Indonesian Javanese Gado-Gado, Veganized

Veganized Javanese Gado-Gado without the sauce: steamed kale, cabbage, green beans, bean sprouts, underneath.  Topped with steamed sliced potatoes, baked seasoned tofu, baked seasoned tempeh, fresh tomatoes, and fresh cucumber slices.

The peanut Gado-Gado sauce

Summer is almost here!  I am craving salad type of dish and dishes that I don't need to spend a lot of time in the kitchen.  I've been thinking about blogging Gado-Gado for a while now.  Finally!  Here it is!

Gado-gado is an Indonesian Javanese salad consisted of boiled or steamed vegetable served with peanut sauce.  It is a complete meal and usually served with lontong or ketupat (Indonesian rice cake) but it can be served without it.  I believe that it is also gluten-free.  When the salad ingredients are combined with the sauce, it looks like this one below.  It is so delicious eaten with the garlic tapioca chips or kerupuk (the chips on the right side behind the salad)  or emping (the yellowish chips on the left side behind the salad).

During college days, I worked in an Indonesian restaurant and my job was making gado-gado sauce.  The restaurant cut corner by using creamy peanut butter (like Jif or Skippy) and then added hot water, sambal, brown sugar, and some minced garlic.  In my opinion, it was disgusting to do it that way and that it was not authentic but since it is not my restaurant I just did what I was told to do.  Customers liked it but they didn't know any better.  It is not how I make it at home obviously.  Sometimes I bought a packaged imported gado-gado sauce from Asian markets but the best is to make the sauce from scratch at home.

Peanut Sauce:
The peanut sauce is the key to this salad.  I like to use roasted peanuts and blend it using a Vitamix or a food processor with the other spices and herbs added to it.  Although, if you want it easier and if you don't have a high speed blender, you can use Natural Peanut Butter(such as Natural Crunchy Peanut Butter from Trader Joe's), make sure that the ingredients are just peanuts and salt, not the one that has other ingredients in it like oil, sugar, etc.  I usually buy Trader Joe's Lightly Salted Peanuts.

 I also use my own sambal that has no shrimp paste in it.  However, you can also use sambal oelek which has no shrimp paste for an easier way.  I will be adding sugar, salt, tamarind juice, lime juice, etc.  but this way I can control the amount of sugar and salt.  If I use a store-bought peanut butter that has sugar in it, I am pretty much stuck with the amount of sugar so I prefer not to.  DH doesn't like sweet food and pretty much doesn't like peanut sauce made from store-bought peanut butter.  He said that the Indonesian peanut sauce is too sweet.  He likes my peanut sauce because I make it not too sweet and a bit on the sweet sour side with lime and lemon juice added to it.


Vegetables:
All kinds of vegetables that are good being steamed will be good for this salad.  However, the traditional vegetables are long beans or green beans, cabbage, bean sprouts, spinach, and potato.  I also like to steam the vegetables instead of boiling them.  Fresh vegetable such as tomatoes and cucumbers are great additions too.

Protein:
The traditional gado-gado also uses boiled eggs which I don't use.  The traditional way also use fried tempeh and/or tofu.  I use baked tempeh and tofu.

Indonesian Javanese Gado-Gado
Serve 6-8
Printable Recipe

Accompaniments:
Garlic tapioca crackers/chips or kerupuk
Emping (padi oats crackers/chips)
Fried Shallots, optional

Vegetables:
3-4 cups cabbage, cut into bite pieces
3-4 cups kale, cut into bite pieces
3-4 cups green beans, cut into bite pieces
3-4 cups bean sprouts
3 potatoes, each cut into 3
2 tomatoes, sliced
2 cucumbers, sliced

1. Steam cabbage, kale, green beans, separately on a vegetable steamer or basket for 7 minutes each.  Prepare a bowl of ice water.  After each vegetable is steamed, immerse into the bowl of ice water to stop cooking.  This way the vegetable will stay bright green and still a bit crunchy.
2. Steam bean sprouts for 5 minutes and immerse into a bowl of ice water similar to step 1.
3. Steam potatoes for 15-20 minutes until tender but still firm.  Let them cool and then peel. Then slice into bite pieces.

Baked Tofu and/or Tempeh(store bought baked tofu can be used instead):
1 to 1 1/2 lb. extra-firm tofu
3/4 to 1 cup water
1/4 cup dark Superior brand mushroom soy sauce
Note: regular soy sauce will do but this dark mushroom soy sauce is my preference. It makes the baked tofu dark chocolate brown but the inside is light cream color. Pretty and delicious!
2 tablespoon maple syrup or organic molasses
1 teaspoon hickory liquid smoke, optional for this recipe

1. Slice tofu or tempeh about 1/3-inch thick lengthwise. Mix the rest of the ingredients in a plastic container with tight lid in which you can soak all of the tofu or tempeh slices in this marinade sauce. Marinate the tofu slices for 24 hours in refrigerator.
2.  Bake drained marinated tofu or tempeh slices on an oiled cookie sheets for 10- 12 minutes in 400 F oven. Flip and bake the other side about another 10-12 minutes. Let them cool before use.

