For the Love of Chocolate

We had passed the month that full of love and chocolate; February.
For me personally, this is the special time to remember how blessed I am as a wife and mother in my family. Having a wonderful husband and funtastic children are the biggest happiness in my life.

On the first week of February, we celebrated our son's 8th birthday. He grows up very fast. We are proud of him and feel so blessed for having him in our family. He's a very active boy, who is addicted to soccer (both playing and watching the match), and still very excited to learn badminton and swimming. A talkative boy, who never get lost to have an idea to talk but like to argue. An easy boy, for eating, making new friends and sleeping. A smart boy, who is strong in math and easy to memorize a new story. Last week, he told me a traditional Indonesian story about 'Padjajaran Kingdom' without a note, very detail, and he remembered all the 'unusual' names in that story *I was amazed.
He is coloring our family life. We are hoping all the best for his future.
*He really needs to learn to control his emotion, to learn to be a patient boy and be more organized.
The second week of February, we celebrated Valentine as a memorable time when my husband and I started dating. It was 17 years ago !
Up and down marriage life we have passed already, and it's still long way to go. We enjoy it, and thanks to God who always guides our marriage and helps us during difficult time.

I didn't cook something special during those special time (Indonesian Food always become our favorite for our family dinner), but I showered my family with chocolates! The most favorite one is the Molten Chocolate Cake. I got the recipe from Martha Stewart Website.
At least I bake it 3 times for the last 2 weeks. Then I tried another cookie recipe from Martha Stewart Magazine (Dec 2010, Christmas edition); Ganache Thumbprint.
Hhhmm... Chocolate goodies never fail to spoil my family tongue!

Molten Chocolate Cake
It was the Valentine's day. In the morning, I was browsing a chocolate dessert recipe, and found this recipe in Martha Stewart website. I decided to bake this individual chocolate cakes for our dessert after dinner. I imagined how delicious it would be.
The result is perfect! The preparation is very simple. The critical part is the baking time and the oven temperature. Once you bake it too long or the temperature is too hot, it'll produce overbaked cakes, there will be not chocolate melting found inside the cake (but it still okey to be served, as a chocolate cupcake :)). On the other hand, if the baking time is too short, or your oven is not hot enough, it'll produce cakes with the 'structure' that not strong to 'hold' the melting chocolate liquid, and it'll be hard to take it out from the mold. Too much liquid part, and the shape will not be too good.So, just be careful. You're the one who know about your oven's performance, so you know exactly when the perfect time is to take it out your cake :)
Ingredients
Serves 6.
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for muffin tins
1/3 cup granulated sugar, plus more for muffin tins
3 large eggs
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
8 ounces bittersweet chocolate, melted
Confectioners' sugar, for dusting
Whipped Cream , for serving

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Generously butter 6 cups of a standard muffin tin. Dust with granulated sugar, and tap out excess. Set aside.
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and granulated sugar until fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. With the mixer on low speed, beat in flour and salt until just combined. Beat in chocolate until just combined. Divide batter evenly among prepared muffin cups.
3. Place muffin tin on a baking sheet; bake just until tops of the cakes no longer jiggle when the pan is lightly shaken, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from oven; let stand 10 minutes.
4. To serve, turn out cakes, and place on serving plates, bottom sides up. Dust with confectioners' sugar, and serve with whipped cream, if desired.
This delicious dessert recipe for Molten Chocolate Cake comes from Everyday Food's book, "Great Food Fast."

Ganache Thumbprints
This is another hint in our chocolate season.There is no special note for the cookie making. It's very easy to make, with delicious result. Make the chocolate dough, make the ball with the well on it, and bake. Later on just put the ganache and serve. As easy as one, two, tree! I decided to spoon the ganache in the cookie while it still a bit 'liquify', to produce the flat on top cookie. So it'll be still nice while I stack it.Check this Martha Stewart Website, you'll find lots of variant of the thumbprint cookies. Ingredients
Makes about 5 dozen.
1 batch Chocolate Cookie Dough
Ganache

