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550 recipes

Ayam kecap (sweet soy chicken)

Ayam kecap is everyday Indonesian home cooking, made from Jakarta to Surabaya for family dinners and lunchboxes: bite-size chicken pieces browned, then simmered in kecap manis, the thick palm-sugar soy sauce, with garlic, shallot, ginger and tomato until glossy and sticky. The mistake is adding the kecap manis too early on a high heat; its sugar burns before the chicken is cooked, so add it once the chicken is browned and turn the heat down. Chef's tip: use boneless thighs, which stay juicy and cook in the time the rice takes.

30 minIndonesianChicken
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Fideos con mantecaButtered noodles with cheese

Ask anyone from Buenos Aires to Córdoba what they ate when they came home late or felt poorly as a child, and the answer is often fideos con manteca: short pasta tossed with butter and a snowfall of grated queso rallado. It is the plainest dish in the Argentine home kitchen and the one people cook for themselves on a tired weeknight. The mistake that ruins it is draining the pasta bone-dry and adding cold cheese to a hot empty pan, which leaves greasy strands and clumps; a splash of cooking water makes a light, creamy coating instead. Argentine reggianito and Parmesan are made with animal rennet, so use a vegetarian hard cheese if needed. Chef's tip: grate the cheese very finely, like dust, so it melts on contact.

15 minArgentinianPasta & Noodles
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Tempe goreng (Javanese crisp fried tempeh)

Tempe goreng is the everyday protein of Central and East Java, fried fresh in homes and warungs morning and evening and eaten with rice, sambal and a vegetable such as urap or sayur asem. The tempeh is soaked briefly in a salty garlic and coriander-seed brine, then fried until the outside is crunchy and the inside nutty and firm. The mistake people make is slicing it too thick, which leaves a bitter, raw-tasting centre; keep slices about 5 mm thick. If you soak it for longer than 15 minutes, do it in the fridge. Chef's tip: fry in oil that comes halfway up the slices and turn them only once, so the crust stays whole.

20 minIndonesianSnacks & StartersVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Tallarines rojosSpaghetti in red sauce with chicken

Tallarines rojos is the Sunday-lunch and weeknight pasta of homes all over Peru, from Lima to Arequipa: spaghetti in a sweet, deep-red sauce of blended tomato, onion and garlic with a little ají panca and oregano, often with pieces of chicken cooked right in it. Children love it, and it is served with a sprinkle of grated cheese and sometimes a spoon of huancaína on the side. The usual mistake is cooking the sauce too briefly, so it tastes of raw onion; let the blended tomato fry until it darkens and the oil shows at the edges. Chef's tip: a bay leaf and a spoon of ají panca paste give the sauce its Peruvian character; paprika will do if you can't find the paste.

30 minPeruvianPasta & Noodles
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Algerian mkhabezIced almond and lemon diamonds

No Algerian wedding tray, and few Eid tables in Algiers or Constantine, is complete without mkhabez: soft, chewy diamonds of ground almond and lemon zest under a smooth white icing, each topped with a sugar flower or a silver ball and set in its own paper case. Making them is a social affair, with sisters and aunts icing and decorating hundreds the week before a celebration. The almond base is flourless and dairy free, sweet and lemony, and the icing sets to a thin shell; serve them with mint tea or strong coffee. Overbaking is the mistake to avoid: the diamonds should come out pale and soft, or they go dry and crumbly under the icing. Chef's tip: ice them when completely cold, and get the icing so thick it only just flows; runny icing slides off the sides and never sets glossy.

105 minAlgerianBakingGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Torta de ricotaLemon ricotta tart

Italian families brought ricotta tarts to Buenos Aires and Rosario, and torta de ricota is now as Argentinian as mate: every panadería has one in the window, with a lattice of sweet, crumbly masa frola over a pale, lemon-scented ricotta filling. It is cut into wedges for the merienda, the late-afternoon snack, or for a birthday where nobody wants a heavy cake. The texture is light and slightly grainy rather than silky, and the pastry tastes of butter and vanilla. Wet ricotta is the biggest risk, giving a weeping, soggy tart. Chef's tip: drain the ricotta overnight in the fridge in a sieve lined with a cloth, and add a few raisins only if they have been soaked, or they draw moisture from the filling.

