Deep Fried Spinach Chips

Snacking nowadays is either a must or a guilty pleasure.  Kitchen pantries and refrigerators are usually filled with tons of goodies and ready-to-eat food, compared to one which have to be prepared. This is one of the reasons why we are facing the obesity and hemorrhoid epidemic: over snacking and bad food choices lead to various health problems, both major and minor.

It’s never too late to dispose of those unhealthy foods that will dramatically increase the calorie counter.  Enforcing a healthy lifestyle takes a lot of discipline, time, and commitment on your part.  Though the road ahead seems tough, it doesn’t mean you can’t munch on extremely tasty and healthy snacks. Deep fried spinach chips is only an example.

Crispy deep fried spinach chips are  delicious and healthy snack dish.  Although this favorite of Popeye’s doesn’t exactly give you anchor-strong muscles, a hundred grams of the stuff guarantees a steady amount of vitamin A, dietary fiber, and calcium, making it healthy snack. It is also relatively easy to prepare. Prepare some freshly cut leaves, dip them in flour batter and deep fry until golden brown and crisp. 

These chips are rather famous in Indonesia.  As for the taste, they taste like regular potato chips.  Really a scrumptious snack.  If you want more flavor, prepare a cheese or sour cream dip, or any of your favorite dipping sauce.  The dish should serve immediately after frying to preserve the crunchiness, but it stays crispy for a few days in an airtight container.

Deep Fried Spinach Chips

For recipe in Indonesian, click HERE

Ingredients:

·         2 bunches of fresh spinach, trimmed and rinse

·         200g rice flour

·         3 tablespoons tapioca flour

·         1 cup thin coconut milk

·         A dash of salt

·         Vegetable oil

·         50 ml water

To grind coarsely in a blender

·         4 shallots

·         5 garlic cloves

·         8 candlenuts

·         ½ teaspoon coriander

·         ½ teaspoon cumin

·         1 inch turmeric

Directions:

1.       Pat dry the separated spinach leaves, set aside.

2.       Grind coarsely the spices with about 5 tablespoons of water.

3.       Place the flour in a large bowl. Mix in the coarsely grinded spices, coconut milk, and salt. Add in an additional of 50 ml water. The batter should not be too thick or too watery either,  enough to cover the spinach leaf.  Check the salt and add more if necessary. Set aside for about 10 minutes.

4.       Dip one spinach leaf at a time and deep fry in medium hot oil until crisp and golden brown. Turn occasionally.

5.       Drain excess oil on a paper towel. Serve immediately.

Bahasa Indonesia

Bahan:

·         2 ikat daun bayam segar, cuci dan bersihkan

·         200g tepung beras

·         3 tablespoons tepung tapioka

·         1 cup santan encer

·         Sedikit garam

·         Minyak sayur

·         50 ml air

Bumbu halus

·         4 siung bawang merah

·         5 siung bawang putih

·         8 butir kemiri

·         ½ sdt ketumbar

·         ½ sdt jinten

·         1 inch kunyit

Cara:

1.       Keringkan daun bayam yang sudah dicuci, sisihkan.  

2.       Giling semua bumbu  dengan 5 sdm air sampai halus.

3.       Tambahkan bumbu halus ke dalam campuran tepung beras dan tepung tapioka.  Tuang santan dan beri sedikit garam. Tuang 50 ml air sedikit demi sedikit sambil diaduk sampai adonan tidak menggumpal dan sedikit encer. Tambahkan lagi garam bila perlu. Biarkan selama 10 menit.

4.       Celup daun bayam ke dalam adonan dan goreng dalam minyak panas-sedang sampai tepung berwana kuning kecoklatan.

5.       Angkat dan tiriskan.  Sajikan selagi hangat. 

Gemblong (Indonesian Caramel-coated Sticky Rice Cake)

Gemblong  /gem-blong/ is a kind of traditional Indonesian cake that belongs to the group of ‘market munchies’ (Indonesian = jajanan pasar). It is made from glutinous rice flour, which is kneaded until smooth and then shaped into an oval shape and flattened.  Then the shaped dough is deep-fried and coated with palm sugar caramel. This caramel is used to coat the fried cakes and mix them well until all the sugar in the caramel becomes cooled, which then gives crusted textured coat on the cakes.