Peanut Sauce:
Printable Recipe
1 1/2 cups lightly salted roasted peanuts
1 1/4 cup light coconut milk
4 garlic cloves
5 shallots cloves
4 Tbsp. palm sugar or brown sugar
Juice of 1 lime, about 3-4 Tbsp.
3 kaffir lime leaves
1/4 tamarind liquid from soaking dried tamarind paste in warm water
2 Tbsp. sambal oelek, or less for less spicy
1 tsp. salt, or to taste
1 Tbsp. white miso
1 Lemon, optional
1 Tbsp. Kecap Manis, optional

1. Combine roasted peanuts, garlic, shallots, coconut milk, palm or brown sugar, tamarind juice, sambal oelek, salt, and miso in a high speed blender or food processor. Pulse and blend until desired consistency.  Usually, it is the consistency of a gravy.  Some people like a crunchier sauce.  It is a matter of a taste on the consistency.
2.  If food processor or blender is not used and if using natural peanut butter, mince shallots and garlic finely, and then combine with coconut milk, palm or brown sugar, tamarind juice, sambal oelek, salt, and miso in a bowl or a medium size pot until thoroughly blended.
3. Add the kaffir lime leaves, if using, into the sauce
4. Heat the sauce in a medium size pot until it boils, turn down the heat, and then simmer for about 10 minutes.  If the sauce is too thick, add more coconut milk or water.
5. Remove from heat, add the juice of lime, kecap manis,  and squirt 1-2 Tbsp. of lemon juice.  This step is optional to those who likes the sauce sweet.  The amount of sugar can also be adjusted depending on how sweet the sauce to be.  Add more salt if necessary.
6. Let it cool before using and store in the fridge.  When this sauce is cold (refrigerated), it tends to be very thick.  Add warm water or reheat in a pot to thin it out.

Serving:
Gado-gado usually is served in room temperature.  It is a great to prepare this dish ahead of time, store the ingredients separately in the fridge, then assemble just before serving.

1. Combine vegetables in a large salad bowl (including the tomatoes and cucumber).
2. Add peanut sauce and toss together.  Sprinkle with fried shallots.
3. Add garlic crackers/chips (kerupuk) and emping(padi oats crackers) on top or on the side.

Garlic Tapioca Crackers/Chips (Kerupuk)

 

Emping (padi oats crackers/chips)

Vegan Indonesian Sambal Goreng(Curry) with Beyond Meat and Viva La Vegan Grocery

Indonesian Sambal Goreng with Beyond Meat, Potatoes, and other Vegetables

I am posting yet another Indonesian dish.  It has been an Indonesian cuisine fewer at our house lately.  Sambal Goreng (pronounce some-ball go-rang) is a Javanese dish made of sambal (spicy chili condiment) that is stir fried with other herbs and spices for long minutes before coconut milk is added to it. It is a stew curry like Thai panang or red curry.  The traditional ingredients are not vegetarian (except sometimes we use potato)  such as chicken livers, gizzards, etc.  Items that are kind of gross to vegetarians.  Sometimes people use shrimps and fish also.  The Javanese also use terasi or shrimp paste.  Therefore, a vegetarian has to be careful in eating Indonesian curry that has no meat in it since shrimp paste may still be used.

I veganized it without using shrimp paste or meat by using potato, carrots, green beans, and edamame.  I also use miso to replace the shrimp paste.  Tofu and tempeh can also be added to it.  This time I incorporated Beyond Meat just because I just want to try cooking with Beyond Meat.  I love to experiment and try new things.  I am fine with eating tofu and tempeh but I love to venture to other options that are available to vegans.

It was not easy to get my hands to Beyond Meat.  I first heard about it from Phoney Baloney's when they still have their sandwich business.  They made delicious chick'n sandwiches with this product.  For a long time Beyond Meat is not available to retail consumers like me.  Only just recently that it is available in Whole Foods in retail packaging.  However, I didn't buy it from Whole Foods this time.  I bought the 5 lbs. package of unseasoned one from Viva La Vegan Grocery.

It's a long drive for me to get to Viva La Vegan Grocery.  However, it was well worth it.  Not only I was able to shop for vegan stuff WITHOUT LOOKING AND CHECKING INGREDIENTS (how awesome is that?) but I also got to eat at Vegan with Joy (the vegan deli inside this grocery store).  The food at this deli was really good and the grocery was large.  It was an awesome visit to this place.

Now, about this dish.  I use the same herbs I used in making the Vegan Indonesian 'Lamb' Curry but I used less spices and a milder spice, coriander.  I did use fresh chili and controlled the spicyness in my guidance title 'About the level of heat' in this blog.  The dish below looks red and spicy but it is not that hot.

Vegan Indonesian Sambal Goreng (Curry)
Serve 6-8
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:
12 oz. Beyond Meat, Extra Firm Tofu, or Tempeh, cut into cubes
Note:  if using tofu or tempeh, I usually, bake them in the oven until brown and crispy first
2 cups shelled edamame (frozen and then thawed)
2 medium tomatoes (fresh), diced into cubes
1 1/2 cups frozen green beans(thawed)
1 1/2 cups diced carrots  (peeled and diced)
2 cups diced potatoes (peeled and diced)
1-2 tsp. salt
2-3 brown sugar or palm sugar
1-2 tbps. miso
1 cup thick coconut milk
1 cup vegetable broth
2 tsp ground coriander
1/4 cups tamarind water or a few squeezes of lime, optional
Note: soak 1 inch tamarind paste in warm water
Oil for stir frying sambal

Spice paste ingredients:
6 shallot cloves, peeled
5 garlic cloves, peeled
5 candlenuts
3 large dried New Mexico chili
Note:  Soak the dried chili in the 1-2 cups warm water for 10 minutes, remove stem and seeds, drained and reserve the soaking water
3 fresh Thai Chili (green serrano chili), use less for less spicy

Fresh herbs:
2-3 slices fresh ginger
2-3 slices fresh galanga or laos
2 stalks fresh lemongrass (use the white part only), pound them and then slice to 2 inches long
3-4 fresh kaffir lime leaves

Accompaniments:
Fried Shallots or Brambang goreng
Chips (veggie or garlic chips) or garlic krupuk