Directions
1. Roll dough into 1-inch balls, then roll in crushed candies, if using. Arrange on parchment-lined baking sheets, spacing each 1 inch apart.
2. Press a well into the center of each using your finger. Refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes. Bake at 350 degrees for 7 minutes. Remove from oven, and press well again with handle end of a wooden spoon. Bake until firm, 7 to 9 minutes more.
3. Let cool completely. Spoon ganache into thumbprints.
Chocolate Cookie Dough
Ingredients
2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
3/4 teaspoon baking powder (omit if making thumbprints, ball cookies, or spritz cookies)
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 sticks unsalted butter
1 cup sugar
1 large egg
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
Directions
Whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Beat butter and granulated sugar with a mixer on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla. Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture, and beat until combined.
Ganache
Ingredients
Makes 1 1/2 cups (enough to fill 5 dozen Thumbprints).
1 cup heavy cream
8 ounces chopped bittersweet chocolate
Directions
Pour gently simmered cream over chocolate. Let stand for 5 minutes. Stir until smooth. Let stand until mixture is spoonable, about 15 minutes. Untuk teman-teman yang merayakan,
'Selamat Hari Raya Nyepi, Tahun Baru Saka 1933'

Bolu Sakura (Sakura 'Sponge' Cake)

Yesterday, during a tiring and quiet time at home, I was thinking to bake something. I thought it could boast my energy and mood. But later on, I realized that I had baked many times this month especially during the valentine's day.
*my family fall in love with 'molten chocolate cake' and I baked it again and again!
I'll post the recipe on my next posting.
I need to used other method than baking; need something different.
Finally I got another idea; steaming, steaming something for dessert/snacking! I knew where to find the recipe for it; the Indonesian Snack recipe book.

Steaming is one of the popular cooking methods to make snacks in this country, other than frying. In the old days, baking was not that popular here. Oven is a luxury household appliance. However, there is a traditional oven; a small aluminium box that we put on top of the stove.
*I don't use that one in my kitchen, I use my 12 years old standing gas oven.Steamed cake/snack become more popular, that's why most of Indonesian traditional snacks that we call 'kue basah' (~wet cake) are produced by steaming method.This time, I tried Bolu Sakura (Sakura Cake). Individual sponge cake with caramel flavor, and for sure not using 'sakura flower' as an ingredient :). These cute moist flower shape cakes are good for afternoon snack.Bolu Sakura
source : Primarasa, Serba Manis dari Terigu.
Bahan / Ingredients:
mentega/margarin untuk olesan / butter / margarine to spread
tepung terigu untuk taburan / wheat flour for dusting the mold
225 gr tepung terigu serba guna / 225 gr all-purpose flour
1/2 sdt baking powder / 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 sdt soda kue / 1/2 tsp baking soda
250 gr gula pasir / 250 gr granulated sugar
2 butir telur / 2 eggs
50 ml mentega/margarin cair / 50 ml melted butter/margarine

1. Siapkan cetakan kue bolu sakura (bentuk bunga) olesi dengan mentega/margarin, lalu taburi tepung tipis-tipis. Campur tepung terigu, baking powder dan soda kue, ayak, sisihkan. Panaskan air dalam dandang hingga mendidih. Bungkus tutup dandang dengan serbet.
2. Taruh 125 gr gula pasir di dalam wajan datar atau panci, panaskan di atas api, masak hingga kecoklatan dan menjadi karamel. Tuangi air sedikit demi sedikit, aduk perlahan hingga mendidih dan tidak menggumpal, angkat, sisihkan.
3. Kocok telur bersama sisa gula hingga kental dan mengembang. Masukkan gula karamel, dan kocok hingga rata, angkat mikser.
4. Masukkan tepung terigu, aduk menggunakan spatula sambil tambahkan mentega cair sedikit demi sedikit hingga tercampur rata.
5. Tuang adonan ke dalam cetakan yang sudah disediakan hingga 3/4 penuh. Masukkan cetakan ke dalam dandang, tutup dandang, kukus selama 15-20 menit hingga kue matang.
6. Buka tutup dandang. Keluarkan cetakan dari dandang, biarkan agak dingin.
Keluarkan dari cetakan, hidangkan.
1. Prepare the sakura sponge cake molds (flower shape), spread with butter / margarine, then dust with flour lightly. Mix the flour, baking powder and baking soda, sifted, set aside. Heat up water in a steamer to boil. Wrap the steamer lid with a cloth napkin.
2. Put 125 gr sugar in a flat pan or saucepan, heat over a stove fire, cook until brown and caramelized. Pour water gradually, stir slowly until boiling and not clot, remove, set aside.
3. Beat the eggs with the remaining sugar until getting thick and fluffy. Pour the caramel sugar, and beat until blended, turn of the mixer.
4. Put the flour, stir using a spatula while gradually adding melted butter until well blended.
5. Pour batter into each mold up to 3/4 full. Put the molds into the steamer, cover the steamer, steam for 15-20 minutes until getting done.
6. Open the steamer lid. Remove the mold from the steamer, let cool slightly.
Remove from the molds, serve.

