Tofu - Tahu

Stuffed Tofu Susy's Style -   Tahu Isi


Tofu or bean curd contains a low amount of calories, relatively large amount of iron and little fat.
Delicious vegetarian treat, and easy to prepare.  Stuffed Tofu withe mix vegetables.
Recipe to share

Stuffed Tofu with a mini bowl of Sauce

Stuffed Tofu with The Sauce

Tahu Isi (Stuffed Tofu) Susy's Style

 6 Fried Puff Tofu – from the Chinese store

Filling:

1cup bean sprout

¼ cup carrots

¼ spring onion

¼ cup spinach

A dash of ground white pepper

2 teaspoons oil

1tablespoon corn flour

Place all these ingredients in a bowl, mix and toss them together.

The Sauce

1 tablespoons soy sauce

1tablespoon sweet soy

1teaspoon sesame oil

3 tablespoons water/stock

1teaspoon cornflour

Squished of lime (about 2 teaspoons)

Place the all the soy, water/stock, sesame oil, and cook it until just warm

Add in the corn flour then stir and mix, bring to a gentle simmer

Drawn from the heat, add in the lime juice and stir.  Keep aside, to cool.

To cook the Tahu Isi

Cut tofu in half, place about 1 tablespoon of the filling, then place the other half on top, to cover.  Keep aside

Do the rest of the tofu.

Place the six-stuffed tofu, in a steamer, and steam in over hot heat for 7-10 minutes.

Place the tofu on a serving plate, serve hot with the sauce.

To serve: serve as a snack or an entrée.

Food Preparation, Cooking and Serving 

Steamed Tofu after 7-10 cooking

carrots, bean sprouts, spring onion 

Putting t; he Fillings

The Sauce

The Stuffed Tofu is Ready to serve

Stuffed Tofu is ready to steam.

Tofu is of Chinese origin, and it is also a part of East Asian and Southeast Asian cuisines such as Chinese, Japanese, Korean and Indonesian and others. (Wikipedia)

Enjoy to cook Tofu, I think it is suitable for a chance to eat without meat in our diet.

Happy Cooking!

Susy

The Steak

Porterhouse Steak

 My introduction to eating steak in Australia was way back in 1974.  In March of that year, Frank drove us in his car from Tullamarine to Hamilton.  Frank was the vice principal of Monivae College, where my husband was going to be working. He invited us for dinner that day, so he took us to a restaurant in the Southern Cross Hotel, Bourke Street in Melbourne.  The Southern Cross Hotel was a big hotel with excellent services.

It was quite an experience for me about the food; I had a massive serve of steak (porterhouse) and other garnishes. It looked great and generous, the steak was bigger than the plate (I thought). 

Generally, in Asia, people eat less meat than in the Western world.  I could not finish the meal, but I understood the simplicity of the cooking and flavours that were only salt and pepper. I have learned a lot more about how to cook and to serve steaks, of course.  Eating lean red meat is better than eating fatty beef.

Since then, I never go back to revisit the place, I was happy enough to live in the country with my family.

Sadly enough, the Hotel was demolished in 1999 for whatever reason that I do not know.

Now and then I do cook steaks, I must confess though that the porterhouse steak is my favourite steak. Time has changed, all the cut of steaks are much smaller now. I think it is an excellent idea for health reasons.   I don’t serve steaks with béarnaise sauce or other creamy sauces.  There are many simple sauces, such as red wine reduction sauce, or just pesto sauce, they are lighter and also healthier.

The good thing about cooking steaks is it's rapid, and a special treat too. 

Home cooking: Porterhouse steak served with

mushrooms and red wine reduction sauce.

To Frank

I respected him highly.  He was a kind gentleman.

Susy

Recipe From The Bygone Era

Mademoiselle Jenny Lind’s Soup

“This receipt’, wrote Eliza Acton, ‘does not merely bear the name of “Mademoiselle Lind but is, in reality, that of the soup which was served continuously to her, as it was prepared by her own cook  . . . We were informed . . . That Mademoiselle Lind was in the habit of taking this soup before she sang as she found that the sago and eggs shooting to the chest and beneficial to the voice.

‘Wash 1oz of the best pearl sago until the water poured from it is clear.  Then stew it quite tender and very thick in water or thick broth (it will require nearly or quite a ½ pint of liquid, which should be poured to it cold, and heated slowly).  Then mix gradually with it ¼ pint of good boiling cream and the yolk of one fresh egg, and mingle the whole carefully with one pint of strong veal or beef stock, which should always be kept ready boiling.  Send the soup immediately to the table.’ 

(From MODERN  COOKERY  FOR  PRIVATE  FAMILIES   by  Elisa Acton 1845)

 To Jane and Gorgie.

This Sago and Egg Soup is an excellent soup for all good singers.  Best to try it!  Good Luck!

Susy

Provence - Pizza

Pissaladiere


The pissaladiere is a French pizza that made out of bread dough, rolled out thinly and cover with onions, olives, garlic, anchovies and olives oil. No cheese topping.  You need a lot of fresh salad to go with Pissaladiere.