90 minArgentinianBaking
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Orak-arik telur (Indonesian scrambled eggs with vegetables)

Orak-arik means roughly 'scrambled up', and this Javanese home dish is what students in Yogyakarta and families everywhere in Java make when the fridge is nearly empty: a cheap, filling plate of cabbage, carrot and egg to eat with rice at dinner or pack into a lunchbox. The vegetables stay sweet and slightly crunchy while the egg sets into soft, savoury curds around them. The common mistake is adding the eggs while the vegetables are still wet and watery, which gives a pale, soggy mess; cook the vegetables until the pan is dry first. Chef's tip: let the egg set for 20 seconds before you start stirring, so you get large curds rather than crumbs.

15 minIndonesianVegetarianGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Chicharrón de pescadoCrisp fried fish chunks

Up and down the Peruvian coast, from Chorrillos in Lima to the beaches of Piura, chicharrón de pescado is the crunchy plate ordered alongside ceviche at a long seafood lunch: bite-size chunks of firm white fish marinated briefly in garlic and lime, dusted in flour and fried, then served with fried cassava, salsa criolla and tartar or rocoto sauce. Using frozen peeled cassava keeps it to half an hour. The common mistake is leaving the fish in the lime too long: after about ten minutes the acid starts to 'cook' the outside and the coating slips off. Chef's tip: toss the floured pieces in a sieve to shake off every bit of loose flour; a thin coat fries crisp, a thick one turns pasty.

30 minPeruvianFish
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Tumis jamur (Indonesian stir-fried oyster mushrooms)

Tumis jamur tiram is a favourite in Javanese homes and cheap warung kitchens across Indonesia, where grey oyster mushrooms are grown locally and sold by the bag every morning. Cooked fast in a hot wok, the mushrooms turn meaty and juicy, picking up garlic, shallot, a little chilli and the sweetness of kecap manis and tomato. It is eaten with rice as part of an everyday dinner, often next to tempeh or tofu. The usual mistake is crowding the pan, which makes the mushrooms release water and stew instead of browning. Chef's tip: tear the mushrooms by hand along their natural lines rather than slicing them; the ragged edges catch the sauce.

15 minIndonesianVegetarianVegan
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Spiku (lapis Surabaya)Three-layer butter sponge with jam

Visitors leaving Surabaya are expected to carry home a box of spiku as oleh-oleh, the gift from your travels, and it also turns up for Lebaran and Chinese New Year. The name comes from the Dutch spekkoek, but this is a different cake: three thick layers of rich, yolk-heavy butter sponge, two plain and one chocolate, stuck together with apricot or strawberry jam. The crumb is soft, tight and buttery, best in thin slices with tea. Folding the melted butter in roughly or too fast lets it sink and bake into a greasy band at the bottom, so add it in a thin stream and fold just until it vanishes. Chef's tip: bake the three layers at the same time in three identical tins; weigh the batter into them so the layers come out even.

85 minIndonesianBaking
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Tcharek el arianeAlmond crescents with orange blossom

On the last nights of Ramadan, kitchens across Algiers and Constantine fill up with trays of tcharek el ariane, the 'naked' tcharek: crescents of thin, buttery dough wrapped around almond paste with cinnamon and orange-blossom water. Unlike their sugar-coated cousins they are left bare, so the fine dough with its pinched, lace-like pattern shows. Families give them to neighbours on Eid morning and set them out at weddings with mint tea and coffee. The dough is traditionally made with smen (aged butter); plain melted butter works well. Overbaking is the common slip, because they turn hard and dry; they should stay pale with only golden tips. Chef's tip: keep the dough under a damp cloth while you shape, as it dries in minutes and then cracks along the curve.

120 minAlgerianBaking
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Tarta de coco y dulce de lecheCoconut and dulce de leche tart

Ask Argentinians for their favourite tart at a family birthday and this one often wins: a crisp shortcrust spread thickly with dulce de leche, then covered with a coconut, sugar and egg topping that bakes into a golden, chewy crust. Bakeries from Córdoba to Mar del Plata sell it by the slice for the merienda with mate or a café con leche. It is very sweet, so the slices are thin, and it is a good keeper for a few days. Ordinary spreading dulce de leche is the mistake: it runs and bubbles out at the edges. Use the thicker pastry-style kind, sold in Argentina as 'repostero'. Chef's tip: chill the case with the dulce de leche spread on it for 15 minutes before adding the coconut, so the two layers stay distinct.