This cake is very popular among the people of Sundanese, Javanese, and Betawi (Jakarta today). However, it is not known clearly from which area the cake is originated.  In the area of ​​East Java and Central Java, gemblong is known as “getas”.  Although the taste is quite similar, getas is made from black rice flour with white sugar coating, while gemblong is made of white sticky rice flour with palm sugar coating. Fried sticky rice cake that has not been coated with palm sugar can also be eaten right away. It's savory and tasty. I even ate 3-4 plain cakes during the process of making this gemblong.

Traditional cakes like gemblong are usually made from fresh ingredients.  Gemblong itself is quite favored by many because of its good taste, the ingredients are easy to find, as well as the making process.  You can find gemblong in any traditional markets, and you know what? It’s very cheap. With only Rp 2,000 you can already buy this cake and enjoy the sweet-savory sensation while eating it.

Gemblong (Indonesian Caramel-coated Sticky Rice Cake)

For recipe in Indonesian, click HERE

Ingredients:

·         200g glutinous/sticky rice flour

·         100g grated fresh coconut (long thread is fine) (I use 50g)

·         125 ml warm thin coconut milk

·         ½ teaspoon salt

·         Vegetable oil for frying

Caramel coating:

·         150g Javanese palm sugar

·         50g sugar

·         25 ml water

·         2 screwpine leaves, tied

Directions:

1.       Combine glutinous rice, flour, grated coconut, and salt in a mixing bowl. Stir in the warm coconut milk gradually and mix with your hand to get fairly soft, pliable dough.

2.       Knead for a few minutes until smooth.  Take about 30g of dough, roll it to make an oval shape and put it to flatten about ½ inch thickness. Continue until all the dough have been shaped.

3.       Deep fry the dough on medium-low heat for about 3-4 minutes, flip once. Remove and drain the excess oil on absorbent paper. Set aside and let cool.

4.       In a non-stick pan,  combine all sugar, water, and screwpine leaves. Bring to a boil and continue stirring until thick and the surface is full of large bubbles.  Lower the heat and add in the fried cakes and toss them fast until the sugar mixture caramelized on cakes. Transfer cakes onto a plate and let them cool until the caramel coating is set.

Bahasa Indonesia

Bahan:

·         200g tepung ketan putih

·         100g kelapa parut (saya memakai 50g)

·         125 ml santan encer hangat

·         ½ sdt garam

·         Minyak

Besta:

·         150g gula Jawa (gula merah)

·         50g gula pasir

·         25 ml air

·         2 lembar daun pandan, simpulkan

Cara:

1.       Campur tepung ketan putih, kelapa parut, dan garam. Aduk rata. Tuangkan santan sedikit demi sedikit sambil diuleni dengan tangan sampai membentuk adonan yang bisa dipulung.

2.       Ambil sedikit adonan (sekitar 30 g), bentuk oval dan pipihkan setebal 1 cm. Lakukan sampai semua adonan habis.

3.       Goreng dalam minyak yang banyak dengan api kecil-sedang sekitar 3-4 menit sampai matang. Angkat dan tiriskan untuk menghilangkan kelebihan minyak.

4.       Untuk membuat besta: panaskan gula merah, gula pasir, air dan daun pandan dengan api kecil sambil terus diaduk sampai kental, berbusa, dan berserabut.  Masukkan gemblong yang sudah digoreng.  Aduk cepat sampai gemblong terbalur besta gula. Angkat dan biarkan dingin sampai gula mengering.

Spinach Frittata

Acoording to Wiki, frittata is an egg-based Italian dish similar to an omelette or crustless quiche, enriched with additional ingredients such as meats, cheeses, vegetables, or pasta.  The word ‘frittata’ is Italian (friggere) means ‘fried’.

There is always at least one optional ingredient in a frittata and such ingredients are combined with the beaten egg mixture while the eggs a still raw rather than being laid over the mostly-cooked egg mixture before it is folded, as in conventional omelette.  Eggs for frittata may be beaten vigorously to incorporate more air than traditional savory omelette, to allow a deeper filling and a fluffier result.

The mixture is cooked over a very low heat, more slowly than an omelette, for at leas 5 minutes, typically 15, until the underside is set but the top is still runny.  The partly cooked frittata is not folded to enclose its contents, like an omelette, but it is instead either turned over in full, or grilled briefly under an intense salamander to set the top layer or baked for around 5 minutes.

It’s a nice and easy breakfast/brunch for the family.  Simple way to make breakfast when you don’t have much time to cook. Comes out perfect every time. Don’t be afraid to just eyeball or replace the ingredients.  Mine today was made with spinach, onions, scallions, sausages, and two cheeses (Parmesan and goat cheese).  Delicious and a great way to clean out your fridge for the weekend shopping.