1. Put all spice paste ingredients into a food processor, mini chopper, or blender.  Grind until it becomes a paste.  Add a little bit of chili soaking water to make it easier to grind.
2. Heat a large pot or wok in medium high temperature.  Add 1-2 tablespoons of oil.  Add the spice paste.  Stir fry the sambal or spice paste for about 10 minutes.  Add a little bit more of chili soaking water if it sticks to the wok or pot.
3. Add all of the fresh herbs ingredients.  Then, stir to combine.
4. Add tofu, tempeh, or Beyond Meat, diced carrots, diced tomatoes, and diced potatoes.  Add miso.  Add 1 cup vegetable broth and more of the chili soaking water until it barely covers the ingredients but not too soupy.
5. Simmer and stir to combine with the spice paste.  Add salt, brown sugar or palm sugar, and the coriander.  Continue simmering and stir frequently about 20 minutes or until carrots and potatoes are done but still firm.  The tomatoes should disintegrate some at this point.
6. Add coconut milk, edamame pods, and green beans.  Taste and add more salt, sugar, and the tamarind water or a few squeezes of lime, if using.   Combine and simmer for another 5-10 minutes.
7. This dish is better served the next day when all the spices and herbs are absorbed to the ingredients.  Before serving, remove all the fresh herbs ingredients out of the curry.
8. Serve on top of steamed rice, sprinkle with fried shallots, and eat with chips on the side.



It's delicious served on top of steamed rice, accoumpanied with chips(krupuk).  Using the chips to scoop rice and curry is a yummy way to eat this dish.



Vegan Indonesian Nasi Goreng (Fried Rice)

Indonesian Nasi Goreng served with Veggie Chips, Slices of Cucumber and Tomato, and Scrambled Tofu

Indonesian fried rice also called Nasi Goreng (Nasi = Rice, Goreng = Fried) is different than any other fried rice.  This Javanese fried rice is usually spicy hot and a bit sweet.  We use Kecap Manis or sweet soy sauce to add the sweetness(Kecap Manis sounds like KEH-chuhp MAH-nees or  similar sound to Ketchup Mayonnaise but there is no ketchup nor mayonnaise in this sauce).  Traditionally, Indonesians eat this dish for breakfast with fried eggs served on top. The fried rice is always made from leftover yesterday's rice.  Any leftover rice usually ends up as fried rice for breakfast the next day (Indonesians eat rice 3 times a day).  This dish can also be found in lunch or dinner menu or at street vendors so it is not really just a breakfast food.  It is usually meaty with chicken and shrimps.  On top of egg, the other accompaniments are usually shrimp chips and cucumber and tomato slices.  These accompaniments will counterbalance the heat of the dish.

Watch this video on how a non-vegetarian Nasi Goreng is made.  The video mentioned that Nasi Goreng is popular in Holland and a part of Dutch food.  This is true since the Dutch conquered Indonesia for hundreds of years and brought this savory hot dish back to their homeland.

In veganizing this dish, I used the following:

Rice
I use white or brown basmati rice (long grain rice is the best for fried rice).  I cooked and put the rice in the fridge the day before or use leftover rice and then break it down with hands (just like in the video).  It is really important to do this before stir frying the rice.

Meat Substitute
I used Gardein, Soy Curls, or Baked Tofu (store bought or home made).  Sometimes, I use vegan shrimp but not always.  I also love adding shelled edamame to it or frozen peas will do too.

Shallots
If you notice, Indonesian food use a lot of shallots.  We prefer to use shallots than onions.  We use a lot of shallots.  In fact, I didn't see brown or white onions until I moved to US.  In Java, we always use shallots for our cooking

Accompaniments
I used scrambled tofu as the egg and veggie chips instead of shrimp chips.  There are Indonesian garlic chips that are available that I could have deep fried just like what they did in the video but I was just too lazy to do the deep frying (make magic as the Chef in the video said).  I used these Veggie Chips (available in Trader Joe) instead.  The chips are great to use to scoop the fried rice.  The crunchiness of the chips combined with sweet hot fried rice, scrambled tofu, and cucumber/tomato slices is pretty yummy!

Sambal
The use of sambal is really important.  Sambal and Kecap Manis are the key to Indonesian fried rice.  I love to make this fried rice when I have my Sambal Tomat (Spicy Javanese Tomato Sambal).  Another kind of sambal such as Sambal Oelek or Chili Garlic Sauce can be used but homemade Sambal Tomat is just much better.

Fried Egg
For this dish, I tried making the scrambled tofu with The Vegg.  It was good but I found that this product is pretty expensive.  I have made scrambled tofu without it and turned out almost the same. Any recipe for scrambled tofu is good to go.

Use long grain rice

Vegan Indonesian Nasi Goreng(Fried Rice)
Serve 6-8
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:
6 cups cooked White Basmati Rice (leftover cold rice)
Note:  If rice is made the same day, put it in the fridge for 3-4 hours before using.
2 cups soy chicken such as Gardein, Soy Curls (rehydrated), or smoked baked tofu, small cubed
1 cup vegan shrimps, diced (optional)
2 cups shelled edamame, thawed
2 1/2 cups shallots or onion, slice thinly
1 - 2 red jalapenos, chopped (reduced or opt out for less spicy)
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 Tbsp. Safflower or Canola Oil
1/4 cup vegetable broth
4 green onions, slice thinly


Sauce/Spices:
6 Tbsp. Sambal Tomat or 3 Tbsp Sambal Oelek/Chili Garlic Sauce
Note:  My sambal tomat is less hot than store-bought sambal.  To reduce heat, cut it in half.
2 Tbsp. Toyomansi or Vegan Fish Sauce replacement or Bragg's Liquid Aminos
5 Tbsp. Kecap manis
1/2 tsp. salt or to taste
1/2 tsp. ground white pepper

Accompaniments:
Veggie Chips or Garlic Chips
Tomato slices
Cucumber Slices
Homemade scrambled tofu (optional)
Brambang Goreng or Fried Shallots

