Food for thought (or more accurately, food thoughts and inspirations)

SonofSamsquanch

Enjoy decent coffee but don't dunk yer biscuits
Mar 31, 2016
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Victoria
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I'd like to hear more about your version of a middle eastern salad. No joke, people don't usually bring these things up unless they are on to something.

It was a kind of tabbouleh but I didn’t have mint or lemon :(

I improvised a bit and basted the roast veggies with harissa paste and oil, plus some other herbs from my wife’s collection to compensate. Bought humous and pita bread... My Egyptian mates would gasp at it but to me it was ok.
 
Satay Ayam and nasi goreng were definitely one of the foods that broke the barriers for me. I used to be a frequent visitor to Indonesia and over time, we got used to some of the even more basic rice and soup dishes as we travelled around several islands. I tried to learn some Indo cooking skills but realistically I just can’t replicate the authenticity of even the most simple dishes. We have done ok with beef rendang though although this can be very different across different parts of Indonesia.

Thai food in my experience is far more sophisticated and take more time to prepare. The well known Tom Kha Gai is a tasty, spicy chicken and coconut soup. In a well off the tourist map town on the Burmese border I struck the spiciest dish I have ever encountered. Nobody in the restaurant spoke English and tourists were not very common. The girls who worked there were all watching me try to eat the soup, and busting themselves laughing at my suffering but as painful as it was I got through it. The girls were all pretty embarrassed butI suspect they’d never seen anything as funny as me sweating and struggling.

At a cooking school a couple of weeks later the teacher insisted that we add 17 tiny green chillies per person. These are as hot as. The 17 chilli soup was nowhere near as hot as the soup I had back in that town!
I do a pretty good Nasi Goreng and Mei Goreng but satay I just can't get close. tried all the bottled sauces and not much chop. This one is rather good, probably closest I have come to genuine Bali flavour.


I use her Nasi Goreng recipe - it is excellent.
 
I'd like to hear more about your version of a middle eastern salad. No joke, people don't usually bring these things up unless they are on to something.
There are two versions, the Tabbouleh and Fatoush (The Bread Salad).

Recipes for both:

 

SonofSamsquanch

Enjoy decent coffee but don't dunk yer biscuits
Mar 31, 2016
19,267
45,016
Victoria
AFL Club
North Melbourne
I do a pretty good Nasi Goreng and Mei Goreng but satay I just can't get close. tried all the bottled sauces and not much chop. This one is rather good, probably closest I have come to genuine Bali flavour.


I use her Nasi Goreng recipe - it is excellent.
Looks good.

The satay sauce needs dark palm sugar and ketchup mains, plus the coconut cream that I saw used was more like the solid blocks of creamed coconut.

ED23F69A-462C-4644-93F2-AC8A2D6B8B5C.jpeg


The peanuts (Katanga) will also be different t the big fat ones we get so that makes the flavour too. You are best to use dark peanut butter to approximate.
 
Looks good.

The satay sauce needs dark palm sugar and ketchup mains, plus the coconut cream that I saw used was more like the solid blocks of creamed coconut.

View attachment 1149628

The peanuts (Katanga) will also be different t the big fat ones we get so that makes the flavour too. You are best to use dark peanut butter to approximate.
Love Ketchap Manis but don't usually see it mentioned in satay sauce recipes. My absolute pet hate is when I read a satay recipe and the first ingredient is supermarket peanut butter. Stop reading right there.
 
Mar 14, 2002
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Gasometer Wing
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Kangaroos
Dunno how my wife does the cabbage rolls specifically, but topped with sour cream. I did the veggies: crispy roast potatoes, pumpkin, carrots, asparagus, onion, and mushrooms roasted in garlic butter.

We use herbs and garlic from our garden which always tastes a bit better.
Mock mince meat?
 

hilly

Brownlow Medallist
Nov 27, 2000
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Frank Grey Smith Bar
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There are two versions, the Tabbouleh and Fatoush (The Bread Salad).

Recipes for both:


Tabbouleh ftw.

I forget the cost (maybe $4 in total) for a packet of Burger Rings, bottle of Coke and a double free period on a Friday afternoon to read The Age (it was a good newspaper back then).
 

Hojuman

조수미 사랑해요
May 20, 2012
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Seoul
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I do a pretty good Nasi Goreng and Mei Goreng but satay I just can't get close. tried all the bottled sauces and not much chop. This one is rather good, probably closest I have come to genuine Bali flavour.


I use her Nasi Goreng recipe - it is excellent.


Have you tried the satay sauce that comes as a solid little brick ?
 
Love Ketchap Manis but don't usually see it mentioned in satay sauce recipes. My absolute pet hate is when I read a satay recipe and the first ingredient is supermarket peanut butter. Stop reading right there.
Why?

(LOL)

I used to get maca butter, ie ground maca's and that was it. Used to make peanut butter the same way but its not that different from supermarket stuff when I cook.

My "satay" turned into something completely different over the years tho. Not even remotely like it these days.
 
Mar 25, 2002
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Yah, nanti ajah sayang 😉
Hmmmm - wish I knew what that meant. I'm guessing, rough translation, stiff 5hit, or is that the name of the satay block as it could look somewhat similar to stiff 5hit I suppose.
 
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