Issue 20The Indonesian Cook

COLUMNIST: DINA WATT
The Indonesian CookAt this time of year, I love to use spices such as chilli, garlic, and herbs to make dishes comforting. In this issue, I am pairing these flavourful spices with humble swede and sweetcorn, to make a combination of flavours which, I promise, will tantalise your taste buds.

Recipe 1: Swede Gnocchi Asian Style – serves 4
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What you need:

1 large swede, peeled, and cut into chunks

2 large floury potatoes, peeled, and cut into chunks

100gr flour just for dusting

1 tablespoon of butter

3 tablespoons of olive oil

2-3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped

1 tablespoon of soya sauce

1 red Thai chilli depending on your personal preference

A small bowl of chopped coriander leaves

Salt and black pepper

How to make it: Note: In this recipe, we are going to boil the moulded dough. Once boiled, we need to fry it with a bit of butter.
Preheat oven to 200℃. Drizzle the swede and potato chunks with 2 tablespoons of olive oil, season, and roast for about 45 minutes or until they have softened. Leave to cool then blend them (preferably with a food processor) until they have formed a sticky dough.
Prepare a large pot of salted water and bring it to the boil to cook gnocchi later. While waiting for the water to boil, divide the sticky dough into 4 portions (don’t forget to dust your hands with flour to make it non-sticky). Roll each portion into a sausage of around 1cm in diameter. Using the back of a table knife, cut into pieces 2.5cm in length.
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The third step is to boil the gnocchi dough which will only take around 30 seconds - usually they rise to the surface to indicate that they are ready to be taken out.
The last step is to prepare a pan to lightly fry the gnocchi. Over a medium heat, heat the butter and 1 tablespoon of olive oil, then add the chopped garlic, chilli, and coriander leaves. Once the garlic has browned, place the gnocchi into the pan, seasoning well with salt, pepper, and a dash of soya sauce. Fry the gnocchi for 2-3 minutes on each side until browned.
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Garnish with coriander leaves, spring onions, or chilli flakes if you like.
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Recipe 2 : Chicken and Sweetcorn Nasi Goreng
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What you need:

2 eggs beaten, fried, and sliced sideways then put aside, you will only need them at the end

3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped

Half an onion, finely sliced

1 carrot chopped into little cubes (optional)

Half a chicken stock cube/ ½ teaspoon of chicken bouillon

A bowl of leftover/cold rice – this is to avoid having a sticky Nasi Goreng

1 medium bowl of sweetcorn kernels

150gr of shredded, cooked chicken meat (breast or thigh)

3 tablespoons of vegetable/sunflower oil

2-3 tablespoons of light soya sauce

A pinch of salt and pepper

3 spring onions – finely chopped

1 tomato – for garnishing

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How to make it: In a wok or pan, heat the oil, and add the chopped garlic and onion. Once they have turned brown, add the shredded chicken and sweetcorn kernels and cook for about 5 minutes.
Then add the chicken stock cube (just crush it or dilute in a very small amount of water). Mix them all well.
Turn the heat down, add the rice and mix well until all rice is evenly covered with the soya sauce (soya sauce is already salty, so just add a little pinch of salt and pepper, I prefer white pepper for this dish).
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When everything is well covered and cooked, switch off the heat, add the spring onions and give them a quick stir and serve - don’t forget to add the fried eggs on top.
Leave some spring onions for garnishing. I also like to garnish with sliced tomato and sometimes cucumbers.
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Dina Watt ProfileDina Watt grew up in Bandung, West-Java, Indonesia, and now living in Aberdeenshire, she is known as The Indonesian Cook. Dina's love of nature and gardening fuels her passion for cooking. In her column, Dina shares her own adventurous recipes for delicious home cooked meals that are easy to make, mostly using homegrown, seasonal fruits and vegetables from her own kitchen garden. She is passionate about using every bit of the plant in order to practice zero-waste principles.
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