1. Break down the cold rice with fingers so rice is loose and dry.  Make sure that all clumps are broken down. Set aside.
2. Heat wok on top of medium high heat.  Add oil and swirl the oil around to cover wok surfaces.
3. Add shallots/onions.  Stir fry until they are fragrant and limp.  Then add garlic and chopped red chili.
4. Stir fry more until onions/shallots are a bit brown.  Add soy chicken/seitan/soy curls/tofu to the wok.  Add the vegan shrimps, if using. 
5. Stir fry some more and add vegetable broth when things start to stick into the wok.
6. Add sambal, toyomansi/liquid aminos/fish sauce replacement, kecap manis.  Combine with stir fried ingredients. Stir fry until sauce ingredients are combined well with all other ingredients.
7. Gradually add rice and shelled edamame to the work and mix well with the stir fried ingredients in the wok.  Taste and add salt and white pepper.  Add more kecap manis, toyomansi, and sambal if necessary.
8. When everything is combined well and taste delicious.  Mix in the green onions. Combine well and take it off heat.
9. Serve with fried shallots on top and scrambled tofu, tomato slices, cucumber slices, and veggie or garlic chips on the side.

Vegan Indonesian Salad with Spicy Grated Coconut Dry Dressing- Urap

Traditional Javanese Salad - Urap

I am blogging Indonesian food again.  My DGH (my dear gringo husband) likes Indonesian dishes so I continue with this trend to make more veganized Javanese dishes. He loves this Javanese traditional dish called Urap! This one is a dish that Indonesians make for community celebrations such as birthdays, house warming parties, baby showers, weddings, bridal showers, etc. etc.  It's great for potlucks or picnics since it can be served in a room temperature.  Just like the Koreans who bring Japchae into potlucks or picnics, Indonesians bring Urap.  One reason this dish is great for potluck is that it is easy to make as long as the fresh (can be frozen and then thawed) grated coconut can be obtained. This dish is similar to Indian Kale-CabbageThoran that I blogged back in 2012.

The title says 'Dry Dressing'.  Yep, it is not like the Western salad dressing with oil and vinegar, emulsified.  This dish uses thinly grated coconut, the thinner or smaller the better, as dry dressing.  Usually, it is also spicy hot like sambal. However, the level of heat can be reduced by using my tip below(about the level of heat).  I have trained DGH to eat spicy hot food but his is not at the level of heat I can take and I always make it less spicy for him.

About the coconut:
OMG, coconut became so popular in the US.  The natural market in my neighborhood I go to sells coconut oil, coconut milk, coconut cream, coconut juice, fresh young coconuts, etc.   Wow!  I remember about 20 years ago I had to hunt down coconut juice or coconut milk in Chinatown when I wanted to make Indonesian dishes.  For this dish, I buy the frozen grated coconut(from fresh and not dried) at an Indian market/store.  Actually, the guy at the Indian market sells fresh coconuts (not the young coconut) and is willing to break the coconut for the customers.  I am just too lazy to peel and grate the fresh coconut.  I could have done it with a fine spice Microplane grater.  I am also hoping that my readers can find this kind of frozen grated coconut at a nearby Indian market.  I haven't yet tried to prepare this dish with unsweetened dried grated coconut and reconstitute it with warm water. It may work, however, the taste is better if it is made with fresh coconut. Below are pictures of 2 different brands of frozen grated coconut in the Indian markets.

About the level of heat:
Big chili is not hot! The smaller chili is hotter than the big one, that's for sure. The red small chili(fresh Chili Arbol) is SUPER hot (about 15000-30000 Scoville unit). Chili Arbol is not as hot as Habanero but it is pretty hot.  I usually use 2-3 of this red chili per dish and it can be omitted altogether.  The next level is the medium size chili such as red Jalapeno (basically, it is jalapeno that is ripened) which is medium hot.  The mildest is the dried New Mexico(dried Anaheim pepper) that is reconstituted in warm water after the stem and seeds removed.  New Mexico chili is readily available in most market, especially, Hispanic market.  Therefore, it really depends how you like the heat.  I combine the red small chili with 3-4 large New Mexico chili in my dishes.  Sometime I combine the red Jalapeno with New Mexico chili.  I always use the New Mexico chili since I like the taste(a bit sweet) and how it makes the dish red but not hot.  If fresh small red chili is not available, the dried chili called Chili Arbol can be used.  They also need to be reconstituted in warm water.  I have used this kind of dried Chili Arbol when the fresh ones are not available.  Warning: always use gloves when handling chili or wash hands immediately and don't rub face or eyes.

From lower right, clockwise: hot fresh chili arbol, medium red jalapeno, reconstituted New Mexico chili, hot red dried chili arbol.

Vegan Indonesian Salad with Spicy Grated Coconut Dry Dressing- Urap
Serve 6  Printable Recipe

Vegetable Ingredients: (they will shrink after steaming)
6-8 cups kale, cut into julienne or shreds
1 cabbage, cut into julienne or shreds (about 6 cups)
4 cups cut green beans (fresh), either julienne cut or about 1 inch
2 cups bean sprouts, optional

Dry dressing ingredients:
1 ½ cup fresh grated coconut or frozen and then thawed
4 garlic cloves
4-5 shallot cloves
1 tsp. salt
3-4 large New Mexico chili, reconstituted in warm water after seeds and stem removed
2-3 hot red chili or serrano chili, use less for less hot and see 'About the level of heat' how to make this dish spicy or less spicy, can be omitted completely for mild spicyness
1 Tbsp. miso (light brown or white mellow)
Note:  traditionally, this dish is made with terasi or shrimp paste.  I replaced it with miso.
1 Tbsp. palm sugar/gula jawa/brown sugar
New Mexico chili soaking water or plain water

Preparing the dry dressing:

1. Using a food processor or mortar and pestle, grind garlic, shallot, salt, New Mexico chili, red hot chili/serrano chili until smooth. Add a little water or chili soaking water, a little at a time, until this mixture come into a paste.
2. Combine the spice paste with the grated coconut, miso, and sugar thoroughly with hands or a large fork.
3. Steam this dressing for 15-20 minutes. Set aside and let it cool.

