“Hi Sylvie, thanks for your reply!
What you have to remember is that some of us out here on the internet have no idea what we are doing 🙂 For instance, I don’t have any real experience with Indonesian food, so if a recipe says shallots, lemongrass, chicken,
…I don’t know if that’s 250g shallots + 250g lemongrass + 500g chicken, or: 20g shallots + 100g lemongrass + 500g chicken, or: 100g shallots + 10g lemongrass + 500g chicken, etc. You see, in order to have common sense in cooking, first you have to know what you’re trying to cook :-)Even general guidelines like “twice as much shallots as lemongrass” would help me when I’m cooking something for the first time.
Best regards and good luck with your very cool web site!
(Name withheld)”
I recently received this email from someone pointing out to me that most my recipes do not have ingredient quantities. There is a reason for this. I believe that everyone has different tastes and therefore should adjust the quantities according to their individual or family’s taste. At the same time I agree that for those who are new to Indonesian cooking this can be quite daunting if they have know idea of what quantities to start out with. So I have set out a general guideline of how much to start out with below. !! One important thing to remember though, if you are say cooking 2 chickens instead of one, for example, please do not fall into the trap of doubling your ingredients and spices. Start out with just adding a quarter more the ingredient quantities and adding by taste. All quantities below are per recipe regardless of what dish you are making.
|
INGREDIENT |
QUANTITY |
|
| Indonesian | English | |
| Bawang – Bawang Merah |
Onion -shallots |
1 – 4-5 |
| Bawang putih | Garlic | 2-3 cloves |
| Serai | Lemongrass | 1-2 Stalks |
| Daun jeruk purut | Kaffir lime leaf | 1-2 double leaves |
| Daun Kunyit | Turmeric leaf | 1-2 Leaves |
| Lengkuas , laos | Galangal | 1-2 dried slices |
| Jahe | Ginger | 2 slices |
| Kemangi | Lemon Basil | Pull the leaves of 2 stalks |
| Daun Pandan | Screwpine leaf | 2 |
| Ketumbar | Coriander powder | 1 teaspoon |
| Kunyit Powder | Turmeric powder | 1-2 teaspoon |
| Terasi | Shrimp Paste | 1 teaspoon |
| Jintan | Cummin | 1/3 teaspoon |
| Santan | Coconut milk or cream | 1-2 cups |
| Kemiri | Candlenut | 5-6 nuts |
| Asam | Tamarind | 1 tablespoon in 2-3 tablespoons of water |
| Daun Salam | Salam leaf | 2 |
| Kencur | Aromatic ginger (resurrection Lily) | 1-2 dried slices |
Hungry Indo Recipes 