tempeh orek.

I just made what I think is the most Indonesian-tasting thing I've ever made. Lime leaves: underrated. Mushroom bouillon: underrated. 

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tempeh orek. 

INGREDIENTS
400g tempeh
400g green beans, trimmed, cut in thirds or so

50g red chilies, chopped* (this is the authentic ingredient, to adjust for the average Dutch palate use one chopped red bell pepper and 2-3 tsp sambal oelek)
1 handful cherry tomatoes
3 shallots or one large red onion

3 garlic cloves, minced
3 whole lime leaves, plus 1 shredded
3 tbsp kecap manis
1 mushroom bouillon cube, crushed to a powder
salt to taste
1/4 tsp white pepper

2 tbsp butter 

METHOD
Forthcoming, but basically: cut the tempeh into 1cm slices, toss with sesame or coconut oil, sprinkle with salt, and roast in a 200C oven for 10 minutes, flip, 10 minutes, flip, then 5-10 minutes watching closely to make sure they don't blacken, you're aiming for a toasted color that seems on the verge of going too far. 

Throw the beans in salted boiling water for 6 minutes or so, drain, and let them wait for you to finish the boemboe: put the onion/shallot, tomatoes, and red pepper in a food processor and process to a coarse paste. Saute in a wok in sesame or coconut oil for 10 minutes. Add garlic and cook for 2 minutes. Add ketjap manis, green beans, tempeh, lime leaves, crushed bouillon cube, and saute for 5-10 minutes, adding sambal oelek to taste. Serve with plain white rice.

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why you got to be such a friggin spicebag.

Coupla recipes in progress, finally had a go at it, the curry sauce recipe is perfect but you got to buy McDonnell's to make it happen, which isn't ideal even though it's excellent. Anyway, this is Mark I. 

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irish spice bag.

INGREDIENTS
the spice mix
1 tbsp five spice seasoning
1/4 tsp cardamom powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp ginger powder
1/2 tsp gochugaru flakes or other mild chile powder
1/2 tsp zwarte peper
1/2 tsp fine white sugar
1 tsp fine salt

the curry sauce
2 tbsp butter or vegetable oil
1 small onion, finely minced
1 cloves garlic, minced
2.5 tbsp mild curry powder
1/2 tsp chinese five-spice powder
2.5 tbsp all-purpose flour
400ml (approx. 1.7 cups) vegetable stock
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp fine white sugar

METHOD
Whisk all spice mix ingredients together in a small bowl until completely combined. 

Set a saucepan on medium heat and melt the butter over medium heat. Cook the minced onion for 3 minutes until soft but not browned, then add the garlic for 1 minute. 

Build the roux: stir in the curry powder, five-spice, and flour. Cook for 1-3 minutes while stirring constantly to toast the spices and cook out the raw flour taste.

Slowly whisk in the stock a little at a time to prevent lumps, this can take 5 minutes or so. Add the soy sauce and sugar. Bring the mixture to a very gentle boil, then turn the heat down a bit and simmer for 10–12 minutes until thick and glossy. Optionally blend with a hand blender if you prefer a completely smooth texture.

A 1-person spicebag should have about 2 tsp of spice mix added, assume that the fries and chicken are already salted. 

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