Preparing steam vegetables:
Note: the veggies are supposed to be lightly steamed, don’t overkill in the steaming process.

1. Use a large steamer such as a large wok with bamboo steamer on top. Boil 4-5 cups of water.
2. Once the water is boiling, pile in shredded kale, steam for 5-6 minutes.
3. Take out the steamed kale and spread onto a cookie sheet for a quick cooling.
4. Repeat step 2 and 3 for cabbage, green beans, and bean sprouts. Bean sprouts takes only 3-4 minutes. Each time spread steamed vegetables on a cookie sheet for a quick cooling.

Mix the salad:

1. Mix the lightly steamed vegetables and dry dressing when everything is COOL.
2. Combine dressing and veggies thoroughly and serve in a room temperature.  Add salt if necessary.
3. Store in the fridge but let it out on a room temperature or heat up in a microwave for 1 minute before serving.

Just like Indian Kale-Cabbage Thoran, this dish is usually better accompanied with somekind of fish dish.  The Lemongrass Soy Fish is a great companion.

Vegan Indonesian 'Lamb' Curry - Gule or Gulai

Indonesian 'Lamb' Curry - Gule or Gulai

The Indonesian food cravings still exist in my system.  I crave Indonesian ethnic dish such as this one Indonesian Lamb Curry or called Gule or Gulai.  I think I am craving the spices and not craving to eat the lamb/goat or meat.  The curry taste is pretty unique.  I can't really compare it with Indian curries since the spices are similar to Indian but we, Indonesians, add fresh herbs to it like galanga, kaffir lime leaves, bay leaves, and lemon grass.  It doesn't taste like Thai curry either since spices like cloves, coriander, cardamom,  and cumin are used.  Is it a fusion between Indian and Thai curry?  Maybe, that's the only thing I can describe it.

Herbs used in Indonesian dishes(from left to right, clockwise):  galanga, shallots, garlic, ginger, kaffir lime leaves, and lemon grass.

I opted to use fresh herbs as much as possible.  Living in Southern California makes it easier to do that since I can find them easily in Asian markets.  In fact, if you read my previous posts, I grow my own lemon grass and kaffir lime.  These plants are thriving all year long in my backyard and I just pluck them whenever I need to cook Southeast Asian dishes.

In the past, I often cook Indonesian dishes by buying store-bought spice paste like Bamboe, Munik, or Indo Food.  It is supposed to be easy.  I can just stir fry the spices, add other ingredients, add coconut milk if needed, and voila, an Indonesian dish is done.  However, lately, I found out that these spice companies started adding MSG although sometimes it is not listed in the ingredients list.  In fact, they started to do that on Indonesian snacks and chips, too. Urrrgh!  I am not sure either if terasi or shrimp paste is included but not listed.  Therefore, I decided to make my own spices and learn to cook it from scratch which is more elaborate but believe me the taste is better homemade.

Tools needed:  mini chopper/spice grinder, a food processor or a mortar and pestle as shown in my previous post.

Vegan Indonesian 'Lamb' Curry - Gule or Gulai
Serve 6

Ingredients:
2 pkgs. Gardein Beefless Tips  or 3-4 cups cubed super firm tofu or 3-4 cups cubed tempeh
Note:  The Gardein Beefless Tips are the best for this dish.  A friend of mine said 'I can fool a meat eater using these'.
1 cup coconut milk or light coconut milk
1 cup water or vegetable broth
1 Tsp. salt or more to taste
2 Tbsp. palm sugar or brown sugar
2 cinnamon sticks
Oil, non-flavor such as canola or safflower oil

Herbs:
2-3 slices fresh ginger
2-3 slices fresh galanga or baby ginger
2 stalks lemon grass, sliced (use white part only)
3 bay leaves, dried
3 kaffir lime leaves, crushed with your hands to releace aroma

Spices to blend in a spice grinder or mortar:
1 Tbsp, coriander seeds
1 tsp. black peppercorns
1/4  of a nutmeg or 1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
5 whole cloves or 1/4 tsp. ground cloves
1 tsp. cumin seeds
2 cardamom seeds
1/2 tsp. turmeric powder
Note:  I suppose you can use all ground spices to start with.  However,  I prefer to temper my spices on a hot cast iron and then cool them before grinding. 

Spice paste:
6 candlenuts or kemiri(see picture below)
6 shallot cloves

Accompaniments:
Fried shallots for topping
Lalapan or fresh cut tomatoes, cucumber, lettuces, green beans, etc.
Note: Lalapan means eating rice, meaty dish, and fresh vegetables with sambal.
Sambal Tomat from my previous post

1. If using firm tofu or tempeh, pan fry cubes in oil or sprayed with oil and baked them in 400F oven for 15 minutes to brown them.  Set aside.  This step is to firm up the tofu or tempeh as they will be simmered in curry sauce.
2. Combine all spices and blend until smooth in a spice grinder or in a mortar and pestle.
3. Into a mini chopper or a food processer or the mortar, add candlenuts, shallots, and spices above (no. 2) and blend into a spice paste.  Add a little water if necessary to make the paste.
4. In a heavy bottom pot or a wok, add 2 tbsp. oil on a medium high heat.  Add spice paste and pan fry for 5  minutes until fragrant.  Be patient to stir fry the spice paste since this step release the aroma for the curry. 
5. Add fresh herbs: ginger, galanga, kaffir lime leaves, lemon grass.  Also add the cinnamon sticks.  Combine them with the stir fried spice paste for another 3 minutes.
6. Add Gardein Beefless Tips or cubed tofu or tempeh.  Combine the spices and herbs with this ingredient for another 3-4 minutes.
7. Add coconut milk, water, salt, and palm or brown sugar.  Add more salt or sugar to taste.
8. Simmer for 30 minutes.
9. Serve with rice and accompaniments.

