tristar

Consider yourself lucky, my wife will come nowhere near me when I am cooking, she says I am always looking too serious. Snap! My wife being Indonesia, has only ventured as far as making pizza and/or steak with fries and/or mashed potato, but she appears to consider herself to be a walking encylopedia on everything cooking as soon as I start to prepare anything. Luckily my 5 year old son helps out here and distracts her with something urgent, normally his twin sister crying, (how he manages this I will never know!) before returning to help his dad in the kitchen, dad's kitchen! Mum has a kitchen of her own and assistants for preparing Indonesian food, I guess that is what keeps us loving each other, SEPERATION.

From what I have gathered the crust thickness is totally dependent on the lid-on time, If I were you, I would use the lower baking temperature, and reduce the lid-on time to 15 minutes to see if that gives you a thinner crust, with the colour you are looking for Contrary to most peoples experience I have been having a difficult time to get any colour at all into my loafs, they have been very pale, I am using a seperate oven thermometer to check the temperature, but to no avail. Maybe it has something to do with the high humidity in the tropics? Any suggestions folks?

Don't have many cool, dry places in Jakarta at the moment! I think for safety sake I will treat them like a pepperoni and dry them in my fridge. The Urutan (Balinese style sausage) I recently dried in the ambient conditions really suprised me by not going sour but they used a lot of fresh root spices, ginger, galangal, lesser galangal, turmeric and garlic, which I believe have anti fungal and anti bacterial properties! I look forward to trying them when I get home in a months time. Thanks again.

Many thanks Doddie, My apologies for the belated 'Thank You', I cannot believe that I missed your reply to my request until now! Just one point, when you say 'cured' I assume that you mean under refrigeration, and not at room temperature? I have to ask as I have just recently made a batch of Balinese Style sausages which were actually cured and dried at ambient temperatures and humidities varying between 25-32 degrees C and RH about 75%. Regards,

I've tried using 1.5 T of my starter with one cup of flour and one cup of water to make a poolish the day before I make the dough. To make the dough, I subtract the cup of flour and of water (that I used for the poolish) from the original ingredients and proceed with the recipe without additional yeast...or if the starter has been refreshed recently, I just add 1 T of the starter to the recipe and 1/8 tsp of yeast. Both have come out very well I haven't changed proofing times from the recipe. Aside from adjustments mentioned above, I just use the NYT recipe...good luck! ← I have used half quantities of the original recipe and added 2 tablespoons of my Sourdough Starter slurry, no additional dried yeast at all, but have found that I need to increase the proofing temperatures a little to get the same activity in the dough. Other than that no changes required and the bread certainly does have a much more tangy flavour. Never having eaten any original Sourdough Bread I wouldn't know how it compares but I certainly like the increased depth of flavour and the slight sourness. By the way, for any here frightened of trying to make a sourdough starter, just go ahead and give it a try, I had though it would be difficult but I just threw equal quantities of white flour and water into a jar and left it open to the elements, protected against flying insects of course! Stirred it daily and every other day removed half and replaced with fresh flour and water, after 4 days it smelled just like regular yeast. Since that time I have even left it for a week without any attention by which time it smelled absolutely disgusting, but I just poured off the dark liquor from the top and took a couple of tablespoons of the floury paste from the bottom to start another fresh batch. Easy Peasy..... Just give it a try! It is really no effort at all. Maybe I have just been lucky, but I had read so many stories of how sensitive starters were and how it was easier to have one posted or given by a friend that I put this off for a long time, not realising what I was missing. Regards

You could also try Sop Buntut a delicious Indonesian take on Oxtail soup, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, spring onions, golfball sized red skinned potatoes unpeeled, tomatoes, garlic, carrots and chinese celery combined with mouthwateringly tender oxtail in a clear broth. Hmmmmh!

