By Sidonie Maroon, abluedotkitchen

Recipes included:

Javanese Cashew Sauce, Revised Cashew Coconut Sauce,
Sweet Indonesian Soy Sauce (Kecap Manis),
Serundeng, Spicy Padang Style Eggs, Eggs and Toppings,
Tempeh Kemul (East Java), Tofu Potato Curry,
Ground Chicken Satay, Sambal Bajak, Coconut and Lime Leaf Dressing

As a single mother, I often made do with what was in the cupboards. With limited choices, you get creative. My food had to last until the first of the month or we wouldn’t eat. In the Chinese zodiac I’m a snake, and they say you’ll never go hungry with a snake in the house, because we focus on the larder, and make sure everyone’s fed. I honed my skills at coming up with inventive combinations that work.

I never had money to eat out, or buy fancy ingredients, so I taught myself to cook to the level I wanted to eat— delicious and nourishing food for my family. Mastering the art of “something out of nothing”, by turning cooking into a game. The game of — Curious Combos.

Now that we’re all staying home, and wondering what to eat from the pantry???

It becomes the task of — What can I make with boxed tofu or sardines? Quinoa and?

Like any game, Curious Combos has rules.

Only use what’s on hand. No quick trips to the Food Coop!

Make a healthy meal that both tastes good and looks appealing.

Think outside of the box!

Sidonie’s Curious Dinner Plans

Early in the day. I peer in the cupboard, hm what will we eat for dinner? I draw a blank. I glance in the fridge, hm what will we make for dinner? I see an almost outdated container of tofu, a few carrots. I should use the tofu before making legumes, because it’ll go bad, and the dry legumes won’t.

Ok! A protein — tofu, and veggies — carrots, onions, garlic. There’s kale and broccoli sprouting in the garden to harvest.

How about my 25 pound bag of quinoa? Yes, you heard me. (I bake sourdough breads out of quinoa, amaranth and buckwheat groats, but that’s another post.)

I’ll make quinoa in the rice cooker. It’ll cook while I work-at-home typing this article, and there’s little time to devote to this meal. An image emerges... hocus pocus... open sesame imagination.... Ah Ha!

I’ll put the quinoa to cook in the rice cooker with a touch of added salt. I’ll roast onions, carrots, kale and garlic... I’m out of ginger, but maybe powdered ginger? No, I’ll skip ginger today.

425 F on parchment paper, I’ll roast carrot matchsticks, tofu slices and onions halved and sliced thin. Some oil, salt in they go for 20 minutes, stir and another 15 minutes. The quinoa’s done about the same time.

But what will make this special? Give it that kick?

How about an Indonesian cashew sauce, or peanut sauce? Do I have everything for that? I pull out a recipe from a past class. The recipe calls for —

Javanese Cashew Sauce

Makes about 3 ½ cups

1 ½ cups dry roasted cashews

1 ½ teaspoons shrimp paste

1 fresh serrano chile stemmed and chopped

2 cloves garlic minced

4 tablespoons coconut sugar

¾ cup unsweetened coconut milk

1 tablespoon rice vinegar

1 teaspoon or to taste sea salt

¾ cup water

No shrimp paste? I’ll substitute a teaspoon of fish sauce. Oh I found the shrimp paste, but it’s not critical. No fresh chili, ok a teaspoon plus of sriracha hot sauce. No rice vinegar, ok apple cider vinegar and I’ll up the coconut sugar by 1 teaspoon. How about dates instead?

I can do this!

Quinoa in. Chop and prep. Tofu and Veg. into roast. Start in on the sauce.

Lovely, and everyone will like this dish.

Did you notice I play it out in my head before I start?

Game Strategy

Find a starting ingredient.

Find another major ingredient to go with it

Think of 3 supporting ingredients

What will tie it all together and raise the yumminess factor?
Substitute as needed.

REALITY
I felt uber lazy about making the cashew sauce, so I mixed up the recipe. Made a quick sauce in the Vitamix, (blender or food processor would work) and poured it over the roasting veggies after the first 20 minutes. I baked it with the sauce at 425 F for another 10 minutes. WOW, it was fabulous, and Christopher loved it. Creamy, an Indonesian alfredo. Curious and more curious, but who cares, he loved it. I loved it, and it worked.