Indonesian dishes often use dark palm sugar or gula jawa, tamarind paste, and candlenuts or kemiri.

This is how I served this dish to my husband today, from top left, clockwise: Sambal Tomat,  My Perfect Brown Rice, and fresh cut vegetables. 

Vegan Martabak - Indonesian Savory Stuffed Pan Fried Bread

Baked martabak filled with spiced soy meat and scrambled tofu.  Served with spicy pickled cucumbers and mint chutney.

One of my blog readers asked me for this post after reading my blog of Vegan Martabak Manis - Indonesian Sweet Stuffed Pancake.  I finally have the time to post this veganized Indonesian snack.  This is another dish called Martabak but the savory kind.  Martabak, Murtabak or Mutabbaq is originally from Saudi Arabia but it has spread as street foods in Southeast Asian countries such as Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Singapore. Originally, it is made of minced mutton, garlic, onions, green onions, and a lot of eggs but I veganized it to use ground tvp  or veggie burger bits or soy crumbles and scrambled tofu. The soy meat is spiced with chili, garlic, ginger, cumin, garam masala, and coriander (Arabic/Indian spices).    I used a lot of cilantro/parsley and green onions for the herbs.   I served it with spicy pickled fresh cucumber(called Acar in Indonesia) and mint chutney.

This is another popular Indonesian street food.  I ate this often in my growing up years.  We always bought it from a street vendor since it was cheap and it was hard to make at home.  We could have not made it the way the vendor made it.  It required a special flat and large griddle (such as the Mongolian BBQ's large and  flat griddle).  It also required a special skill to make the very thin dough.  You will see that it is very exciting to watch the martabak vendor making this savory dish.  This is one of the youtube videos showing the real street vendor making it: Martabak Telur (egg Martabak) which is the kind without the meat, eggs only.  The vendor kneaded the dough and made it very thin (as thin as phyllo dough) and threw it to a hot oil.  He then added the filling and folded the thin dough over and over (mutabbaq means fold).  As you can see that this dish is super greasy.  I can't believe I used to eat something like that.

This version below that  I made is vegan and much healthier. I don't think I can go back eating this dish from the street again.  It is so greasy and unhealthy.  I tried hard to make it healthier at home.   I have 2 options in making it healthier: 1) bake it (as pictured above) which is the healthiest and 2) pan fried it (as pictured below) which is less healthy but it is very delicious as anything fried with oil is usually delicious.  I used grape seed oil and my oil was clean and fresh.  I would not eat anything fried using dirty oil such as what the food vendor in the youtube used.

Pan fried with oil martabak. Served with spicy pickled cucumbers and mint chutney.

The first version, the baked one, I used Phyllo Pastry Dough for the wrap.  For the 2nd version, pan fried with oil, I used whole wheat tortilla or wrap.  I used Rudi's Organic Bakery 7-Grain Flax Wrap  If you prefer a gluten free one, I believe such products are available such as: Ivory Teff Wraps from La Tortilla Factory or Food for Life Brown Rice Tortillas.

Vegan Martabak - Indonesian Savory Stuffed Pan Fried Bread
Makes 6-8 martabak pockets/packages
Note: see the variations for martabak filling at the end of the recipe.

Scrambled Tofu:
14 oz firm tofu, water packed, drained
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp turmeric
3 Tbsp Nutritional Yeast
1/2 tsp salt
Oil to pan fry (grape seed oil, vegetable oil, or canola oil), 2-3 tsp

1. Make the scrambled tofu first by draining the firm tofu completely.  Crumble with your hands into a bowl.
2. Add all the spices and mix thoroughly into the crumbled tofu.
3. Drizzle about 2-3 tsp oil onto a hot flat frying pan.  Add spiced crumbled tofu.
4. Pan fry for 15 to 20 minutes until  all the water from the tofu evaporated and crumbled tofu is brown some and dry.  Set aside and let it cool.

Martabak Filling:
1 cup chopped leeks, the white part only
1 cup chopped green onions
1 cup chopped parsley or cilantro
1 Tbsp minced garlic
1 Tbsp minced ginger
1 to 2 fresh green chili or red chili, minced
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp garam masala
1 tsp coriander
1/2 tsp turmeric
1 small tomato, chopped
12 oz frozen Boca Crumbles
Note: Other kind of soy crumbles can be used such as Lightlife Smart Ground, Gimme Lean Beef Style, or reconstituted tvp
1/2 tsp salt, only if the soy crumbles are not salty
Note: if using reconstituted tvp, add several tablespoons of soy sauce or tamari
2-3 tsp oil

From top left, clockwise: chopped green onion, chopped parsley, scrambled tofu, chopped chili, and chopped leeks.

1. Heat oil in a shallow frying pan.  Add leeks, chilies, garlic, and ginger. Saute for a few minutes until soft. 
2. Add turmeric and combine.  Then, add cumin seeds, garam masala, and coriander.  Stir fry a few more minutes.
3. Add chopped tomato and saute until the juices from the tomato are evaporated.
4. Then, add the soy crumble/tvp.  Break the crumble with a spatula.  Combine all the ingredients thoroughly.  The filling has to be kind of dry.  Continue to pan fry until all the liquid and juices evaporated (15 minutes or so).
5. Add the parsley or cilantro and all the green onions.  Taste and add salt if necessary. Combine and take it off heat.
6. Set it aside and let it cool before assembling the martabak.

Wrapper:
1/2 pkg. Phyllo Pastry Dough (follow the instructions in the box to thaw and to save the rest)
OR
1/2 pkg.  Whole Wheat Tortilla or Wrap (about 9 or 10 inch diameter), make sure that it is pliable and not too thick. Use the kind that can be made into a burrito

Oil to brush on Phyllo or more oil to pan fry.