Lunar New Year

It's another exciting celebration... New Year!

Yeah, we have some 'New Year' in one calendar year. Other than 'normal' New Year on 1st of January (Gregorian Calender / Anno Domini), this country also celebrates Imlek (Chinese New Year), Saka New Year (Hindhuism) and Hijriah (Islamic). Oh, one more, there is another New Year in Javanese Calendar.

Those days were marked as Public Holiday in our calendar (except the Javanese New Year).
We don't celebrate all of them personally, but for sure we always enjoy the public holiday.

I do love to see the colorful traditional celebrations and for the last couple of weeks I enjoyed seeing some parts of Jakarta turned to red! Chinese New Year Celebration become one of the festive celebration in our country since 2001, after our fourth president, the late Abdurrahman Wahid, sought religious and ethnics reconciliation. The Chinese language was no longer banned, and neither was celebrating the Lunar New Year.
Last week, two days before the big 'Chinese New Year' day, I managed to visit Glodok area, in the old part of Jakarta, which is home to many Chinese Indonesian residents as well as Jakarta’s most famous Chinatown area, Petak Sembilan. Located surrounding commercial area in North Jakarta, it's not hard to get to this place. I went by riding a 30minutes KRL (the city train) from our home in South Jakarta.

As I expected before, the red color adorned this area. From the flowers, merchandises, to the ornaments. Very beautiful.
The color, the smell, the food, the noise ...made me feel like I was entering a 'totally' different part of the world.

The Petak Sembilan Alley was my first part to explore.


Petak Sembilan Alley is welcoming Chinese New Year. I have visited Glodok area many times, but this was my very first time walking through this alley. It amazed me. All the chinese trinkets; from the clothes, flowers, souvenirs, to all kind of food (raw and cooked) were available on both sides of the alley. The lanterns were hang on strings connecting each side.
This place is a perfect destination in Jakarta if you want to experience the richness of Chinese culture. The alley was busy at that time, the visitors were excited welcoming the new year. It was a good fortune for most of the sellers.

Traditional Chinese bright red costumes for children, complete with the cap and fake long braids. Before more enjoying this crowded alley, I decided to stop by in the famous Dharma Bhakti Temple, the oldest "Buddhist" temple in one of the corners, dated back in 1650.
Even it was still 2 days to go to the New Year celebration, but here, lots of Indonesians of Chinese descent burned incense and prayed for good fortune in the coming year.
I couldn't tell too much story about this temple, since I don't have the capability to talk about it. Looked around the temple as a place of religious worship, watched the people praying, saw the colorful ornaments that rich of simbolism, and took some pictures were good enough for me.
Leaving the temple, I went back to the crowded alley.
Aha... so many things were gathered in the road. The sellers, the visitors, the vehicles and the colorful food (raw and cooked). Very crowded, very interesting, very unique! I like this place.

Ikan Bandeng a.k.a milkfish is one popular seafood that offered for the New Year celebration. This fish is served to symbolize abundance.Busy activities around the China Town kept going. More people came, more crowds at the road.
Candy Shop was the next one that caught my attention. Rows of candy buckets were sitting nicely in front of the shop. It's colorful, and... it's not like the candies that normally found in city supermarkets. Most of them came from China and Malaysia!