Revised Cashew Coconut Sauce

Makes 3 1/2 cups
Quick

1 1/2 cups roasted cashews
1 1/2 teaspoons shrimp paste (optional)
1 teaspoon Sriracha hot sauce
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
8 pitted deglet dates
1 can of full fat coconut milk
1 tablespoon rice vinegar (I found some)
1 teaspoon fish sauce

Directions
Put all ingredients in a Vitamix, or blender, and blend until smooth. Pour over and mix into roasted veggies. Then continue to roast for another 10 minutes.

A few more Indonesian recipes to get your creative juices flowing, and remember just substitute. No galangal, lime leaves, tamarind...It’s ok. Work with sour for sour or add some powdered ginger. Be brave, and think delicious!

Sweet Indonesian Soy Sauce (Kecap Manis)

Makes 1 cup

½ cup coconut sugar

½ cup water

¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons tamari

¼ cup plus two tablespoons molasses

½ teaspoon crushed coriander seed

¼ teaspoon crushed black pepper

1 slice fresh galangal root

● Bring all ingredients to a simmer.

● Simmer for 8 minutes or until the flavors are balanced.

● Strain into a jar for future use.

Carrot Onion Pickle with Turmeric

Makes 1 quart

4 medium carrots cut into matchsticks

1 medium onion sliced thin Chinese style

Flavor paste

2 cloves garlic

1 inch piece peeled fresh ginger

1 inch piece peeled fresh turmeric

½ teaspoon black mustard seed

1 teaspoon whole coriander seed

½ teaspoon sea salt

1 tablespoon coconut sugar

4 tablespoons rice vinegar

● Blanch the onions and carrots in rapidly boiling water for 1 minute.

● Drain and immediately rinse several times.

● Use a paste cup on a spice grinder to grind the flavor paste or a small food processor

● Mix the paste with the drained vegetables to serve.

Serundeng

(toasted coconut and spice savory topping)

Makes 2 cups

2 cups grated dried coconut

4 tablespoons chopped cashews

2 tablespoons coconut oil

Flavor Paste

6 tablespoons of minced onions

2 tablespoons of minced garlic

2 teaspoons minced galangal root

2 teaspoons minced ginger root

4 teaspoons whole coriander

2 teaspoons whole cumin

1 teaspoon of sea salt

2 teaspoons coconut sugar

2 tablespoons tamarind paste

Zest of one lemon

2 bay leaves

2 tablespoons finely minced lemongrass

● Toast the cumin and coriander seeds and then grind to a powder with the sugar and salt

● In a small food processor, grind the garlic, galangal, ginger, lemon zest and lemongrass together into a paste with 2 tablespoons of water.

● Heat a pan to medium with 2 tablespoons coconut oil and fry the cashews until lightly brown.

● Take the nuts out and set aside.

● Saute the onions in the oil, and then add the wet and dry spice pastes and bay leaves, until lightly brown and fragrant.

● Stir in the tamarind paste with 2 tablespoons of water

● Add the coconut and cashews and mix until the coconut is evenly coated with the pastes.

● Let cool on a piece of parchment paper

● Store in a jar in the fridge

Spicy Padang Style Eggs

Makes 12

Saute Base

1 tablespoon coconut oil

1 large onion chopped to a medium dice

1 cup thick coconut milk

½ teaspoon sea salt

Flavor Paste

1 inch piece fresh galangal chopped

½ inch piece fresh ginger chopped

½ inch piece fresh turmeric chopped

3 cloves garlic minced

1 teaspoon hot chili paste

2 tablespoons water

Eggs and Toppings

1 dozen eggs

Grated zest of one lime

Juice of one lime

Fine chiffonade of fresh mint

Serundeng

Kecap manis

● Preheat oven to 350 F. Oil a 12 muffin tin

● Grind together all flavor paste ingredients in a small food processor

● Saute onion until sweet in coconut oil on a medium heat.

● Lower heat and add flavor base, saute until fragrant

● Add coconut milk and salt and continue to cook at a low heat until slightly reduced and thick

● Distribute the saute evenly between the 12 holes, add an egg on top of each, sprinkle eggs with salt

● Bake for 15-17 minutes or just until the whites are set but the yolks are still slightly runny.