I had been passing through Provence before when my husband and I were travelling in a part of Europa.  I did not have a chance to taste the pissaladiere, but I tried the brioche and the pistou.   I was not sure about the brioche, but I did enjoy the pasta with pistou (a green, fresh, concoction of garlic, sweet basil, cheese and olive oil). Pistou is Pesto in Italian but without the pine nuts.

Now I like to catch up what I have missed, I do hope this pissaladiere is as good as the original pizza in Provence.  This recipe is the adaptation of Jacques Pepin.

A slice of Pissaladiere with Salad

The Pissaladiere

I had so much fun to do this French cooking today, and I am so pleased that I could share recipes and posted different verity of dishes from Java and beyond, for the past week.  They will be more exciting recipes to come.


Recipe to share today:

Pissaladiere

  
Ingredients
The dough:
1 ½ cup plain flour
Extra flour for kneading
14 g dried yeast
1tablespoon olive oil
½ teaspoon salt
A ½  cup of warm water

The Topping
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 cups or more sliced onions
3 cloves garlic and some salt
90 g good quality anchovies
A cup of Kalamata olives stoned and halved

Method
Add the yeast in the warm water, mix and let it rest for 6 minutes
Put the plain flour in a mixing bowl; add in the salt, oil and the yeast
You can combine this with an electric mixer; then using the dough hook, beat in medium speed for 2 minutes.
Take it out from the bowl, put the dough on floured board and knead it by hands until the mixture is smooth and satiny.
Put in a clean and oiled bowl, place it in a warm room to make the dough rise to double.

The Topping/Filling
Pan fry the onion until cook and lightly brown, add in the salt and garlic
Roll the dough out, spread it by hand and put on an oiled flat tin 20 cm by 30 cm
Arrange the onion on the dough/pastry and the anchovies, in a crisscross pattern on top
Put half of the olive in each of the anchovy’s diamond.
Sprinkle with olive oil, and bake it in hot oven 200 C for 20-22 minutes
Allow it to cool in the pan for 10 minutes, brush it with oil before serving
Serve at room temperature.

To serve: cut into slices, garnish with a green salad.


Ingredients, Preparation and Cooking.
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Olives, Anchovies, Sliced Onions

The dough is Smooth and Satiny.

The dough has doubled after one hour.

Flat out the dough thinly by hand to 20x30cm

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Arranging the Topping

The Pissaladiere is Ready to Bake

Baked Pissaladiere

Resting Pissaladiere on a Wooden tray

After Leaving The Baked Pissaladiere for

10 minutes in the Tin

The Pissaladiere looks so pretty and elegant; however, the taste is slightly salty.  You need a lot of salads to go with it and a good drink of Wine.

In Italy, I tasted an Italian Pizza.  I was so surprised because it’s so different from the Australian Pizza.

The Pizza did not have a lot of toppings; however the taste is so good.

I had a Pizza with Prosciutto and Rockets in Italy, this is what I cooked at home today (pictured below).  The family loved it.

Pizza with Prosciutto and Rockets

Have Fun and Happy Cooking

Susy.

Rempah - Java

Savoury Meat

Cooking with leaves as promised.  Rempah is savoury meat that is wrapped in banana leaf, and It cooks by steaming.  This is the traditional food from the island of Java.  A matter of fact, rempah was my mother's favourite.  This cooking is dedicated to her, I am sure she would have been proud of it. 

I prepared rempah differently.  This rempah is wrapped in the green cabbage leaf instead of the banana leaf.  It is braised, instead of steamed.  Cabbage goes very well with coconuts, it tastes delicious together.  The original rempah, only the rempah- the filling is eaten, the banana leaf is not.

Susy's Rempah Recipe to share.

Susy’s Rempah

 Ingredients:

300 gr the best lean mince beef

1 cup desiccated coconuts
A ½ cup of water
½ teaspoon coriander seeds
½ teaspoon galangal powder
1 small onion, chopped finely
1garlic, crushed
½ teaspoon salt
1tablespoon brown sugar
Juice of a half lime
1 tablespoon oil

6 Huge green cabbage leaves, blanched for a few minutes

For braising:

A ½ cup of coconut milk
1tablespoon oil
1teaspoon salt
1tablespoon sweet soy
(Put all ingredients in a jug; mix them together)

 Method

Add the water into the desiccated coconut, mix together, and keep aside

Sugar and Spice mix:
In a small bowl, place the garlic, onion, sugar and oil, mix together; keep aside
Grind the coriander seed with the salt,
Add the ground coriander into the onion/garlic mixture, and mix together
In a larger bowl place the meat, the desiccated coconuts, and the sugar/spices and mix
Add in the lime juice; then mix all together; divide the mixture into 6, make into small balls

Wrapping the Rempah:
Place a blanched cabbage on a plate, open the leave and put a ball of meat mixture in the middle
Wrap it up to enclose the meat mixture and secure it with a wooden pin.  Do with the rest.
Place the six rempah in a heavy-based braising pan, fit in snugly then add in the braising mixture.
Cook over medium heat, bring it to simmer, do not put the lid on in this stage,  and keep on cooking for 10 minutes.
Put the lid on, reduce the heat into low and cook for one hour.
When it is cooked, keep in the cooking pan until serving time.