Candies with colorful and cute wrappers Exotic tropical fruits gave other hints for the festive season. Since 2 months ago, those fruits had been available in the markets. Some of them were local fruits but many were imported fruits. Actually, some days before I went to this China Town, I imagined that I would try lots of delicious food here. Unfortunately, since a night before and during the trip, I got stomach upset. So during this trip, I decided not to eat anything, only drank plenty of water. Not bad, at least only once I had to rush finding a toilet :D. *psst, I found out the new toilet in Dharma Bhakti Temple was very clean*. Anyway, I brought home some of the food.

Here, the pictures below probably can show how tempting the food that we found in the China Town.

Colorful Bakpao (Chinese Bun) - Kue Keranjang a.k.a Nian Gao
Not only for eating during the celebration, both of them were used for offering.


Bakso Goreng (fried meat / fish balls) - Otak-otak


Bektim (pork & pork organs stew) - Rujak Gloria


Teripang a.k.a Sea Cucumbers - Chinese Food Kiosk During the New Year day a.k.a Imlek as it is usually referred to in Indonesian, we had a good trip bringing our children to one Chinese temple in Bogor (yup, I have plenty of pictures again!). We didn't attend any special Imlek celebration. I tried to cook something connecting with 'chinese culinary' for my family, something that I'm sure they will like it. As we like dim sum, so I decided to prepare Chicken Shumai/Siew Mai/Siomai. The mouthwatering open-faced Chinese dumpling that is popular dim sum fare. Wishing You A Happy and Prosperous Chinese New Year!
Gong Xi Fa Cai 2562! Siomai Ayam / Chicken Siew Mai
source : Primarasa, DimSum.
Bahan / Ingredients :
15 lembar kulit siomai/kulit pangsit bergaris tengah 8-10 cm / 15 wonton wrappers, diameter: 8-10cm
1 buah wortel, serut untuk taburan / 1 carrot, grated for topping

Isi / Filling:
150 gr daging ayam cincang / 150 gr minced chicken
150 gr udang kupas, cincang / 150 gr shrimp, peeled, chopped
50 gr rebung cincang / 50 gr chopped bamboo shoots
50 gr jamur hioko cincang / 50 gr chopped hioko mashroom
50 gr waterchestnut cincang / 50 gr chopped waterchestnut
2 siung bawang putih, cincang / 2 cloves garlic, chopped
2 batang daun bawang, cincang / 2 spring onions, chopped
2 sdm tepung kanji / 2 tbsp tapioka flour
1 putih telur / 1 white egg

Saus Bumbu / Seasoning Sauce
1 sdm kecap asin / 1 tbsp soy sauce
1 sdm minyak wijen / 1 tbsp sesame oil
1 sdt gula pasir / 1 tbsp sugar
1/2 sdt garam / 1/2 tsp salt
1/4 sdt merica bubuk / 1/4 tsp pepper
1 sdm angciu / 1 tbs angciu (Chinese wine)Resep dalam Bahasa Indonesia;
1. Campur semua bahan saus bumbu dalam mangkuk, aduk rata.
2. Taruh bahan isi dalam mangkuk yang lebih besar, campur saus bumbu, aduk sampai rata benar. Kemudian simpan dalam lemari es selama 1 jam. Pada waktu akan dikerjakan bagi adonan isi menjadi 15 bagian.
3. Ambil selembar kulit siomai/pangsit, taruh 1 bagian adonan isi di tengahnya. Tarik pinggirnya dengan menggunakan kelima jari, kemudian tekan bagian atasnya dengan jari yang dibasahi air terlebih dahulu.
4. Taburi pemukaannya dengan sedikit wortel parut. Lakukan hal yang sama hingga adonan habis.
5. Didihkan air dalam dandang, taruh siomai dalam loyang dengan jarak +/-2 cm satu dengan lainnya. Kukus siomai di atas api besar selama 10-15 menit sampai matang, angkat.
The Recipes in English;
1. Mix all seasoning sauce ingredients in a bowl and stir well.
2. Place the filling ingredients in a larger bowl, combine the sauce ingredients, stir until blended completely. Then store in a refrigerator for 1 hour. Divide the filling dough into 15 parts.
3. Take a piece of wonton skin, place 1 portion dough filling in the middle. Pull the edges by using the five fingers, then press the top with your fingers soaked in water first.
4. Sprinkle the top surface with a little grated carrot. Do the same thing until the dough runs out. 5. Boil water in a steamer, put the siomai + / -2 cm of one another. Steam the siomai over high heat for 10-15 minutes until cooked, remove from heat.
Have a nice weekend!

