FOOD WITH MIGUEL MAESTRE

Transcription

1 FOOD WITH MIGUEL MAESTRE Indonesia s version of fried rice, Nasi Goreng, packs a flavour punch. The country s national dish is also a quick, simple weeknight meal that s a great way to use up leftovers. Aunty Wahwan is a master of Indonesian cooking, having headed the kitchen at Sydney s Java Restaurant for 33 years. She teaches Miguel her secrets to achieve the best Nasi Goreng. Miguel prepares a spiralised salad to accompany the rice dish, and hopefully impress Aunty.

2 AUNTY WAHWAN Aunty Wahwan, the Java Restaurant s shy and giggly chef, loves to cook. She has been heading the restaurant s busy kitchen since 1984, where she used to work 7 days a week, but has now cut down to 6. She looks years younger than her age of 74. In her spare time she likes to sew, and, believe it or not, cook. She experiments with cooking cuisines other than Indonesian both Thai and Western are some of her favourites. Aunty learnt to cook growing up with her family. It was always a thing they did together and taught one another. Cooking for her is all about the sense of community it brings. That sense of family and home style cooking is the essence of the Java Restaurant, and the key to its success. The Java Restaurant is one of Sydney s oldest Indonesian restaurants. Opening in 1983 as a takeaway restaurant, today it has seven pages packed full of dishes from all over Indonesia.

3 INDONESIAN CUISINE With more than 6000 inhabited islands, the diversity of Indonesia s cuisines comes from the size of the country itself. Indonesians have had a huge array of ingredients to cook with and have developed a cuisine full of intense flavour. Despite the huge regional differences, most meals, no matter where in Indonesia, are based around rice. Sambals are also a vital part of the cuisine these pastes are a ground combination of chillies and different spices, fruit or vegetable combinations. The intense flavours of the cuisine come from a generous use of kecap manis (sweet soy), sour elements such as tamarinds and pickles and the heat of spice and chilli.

4 AUNTY WAHWAN S NASI GORENG Prep time 10 minutes Cooking time 25 minutes Serves 4 Ingredients 1 tablespoon vegetable oil 1 tablespoon garlic, miced 60 g of finely sliced shallots 4 cups of cooked rice, cooked day before and refrigerated overnight 2 tablespoons of chilli paste (optional) 1 teaspoon of salt ½ teaspoon of white or black pepper 200g cooked chicken breast or leftover BBQ chicken, diced 100g cooked prawns, chopped (optional) 5 tablespoons of kecap manis (sweet soya sauce) 1 tablespoon of butter 1 tablespoon of turmeric powder Prawn crackers for garnish (optional)

5 Vegetable oil 1 egg Method 1. Heat oil in a wok. Add garlic and shallots and cook for 2 minutes, stirring to avoid burning. 2. Add the rice, stirring to avoid it sticking to the wok. Heat through for an additional 2 minutes. 3. Add chilli paste, if using, and toss to combine. 4. Add salt, pepper, chicken and prawns, toss to combine. Add the kecap manis and mix through. 5. Add butter and turmeric, tossing to coat evenly. 6. Continue to toss the mixture until the rice starts to stick together. 7. Transfer to the serving plate whilst you cook the egg. 8. Heat a drizzle of vegetable oil in a frying pan over a low heat. 9. Break the egg into pan and fry until cooked. Flip and cook on the other side if desired. 10. Place egg on top of the fried rice and serve immediately. MIGUEL S SPIRALISED CUCUMBER SALAD Prep time 10 minutes Serves - 4 Ingredients Salad 2 cucumbers, spiralised with the flat edge blade attachment 2 carrots, spiralised with the flat edge blade attachment 4 radishes, spiralised with the flat edge blade attachment 1 punnet cherry tomatoes, halved 2 baby gem lettuce, cut lengthwise into wedges Dressing Juice of 1 lime 1 tablespoon of sesame oil 2 tablespoon of kecap manis (sweet soya sauce) 1 teaspoon each of black sesame and white sesame seeds Salt and pepper 1 handful coriander leaves and fresh chilli to garnish (optional) Method 1. Combine vegetables in a bowl. 2. Just prior to service drizzle with the dressing ingredients. Toss to combine. 3. Garnish with coriander leaves and chilli to serve, if using. 4. Serve immediately.

6 WEBLINKS For further information on the Java Restaurant take a look at the following website: