cucumberpandan’s Profile
Recent Comments
10 Smoothies We Love in Los Angeles
@Katie I like Es Campur a bit more than Es Teler :D ... tho' like any dish/dessert, it depends on the vendor or restaurant serving it.
And durian... ahhhh... there's no hiding the fact that you just ate/drank it! It loves you back for a long, long time... ;).
10 Smoothies We Love in Los Angeles
So stoked that you included the Avocado Smoothie and Es Doger — two popular drinks among so many other delicious, icy concoctions from Indonesia! :)
There are several other 'notable' ones (but I don't know if Simpang Asia has them on their menu), though they're more appropriate on the 'shaved ice' category, to be eaten with a spoon, rather than slurped through a straw.
- Es Teler: heavy on the avocado, either pureed or in chunks, sweetened condensed milk, young coconut flesh, and jackfruit slices.
- Es Campur: it literally means "Mixed Ice" — a delicious jumble of contrasting flavors, textures and colors of avocado, jackfruit, chewy attap seed, the aforementioned fermented cassava, black grass jelly, young coconut flesh, neon pink syrup, sweetened condensed milk.
- ... and of course... Es Duren (Durian Smoothie)!
Seriously Asian: Gado Gado
Yup, Gado-Gado is definitely Indonesian.... Malaysia simply 'absorbed' it (using your own word) into their own cuisine.
See more comments by cucumberpandan »
Recent Posts
cucumberpandan hasn't written a post yet.
Recent Favorites
cucumberpandan hasn't favorited a post yet.
Recent Polls
cucumberpandan answered "Fresh Nutmeg " to What Kind of Nutmeg Do You Use?
Poll posted by Erin Zimmer, December 2, 2010 at 7:00 PM
cucumberpandan answered "Ratatouille" to What's Your Favorite Food Movie?
Poll posted by Erin Zimmer, March 7, 2010 at 5:00 PM
cucumberpandan answered "Chicken Pot Pie" to What's Your Favorite Kind of Savory Pie?
Poll posted by Erin Zimmer, January 23, 2010 at 11:00 AM
Recent Quizzes
cucumberpandan got 70% correct on Quiz: How Much Do You Know About Sushi?
Quiz posted by Joan Fang, June 21, 2010 at 7:30 PM
cucumberpandan got 33% correct on How Much Do You Know About Condiments?
Quiz posted by Katie Quinn, February 15, 2010 at 6:30 PM
See more polls and quizzes by cucumberpandan »
Recent Comments
Eating Sprinkles the Dutch Way: Hagelslag on Bread
This is also a popular way to eat sliced bread in Indonesia (which is a former Dutch colony). However, here the chocolate sprinkles are called by another Dutch word: 'muisjes'.
Try it GRILLED: butter the bread, sprinkle some hagelslag and some shredded cheese (maybe something like a mild cheddar), then either as an open-faced or regular sandwich (place another slice of bread, butter side down), then proceed to grill/broil it. Take it out when the hagelslag and cheese melt into gooey goodness.
When I was living in southern California, I'd buy the DeRuijter brand hagelslag in Asian/Chinese supermarkets where they were usually placed in the 'Indonesian' food aisle.
Maybe it's time for hagelslag to catch up in popularity in America with another European chocolate-y sandwich spread (Nutella)! ;)
10 Smoothies We Love in Los Angeles
@Katie I like Es Campur a bit more than Es Teler :D ... tho' like any dish/dessert, it depends on the vendor or restaurant serving it.
And durian... ahhhh... there's no hiding the fact that you just ate/drank it! It loves you back for a long, long time... ;).
10 Smoothies We Love in Los Angeles
So stoked that you included the Avocado Smoothie and Es Doger — two popular drinks among so many other delicious, icy concoctions from Indonesia! :)
There are several other 'notable' ones (but I don't know if Simpang Asia has them on their menu), though they're more appropriate on the 'shaved ice' category, to be eaten with a spoon, rather than slurped through a straw.
- Es Teler: heavy on the avocado, either pureed or in chunks, sweetened condensed milk, young coconut flesh, and jackfruit slices.
- Es Campur: it literally means "Mixed Ice" — a delicious jumble of contrasting flavors, textures and colors of avocado, jackfruit, chewy attap seed, the aforementioned fermented cassava, black grass jelly, young coconut flesh, neon pink syrup, sweetened condensed milk.
- ... and of course... Es Duren (Durian Smoothie)!
Seriously Asian: Gado Gado
Yup, Gado-Gado is definitely Indonesian.... Malaysia simply 'absorbed' it (using your own word) into their own cuisine.