75 minArgentinianBaking
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Moroccan bachkoutouOrange and sesame dunking biscuits

Moroccan grandmothers bake bachkoutou by the trayful and keep them in big tins for the afternoon glass of sweet mint tea, and neighbourhood ovens in Fes and Casablanca bake them for families who bring their dough. These are dry, crunchy little biscuits, not rich at all, made with eggs, sugar and oil rather than butter, with orange zest and a coating of toasted sesame; they are meant to be dunked until they soften slightly. Shapes vary from town to town: fingers, rings and rope twists are all common, and some cooks add aniseed. Too much flour is the easy mistake: the dough should stay soft and slightly sticky, or the biscuits bake heavy and hard rather than crisp and light. Chef's tip: once they are cold, put them back in a warm, switched-off oven for 20 minutes; that extra drying is what makes them keep their snap for weeks.

38 minMoroccanBaking
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Tumis kacang panjang (Indonesian stir-fried long beans)

In Javanese homes and warungs, tumis kacang panjang is one of the quickest vegetable dishes on the table, cooked in minutes at dinner time and eaten with rice, fried tempeh and sambal. The beans keep a little bite, the tomato breaks down into a light, savoury gloss, and the chilli gives gentle heat. Plenty of cooks stir in a little terasi (shrimp paste); here it is left out to keep the dish vegan, with a pinch of sugar for balance. The common mistake is adding a lot of water and covering the pan, which boils the beans grey; a splash and a hot pan are enough. Chef's tip: cut the beans on a slant so more surface touches the pan and they cook faster.

15 minIndonesianSidesVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Kue bangkitTapioca coconut flower cookies

Jars of kue bangkit sit on coffee tables across Riau and the Sumatran coast at Lebaran, and Chinese-Indonesian families bake the same little white flowers for Lunar New Year. They are made from tapioca starch slowly roasted with pandan leaves, then bound with sugar, egg yolk and thick coconut milk and pressed into tiny flower shapes. When they are right they feel crisp and light in the hand and then dissolve instantly on the tongue, leaving the taste of coconut and pandan. The step people rush is roasting the starch; it must be dry-fried until feather-light, or the cookies bake hard and chalky. Chef's tip: keep the dough covered with a cloth while you work, because tapioca dough dries in minutes and then crumbles in the mould.

106 minIndonesianBakingGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

BakpiaMung bean pastries

Nobody leaves Yogyakarta without a cardboard box of bakpia; the Pathuk neighbourhood, a short walk from Malioboro, is lined with family bakeries turning them out for visitors as oleh-oleh, the snacks Indonesians bring home from a trip. These are small, round and slightly puffed, with a thin, flaky skin that goes golden in spots and a smooth, lightly salted sweet mung bean centre. They came to Java with Chinese bakers (the name comes from Hokkien bak pia) and are eaten with sweet hot tea or a glass of kopi. Using too much filling is the usual problem; the skin should wrap it with no stretching. Chef's tip: cook the mung beans with a knotted pandan leaf for the classic fragrance, and keep the pastry balls under a damp cloth so the skins stay supple while you work.

110 minIndonesianBakingVegan
by KrazyBadal 0 views

KlappertaartBaked young coconut custard

Manado, at the northern tip of Sulawesi, inherited klappertaart from its Dutch colonial kitchens (klapper is old Dutch for coconut), and it is still the dessert North Sulawesi families bring to birthdays, Christmas and church gatherings. Soft strips of young coconut flesh are folded through a creamy, cinnamon-scented milk custard with raisins, then baked under a sprinkle of almonds until barely set and bronzed on top. It is eaten warm or cold, spooned straight from the dish. Many recipes soak the raisins in rum or add a splash to the custard; this one is alcohol-free, with the rum as an option. Overbaking it until firm is the mistake to avoid; it should be soft and spoonable. Chef's tip: use the jelly-soft flesh of young coconuts (or frozen young coconut strips); grated mature coconut makes the custard dry and chewy.

75 minIndonesianBakingGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Pejerrey arrebozadoBattered fish fillets with onion salsa

Pejerrey arrebozado is a Lima classic from the cevicherías and home kitchens of the coast, eaten at lunch on a plate with white rice, a heap of sharp salsa criolla and sometimes boiled potato. The pejerrey, a small silverside, is opened into butterflied fillets, dipped in a light egg-and-flour batter and fried golden. Outside Peru, use small fillets of whiting, sole, haddock or tilapia. The batter here uses sparkling water, not beer, so it is alcohol free. The common mistake is frying in oil that isn't hot enough: the batter drinks the oil and turns greasy, so test with a drop of batter first. Chef's tip: make the salsa criolla first and let the onion sit in lime for ten minutes; it softens its bite and turns a pretty pink.