Baked Martabak (version 1):

1. Combine scrambled tofu and martabak filling above in a bowl.
2. Take 3 layers of phyllo dough onto a cutting board and cut into a 9 or 10 inch square (meanwhile make sure the rest of the phyllo dough is covered tightly or else it will dry up).   Take a brush and brush a thin layer of oil on 1st layer, top with the 2nd layer and brush a thin layer of oil, and then top with the 3rd layer.
3. Scoop some filling (about 3/4 cup) onto the layered phyllo dough and wrap it like a package.
4. Brush with oil and turn over the bundle and brush with more oil.
5. Continue with the rest of the phyllo pastry and the filling.
6. Preheat oven to 400F.  Bake martabak packages on an ungreased cookie pan for 30-45 minutes or until brown.  Serve warm.

Martabak, wrapped into a package and brushed with oil.

Turn it over and brush with more oil before it is baked.

Pan Fried Martabak (version 2):

1. Combine scrambled tofu and martabak filling above in a bowl.
2. For each whole wheat tortilla, scoop filling on to the tortilla and wrap into a package such as pictured above (the one with phyllo).  Do not brush with oil. Use water to glue the seams together and carefully lay each package flat with the seams on the bottom. 
3. Continue to make the packages with each whole wheat tortilla and all the filling.
4. Meanwhile, heat 1/2 inch of oil into a cast iron or heavy duty frying pan.  Heat oil into 350 F.
5. With the seams down, take each package and immerse carefully into the hot oil.  Flip to fry the other side.  Fry about 1 to 2 minutes on each side or until it is brown.
6. Drain on a paper towel to remove excess oil.  Serve warm.

Spicy Pickled Cucumber or Acar

Spicy Pickled Cucumbers or Acar (can be made ahead of time)
1 1/2 cup chopped English Cucumber
1 fresh red chili, chopped
3/4 tsp salt
4 Tbsp sugar
4 Tbsp white vinegar

1. Combine chopped cucumber with salt and sugar.  Add chopped fresh chili, combine.
2. Add white vinegar.  Set aside for 1 to 2 hours before using (keep in the fridge).

Mint chutney

Mint Chutney(can be made ahead of time)
2 cups cilantro or parsley, roughly chopped
2 cups fresh mint, roughly chopped
1 to 2 green chilies, roughly chopped
2-3 cloves shallot, peeled, roughly chopped
1 tsp salt
1 Tbsp sugar
juice of 1 fresh lemon

1. Combine parsley/cilantro, mint, green chilies, shallots, salt, and sugar in a food processor.
2. Process until all ingredients are finely chopped.
3. Take the processed ingredients into a bowl.
4. Add lemon juice and combine thoroughly.
5. Set aside for 1 to 2 hours before using (keep in the fridge).

Variations to the fillings of martabak:

• For more 'eggy' version, double the scrambled tofu so there are more scrambled tofu than the 'meat' filling. 

OR

• Use the scrambled tofu only (double the amount above) for the filling and use green onions, cilantro/parsley and the filling spices(without the extra turmeric, tomato and the soy crumbles).

Enjoy another Indonesian streed food, veganized!

Indonesian Vegan Street Food Tahu Ketupat - Tofu and Rice Cake with Noodles

I am introducing another Indonesian street food.  Lately, I've been missing Indonesian street food type of meals, the dishes I grew up eating.  Now, if I go back to Indonesia and consume any street food that is sold there, I'll probably end up in a hospital with diarrhea and all kind of bacteria that my body cannot take anymore.  Back then my body had all the natural anti bacteria and it was ok eating in a street food environment.  Now, living in a more sterile environment in the US, I don't have those protections anymore.  It was amazing that my family ate street food almost every day when I was growing up and we didn't get sick.  I am recreating this dish at home, in a more sterile environment, but I still have all the fond memories of eating all kinds of street food back then.

Lately, I watched this YouTube video:  Jakarta Street Food 239 Tahu Kupat Solo  (unfortunately there is no English subtitle).  This is a true street food, prepared on a street and was eaten on the side of a street.   The guy/seller used a push cart loaded with a propane gas stove, a wok, utensils, dishes, ingredients, and a  money box.  He would push this cart and rang his bell (hitting a plate with a utensil) to attract customers (see him in action at the end of the video).  Then, customers would call upon him, place an order, and sit or stand by the street eating.  This video brought a lot of fond memories of me eating and growing up in Indonesia.

The dish, Tahu Ketupat/Kupat (Tahu = tofu and Kupat/Ketupat = rice cake), is a garlicky dish consisted of fried tofu, rice cake, noodles, cabbage, beansprouts, peanuts, green chili, kecap manis, beansprout fritters, rice crackers, and fried onions.  I decided to recreate this delicious Indonesian vegan dish at home and to recreate my fond memory.

First, I would like to talk about the rice cake or  Kupat or Ketupat which is eaten in Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, and Singapore.   It is made of rice that is poured into a woven palm leaves casing, boiled, and then becomes a compressed rice cake.  I am going to talk about it in 2 parts:   the Traditional Way and the Modern Way of making the rice cake.

The Traditional Way of making Ketupat:

Kupat/Ketupat/Puso casing or pouch

The making of a traditional ketupat casing is a dying art and an interesting origami using palm leaves.   I used to be able to weave ketupat casing but I have long forgotten this skill.  I found 2 You Tube videos of ketupat casing weaving:  Ketupat Weaving Tutorial (5 min. 19 sec.) or  How to Make a Rice Pouch Filipino Style (2 min. 45 sec.)  Raw rice is inserted into the casing and boiled for hours.  As the rice cooks, they will expand and fill up the pouch into a compressed rice cake.   Using a knife, the casing is usually cut open in halves and the rice cake are cut into cubes.  This comical You Tube video from Calamity Chef (with Singaporean English accent):  Ketupat: the making of shows the traditional way of making the casing and the rice cake (3min. 45 sec).

