Indonesian Tofu Omelettes: Tahu Telur

Sambal oelek is an Indonesian relish or paste of ground red chilies; although some other countries have their own versions, including the U.S. In the U.S., it is easy to find in supermarkets, and likely even in some smaller grocery stores, and especially, of course, in Asian grocery stores, and it is not terribly expensive, although imported brands likely cost somewhat more. 

Tofu has had an increasing popularity in the U.S., and not just in Chinese restaurants, where it is typically listed as "bean curd," but as a distinct product itself, typically sold in rectangular cakes or blocks. Tofu by itself is not an exciting food, but it is good prepared with other flavorful food items, as tofu absorbs the flavors of these foods. In this dish, the tofu gets help by first frying it lightly, including it in an omelette, then adding a tasty peanut sauce. Nowadays, tofu is easily found in supermarkets, and, it isn't expensive. 

 

Ingredients (4 servings): 

 

To make the omelettes: 

 

1/2 of one firm block of tofu, drained and cut into small cubes (about 2/3 inch square)

4 large eggs, beaten

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

2/3 teaspoon salt

5 greens onion, chopped

2 tablespoons oil (peanut oil is good for this)

 

To make the sauce:

 

2 teaspoons peanut oil

1/4 cup peanut butter (smooth or chunky)

1/4 cup finely chopped onion (red or yellow)

1 tablespoon minced garlic

1 medium Roma tomato, chopped

1 teaspoon to 1 tablespoon sambal oelek (according to desired heat level)

1 tablespoon brown sugar (or palm sugar)

3 tablespoons kecap manis (sweet soy sauce)

2 teaspoons soy sauce

1/4 cup water

 

3 or 4 chopped green onions, for garnish

 

In a bowl, beat the eggs, then add the pepper, salt and chopped green onion; mix well. Heat 1 tablespoon peanut oil in a large non-stick skillet (I use a 12 inch skillet) over medium heat. Add the tofu cubes and saute until just lightly browned. Add the egg mixture, pouring it to cover all of the tofu. Brown the omelette on both sides. For the sauce: In a separate pan, add the 2 teaspoons of peanut oil, then add the onion, then after 1 minute add the garlic and chopped tomato and saute everything until softened (use a fork to mash the tomato as it cooks). Lower the heat to low. Add the peanut butter, sambal oelek, brown sugar, kecap manis, soy sauce and water, stir very well to mix everything together. Heat until bubbly (if the sauce is too thick, add more water, a tablespoon at a time, and mix well after each tablespoon, until you get the preferred consistency). Serve each omelette with some of the sauce spooned over the omelette, then top each serving with some chopped green onion as a garnish. 

 

WORD HISTORY:

Sort-This word is related to "assort," "consort," "sorcery" and "desert" (the verb meaning "to leave or abandon a place, position or duty"), all Latin-derived words borrowed by English from French, and to "assert" and "series," also Latin-derived words borrowed directly from that language. "Sort" goes back to Indo European "ser," which had the notion "to put or join in a line;" thus also, "to put one after the other;" thus, "to put together, to connect." This gave Latin "sors," which had a wide range of meanings like: "allotment, lottery, share/portion, category, classification, status/class." This passed into Latin-based Old French as "sorte," meaning "classification. type, kind," and English borrowed the word in the latter part of the 1300s as "sort(e)," with the meaning "a kind or type of something, "originally seemingly used of people and animals, but then expanded. The verb also is from the same ancient origins, and Latin "sors" produced the verb "sortire/sortiri," meaning "to share, to apportion, to divide (up), to draw lots," which passed to Old French as "sortir," meaning "to categorize, to classify, to allot," and English borrowed this verb as "sorten" in the mid 1300s, which was earlier than the noun. Interestingly, German borrowed the word too, as "Sorte," but from two sources; first, from Dutch/Low German, which had it from French; and second, southern German speakers borrowed the word from Italian.       

