Asinan

Asinan
Fresh Salad with a tanggy dressing

A famous Jakarta dish that is more asin (sour) than rujak, and uses vegetables as opposed to fruits. Try adding any salad veggies you like.

¼ lb egg noddles
½ lb tofu, cubed
½ cup vinegar
1 cup long beans
1 cup thinly sliced cabbage
1 cup thinly sliced cabbage
1 cup bean sprouts
1 cucumber, sliced 8 cherry tomatoes, sliced
4 krupuk (crackers)

Bumbu:
2 tbs ebi (dried shrimp)
¼ cup roasted peanuts
2 chili peppers
2 tbs palm sugar
1 tsp salt

• Boil the egg noodles with a little salt until soft (about 8 minutes). Drain and rinse.
• Grind the bumbu and mix with the vinegar.
• Toss the noodles with the vegetables and tofu. Toss in few extra peanuts whole. Serve in individual bowls with krupuk crushed up on top.

Rujak

Rujak
Sweet, Sour, and hot Fruit Salad

Innocent sweet and tart fuits corrupted by a wicked bumbu.

4 tbs tamarind water
½ cup sliced cucumber
½ cup sliced papaya
½ cup sliced pineaple
Other assorted tart or sweet fruits
1 tbs lime juice

Bumbu:
6 chili peppers
¼ tsp terasi (shrimp paste)
1 pinch salt
2 tbs palm sugar

• Grind the bumbu and combine with tamarind water.
• Combine fruit with bumbu dressing and toss.
• Move to individual serving bowls, squeezing some fresh lime over the top before serving.

Gado-gado

Gado-gado
Steamed Veggies with Peanut Sauce

The most common veggies are listed here, but you can improvise with any others. The real secret is in the peanut dressing (bumbu gado-gado).

¼ lb fried tofu
2 medium potatoes, boiled
¼ lblong beans
¼ lb bean sprouts
1 cucumber
¼ lbcabbage
½ cup bumbu gado-gado with rice or lontong
¼ lemon
2 tbs fried onion flakes
2 krupuk (crackers)
2 hard-boiled eggs, sliced

• Fry tofu and boil the potato.
• Slice the potato and veggies into bite-sized pieces. Blanch the veggies in boiling water for 30 seconds.
• Toss all the veggies with the peanut bumbu.
• Pile the gado-gado on a base of white rice or lontong. Add a squeeze of fresh lemon, some fried onion flakes, sliced egg, and a crunched-up krupuk.