I wish I had asked this question before, I have spent the last year looking in shops in various countries for fresh ones! Duh! This opens up many more chances for experimentation on my return home, thank you so much. Regards,

Hi Wallie, I make a number of lamb sausages using lamb fat and like the result. I don't eat pork but have never had any problems substituting other fats for pork fat in sausage recipes as long as the forcemeat is kept cold and is well mixed to form the primary bind, this traps the fats in a protein shell and the fats will not render out of the sausages when cooked, leaving them juicy and full of flavour. Check my blog for some lamb sausage ideas, plus a few others! Nungkysman Regards, Richard

Hi everybody, I have a question and as I am away in Africa at the moment and don't have my copy of 'Charcuterie' with me I hope that somebody here will indulge me with an answer. The Chicken Galantine appears to have Pistachio nuts in it, is this the case? If so are these the same as the Pistachio nuts which you can find salted and in snack packs all over the world or are they fresh? Best Regards, Richard

Bittman suggests up to 30% whole grain, 50% whole wheat, or 20% rye to start with, and playing around to see what you like. I just took my first loaf of no-knead bread out of the oven about 15 minutes ago. The wonderful smell makes it very difficult not to cut into it before it has cooled. I didn't make any changes in the recipe for my first time, but accidentally added too much yeast. Because of the very cold temp. of my apartment, it still hadn't risen enough after 22 hours, so I stuck it in my oven for 1 hour at 35C, then let it sit in the warm oven for a bit longer. For the second rise, it went into the oven at 35C for 20 minutes, then sat in the warm oven for 2 more hours. I baked it at 230C for 25 minutes, removed the lid, and baked for another 20 minutes. The colour is beautiful, and I can't wait to eat it! I brought some whole wheat flour back from Canada, so I'll be trying some whole wheat in the dough next time. ← I have also just eaten from my first loaf of this bread, wow what an eye opener! For years I have been searching for that elusive crispy crust, and here it is. Like Prasantrin, I used too much yeast, my original dough/slurry had peaked its fermentation after six hours! Knowing no better I left it on the worktop for a futher 12, before dividing it, proofing for the second time and baking. It was still fantastic. I baked in much small containers than anybody here is using as I cannot as yet find large cast iron pots in Jakarta, I ended up using a pair of small ceramic casserole's the larger one being only 1.7 Quart's! I also added 50 grams of mixed whole grains to the dough/slurry, which added a beautiful note the the flavour of the loaf.

Hi Cyen, Welcome to the forum and welcome to Indonesia, I, like you, class myself as an amateur, I don't bake a great deal but have tried my hand at shortcrust, flaky, and buttercrust pastry with a reasonable amount of success. Sponge cakes and a local speciality, Bika Ambon have also come out reasonable well. I never manage to reproduce commercial results but to be honest I wouldn't want to. I prefer the texture and flavour of home baked. I don't know if you are learning Bahasa Indonesia, but if you are. then a good place for recipes which take into account local conditions is Bogasari Flour Mills Just follow the link for "resep" even if your Bahasa Indonesia is not too good it doesn't take long to translate and memorise the phrases required for recipes. Good Luck!

I was under the impression that it was a safety device to protect the user?

Slices of Green Mango dipped in Sambal Terasi!

I am suprised that after the length of time this topic has been running, nobody has mentioned two of my favourites: A slice of freshly baked, crusty white bread, with a thin slice (and I do mean slice!) of ice cold butter laid on top, sprinkled with sea salt , or, A hot freshly toasted English Crumpet, dripping molten butter down your chin as you take your first bite. Simple and delicious!

easternsun, I have lived in Indonesia for 12 years, I have never washed my vegetables in bleach or other chemicals, I have only once had an upset stomach, and that was in my first week here. Too many chemicals on your food will just lower your resistance to the local microbial load and will in fact make you more prone to sickness. I just use normal practices to keep ants at bay (seal up your sugar and don't leave anything sugary laying around) and you won't have a problem with ants. I have tops for all cups, pots etc, to avoid reptilian excreta! Once you learn to cover cups and pots to deflect the dropping's the geckos will become you friends, have you seen how many mosquitos they can eat in an evening! I do a lot of shopping in the local market and I even eat on the street side stalls, I enjoy some of the most wonderfully varied cuisine in the world and at a reasonable cost as I refuse to shop in the Expat Stores! Just kick back a little, and enjoy this opportunity!