Indonesian Boiled Sweet Potatoes and Plantains: Kolak Pisang Ubi

"Scientifically," sweet potatoes and yams are not the same, but in every day terminology, especially in the United States, the terms yams and sweet potatoes are interchangeable. Why? Well, true sweet potatoes are thought to have come from the "New World" (what is now Peru), and yams were brought to the "New World" from Africa by slaves. The thing was, not all Africans brought to the New World had yams, but they found that sweet potatoes were similar to their yams, and the term was applied to the sweet potatoes in the New World. 

Pandan leaves are blade-like leaves from a tropical plant, and they are 1 to 2 feet in length (they have to be cut or folded in order to add them to recipes). Pandan leaves are used in cooking and sometimes in medications in the Philippines and southern Asia. They are available in Asian stores and they aren't all that expensive, and they can be frozen (or kept frozen, as they might well be sold that way). If you don't want to look for pandan leaves, you can skip using them in the recipe. It won't be quite the same, but it also won't bring about an attempt to end the world, but head to a bomb shelter, just in case. What's that siren?

This is a sweet dish, but you can certainly use less sugar, if you so desire.

 

Ingredients:

 

1 pound sweet potatoes or yams, peeled

2 ripe plantains (black peel), peeled

1 pandan leaf

6 tablespoons coconut sugar (or 5 tablespoons brown sugar)

2 inch piece ginger, peeled and sliced

1 1/2 cups water

1 cup coconut milk

1 cinnamon stick

1 teaspoon salt

Cut both the sweet potatoes and plantains into pieces of about 1/2 to 1 inch. To a pan, add the water, coconut milk, pandan leaf, sliced ginger, cinnamon stick and salt over medium heat. Bring to a boil, add the sugar and stir well to dissolve. Add the sweet potato and plantain pieces, adjust heat to maintain a steady simmer, cook until sweet potatoes and plantains are tender.

WORD HISTORY:

Crop-The ultimate origin of this word is a bit shaky, but it "seems" to go back to the Indo European root "ger," which had the notion "twist, bend," with a figurative use for "crawl." If true, this would make "crop" related to "group" and to "cripple," both from the Germanic roots of English. Old Germanic had "kruppaz," meaning "a mass of something pressed/compressed together; thus, a cluster;" thus also more specifically, "a pouch in the lower part of the neck of many bird species (part of their digestive system)." This gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) "cropp," meaning "the pouch in a bird's neck," but also, "a sprout (not including the root), the top of plants in a rounded shape," later applied more and more about grain plants, which then progressed to "the collective production of grain in a growing season;" thus the expanded modern meaning in the mid 1500s for specific fruits, vegetables and grains produced in a season (example: "The tomato crop in parts of the U.S. was limited by bad weather in the spring"), which later expanded into non food products (example: "The crop of evening television shows is pathetic," and, "The crop of college football players ready to turn professional this year is a pretty good one"), but also for hair, circa 1800 (example: "The young actor's thick crop of blond hair gave him a chance to play many roles of northern Europeans"). The Old English form then became "croppa," then "croppe" (with the 'e' usually pronounced as 'eh/ah'), before the modern form "crop." The upper part of plants meaning led to the usage of "crop" for a "whip," then especially for a short type of whip used for horseback riding. The verb form came from the noun around 1200 and simply meant "to cut off the tops of plants," which then led to more generalized usage, but especially "to cut off the top of an animal's ear" (seemingly the late 1500s) and later into photography "to crop a photo." The expression "crop up" (likely replaced in some cases in modern English by "pop up") apparently comes from the notion of a sprout coming up through the soil, and then later used in mining jargon in England in the 1600s in reference to "layers of rocks or ore becoming visible through the soil." Forms in other Germanic languages: German has "Kropf" meaning goiter, craw part of the digestive system of many birds, (rare) head of cabbage (from the idea of "round growth"), Low German has "Kropp," craw part of the digestive system of many birds, goiter, Dutch "krop," goiter, head of lettuce, also used at times for fruit or vegetable harvest, riding whip, Danish "krop" meaning "body" (in senses of for live creatures, flesh, carcass, parts of devices like planes or vehicles, insect abdomen), Icelandic "kroppur" meaning "body," Norwegian "kropp" meaning "body," Swedish "kropp" also meaning "body." Note: Old French borrowed the word from Germanic ("seemingly" from Old Norse, but perhaps from Frankish?) giving modern French "coupe," meaning "the back quarters of a horse, the hips, the buttocks." 