It was easy, amazingly quick, and elegant.  Preparation may take a little while, but you can prepare everything ahead of time, clean up, and then throw it together with little or no effort. It was a big hit with my kid and it’s a nice change of pace from ordinary scrambled eggs and toast. 

Spinach Frittata

For recipe in Indonsian, click HERE

Ingredients:

·         1 lb spinach leaves (about 2 bunches), thoroughly cleaned (or you can use frozen spinach)

·         1 medium onion, chopped

·         1 large clove garlic, minced (about one cup)

·         ½ cup sausage, sliced

·         2 tbsp diced tomatoes

·         8 eggs

·         2 tbsp scallion, chopped

·         ¼ cup milk

·         1/3 cup grated Parmesan Cheese

·         3 oz goat cheese

·         Pinch of salt

·         Freshly ground black pepper

·         Italian seasoning

·         2 tbsp olive oil

Directions:

1.       Preheat oven to 400 degree F (220 degree C).

2.       Cook spinach in boiled water in a covered saucepan until just wilted, a couple minutes.  Drain water and rinse with cold water to cool. Wrap the spinach in paper towels and squeeze out as much moisture as you can. Chopped the spinach and set aside. If you use frozen spinach, use about 6 ounces.  Defrost it and squeeze out most of the moisture with paper towels

3.       In a mixing bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, and Parmesan cheese.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Set aside.

4.       Sauté onions in olive oil in an oven-proof, stick-free skillet, until translucent, about 4-5 minutes on medium heat.  Add the garlic and cook a minute further.  Add in sausages, chopped tomatoes, and chopped scallion. Mix the cooked, chopped spinach in with the onions.

5.       Spread out the spinach mixture evenly on bottom of skillet.  Pour egg mixture over spinach mixture.  Use a spatula to lift up the spinach mixture along the sides of the pan to let egg mixture low underneath.

6.       Sprinkle bits of goat cheese and Italian seasoning over the top of the frittata mixture.  When the mixture is about half set, put the whole pan in the oven.  Bake for 13-15 minutes, until frittata is puffy and golden.  Remove from ove with oven mitts and let cool for several minutes.  Cut into squares to serve.

Bahasa Indonesia

Bahan:

·         450 gram daun bayam (sekitar 2 ikat), cuci bersih (atau bisa juga menggunakan daun bayam beku)

·         1 bawang bombay, cincang kasar (Sekitar 1 cup)

·         1 siung bawang putih, cincang halus

·         ½ cup sosis, iris tipis

·         2 sdm tomat, potong dadu

·         8 butir telur

·         2 sdm daun bawang iris

·         ¼ cup susu

·         1/3 cup keju Parmesan parut

·         85 gr keju kambing

·         Sedikit garam untuk perisa

·         Merica hitam bubuk

·         2 sdm minyak zaitun

Cara:

1.       Panaskan oven dengan suhu 400 derajat F (200 derajat C).

2.       Rebus daun bayam dalam panci tertutup sampai layu, hanya beberapa menit.  Angkat dan tiriskan. Bungkus dengan tissue makan dan remas agar sisa cairan terbuang.  Iris kasar dan sisihkan.  Jika menggunakan daun bayam beku, gunakan sebanyak 170 gram. Defrost dengan menggunakan microwave, bungkus dengan kertas tisu dan remas untuk menghilangkan sisa cairan.

3.       Dalam mangkuk besar, kocok telur, susu, dan keju Parmesan parut.   Beri garam dan merica.  Sisihkan.

4.       Tumis  bawang bombay dengan minyak zaitun dalam wajan oven-proof dengan api sedang sekitar 4-5 menit.  Masukkan bawang putih dan masak lagi selama satu menit.  Tambahkan sosis, tomat, dan daun bawang. Masukkan irisan daun bayam yang sudah direbus.  Aduk rata.

5.       Ratakan campuran bayam ke seluruh permukaan wajan. Tuang campuran telur di atas bayam. Dengan menggunakan spatula, angkat bayam perlahan agar campuran telur menyebar di bawah adonan bayam.

6.       Tambahkan keju kambing dan taburkan Italian seasoning di atas adonan frittata.  Masak hingga setengah matang. Angkat dan masukkan wajan ke dalam oven.  Panggang selama 13-15 menit sampai frittata mengembang dan berwarna keemasan.  Keluarkan dari oven dan biarkan dingin selama beberapa menit.