Grilling: Beef Satay
When I was living in the U.S., I would use peanut butter as a shortcut for making the peanut sauce for chicken satay. I just didn't have the tools (and patience) to crush peanuts into paste with mortar & pestle like the cooks in my native Indonesia do. To compensate for the sweetness of the packaged peanut butter, I reduced the amount of sweet soy sauce or sugar.
You might try the recipe with chunky peanut butter for more authentic Asian (specifically Indonesian) taste and texture.
And Joshua: have you ever tried peanut butter mixed with vegetables? :) ... A famous Indonesian dish is called Gado-gado: it's made with blanched vegetables, tofu/tempeh and hard-boiled egg dressed with a savory-sweet (and hot, if you prefer) peanut sauce.
When you think about it, using peanut butter is a logical alternative/substitute for any 'peanut sauce' recipe, especially if it's for satay or Gado-gado, because these dishes also include at least one sweet ingredient (ie. sugar/brown sugar, or sweet soy sauce). If you prefer peanut butter without the sugar and/or the extra preservatives/vegetable oil, try Trader Joe's pure peanut butter.
Knife Skills: How to Prepare Ginger
You can also freeze unpeeled ginger. I usually cut it into thumb-size pieces first, put them in a plastic bag, squeeze the air out, then freeze. The only downside of using frozen ginger is the mushy texture when you thaw it (but its flavor is not affected). But I usually bypass that problem by using a Microplane to grate a frozen chunk (skin and all) straight into the dish/stirfry pan.
Seriously Asian: Bitter Melon
My favorite way to prepare Bitter Melon is to stir-fry it with another 'seriously Asian' ingredient: Sour Mustard (the crunchy/stalk part only, sliced thinly like the melon) and of course, garlic and ground pork. And as a few others have commented, I usually rinse the sliced melon in salted water to remove some of the bitterness. And because I love hot food, I also add some sliced bird's eye chilies. Yum!
I do have an affinity for bitter vegetables, another one in this category is papaya buds/blossoms and leaves (yup, the ripe fruit is sweet, but the leaves and buds/flower are its total opposite in taste!). The spicy 'Kangkung/Ong Choy & Papaya Buds/Blossoms' is a classic & popular Manadonese dish here in Indonesia.
Seriously Malaysian: How to Make Rendang
One of my aunts is originally from Padang (West Sumatra, Indonesia, the birthplace of rendang — check the link above posted by @cheftink) usually includes baby potatoes (skin on) in her beef rendang.
So there's no need to cook them separately, but of course, you need to put the potatoes later in the cooking process, or else they'll turn to mush by the time the beef is tender.
Yum!
What is your processed/junk food weakness?
Instant noodles/ramen packets! Within minutes I'll have a tasty, steaming hot bowl of noodle soup loaded with sodium, additives and almost no real nutritional value. But I luv 'em... it's comfort food to me :)
An Intro to Malaysian Food: The Ingredients
Hope you'll do a post/recipe on my most fav Malaysian dish: Char Kwee Tiauw! (and Roti Canai... and 'Indian' Mee Goreng... etc.)
As much as I enjoy Malaysian food, I can't help but wonder if S.E. will ever do a spotlight on Indonesian cuisine? (admittedly it's hard to zero in on a 'single' spot, because each of Indonesia's many regions has its own distinctive dishes and flavors — each worth exploring!)
BTW, the Indonesian sweet soy sauce is spelled 'kecap' (not 'kecep').
Creative Spaghetti Squash Ideas?
Here's a simple recipe recently posted at Tasty Kitchen:
http://thepioneerwoman.com/tasty-kitchen-blog/2010/02/how-to-bake-spaghetti-squash/
Cooking the Perfect Pot of Asian Porridge
Ditto on the measure-with-index-finger trick! That's how I've always done it... and if you cook rice everyday, you'll get the hang of it very quickly.
@kitchenista: The $200 model probably has all kinds of bells-and-whistles you don't really need for a rice cooker. I bought mine for under $40: the removable interior has non-stick coating, it even comes with an optional steamer. When cooking rice is daily ritual, a rice cooker isn't just another kitchen appliance, it's a basic tool.
Here in Indonesia there are also many different variations and flavors on the basic congee. One of the most favorite ways to dress up the basic congee is to break a raw egg (chicken or quail) into the bowl before you fill it with the piping hot, off-the-boil porridge. The heat of the porridge will partially 'cook' the egg and as you stir the whole thing, the egg will add extra creaminess/body and flavor. We also add shrimp or garlic crackers for the crispy elements, and if you like your food hot & spicy, try adding your favorite chili sauce (ie. Sriracha, Sambal Oelek, any homemade stuff, etc.).
Coconut milk - Help!
