Indo Info

This week’s spotlight is on… THE MIDDLES

Our big idea is : Trying new foods can be an exciting adventure.

As well as learning how to make different Indonesian foods, we learn about its cultural significance, make connections to our own cultures, and become familiar with some new ingredients.

Here is a good recipe for klepon: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/C6pcnZVVp5c

English version:

N.B. Confusingly, glutenous rice does not actually contain gluten!

KLEPON RECIPE

Indonesian glutinous rice balls with palm sugar and coconut

Ingredients

Method

1. Prepare the coconut: Mix the grated coconut with salt, place the pandan leaves on top, and steam for 15–20 minutes. Set aside.

2. Prepare the filling: Grate or finely chop the palm sugar and shape into small pieces or balls of around 3–4 g each.

3. Make the dough: In a pan, combine the water, rice flour, sugar and pandan flavour. Cook while stirring until the mixture thickens. Add this mixture to the glutinous rice flour and knead until smooth.

4. Portion the dough: Divide into pieces of around 12–15 g each. Keep covered so the dough does not dry out.

5. Shape: Flatten each piece, place the palm sugar in the centre, close the dough around it, and roll into a ball.

6. Cook: Cook the klepon in gently simmering water over low-medium heat until they float and are fully cooked.

7. Coat and serve: Drain, then roll the warm klepon in the steamed grated coconut. Serve.

Each food we taste we record in our tasting diaries, stating when we ate or drank it, whether or not we liked it and importantly WHY we did or didn’t like it.

MEB are a few lessons ahead, but the rest of us will be trying nasi kuning this week. This is a turmeric and coconut rice popular at celebrations. You can find many different recipes for this online. We have tried kerupuk and soda gembira, and MEB have already finished off this learning cycle with Jamu; ancient Javanese herbal medicine that is starting to become popular in Western cultures: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zf0cSeLPnZY

There are many different types of Indonesian cafes, restaurants and even a gelati shop around Melbourne – I hope you enjoy your own exciting food adventures trying some of them out! Or, try some cooking yourself. A popular sweet snack we didn’t have time to make in class, I did a video for in remote learning; it’s designed for kids to follow along with but with adult supervision (highly recommend viewing sped up!): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cqYvn3WkQvk

And a professional one in Indonesian: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eQAmRHaOH9I

Selamat liburan dan selamat masak! (Happy holidays and enjoy cooking!)

Ibu Kas