Eggplant Balado

I often get asked by people if I know how to cook Indonesian. I said, I probably don't. The thing is, it takes hours to prepare Indonesian food, and some of the ingredients are not even available here. On top of that, I really am a lazy cook and most of the time I rely so much on the pre-packed spices that I can easily get from the Asian groceries...

This one though, Eggplant Balado, is possibly the easiest Indonesian food to cook from scratch, and it really is one of my favourite. And even better,  this sauce is only made from shallots, garlic, red chillies, a bit of ginger, lime leaves, and tomatoes. It's so simple yet, it's so full of flavour, it's sweet, it's a little bit spicy and sour at the same time. Not to forget, the lime leaves make it really fragrant too. And of course there's a million other variations to this sauce, but for now, I'd like to keep it simple and affordable, trust me these simple ingredients are more than enough to make a beautiful dish...

I used char-grilled eggplant here because I love the texture and the distinct flavour. There's something about the slight bitterness of the eggplants that work really well with the spices. But if you're not a fan of eggplant, you can always cook it with deep-fried fish, chicken, prawns, hard-boiled eggs, and many other things you can think of.

This is all I need to get from the supermarket;

4 red chillies (big long ones. Don't worry it's not that spicy)
2 shallots
2 medium size tomatoes.
tiny bit of ginger, around the size of a teaspoon.
A large eggplant, cut into long strips, about 1.5 cm thick.

And I've got in my pantry;
4 cloves of garlic
2 lime leaves.
some oil
salt and sugar to taste.

Now, here is how you cook it;
1. Using a blender or food processor, blitz the chillies, shallots, garlic, and ginger into paste. Stir fry it on a frying pan with a little bit of oil, on medium heat, for a few 2 to 3 minutes until it becomes more fragrant.
2. Blitz the tomatoes and add into the pan. Cook for another 5 minutes.
3. Add in the lime leaves, and a glass of water, turn the heat to low. Cook for 30 minutes, and let it reduce until it turns into pure'e. You might need to add some water if it becomes too dry. And add some salt and about 2 teaspoon of sugar to taste.
4. Meanwhile, place the eggplant strips on a plate and sprinkle with some salt. This would draw the bitter liquid out of it. Use paper towel to dry it.
5. Brush eggplant with oil or you can use oil spray if you have it.
6. Cook on char-grill pan for around 3 minutes on each side, or until it's half cook.
7. Once your Balado sauce is ready, add in the eggplant and cook until it softens. And that's all, serve it with rice.

I calculated how much I spent on this; 80 cents for the chillies, $2.50 for the eggplant, 40 cents for the shallots, 30 cents for the ginger, and $1.80 for the tomatoes. That all adds up to $5.80, and makes 2 meal... I've still got some sauce leftover, I'm gonna keep it a jar and store it in the fridge. I'm gonna use it to cook with hard-boiled eggs sometimes this week... Yummm...

Vegetarian Dish - Shauna's Special Rice

I've been feeling like I've eaten too much meat lately. I mean, did you ever feel like you crave for that yummy and guilt-free food? I personally enjoy a lot of guilty pleasure food, you know, like fatty and fried food. But every now and then I want something healthy too. And this one here is a recipe from my friend, Shauna. Trust me, it is super simple, super cheap, and it tastes super too! I tried cooking it today and I had 2 bowls within a few hours.

These are the ingredients for 2 serve;

- 1 cup of brown rice

- about 1 teaspoon of crushed garlic

- half brown onion, finely chopped

- about a cup of pumpkin, cut finely

- 2 carrots, grated.

- half a handful of parsley, finely chopped.

- a little bit of oil

- a teaspoon of vegetable stock powder

I only had to spend around $5 for the ingredients. I just had to buy pumpkin, which cost me $3 and I actually only need half of it, and 2 carrots that cost me 40 cents, brown rice $2 a pack. I already have everything else at home. So, that's about not even $4 per serve.

And this is all you have to do,

1. Brown the chopped onion and crushed garlic with a little bit of oil until softened. Then add in the pumpkin and grated carrots cook it for a few minutes until they start to soften.

2. Add the stock powder, and chopped parsley, cook for another minute.

3. Place the brown rice and 2 cups (or a little bit more if you're cooking with extra vegetables) of water in a saucer pan, cook with medium heat until the water starts to boil.

4. Add in the vegetables, and cook on low heat and covered for 30 minutes. Stir occasionally.

5. Turn off the heat, and let it sit for 20 minutes. (Shauna said this will make the rice fluffy, and she's right. I never knew this trick before). And that's it.

You would love this recipe, I promise. I love the flavour of the pumpkin and the carrots together with the  fluffy texture of the rice, it's brilliant. Shauna actually suggested to serve this with parmesan cheese or steamed green beans, but to me it's perfect just by itself. Hmmm... for once I get to pig out on something yummy and I don't have to feel guilty about it...

Just a Little Thought

I thought of this the other day. The simplest way to make a meal cheaper;

- add more vegetables.
- add more stock.
- serve with rice or pasta.

yes? no?

Relapse

Right, bad news... I only ended up saving $300 in the past 2 weeks... I guess it's not bad, and it's better than nothing.