Laksa Cibinong

Laksa is a popular spicy noodle soup from the Peranakan culture, which is a merger of Chinese and Malay elements found in Malaysia and Singapore, and to a lesser extent Indonesia.
Source : Wikipedia.
We used to live in Malaysia for 3.5 years. So, I know 100% that laksa is indeed a popular dish in Malaysia. Not doubt! Other than that, I found out during the 'international day' in my children's previous school, the Singapore booth always sell Singaporean Laksa.
Yes, laksa is famous and popular in both countries, and it's popular in some part of our country, as well. During the Jakarta Fair, I did try Laksa Betawi (~Jakarta). Another popular Indonesian Laksa is called Laksa Pengantin from Bogor (West Java).

A couple of months ago, I read that there is famous laksa dish from a town called Cibinong. Cibinong is the capital of Bogor Residence in West Java. It's located between Jakarta and city of Bogor. To be honest, I never tried the original Laksa Cibinong, but I found the recipe of the dishes from one of my recipe books and decided to prove that it's delicious. For me, after trying some variants of Indonesian Laksa, I think they are similar each other (ahaa... I know, I don't have a sensitive tongue to recognize the differences!). Indonesian laksa is kind of thick yellowish coconut milk based soup, that is produced by mixture of some spices and salt, and it is served with bean sprout, vermicelli, shrimps, eggs, and Indonesian basil leaves. Sometime they are also served with coooked shredded chicken and glutinous rice cake (ketupat). Sound yummy, right!
There is no special requirement to cook this dish. Just remember, while cooking 'soup' using coconut milk, don't forget to stir occassionally to prevent the coconut milk from curdling.If you are not familiar with one of the ingredients; "temu mangga", ahaaa... let me tell you, that's the one which makes this dish fresh and it has unique flavour as well as giving soft yellow color to the dish. If you're in Jakarta, it's not hard to find this kind of fresh spice. The shape looks like somewhere between ginger and tumeric. Cut a little bit, ... you'll smell a young mango aroma. That's why they're called it temu mangga.Laksa Cibinong
Source : Primarasa, Hidangan Berkuah Terlezat
Bahan / Ingredients
75 gr bihun kering / 75 gr dried vermicelli
2 butir telur rebus / 2 boiled eggs
100 gr taoge / 100 gr bean sprouts
2 sdm minyak goreng / 2 tbsp oil
2 batang serai, memarkan / 2 lemon grass, crushed
6 lembar daun jeruk / 6 lime leaves
750 ml santan, dari 1/4 butir kelapa / 750 ml coconut milk from 1/4 coconut
100 gr udang ukuran sedang, kupas, belah punggungnya / 100 gr medium-size shrimp, peel, shallow slice its back longitudinally
1 sdt garam / 1 tsp salt
1/2 sdt merica bubuk / 1/2 tsp ground (white) pepper
1/2 sdt gula pasir / 1/2 tsp granulated sugar
1 sdm bawang goreng / 1 tbsp fried onions
2 tangkai daun kemangi / 2 stalks Indonesian basil leaves

Bumbu Halus / Spices (ground)
8 butir bawang merah / 8 shallots
3 siung bawang putih / 3 cloves garlic
2 butir kemiri / 2 candlenuts, roasted
1 sdt ketumbar sangrai / 1 tsp coriander, roasted
1/4 sdt jintan sangrai / 1/4 tsp cumin, roasted
1 cm kencur / 1 cm kaempferia galanga
2 cm kunyit bakar / 2 cm tumeric
3-4 cm temu mangga / 3-4 cm temu mangga