I agree with @lemons: get them at Asian/Chinese supermarkets if you have one nearby. Coconut milk in a can is NOT supposed to be expensive! If you're just cooking for yourself, a can is probably more than enough. You can freeze the unused portion.
As for making your own coconut milk by hand, I don't think it's worth it (if you can find inexpensive canned coconut milk). Look, I now live in Indonesia (after living in southern California), MANY Indonesian dishes also involved coconut milk, but even here most people buy packaged coconut milk.
Alton Brown's Sardine-Avocado Sandwich Diet
I love sardines and I love avocados, will try this soon :)
.... and I miss Alton Brown!!! He's one of my favorite hosts in Food Network, but since I moved back to Indonesia two years ago, I could not find any of his shows in any of the cable channels here (FN is not available) ... :(
Ice Cream Sundae on a Hot Dog Bun in Thailand
From reading the comments, I guess this is a completely normal way to serve ice cream in Southeast Asia, because when I was growing up in Jakarta, Indonesia, this was one of my favorite snacks from street hawkers! The ice cream was also coconut-milk based, stuffed into a slit made along a thick slab of sandwich bread. We also have something similar to the Singaporean rectangular sliced ice cream described by @syunne.
When I was living in California, sometimes I'd tear off a section of Hawaiian bread (like a sweet dinner roll) and stuffed it with a scoop of whatever ice cream I had in the freezer :)
Serious Eats Turns Three: Happy Birthday To Us
Happy Birthday, Serious Eats! Love being part of this community! ;)
I first followed you from southern California, and continue doing so now from Jakarta, Indonesia.
Wishing you many, many great years ahead!
Ruminations on In-N-Out Burger
I called Southern California home for 22 years, taking for granted that there was always an In-n-Out outlet (or two) close by. In my college days, there was a large, gleaming In-n-Out dine-in restaurant by the campus. When I was working there was one drive-thru by the office. And two nearby our home.
Their burgers (and fries) are some of the things I've missed the most since I moved to Indonesia less than 2 years ago. Shortly before my family and I left the States, my husband and I made a point to treat ourselves to our last In-n-Out meal (at least for a long, long time...).
Weekend Book Giveaway: 'Extreme Cuisine'
Dog cooked in a spicy stew. Raw sea urchin eggs (scooped up from freshly cracked live urchin) - very intense saline taste. Japanese squid shiokara (salted, fermented seafood - very, very slimy). On a similar note: bakasang from the North Sulawesi region of Indonesia (a grey sludge of a very pungent condiment made of salted, fermented fish, similar to bagoong from the Phillipines).
Plus other foods considered extreme by others (based on the comments here), but completely normal for me:
- cow tongue, brain, tripe, heart
- pork ear, blood, feet/hock
- chicken feet, intestines (deep fried, they're great snacks!), gizzard, liver, heart
- goat's feet
- bats (body and wings)
- 'thousand year' eggs
- durian! (luv' em since I was a kid)
- sea cucumber, jellyfish, etc.
But I do have my limits: no bugs, larvae, worms and other creepy crawlies...
Serious Heat: How Did You Become a Chilehead?
I guess I was born into it :). Both of my parents originally came from Manado (North Sulawesi), a region in Indonesia well-known for its spicy, hot dishes loaded with herbs, aromatics and LOADS of chilies. Even some of the 'snack' dishes are spicy! There are also many variations of homemade sambals to accompany every meal.
Though I was born and grew up in a different city in Indonesia, Manadonese dishes were often part of the family meals. When I moved to the U.S. as a teen, the food I grew up with became a scarce commodity, but when there's a will, there's always a way! I don't remember a time when I didn't like hot, spicy food, even as a kid.
Continuing the legacy, my two young sons are growing up eating spicy foods. My youngest, a few months shy of turning 3, would specifically ask for something hot: so I'd dab some Sambal Lampung (Indonesian version of Sriracha, and yes, it's hot!) on his plate. He'd sometimes cry from the heat, but that never stopped him from coming back for more!
What strange things are in the door of your fridge?
In addition to normal stuff like eggs, butter, cheese and Aunt Jemima's maple syrup, my fridge's door also holds:
- a slew of the kids' OTC cold medicines
- a bottle of 'Sambal Lampung' (Indonesian version of Sriracha)
- a bottle of 'taucho' (fermented soybean paste)
- a small bottle of 'Cana Wedding Wine' (a souvenir from a relative who went on a tour to Israel. I tasted it, it's very sweet!)
- and probably the weirdest: a bottle of bakasang, which is a sludge-like liquid that you get from fermenting fish + salt in the hot sun for a few days. This condiment/ingredient is very popular among the Manadonese people and I had to have someone brought it from Manado (North Sulawesi), where this potent & stinky 'fish sauce' is made. Unless you grew up with it (I did), it's definitely an acquired taste.