Indonesian Chicken Satay: Sate Ayam

There are many kinds of satays or kebabs from various countries, and with different names for the food product, but they are all based upon meat, fish, vegetables or fruits on skewers that are cooked, often by grilling or broiling. "Shish kebabs" and Peruvian "anticuchos"* are examples.

 

"Kecap manis" is a sweet and thick soy sauce, unlike most other types of soy sauce, and it is available in many supermarkets and Asian grocery stores. From my experience, it comes in taller bottles than regular soy sauce. You can use boneless, skinless chicken breast or thigh meat, and while bamboo skewers are traditional, any wooden skewers are fine; just be sure to soak them in water for 20 to 30 minutes before using. Of course, you can use metal skewers too. 

Ingredients (for 15 skewers):

15 wooden skewers (soaked in water for 20 to 30 minutes, traditionally bamboo, but I'm sure Indonesians won't put you onto a skewer and then throw you into Mt. Krakatoa, although you will undoubtedly cook well, YEEEOOOWWW!)

1 to 1 1/4 pounds boneless, skinless chicken, cut into about 1 inch cubes

2/3 cup sweet soy sauce (traditionally 'kecap manis,' or substitute slightly less than 2/3 cup regular soy sauce mixed with 2 tablespoons molasses or maple syrup, but ... see the note in 'skewers' above about the potential 'penalty')

(optional) 1 teaspoon fresh chopped chili pepper or 1 teaspoon sambal oelek** 

1 teaspoon ground coriander

1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 tablespoon sesame oil for the sauce + a little more for basting the chicken when cooking

1/2 cup coconut milk

Mix together the kecap manis (or soy sauce/molasses/syrup), chili pepper (if using), ground coriander, garlic powder, salt, ground black pepper and tablespoon of sesame oil. Toss the chicken cubes in the sauce mixture, cover the dish and refrigerate to marinate the chicken for a minimum of 1 hour, but 8 to 12 hours is better. You can grill or broil the chicken. Be sure to soak the skewers in water for 20 to 30 minutes before putting the chicken onto them. Let excess marinade drain into the bowl you used for marinating the chicken pieces and keep it (see further below). Put like 4 to 6 pieces of the chicken on each skewer, and allow a little space between the pieces. Grill or broil the chicken, turning the skewers often, and use a brush to baste the chicken pieces with a little sesame oil as it cooks. Cook the chicken until the pieces are getting a little charred appearance (I said "a little charred appearance," not burnt or ashes ... hahaha), likely 6 to 10 minutes. Pour the marinade liquid into a pan, then stir in the coconut milk. Bring to a boil and immediately reduce the heat to maintain a bare simmer for about 3 to 4 minutes, stirring often. Serve the sauce in a separate dish for dipping the chicken and serve the chicken along with some rice.

 

* For Peruvian Anticuchos, here is the link:  https://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2018/09/peruvian-kebabs-anticuchos.html

 

** Sambal Oelek is a chunky hot chili pepper sauce. It should be easily found in the Asian section, or in the hot sauce section, of supermarkets. It is pretty common is the U.S.and it is not expensive, although the price may vary by brand. 