To Serve:  Serve with steamed white rice.

Ingredients and The Cooking Process

Left   To   Right

Sugar and Spices

Desiccated Coconut with Mince Beef

The rempah Mixture

The rempah Wrapped in Cabbage Leaf

The rempah is in a Pot

Braised Rempah

Water and Desiccated Coconuts

D Coconut, Mince Beef, Sugar &Spices

Some Rempah on Cabbage Leaf

A Few of Rempah are Ready to Braise

Adding some Braising Mixture

The Cooked  Rempah

REMPAH   IN   CABBAGE   LEAF

I had a lot of fun to prepare and cooked this dish. 
I think it is a success, my family enjoyed it, it is very delicious.  It keeps in the freezer very well too.

I do hope to anyone who wishes to try this recipe will have so many enjoyments as I did.



Have Fun
Susy

Friends

Jennifer and Gerrie

Thinking of friends who just had their birthday.  Yesterday or even today in the Netherlands is Gerrie birthday, all my best wishes to you.  Thank you for your message, I am glad that you have been having a great time, happy celebrations in Zeeland.  The weather is getting better every day over there, keep well and stay healthy Gerrie.
Here in Australia, the weather is getting colder every day; however, we always have a mild winter compared to Europa.

To Jen, happy birthday and have a beautiful day.   I know that you are away to celebrate your birthday.  Have a great time, enjoy the afternoon tea at the Windsor, and enjoy the Opera also the Museum too.  I am sure that you have been having a fantastic time.  See you soon.
By the way, I baked chocolate chesnuts cake, you must have a taste of it, Jen. Thanks to John for gathering the chestnuts for us. We had a great time at your place, a great walked, enjoyed the beautiful view and thank you for your hospitality.

Another one friend to go,  to celebrate a birthday this month,  Carolyn's is on the 30th of May.    May is a hectic calendar for my family and me.

B A S O

Meat Balls Soup


Homemade baso-meatball is much more beautiful than the one from the shop, it never has the correct texture may be, but the taste is excellent.   The meatballs that you bought are springy (it is the character of the baso) because it's added a form of chemical.  I don't like to put any kind of chemical in this cooking, because it may harm you.  There is verity of baso: meat baso (beef/pork), fish baso and chicken baso.

This baso soup is famous in Java, you can buy at the street stalls to good restaurants.
It serves in a clear meat broth and fresh chopped herbs.  This soup can be served throughout the year. 

I prepared the baso of the Hawkers Food in Java,  as I remember it.  Recipe to share.

Baso: Meat Balls Soup

Baso-Meat Balls Soup (Javanese Style)

Hawkers – Food

Ingredients:

125 g minced pork

150 g lean minced beef

5 ice cubes, crushed

1 egg

40 g tapioca flour

½ teaspoon salt

A dash of white pepper

Chopped herbs –spring onions and parsley, fried shallot

Egg noodles

Condiment: soy, garlic/chilli and sesame oil

Method

Heat a pot of meat broth, bring to a boil, reduce the heat, keep it to a very gentle simmer

Place the minced meat into a food processor, process until the meat is smooth

Add in the crushed icy, work it to make a softer smooth paste

Add in the egg, flour, salt and white pepper, process it again and mix to make a sticky paste

To cook the Baso:

Scoop with two teaspoons; make a small ball as big as a walnut

Drop it into the simmering broth, when it floats, it’s done

The meatballs, keep well in a freezer.

To serve:

Warm the serving bowl

Place the noodles in the bowl

Add in some condiments – a teaspoon

Ladle some broth to the pot and put 6 meatballs (baso)

Top it up with chopped herbs and fried shallots, serve at once.

Ingredients and Preparations

The Baso-Meat Balls Soup

One of My Favourites Food

I add extra chopped fresh chilli, it's so refreshing.

Have fun!

Susy

The Leaves

Autumn   Leaves

A gorgeous colour of the autumn leaves, creating a beautiful view in the backyard.   I noticed this morning while I was walking around the yard to inspect the garden.  I could not help myself to take some pictures. 

I love deciduous trees, most of them are changing colour through the seasons.  I guess I come from a tropical place, I found that these entire European trees are very fascinating; they have beautiful foliage and shapes too. 

At the vegetable patch, the eatable leaves are colourful too, such as radicchio, beetroot leaves.  Radicchio is good for salads; the young beetroot leaves add an extra sweetness for a salad mix. 

The rustic deep purple colour of the Radicchio leaves

Beautiful Beetroot Leaves

Green  Cabbage Leaves

I picked the cabbage from the market, I have a plan to cook Javanese Dish.  Braised green cabbage leaves in coconut milk and Rempah.  I think the other dish that you all may be interested in. It is my interpretation of Rempah-braised tasty meat wrapped in cabbage leaves.  Originally the Rempah is cook in banana leaves.  It's one of my mother's favourites.
I am eager to share the recipe soon.


Susy