My First IDFB Challenge Entry!: Mie Aceh

I'm so excited to be writing my first IDFB Challenge entry! Setelah beberapa bulan jadi anggota pasif IDFB (Indonesian Foodblogger) yang hanya bisa mupeng lihat kreasi mbak-mbak yang super duper mouthwatering, akhirnya saya memberanikan diri ikutan IDFB Challenge #11 yang bertemakan Mie/Noodles.

Saya selalu suka makanan berbahan mie. Whether it's mie ayam gerobak, bakmi Gajah Mada, mie kocok, ifumie, mie Jawa, atau mie-mie-an yang lain. Tapi ada satu mie yang menurutku yang sangat menantang untuk lidahku. Rasanya pedas, dengan kuah kental, dan kaya akan rempah. Yah, kalau boleh dibilang sih setipe sama makanan India gitu, hehehe. Ayooo coba tebak!? Yep, it's mie Aceh!

Beberapa waktu lalu saya sedang pingiiinnn sekali makan mie Aceh. Tapi apa daya, di Australia ga ada yang jual. Yang bisa saya lakukan hanya ubek-ubek resep di internet. Pengalaman pertama kali membuat mie Aceh, saya menggunakan resep dari salah satu majalah memasak ternama di Jakarta dan saya kecewa berat dengan hasilnya. Rasanya jauh dari yang pernah dulu saya rasakan di rumah makan Aceh. Alhasil saya gunakan tips yang pernah diberikan oleh teman saya yang sesama orang rantau disini and came up with my own recipe. Oya, saking ga sabarnya bikin, sampai ga pakai kerupuk emping!

BAHAN:

• 6 bawang merah
• 4 bawang putih
• 150 gr udang kupas
• 150 gr daging sapi
• 1 sdt cuka
• 1 batang daun bawang
• 900 ml kaldu sapi
• 1-1/2 sdm kecap manis
• 300 gr hokkien noodles (atau mie kuning basah bulet)
• 2 sdm seledri, cincang halus
• 1 tomat
• Taoge
• Kol
• Garam sesuai selera

Haluskan bahan-bahan berikut:

• 8 bawang merah
• 4 bawang putih
• 4 cabai merah besar
• 1/2 sdm jinten
• 4 kapulaga
• 1 sdt kunyit bubuk
• 1 sdt lada
• 1 sdm bubuk kari (optional)

CARA MEMBUAT:

1. Haluskan semua bumbu halus dengan diuleg atau diblender.
2. Tumis bawang merah, bawang putih, dan bumbu halus.
3. Masukkan daging sapi dan udang. Masak hingga berubah warna.
4. Masukkan tomat, taoge, dan kol yang sudah dipotong tipis. Masak hingga sayuran layu.
5. Masukkan kaldu sapi, cuka, seledri cincang, dan kecap manis. Masak hingga air berkurang dan mengental. Tambahkan garam sesuai selera.
6. Masukkan mie dan daun bawang yang sudah dicincang, aduk rata. Masak 1-2 menit.
7. Hidangkan di piring dengan pelengkap kerupuk emping, timun, dan bawang goreng.

How to Plan Your Ramadan Meals

Hello readers! How is your fasting going up to now? Can't believe that 1/3 of the Ramadhan month has passed us. So sad, isn't it? Since we only get to encounter it once a year. Anyhow, due to the month of Ramadhan, I might not be posting up recipes because I'm doing less cooking, but I will share with you some tips that I got from my halaqah to make the most time for your ibadah in Ramadhan.

COOK LESS

Who loves to cook and spend hours in the kitchen? I'm one of them, hehe. Well, in the fasting month, every minute is so precious that it is even too precious to be wasted just for cooking. So, in the fasting month, try to spend less time in the kitchen. If you usually cook for almost 2 hours (or more) and even had the time to bake cakes or cookies, please hold the urge. Try to cook less than an hour and only bake cakes and cookies when you are on your period.

PLAN AHEAD

This is very important in order to achieve efficient cooking and effective grocery shopping. I know how painful it is if you have to think what to cook every other day. Save your time and pain by planning ahead your menu; what you would like to cook during Ramadhan. So you will have more time to concentrate on your ibadah and not flipping cooking books nor browsing for recipes. It helps you to spend less time for grocery shopping as well, and you know when to restock.

STOCK UP AND PREPARE YOUR SPICE MIX BEFOREHAND

If you can't cook from scratch in less than an hour, stock up some ready made pasta sauces or instant spices (such as soto, rawon, balado, etc). By stocking up, you're saving your time from grocery shopping! If you love your own recipe, you can whip up a big batch of blended spices and freeze them in one-time-cooking portions. When you need them, just take them out of the freezer.

SOUPY FOOD

A member of my halaqah said that in Ramadhan her husband likes to eat soup-y stuff. When I thought about it, I think that's a great idea because it helps your throat to swallow the food (especially for sahur). So, during this Ramadhan, the menu I have planned is all soup based.

ORDER YOUR LEBARAN COOKIES 

My friend say to just order Lebaran cookies from your favorite shop. But if no one makes the same good cookies as you, you can still make your own cookies but NOT in the last 10 days of Ramadhan. The last ten days is the time when we should make the best of our time, the best of our prayers. So, while there is still time left, hurry make the cookies now! :)

Rosewater Meringue Kisses

This cute meringue kisses is definitely a less guilt snack. The ingredients are very simple as well. Kids will definitely love this, because it looks really cute, the color is just oh-so pretty, and it taste yummy melt-in-your-mouth. I had kept one jar full of this kisses and when my husband was having his halaqah at our place, two kids ate almost all of the meringue kisses that I have!

In the real recipe, the kisses are supposed to be sandwiched with cream (or jam?) in the middle. But I didn't bother myself making the cream so I was just happy with the meringues itself :D. Hope you enjoy making this pretty-little-cute meringue kisses!

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 egg whites
• 1/2 cup caster sugar
• 1 tsp rosewater extract
• Few drops of pink food colouring

DIRECTIONS:

1. Beat all of the ingredients for about 15 minutes with electric mixer until sugar is dissolved.
2. Spoon mixture into piping bag. Using star tube, pipe about 4cm stars onto trays 2 cm apart.

NOTES:

• Bake all the meringues in one go, because if you leave the mixture too long in open air, it will lose  its fluffiness.