 

 

WORD HISTORY:

Cockatoo-This word for some of the prominently crested birds of the parrot family has an uncertain origin, although it may simply be a name derived from the imitation of the sounds made by such birds, as these birds are chatty. It goes back to Malay^ "kakatua," which was borrowed by Dutch as "kaketoe" (the Dutch were very involved in southern Asia from the 1500s until 1945. Indonesia was long a Dutch colony called "(the) Dutch East Indies" until 1945. Dutch "kaketoe" was borrowed by English in the 1630s (some sources say about 15 years earlier) as "cockatoo." Note: While the name may be from the sound of the birds, Malay "kakatua" pretty much literally translates to "older sister." If true, why the use of the term is difficult to understand, but far stranger words have developed among humans. Of course too, it could indeed be from the imitation of the bird sounds and the word adjusted to conform to the "older sister" term's phonetic spelling.

^  "Malay" is from the overall Austronesian family of languages of southeast Asia and many Pacific islands, where "Malay" is part of the subfamily "Malayo-Polynesian." 

Indonesian Chicken

I'm calling this "Indonesian Chicken," as it is based upon some recipes I've seen from that island nation. It is a good dish for a slow cooker. By the way, Indonesia is a group of islands; that is, it is an archipelago. It consists of more than 17,000 islands, although many of the islands are uninhabited. The best known islands are Sumatra, Java, Bali and New Guinea, although only Western New Guinea is actually part of Indonesia. Indonesia's capital city of Jakarta is located on Java, and that island's name was applied to coffee from there, and this was taken by American English to eventually become a slang term for coffee in general, as "Java coffee" arrived at West Coast American ports. Much of Indonesia was a Dutch colony (called the Dutch East Indies) until the area was overrun and occupied by the Japanese during World War Two, and the end of that war brought Indonesian independence. How many Indonesians died as a result of the Japanese occupation is unclear, but it certainly seems to have been in the hundreds of thousands, and perhaps even a couple of million. The long association between the Netherlands and Indonesia gave many influences to Dutch cuisine still in evidence to this day.

I highly recommend boneless chicken for this recipe, as when I first made this, I used whole chicken legs and it left small pieces of bone in the finished dish, and that's not fun.

Ingredients:

8 chicken thighs (preferably boneless) or whole chicken legs
1/2 cup ketjap manis (or substitute*)
1/4 cup water
1 heaping teaspoon sugar
4 garlic cloves, chopped
juice of 2 limes
6 green onions, chopped (with green)
1 tablespoon chopped ginger
1 chili pepper, finely chopped
2 tablespoons cornstarch mixed with 3 tablespoons water
1/4 chopped parsley

Add everything, except the cornstarch and water and parsley to a slow cooker. Put on "high" for one hour, then turn the setting to "low" and cook for about another 3 to 5 hours. Add the cornstarch/water mixture and stir it in, as best you can. The liquid should begin to thicken almost immediately, but let everything cook for a few minutes before checking to see if the sauce has thickened enough. Serve with rice and with the parsley sprinkled on top.

* "Ketjap Manis" is Indonesian soy sauce, which is syrupy and sweet. Some supermarkets or Asian markets will likely have "ketjap manis," but the keyword here is, "some." You can substitute regular soy sauce with some molasses, or even brown sugar, cooked together for just a few minutes.

I had the chicken with rice, raw carrot pieces, tomato slices and fresh basil leaves...

WORD HISTORY:
Parsley-This is a compound word, with the first part related to the name "Peter," and the second part related to "celery," a word borrowed by English from French, which borrowed it from Italian, which got it from Latin, which got it from Greek (whew!). "Parsley" goes back to transliterated Greek "petrosélinon," which meant "parsley" (literally, "rock/stone parsley," because it grew on rocky slopes). This came from Greek "pétros," which meant "rock, stone," but where Greek got the word is unknown. The second part came from Greek "sélinon," which meant "celery." "Sélinon" is also a word of unknown history. Latin borrowed the compound Greek word as "petroselinum," which then became "petrosilium." This was borrowed into English as "petersilie," meaning, "parsley." Meanwhile, the Latin form was passed to Latin-based French in the abbreviated form "peresil," which heavily influenced the English form (essentially merged with it) in the 1300s. The other Germanic languages all use forms from the Latin; and in fact, German uses the same form as English once had, "Petersilie."