Charcoal Mung Bean Buns 竹炭豆蓉包子

Recipe created in 2013

Few years back, baking with bamboo charcoal was popular. A lot of people were baking bread with bamboo charcoal powder, creating black loaves or zebra looking loaves. Bamboo charcoal does not impart flavour to the bake, but there is a mild difference in texture. I have no idea whether this is activated or non activated bamboo charcoal powder because it's not stated on the bottle it came with.

Zucchini and Sweet Potato Slice (video)

I bought one huge zucchini. As thick as my lower arm, weighing around 700gm. Lol, so big. But I took one of the smaller ones. There are some as thick as my biceps.

I saw this recipe, which is a bit like a frittata but using flour as the filler. Maybe something like a large savoury eggy clafoutis.

Nasi Liwet Solo Komplit

Nasi Liwet Solo is a famous coconut rice dish in Surakarta, Central Java, also known as Solo.

There are two types of nasi liwet in Indonesia, one is Nasi Liwet Solo and the other is Nasi Liwet Sunda, of which is popular in Bandung.

Nasi Liwet Solo Komplit is Nasi Liwet with all the works, namely Ingkung Ayam (Coconut Chicken Stew), Labu Siam (Chayote in Spicy Coconut Gravy), Telur Pindang (Stewed Eggs) and Areh Telur (Coconut custard). It's a very filling and rich meal, with lots of eggs and coconut.

Ingkung Ayam ~ Indonesian Chicken Coconut Milk Stew

Ingkung Ayam is a chicken stew popular in Central Java. White coconuty chicken stew that has hints of aromatics but it wasn't spicy at all.

The recipe I cooked wasn't as complicated as the version in Jogya, but it came together with Nasi Liwet Solo's recipe.

Serve the chicken in large pieces or tear it into strips to serve in Nasi Liwet Solo.

Durian Cheesecake

My second daughter Lyanne is a durian monster. She's a very picky girl who loves plain rice and anything carbo but hates meat and vegetables. She isn't an adventurous eater but surprisingly, she loves durian. Love is an understatement. She's mad about durians. Durians aren't available all the time and when it's durian season, she will be pestering her grandpa to get her durians and he will gladly scour the town and get her the best that he can find.