Pelengkap
Sambal cabai rebus / Chilli
Air jeruk nipis / Lime juice Cara memasak:
1. Seduh bihun dengan air panas hingga lunak, tiriskan. Kupas telur, belah dua atau empat memanjang. Buang akar taoge, sisihkan.
2. Panaskan minyak goreng dalam wajan, tumis bumbu halus hingga harum, masukkan serai dan daun jeruk, aduk. Masukkan santan, masak hingga mendidih, timba-timba supaya santan tidak pecah.
3. Masukkan udang, tambahkan garam, merica, dan gula, aduk. Kecilkan apinya, masak hingga cukup matang, angkat.
4. Siapkan mangkuk saji, taruh bihun, taoge, dan telur ke dalam mangkuk. Siram kuah panas, taburi bawang goreng dan daun kemangi. Sajikan panas dengan sambal cabai rebus dan air jeruk nipis.
Cooking Method :
1. Blanch the dried vermicelli with hot water until tender, drain. Peel the eggs, cut lengthwise into two or four. Discard the roots of bean sprouts and set aside.
2. Heat oil in a skillet, saute ground spices until fragrant, put lemon grass and lime leaves, stir. Add the coconut milk. Heat it to the boil and stir occassionally to prevent the coconut milk from curdling.
3. Add the shrimp, salt, pepper, and sugar, stir. Reduce the heat and cook well, remove from the heat.
4. Prepare the serving bowls, place the vermicelli, bean sprouts, and eggs into a bowl. Pour hot gravy to cover these and sprinkle with fried shallots and basil leaves. Serve with boiled chili sauce and lime juice.

Have a good Thursday night!

Cheers to a New Year!

We're passing the middle of January 2011. Ooh, time goes by very fast.
In fact, I'm still enjoying the raining that cleansing the city and the wind that supplying fresh air into the city.
Beautiful.

Last month, we were very busy and ... very happy at the same time. We enjoyed the wonderful season with our big family. I remember, when we used to live far from our family, many-many years we celebrated Christmas just two then three then four of us, without our relatives around. It was fine at that time, we managed to find our own way to enjoy the season. But now, I can feel again the joyful of being around among our big family during the Christmas season.
Precious.

This week, after all our activities are back to normal routine, I can think clearly that ...yeah, we've already passed 2010. Looking back my blogging and food photography journey during 2010, I realize that I was not productive. Not at all!
Little bit dissapointing.
On the other hand, I'm glad that last year I had chances to learn lots of new things; exploring something that I have never imagined. I feel so lucky being a member of SLF community. With the other members, we discussed many things about food photography. From the technical photography to the food styling. I learned more about lighting, colour, texture to the camera angles.
All those pictures above are some of my entry during 2010 SLF challenges. Even though the group is no longer active, but I have to say that this owesome group has given me enlightenment to capture the food stylictically appealling. Being with such talented people kept me on my toes and pushed me to do better each time.Half year on 2009, after moved from India on June, we were very busy exploring our city, Jakarta. We visited some museums, markets, malls, parks and also the seaport.
And last year, I had opportunities to travel to some places in Indonesia (actually, most of the time I joined my husband's bussiness trips). It opened my eyes bigger to the beauty of my beloved country, and gave me opportunity to explore more about travel photography. Oh yeah, I love it!
Yogyakarta, May 2010
Onething that very interesting is that I need two different approaches for food photography and travel photography. In food shoots, everything is stylized and curated, whereas in travel photography we use snap-as-we-go approach. It let us capture the images that we consider beautiful and 'freeze' them as they are. Oh, I love both of them.
I love travelling, I love styling the food and I love photography more and more.*I did prewedding and wedding photography last month, and ... I like it as well. Ooow! and I always enjoy to take family pictures.