25 minPeruvianFish
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Salpicón de aveCold chicken salad

Salpicón de ave is the cold supper of Argentine summers, made in Buenos Aires flats and on estancias alike when it is too hot to cook much, and a favourite way to use the chicken from a puchero or Sunday roast. Shredded chicken is mixed with diced pepper, tomato, spring onion, sweetcorn and boiled egg, bound with mayonnaise sharpened with lemon and mustard, and served chilled with crusty bread or on lettuce. The common mistake is dressing it while the chicken is still hot, which melts the mayonnaise into an oily puddle; let everything cool first. Chef's tip: dress the chicken with the lemon juice and a pinch of salt before the mayonnaise goes in, so the meat itself is seasoned, not just its coating.

30 minArgentinianSaladsGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Urap (Javanese vegetables with spiced coconut)

Urap is a Javanese and Balinese side dish served at everyday meals and at slametan gatherings, and it is just as common heaped next to rice and tempeh on a weeknight. Freshly blanched long beans, spinach, cabbage and bean sprouts are tossed with grated coconut that has been steamed with shallot, garlic, chilli and lime leaf, so the vegetables taste bright and the coconut sweet, warm and fragrant. Many cooks add terasi (shrimp paste) to the coconut; this version leaves it out so it stays vegan. The common mistake is mixing the coconut into the vegetables hours ahead, when it turns sour and soggy; toss just before eating. Chef's tip: plunge the vegetables into cold water straight after blanching and squeeze the greens dry, or the dressing will be watery.

25 minIndonesianSaladsVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Roti buayaCrocodile-shaped bread

Crocodiles, to the Betawi people of Jakarta, stand for faithfulness: they are said to take one mate for life. So in a Betawi wedding procession the groom's family carries a pair of roti buaya, a large male crocodile bread and a female one, often with a baby crocodile on her back, alongside the other gifts for the bride. Once the ceremony is over the bread is cut and shared among the guests and neighbours. Old-style roti buaya was plain and firm; today's are soft, lightly sweet milk bread, and some are filled with chocolate or kaya. Eat slices with coffee or sweet tea. Snipping the scales too shallowly is a common slip, since they close up as the dough rises; cut decisively at a steep angle. Chef's tip: shape the crocodile straight on the lined tray and build it from one main log, adding only the legs, so it does not crack apart in the oven.

180 minIndonesianBreads & Parathas
by KrazyBadal 0 views

ChaplasHollow puffed Andean bread

Walk through Ayacucho's central market at seven in the morning and you will see women selling stacks of chaplas from cloth-lined baskets, still warm from the wood-fired ovens of the Andes. These round wheat breads puff up like pita in the fierce heat, leaving a hollow pocket inside a thin, soft, lightly floury crust. In Ayacucho and Huancavelica they are eaten with sweet coffee or hot emoliente for breakfast, or split and filled with queso fresco, avocado or a spoonful of rocoto sauce. Highland bakers traditionally work in a little lard; vegetable shortening gives the same tenderness and keeps the bread vegan. A cool baking tray is the reason chaplas stay flat, so preheat it thoroughly. Chef's tip: let the rolled rounds rest before baking and flip them upside down onto the tray, so the smooth, dry side meets the heat first and the pocket opens evenly.

149 minPeruvianBreads & ParathasVegan
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Bubur merah putih (red and white porridge)

In Java, bubur merah putih is cooked for a baby's naming day, a child's birthday or a new house: a red-brown porridge sweetened with palm sugar and a white one rich with coconut milk, spooned side by side into one bowl. The red is said to stand for courage and the white for purity, and the bowls are shared with neighbours as thanks. The family and older children eat the sweetened red half; it is not for babies under one because of the sugar. Free of milk, egg, gluten, nuts and soya. Chef's tip: tie a pandan leaf in a knot and simmer it in both pots for a gentle vanilla-like scent.

50 minIndonesianDessertsVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Nasi tim ayam for toddlersSteamed chicken and mushroom rice

Nasi tim ayam comes from the Chinese-Indonesian kitchens of Java, and is the meal many Indonesian children eat when they first move on from porridge: rice steamed slowly in a bowl over diced chicken and mushrooms until very soft, then turned out like a little dome. For toddlers the seasoning is just garlic, ginger, a few drops of sesame oil and a little low-salt soy sauce. It contains soya and gluten (soy sauce) and sesame. Chef's tip: use no-salt stock in the rice; it soaks up the flavour of the chicken as it steams.

60 minIndonesianChicken
by KrazyBadal 0 views

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