The Food Lab: Animal Fat Mayonnaise
Maybe this is the next step for me :) I had just recently made my own homemade mayo for the first time ever (with vegetable oil, palm oil to be exact, which came out great, until I refrigerated it...).
Thanks also for the tip for hand-whisking mayo made with EVOO, because almost everything else I read warned against using olive oil because it'll be very strong/bitter (but never explaining 'why').
Your Clever SE Name
My SE name is derived from an iced dessert that I created many summers ago while I was living in southern California. The two unique ingredients that make it 'sing' are cucumber and pandan. Pandan is practically the 'vanilla' in most southeast Asian desserts. This refreshing dessert was always a hit when I brought it to parties/potlucks/gatherings, pregnant friends even had cravings for it :)
CucumberPandan is also the name of my food blog.
Dim Sum at Sea Harbour in the San Gabriel Valley
Next time you're in southern California, there's another very popular dim sum restaurant about 20 minutes drive east from Rosemead: Hong Kong Palace in Rowland Heights. A framed section of the Los Angeles Times displayed in its lobby claimed that it was named the city's 'best dim sum' restaurant (although I don't remember the date, maybe it pre-dated Sea Harbour's opening?).
Great food, great price and 'authentic' dim sum restaurant atmosphere: crowded & noisy, with servers trying to navigate the dim sum carts through the cramped spaces between tables! :) There was always a huge crowd spilling out of the lobby on weekends, waiting for their number to be called inside.
Since I don't live in southern California anymore (bummer), I'll be on a hunt for those duck egg yolk buns here in Jakarta!
When did you know you were...
In my elementary school years in Jakarta, I'd clip & collect recipes from magazines and actually cooked from them. Then in my high school years (in the U.S.), I loved watching the cooking shows on PBS: Frugal Gourmet, Great Chefs of the West, Yan Can Cook, etc. (Foodnetwork was still many years away). When I was in college I made an entire Thanksgiving meal for families and friends, substituting the turkey with two huge roast chickens, tweaking the recipes along the way. Everything came out delicious, btw :)
I've always loved cookbooks and cooking magazines. Foodnetwork became my most watched channel. And hooray for food blogs! (even started my own last year).
I guess it was just in early/mid-2000s that I knew what the term 'foodie' was, and realized I've been one as long as I could remember :)
Critic-Turned-Cook Finds the Kitchen Can Be A Major Pain
Tiger Balm! ... the smell would always remind me of my maternal grandma who'd slather up with it every single night before going to bed :)
See more comments by cucumberpandan »Loading...No more comments by cucumberpandan
Recent Posts
cucumberpandan hasn't written a post yet.
Recent Favorites
cucumberpandan hasn't favorited a post yet.
Polls
cucumberpandan answered "Fresh Nutmeg " to What Kind of Nutmeg Do You Use?
Poll posted by Erin Zimmer, December 2, 2010 at 7:00 PM
cucumberpandan answered "Ratatouille" to What's Your Favorite Food Movie?
Poll posted by Erin Zimmer, March 7, 2010 at 5:00 PM
cucumberpandan answered "Chicken Pot Pie" to What's Your Favorite Kind of Savory Pie?
Poll posted by Erin Zimmer, January 23, 2010 at 11:00 AM
See more polls by cucumberpandan »Loading...No more polls by cucumberpandan
Quizzes
cucumberpandan got 70% correct on Quiz: How Much Do You Know About Sushi?
Quiz posted by Joan Fang, June 21, 2010 at 7:30 PM
cucumberpandan got 33% correct on How Much Do You Know About Condiments?
Quiz posted by Katie Quinn, February 15, 2010 at 6:30 PM
See more quizzes by cucumberpandan »Loading...No more quizzes by cucumberpandan
About cucumberpandan
Website: http://cucumberpandan.blogspot.com
Location: Jakarta, Indonesia
About:
Favorite foods: spicy, bold-flavored foods
Last bite on earth:

This is also a popular way to eat sliced bread in Indonesia (which is a former Dutch colony). However, here the chocolate sprinkles are called by another Dutch word: 'muisjes'.
Try it GRILLED: butter the bread, sprinkle some hagelslag and some shredded cheese (maybe something like a mild cheddar), then either as an open-faced or regular sandwich (place another slice of bread, butter side down), then proceed to grill/broil it. Take it out when the hagelslag and cheese melt into gooey goodness.
When I was living in southern California, I'd buy the DeRuijter brand hagelslag in Asian/Chinese supermarkets where they were usually placed in the 'Indonesian' food aisle.
Maybe it's time for hagelslag to catch up in popularity in America with another European chocolate-y sandwich spread (Nutella)! ;)