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Basic Spice Paste (Bumbu Dasar)

This paste is used mainly to neutralize the strong flavor of duck, lamb or pork

Ingredients:
25 shallots, peeled and chopped
12 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
7 large red chilis, seeded and chopped
2 inches laos, peeled and chopped
2 inches kencur root, peeled and chopped
4 inches fresh turmeric, peeled and chopped
1 Tbs., coriander seeds
6 candlenuts
2 tsp. dried shrimp paste
½ tsp. black peppercorns
1 pinch fresh grated nutmeg
3 cloves
4 Tbs. vegetable oil

Instructions:
Some people use a food processor and some use a stone mortar or pestle to blend all the ingredients of these pastes. If you are using a mortar, always grind the dry spices first and then add the hardest ingredients such as laos and kencur, before adding shallots, chilis, and other soft ingredients. If you are using a food processor, blend the dry spices, then add all other ingredients, except oil. Heat oil in a wok or a skillet, add the blended ingredients and cook over high heat, stirring frequently, for approximately 5 minutes until the paste turns golden. Cool before using. Makes 2 cups.

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Beef Spice Paste (Bumbu Daging Sapi)

Ingredients:
10 shallots, peeled and chopped
6 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
4 inch laos, peeled and chopped
2 inches ginger root, peeled and chopped
10 candlenuts
4 Tbs. chopped palm sugar
4 Tbs. vegetable oil
10 small red hot chilis, finely sliced
6 large red chilis, seeded and chopped
1 tsp. coriander seeds
1 Tbs. black peppercorns
2 salam leaves

Instructions:
Combine all ingredients, except oil and salam leaves, place in a food processor and grind coarsely. Heat vegetable oil in a heavy saucepan or wok until very hot. Add ground ingredients together with salam leaves and cook over medium heat for 5 minutes, stirring frequently, until marinade changes to a golden color. Set aside and cool before using. Keep refrigerated for 24 hours before using to maximize the flavor. Makes 1 cup.

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Chicken, Beef, Pork & Duck Broth (Kuah Ayam, Sapi, Babi & Bebek)

Ingredients:
11 lb. chicken bones, chopped in 1-inch pieces
1½ cups chicken spice paste
1 stalk lemongrass, lightly bruised
3 fragrant lime leaves
2 salam leaves
1 tsp. black peppercorns, coarsely crushed
1 tsp. salt

Instructions:
Rinse bones until water is clear, put them in a large stockpot with cold water to cover and bring it to a boil. Drain water, wash bones again under running water. Return bones back into the stockpot, cover with fresh water and bring it to a boil. Reduce hear and remove scum with a ladle.

Add all seasoning ingredients and simmer broth gently for 3-3½ hours, removing scum as it accumulates. Do not cover the pot during cooking. Strain stock, cool and store in small container in the freezer.

To make beef, duck and pork broth, use the bones respectively, however for pork broth, reduce the simmering time to 2 hours. Makes 3 quarts.

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Chicken Spice Paste (Bumbu Ayam)

Ingredients:
14 shallots, peeled and chopped
26 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
1 inch kencur root, peeled and chopped
1½ inch laos, peeled and chopped
10 candlenuts
5 inches fresh turmeric, peel and chopped (or 5 tsp. turmeric powder)
4 Tbs. chopped palm sugar
4 Tbs. vegetable oil
2 stalks lemongrass, bruised
2 salam leaves
10 red hot chilis, finely sliced
Instructions:
Put shallots, garlic, kencur, laos, candlenuts, turmeric and palm sugar into a food processor or use a mortar and grind coarsely. Heat oil in a wok or a skillet and fry all ingredients, stirring frequently, until the paste changes to a golden color. Cool before using. Makes 2 cups.

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Coconut Milk (Santan)

The best coconut milk naturally comes from fresh coconut. However, desiccated coconut, coconut powder and the commercially available coconut milk are excellent substitute.

How to choose the right coconut:
For oily dishes, such as Spicy Coconut Beef (Rendang), choose old coconuts. This type of coconut is typically dry and has dark brown skin.
For medium oily dishes, such as Vegetables Stew (Sayur Lodeh), choose a fairly old coconut with a yellowish brown skin.
For desserts, choose a mature or young coconut.

How to make coconut milk:
Quarter the coconut to make it easier for you to grate the coconut. To make coconut milk, you generally grate the coconut in an up and down motion holding the coconut with the convex side facing out. The gratings will be fine and result in more coconut milk. For desserts, they need a coarser grate. That means you need to grate the coconut with the concave side facing upwards.

After the coconut is grated, add ¼ cup of warm water. Squeeze a handful of the grated coconut so that the water becomes white and takes up the juices of the coconut. Keep doing this until every last drop of the grated coconut has gone into the water. Strain the liquid through a fine sieve. This first pressing is called thick coconut milk.

Add another ½ cup of warm water after the first pressing and repeat the same procedure as above. The results is called the thin coconut milk. Continue adding warm water and squeezing the grated coconut until you have obtained the amount you need.

Notes:
Thick coconut milk is cooked an a different manner from the thin one. In coconut milk-based dishes such as stews or curries, the coconut milk is added towards the end to minimize the danger of coconut milk separating. Don't forget to stir continuously when cooking coconut milk-based dishes, especially after adding the thick coconut milk. If you don't, the coconut milk will separate. When you make desserts or rice dishes, you must peel the brown skin of the coconut first so that your coconut milk will be white as cream and not contain any brown spots.

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Seafood Spice Paste (Bumbu Laut)

Ingredients:
10 large red chilis, seeded and chopped
6 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
15 shallots, peeled and chopped
4 inches ginger root, peeled and chopped
4 inches fresh turmeric, peeled and chopped (or 4 tsp. powder)
1 medium size tomato, skinned and seeded
1 Tbs. coriander seeds
10 candlenuts
1 tsp. dried shrimp paste (terasi)
4 Tbs. vegetable oil
3 Tbs. tamarind pulp
2 salam leaves
2 stalks lemongrass

Instructions:
Process all ingredients, except oil, tamarind pulp, salam leaves and lemongrass, until coarsely ground. Heat oil in a wok, add all ingredients and cook over medium heat for approximately 5 minutes, stirring frequently, until golden. Cool before using. Makes 2 cups.

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Vegetables Spice Paste (Bumbu Sayur)

Ingredients:
8 shallots, peeled and chopped
10 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
2 inches kencur root, peeled and chopped
12 inch laos, peeled and thinly sliced
4 inches fresh turmeric, peel and sliced
2 Tbs. vegetable oil
1 stalks lemongrass, bruised
1 salam leaves
6 large red chilies, finely sliced
3-5 small red chillis
1 tsp. coriander seeds
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. coriander seeds
1 tsp. dried shrimp paste
¼ tsp. ground white pepper

Instructions:
Put shallots, garlic, kencur, laos, turmeric, coriander seeds, chillis and dried shrimp paste into a food processor or use a mortar and grind coarsely. Heat oil in a wok or a skillet and fry ground paste and remaining ingredients, sauté for 2 minutes or until the paste changes to a golden color. Cool before using. Makes 1 cup.

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Ingredients used in Indonesian Cooking