Cooked Vegetables with Grated Coconut (Urap)

Ingredients

* 8 oz fresh green beans
* 8 oz bean sprouts
* 4 carrots
* 1 can bamboo shoots
* ½ small cabbage
* 1 cup fresh grated coconut
* 1 small onion, finely chopped
* ½ tsp. chilli sauce (sambal ulek)
* 1 tsp. salt
* 2 Tbs. lime juice
* ½ tsp. dried shrimp paste (terasi)

Directions
Wash bean sprouts, pinching of any brown tail. Pour boiling water over bean sprouts, then rinse under cold water tap. Drain well.

String beans and cut diagonally or bite-size lengths and cook in lightly salted water until just tender. Beans should still be crisp to bite.

Scrub carrot and cut into thin strips, cook until tender. Drain well.

Slice cabbage, discard the center stem. Blanch in boiling salted water for a minute or two, until tender but not limp. Drain and refresh with cold water.

Cut bamboo shoots into strips the same size as the beans.

Place fresh grated coconut into a bowl, add onion, chili sauce, salt, lime juice and the shrimp paste which has been grilled for a few minutes, or heated in a dry frying pan. Mix thoroughly together.

Sprinkle this grated coconut mixture over vegetables, reserving some to garnish the dish when served.

Put vegetables in a steamer and steam for 5-8 minutes.

Put the steamed vegetables to a serving dish/platter and sprinkle with reserved grated coconut mixture. Use as an accompaniment to a meal, or as a salad by itself.

Makes 6-8 servings

Fresh Salad with Peanut Sauce (Karedok)

Ingredients

* 1 fresh red or green semihot chili, cut into thin slices
* 1 clove garlic, sliced
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 2 small slices kencur, soaked in water for thirty minutes (optional)
* 3 tablespoons crunchy peanut butter
* 1 teaspoon tamarind, dissolved in 1 tablespoon water
* 2 teaspoons sugar
* 1 cup thin-sliced cucumbers
* 1 cup fresh bean sprouts
* 1 cup lettuce, broken into bite-size pieces

Directions
Crush the chili, garlic, salt, kencur and peanut butter in a mortar so it’ll become the sauce of the dish.

Add the tamarind liquid and sugar. Mix well.

Toss the sauce with the vegetables until well mixed. Serve chilled or at room temperature.

Makes 4 servings, with other dishes.

Fried Rice (Nasi Goreng)

Ingredients - Serves 4

2 cups of rice
2 T tamarind paste (substitute with lime juice after the dish is done)
2 eggs
4 T Oil
2 medium onions, minced
1 Garlic clove; minced
I fresh red chili finely chopped
1/2 c Shrimp, popcorn; cooked/peel
2 T Soy sauce
I large tomato sliced
11/2 teaspoon of dried shrimp paste
1/4 c Celery; chopped
1/2 c Onion flakes, dried
white pepper
salt

Preparation
1.Bring 2 cups of water to boil in a pot. When boiling add the rice and tamarind. The rice should be cooked in 10 minutes, when all the liquid should be absorbed. Turn off the heat, remove the rice.
2.Add 2 T. oil and fry onion and garlic for 2 minutes. Add tomato shrimp paste and chili. Cook for 2 minutes. Add the shrimp and season with salt and pepper. Saute. Add celery and soy sauce. Saute again. Set aside..
3.Beat the eggs. Heat a skillet and grease it with a few drops of oil. Make thin omelets. Put aside to use as garnish.
4.Heat one tablespoon oil in a heavy frying pan over medium high heat Stir fry the rice for 5 minutes, add seasonings
5.Garnish with sliced omelet and onion flakes.