● Serve with Jasmine rice with kecap manis and serundeng. Scoop out baked eggs, top each with lime zest,

Tempeh Kemul (East Java)

2 ounce package of tempeh

Coconut oil for frying

Batter

⅓ cup rice flour

1 cup coconut milk

4 finely minced garlic cloves

1 teaspoon whole coriander toasted and ground

1 teaspoon whole cumin toasted and ground

½ teaspoon turmeric powder

1 teaspoon sea salt

● Mix all batter ingredients together until smooth

● Cut tempeh in half lengthwise, and then into 1 inch slices

● Let tempeh soak in the batter while the oil heats to 350 F

● Fry each dipped piece of tempeh until lightly browned and drain on a towel. Don’t crowd when frying or the temperature will lower.

Serve with sambals

Tofu Potato Curry

1 package firm tofu

2 medium potatoes peeled and cubed

1 stalk of lemongrass (crushed)

Other seasonal veggies about 2 cups

2 bay leaves

2 lime leaves

1 can thick coconut milk

1 ½ cups vegetable stock

Coconut oil for deep frying the tofu

Spice Paste

1 large chopped onion

3 cloves garlic

1 inch piece of ginger

1 inch piece of galangal

1 piece of fresh turmeric

as much fresh chili for heat as wanted

4 tablespoons coconut sugar

1 tablespoon tamarind paste

2 teaspoons coriander seeds

Salt and pepper (to taste)

Lime, and fresh herbs for serving

Method:

● Heat a pan or wok with enough oil to deep-fry the tofu until the oil is piping hot, and then deep fry the tofu until it’s cooked or turns brown. Remove from the oil and put into a bowl. Repeat until all the tofu has been deep fried.

● Remove the oil, leaving about 3 tbsp add the onion and fry until sweet, turn heat down and add ground spice paste, lemongrass, lime leaves and the bay leaves. Stir-fry until fragrant.

● Add the potatoes and the tofu to the wok, mix it very well and then add the coconut milk and the stock. Continue cooking until the potatoes, the tofu and the paste are thoroughly mixed.

● Cover and leave to simmer until the potatoes are cooked through.

● Add other veggies and cook until crisp tender

Ground Chicken Satay

Flavor Paste

1 tablespoon toasted and then ground coriander seed

1 tablespoon toasted and then ground fennel seed

1 thinly minced lemongrass stalk (white part only)

5 cloves minced garlic

1 tablespoon minced and peeled galangal root

2 tablespoons minced and peeled ginger root

1 tablespoon minced and peeled turmeric root

4 tablespoons palm sugar

2 tablespoons coconut oil

About 3 teaspoons sea salt

3 tablespoons flax meal as a binder

3 pounds ground chicken thighs

About 30 bamboo skewers soaked in water for 30 minutes

● Grind flavor paste together until smooth

● Add mixing in well to ground chicken ( test a small patty by frying to make sure the flavors are right)

● Shape golf ball sized pieces into sausage shapes covering skewers

● Cook in a 450 F oven for about 10 minutes or until an internal temp. Of 165 F

Sambal Bajak

4 tablespoons coconut oil

1 teaspoon toasted shrimp paste

2 onions cut into a small dice

4 cloves minced garlic

12 fresh chilies roughly chopped (you choose the heat level)

2 teaspoons coconut sugar

2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

½ teaspoon sea salt

● Make a folded parcel with shrimp paste inside. Lay it on a griddle on a medium low heat, turning often, until it releases a burning shrimpy smell about 1 ½ minutes

● Pulse all of the ingredients together in a food processor except the onions

● On a medium heat, saute the onions in the oil until sweet, lower the heat and add the rest of the ingredients and continue to cook until the sambal loses its raw taste. Taste for balance. And salt and add as needed.

Coconut and Lime Leaf Dressing

5 Citrus hystrix leaves with ribs removed (lime leaves)

2 cloves garlic

2 fresh chilies (you choose the heat)

2 teaspoons fresh ground turmeric

1 ½ tablespoons freshly ground ginger

4 tablespoons palm sugar

4 tablespoons lime juice plus zest

1 cup lightly toasted coconut flakes

1 teaspoon sea salt

Enough coconut milk to make smooth

● Grind all ingredients together into a chunky smooth paste--taste and correct the flavors as needed. mes in cold water.

● Combine the flavor paste ingredients and blend until smooth

**While we can’t always get actual shots of recipes, it is nice to include beautiful images as inspiration!

Have fun, be creative!