Sometimes it's hard not to eat out when you live in Melbourne, isn't it? I mean, there are sooo many good places to eat out! And I'm not saying they're expensive either, but they're certainly not helping me and my super tight budget. You know, I can't help it sometimes, I love good food, so it's almost like a relapse...

Anyway, I'm not giving up my New York dream, so I guess I just need to try harder. And yeah, wish me luck :)

Sardines On Toast

For some reason I don't think many Australians like sardines... but I might be wrong. I mean, I hope I'm wrong because I think it's yummy! I remember when I was little my Mom used to make me and my sister this sardines cooked with chopped tomatoes and chillies whenever she's busy and our helpers were away. So each time I go to supermarket and walk pass the canned fish section I can't help thinking about getting some sardines.

Now, I had some leftover sourdough bread at home, and I bought a canned portuguese sardines, I can't remember exactly how much I got it for, but I think it was less than $2.

I normally mix seeded sliced chillies, and finely chopped shallot with the sardines but I got this sardines with spicy oil, so I didn't use any chillies. I only add some chopped shallot in the sardines and mashed them, and spread them on my bread.

Then in to the pre-heated oven, 160 degrees for at least 5 minutes. Some days I like the bread crunchier, so I toast it for longer but this time 5 minutes is just perfect. Drizzle with a bit of lemon juice. I love it, so simple. I can have this for lunch or snacks anytime...

It's Just Tuna Sandwich

It's not a recipe, it's just a little note.

I've been smoking less lately, 4 cigarette a day, and that's not bad, right? I guess that somehow counts. And tonight I was craving for a tuna sandwich. I don't think anyone needs a recipe for this. It's just bread and tuna and cheese and anything else you want in it?

I like good bread though, and good cheese. Oh, and I had it lightly toasted. Yum...

My Favourite Guilty Pleasure, Spaghettini Carbonara

I actually cooked this 2 days ago, but I wasn't feeling well, so I didn't post it. But anyway this dish is by faaaaar my favourite guilty pleasure food ever (part of it because I really shouldn't have bacon and pork, for a religious reason! But don't tell anyone).

I love the creamy-ness of the sauce from the grated parmesan and eggs, and I'm sure if you like bacon and eggs you would love this dish because it's basically like bacon, cheese and eggs on spaghettini. If you prefer another type of pasta, I would recommend small pasta just because it is easier to mix it.

Ok you would need;
- 2 slices of middle bacon, cut into small pieces
- 1 free range egg, beat it.
- around 1/4 cup (or more if you like them extra cheesy) of finely grated parmesan cheese. I would recommend good quality cheese, trust me, it's worth buying. I'm on budget so I bought some from Victoria Market deli, it's good and cheap, it's about $3 to $4.
- 3 serves of spaghettini.
- chopped parsley to garnish (optional)
You can easily get all the ingredients for under $8.

All you have to do;
1. Cook pasta in boiling water with some salt.
2. At the same time, cook the bacon pieces with a little bit of olive oil. The goal is to have the pasta ready  around the same time the bacon is cooked. I like the bacon pieces slightly crunchy. I like the contrasting texture of the pasta and the crunchy bacon.
3. When the pasta is al dente, drain it and then pour the bacon bits with all the grease to the pasta. Make sure you do it straight away, you need to do all this step when the pasta and the bacon are still hot.
4. Add in the beaten eggs and stir well for a few second, and sprinkle the parmesan cheese, and stir thoroughly.
5. Add chopped parsley to garnish.

You would see how you actually don't need any cream for this dish. The combination of the egg and cheese and the heat of the pasta makes the creamy sauce. It's so simple and of course, cheap. I normally have this dish on saturday night when I don't feel like going out. I'd just stay in, cook this (preferably home alone and not having to share with anyone),  have it with a glass of red, while watching tv. And don't even worry about the carbs :) Yes, that would be the best guilty pleasure food, trust me.

Sick Again, Soup Again.

I'm sick again! F*ck. So soup again. This time is a little bit too lazy, and less homey than what I would prefer. But still turned out alright for a sick food. It's just chicken soup with carrots and potatoes and leeks.

I went to Victoria Market for grocery shopping, and bought;
- 2 carrots
- 3 potatoes
- 3 chicken thigh fillets
- 1 leek

And I've got some at home:
- 1 teaspoon garlic paste (or crushed garlic, I'm sick I can't be bothered)
- salt, pepper, sugar to taste.
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste.

And (cough) this is how I cooked it (cough);
1. Cut all ingredients into chunky pieces, brown the chicken fillets, and add 1.5 liter of water, and wait until it boils.
2. Add all ingredients, and cook for as long as you like. I cooked it for 1 hour on low heat, covered.

That's all... I need to rest. I'm posting my favourite guilty pleasure Spaghettini Carbonara that I cooked yesterday, when I get better. So hopefully I'll get better soon.

So Far...

Just to let everyone know, I've saved $400 in the past 2 weeks from eating cheap hahaha. And I've still managed to pay my rent and bills and go out too! Honestly I'd like to save $500 every fortnight, so I gotta try a little harder next time. Wish me luck.