it once or twice maximum. This tip is valid for all Spanish rice dishes like paella, arròs negre, arròs a banda…
(2) When cooking the alternative style you can change the cuttlefish or squid for diced potato.
(3) If you can’t find cuttlefish or squid, or you’re not able to eat them because of allergies, you can try to substitute them for chicken or vegetables at your choice.
(4) Sofregit can be done in advance. You can keep it in the fridge or even freeze it.
(5) For more information on how to clean and remove the heart of artichokes, please watch this video
(6) To watch how Jose Andres cooks this dish click here.
(7) For more information on how to clean and remove the heart of artichokes, please watch this video
(8) To tone down the taste when you do it by hand in a mortar, then add an egg yolk. If you want to tone it down in the alternative way use milk or soy milk. Anyway, the best alternative way is the original oil and garlic alone.
(9) Allioli must be consumed during the preparation day and preserved in the fridge before using it.
(10) For help on conversion on metric to imperial, visit this page.