This link is for a variation of Soon Dae 'sans blood' for anybody squeamish or with dietary restrictions who wants to try making it themselves! Soon Dae Best Regards, Richard

As long as it hasn't penetrated into the meat I think you will be just fine, give it a try and when you are drying it try to keep it in a slightly drier atmosphere, I have seen some people who have had whole salami's covered in green mould and they have just used the vinegar wash and eaten the salami's with no ill effects as the meat inside the outer casing was still fine. Regards, Richard

Hi Jeremy, I would just rub it off with a little vinegar if I were you, then see how it progresses, it is most likely quite harmless. I have had similar on some of my beef bacon, after it has been kept for 6 weeks, it turned out to actually be the start of bloom which is normal on cured meats and salami in some conditions. I wouldn't be too worried as long as it isn't hairy and green! Regards, Richard ← Yeah it isnt hairy or green and is pretty thin and small. After I rub it in vinegar (distilled i assume) shoud i hang it to dry for longer? ← How long has it been hanging Jeremy, is it already dried? if so it could just be the start of bloom. If you decide to rub with vinegar, just rub that one little spot and it should just dry in the fridge. If it was in my house it would already be half eaten by now! Regards, Richard

Hi Aiden, I have dry cured Brisket Bacon, and the result was a little tough, delicious but still slightly chewy, I have some plate in the freezer awaiting my arrival home for the next experiment, plate is supposed to be more tender I believe. I haven't tried Wagyu as there is nobody in Indonesia that would sell it retail. My greatest facon is however, dry cured duck breast, using a commercial smoke cure as with all my facon experiments, I treated it just like the beef, and the result was superb, tender and full of flavour. Just rub with the manufacturers recommended quantity of curing salt, ziploc and place in the fridge. Leave for 2 days per half inch of thickness, plus one day, remove, wash off and leave uncovered in the fridge to form the pellicle. The really great thing about dry curing is that the quantity of salt is calculated for the weight of cured product, and even if you forget that you are curing something and leave it too long it will not get too salty. If you want to see the result's just take a look at my weblog. Regards, Richard

Hi Jeremy, I would just rub it off with a little vinegar if I were you, then see how it progresses, it is most likely quite harmless. I have had similar on some of my beef bacon, after it has been kept for 6 weeks, it turned out to actually be the start of bloom which is normal on cured meats and salami in some conditions. I wouldn't be too worried as long as it isn't hairy and green! Regards, Richard

Thanks for that Dave, I will be giving it a try when I eventually return home! Regards, Richard

Anybody have any recipes for the non-pork ones? I would love to give them a try. Regards, Richard

Hi Abra, One way of producing Skinless Hotdogs is to use collagen casing! I made some Chicago Style Hotdogs a few months ago and used collagen casings, as I placed the hotdogs into the simmering water to poach they were fine, but after the required cooking time the casings just fell apart as I removed them from the water, they had become very loose and fragile. Whilst I am sure that this is not the correct way, it certainly worked by mistake. For a chicken mouselline type of sausage I have also used food grade plastic bags. In indonesia they produce a small plastic bag for making flavoured ice sticks, these stuffed with forcemeat and poached at a simmer worked fine, without any unpleasant taste or more importantly without bursting or falling apart! Regards, Richard

Felice and Ptipois, Thank you both for your help, Picard located and emptied of Magret! and it was at a discount price. I have made sausages, bacon and prosciutto from the duck and they are superb. Anybody have a recommendation for a simple french style grilling or frying method of cooking these delights? Regards, Richard

Coconut Husks if soaked will burn fine for hot smoking, I have used them on skinny hotdogs and larger Polish Ring sausage, but they tend to impart a little bitterness into the smoke, but that may have been because my husks were from young coconuts and still a little green! Haven't gotten around to any of the other fruit trees as yet, but I will post here as and when I do!