Bali, November 2010

Kota Gede, May 2010 So, last year I had a great time while visiting Yogyakarta on May, Bali on November, many-many times visiting Bandung and Bogor.
Yogyakarta and Bali, both have rich cultural traditions and beautiful panoramas.
During my visit in Yogya, I had a chance to capture the Waisak Celebration in Borobudur Temple (the biggest Buddhist Temple in the world) and also visited the 'old' town Kota Gede.
Bali, ...yeah I remember my promise! *promise again*

Bandung and Bogor are not too far from Jakarta. From our home, it took 2 hours journey to Bandung and 1/2 hour to Bogor *by car*. Most of the time, we visited both places for culinary journey. They are famous for their inovative street food. We brought our children, and introduced them with many traditional food and let them familiar with the street vendor and traditional market.It's very enjoyable to visit all of those places, just need a good planning and always prepare high capacity flash card when you go travelling.

Bogor - West Java, October 2010
Now let's start talking about food. Well, this time about drink.As I wrote before, we visited Bogor for culinary journey with our children. Now let me introduce you to Bir Kocok (they spell it 'Kotjok' - old version spelling). It was very famous from old generation and it's famous until now. They sell it at Jl. Suryakencana (around Gang Aut), Bogor. Bir Kocok means 'Shaking Beer', but not like 'normal' beer, this beer contain 0% alcohol! No, it's different with some of beer brands that claiming to be 'zero alcohol'. This beer is made from spices (ginger, cinnamon, cloves, etc) and shaked inside the metal container to produce the foam. The result; physically it looks like any other beer, but the flavor is totally spicy!If Bogor has Bir Kocok, then Jakarta has Bir Pletok. For me, the flavor it's not different, because they're made of almost same ingredients; spices, sugar and water. I tried to find out, why they call it bir pletok?? The answer, the word 'pletok' came from the sound that is generated while they shake the bir mixed with ice cubes inside the metal container... "pletak... pletok.." :D

Bir Pletok @ Jakarta Fair, July 2010
For now, Bir Pletok is not easy to be found, even in Jakarta. Only during Jakarta Fair (on July) or in some Jakarta's Festival, this traditional beverage can be found.Why not make it by ourselves? All the ingredients are everyday spices that normally we stock in the kitchen. Only one that probably not ready on our kitchen cupboard; the Secang Wood. It's not that hard to find it in some supermarkets, and it helps giving reddish colour to the drink.Now, let's refresh and warm ourselves with this healthy Bir Pletok...
let's coloring our year 2011, and let's explore the beauty of this world ... Cheers!!
Es Bir Pletok
source: Primarasa, Es Segar Ceria :)
Bahan / Ingredients
100 gr jahe / 100 gr ginger
3 lembar daun pandan / 3 pandan leaves
3 batang serai / 3 stalks lemon grass
5 lembar daun jeruk / 5 lime leaves
3 butir cengkeh / 3 gloves
3 cm kayu manis / 3 cm cinnamon bark
1/2 butir pala / 1/2 nutmeg
25 gr kayu secang / 25 gr secang wood
250 gr gula pasir / 250 gr granulated sugar
1.5 liter air / 1.5 liter water
es batu / ice cubes
Bahasa Indonesia:
1. Kupas jahe, iris tipis. Potong-potong daun pandan.
Memarkan batang serai. Buang tulang daun jeruk.
2. Taruh jahe, daun pandan, serai, daun jeruk, cengkeh, kayu manis, pala, kayu secang, gula pasir dan air dalam panci.
Jerang di atas api sedang hingga mendidih.
3. Tutup panci, kecilkan apinya, masak hingga aroma rempah-rempah keluar (+/- 25 menit). Angkat dari atas api, sisihkan hingga dingin.
4. Saring minuman dan buang ampasnya. Bagi minuman dalam gelas saji.
Tambahkan es batu, sajikan.
English :
1. Peel the ginger, slice it thinly. Cut the pandan leaves.
Crush the lemongrass. Discard lime leaves 'bone'.
2. Put the ginger, pandan leaves, lemongrass, lime leaves, cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg, secang wood, sugar and water into a saucepan.
Cook over medium heat until boiling
3. Cover the pan, reduce the heat, and cook until the aroma of spices is released (+/- 25 minutes). Remove from the heat, set aside to cool.
4. Strain the drink and discard pulp. Serve it into several cups with ice cubes.