The Modern Way of making Ketupat:

Now, you don't expect me to make ketupat the traditional way, do you?  I don't think so.When will I have the time to weave each casing and where will I find and buy suitable palm leaves to use?  I prefer the modern way which is faster.   That is boil-in-the-bag rice cakes.  It is available now in Asian markets.  This is the brand that I usually buy: Ketupat Nona   It is available on-line also.  It is very easy to make it by boiling the rice cake in the bag like any boil-in-the-bag rice method.  It usually takes about 60 minutes to boil the rice cake and more hot water has to be added while it is simmering and as the rice cake is expanding.  The rice cake needs to be cooled before the bag is cut open (watch the video How to make boil-in-the-bag ketupat below) and then it is ready to be cut into cubes.

Boil-in-the-bag ketupat

Or, the most economical way is to make your own boil-in-the-bag rice cake.  Seriously?  Yes! This lady bought boil-in-the-bag rice that is available in any market, cut the bag open, mixed the rice with Thai Jasmine rice, refilled the bag half way, and then sealed the bag with a candle.  Smart!  Watch this video:  How to make boil-in-the-bag ketupat


Tahu Ketupat (Indonesian Vegan Street Food: Tofu and Rice Cake with Noodles)
Serve 4

Ingredients:
4 cups (about 1 lb) fresh yellow noodle(no eggs) or  1 pkg dry Chuka Soba, boiled
4-5 cups fresh beansprouts, steamed for 3-5 minutes
4-5 cups cabbage, sliced thin, steamed for 3-5 minutes
1 bag boil-in-the-bag ketupat (such as Ketupat Nona), prepared and cooled


Boiled-in-the bag ketupat, prepared, cooled, and cubed.

3-4 cups fried tofu cubes

Fried tofu cubes I bought at an Asian market.  
A lot of times, I also use super firm tofu cubes and oven fried them.

Toppings/Condiment:
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup coarsely ground roasted peanuts
1/4 cup kecap manis
1/4 cup chopped or sliced green chili (such as Serrano chili or Thai chili), optional
1/2 cup chopped green onions

Toppings: celery, peanuts, kecap manis, green chili, green onions.

Fried Shallots, optional
Indonesian Rice Crackers with no shrimps (poppadoms), optional

Indonesian rice crackers or Indian poppadoms are a great crunchy topping

Sauce/Broth:
4 cups vegetable broth ( I prefer using Better than Bouillon No Chicken Base)
2 Tbsp. fresh minced garlic
2 Tbsp. kecap manis
Salt to taste (if the vegetable broth is salty, omit salt)

Making the sauce/broth:

1. Combine the sauce/broth ingredients above and simmer for 5-10 minutes.  Keep it warm.

Beansprouts and Carrots Fritters:
It is optional to include the deep fried beansprouts fritters. However, it is delicious with it.  My husband loves these deep fried fritters and just can have them as snacks by themselves.  It is similar to pakoras or bird nest Japanese tempura.

3/4 cups all purpose flour or unbleached white flour (can be substituted to chickpea flour)
2 Tbsp. chickpea flour or besan flour
2 Tbsp. rice flour
1/2 tsp. white pepper
1 tsp. salt
1 1/2 cup fresh beansprouts
2 cups carrots, julienned or coarsely shredded
1/4 to 1/2 cup water
Vegetable oil or grape seed oil for deep frying

Making the fritters:

1. Combine all the fritters ingredients above in a bowl.  When adding the water, add 1/4 cup first, then add a little at a time while mixing until it becomes a thick batter that can be scooped with a spoon.  This is like making pakora or a bird nest tempura.
2. Heat oil in a frying pan to350F.  Using a spoon, scoop fritter batter into the oil and deep fry until brown.  Do not overcrowd them
3. Drain them onto a paper towel to remove excess oil.  Cut into pieces before serving.

Frying beansprouts fritters

Assembling the Tahu Ketupat, for each bowl or serving:

It is easy to assemble or serving this dish after all the ingredients above are ready.  They all can be made ahead of time and then be reheated or they can be kept warm until serving time.  I think this is the reason that this dish is sold on the street because the seller can easily have everything ready and reheat the dish at the last minute when the customers put in the orders.  I usually prepare everything and store the ingredients in plastic containers.  Then, I assemble for each serving by warm them up with a microwave or steamer just before serving time.  The sauce/broth can be reheated in a pot just before serving.

On a serving bowl or soup plate, layer rice cake cubes (1/4 of a bag of rice cake) on the bottom.  Then, add warm 1 cup noodle,  1 cup each of steamed cabbage and bean sprouts. 

Cut 2-3 beansprouts fritters into 2 pieces and add them on top.  Slice 1 cup of fried tofu and add them on top), too. Then, add the toppings: chopped celery, ground peanuts, green onions, and green chili.  



Finally, pour about 1 cup of hot broth/sauce over the dish.  It should not be soupy but it should have enough broth to wet all the ingredients in the bowl.   Add fried shallots, Indonesian rice crackers, and  kecap manis.

It is best to mix everything up when eating this dish(as was seen in the you tube video) and add more of each topping or condiment as needed.  Perhaps add more chili, kecap manis, or ground peanuts? 

Vegan Martabak Manis - Indonesian Sweet Stuffed Pancake

I seldom blog desserts but today I am blogging about veganizing Martabak Manis which is a popular Indonesian street food sweet snack/dessert.  I can translate it to English as Indonesian Sweet Stuffed Pancake.  In Indonesia it is called Martabak Manis, Martabak Bangka, or Kue Terang Bulan.  Terang Bulan is translated to English as full moon and kue means cake.    It is going to be a Super Full Moon  2012 or perigee moon of 2012 tonight (check out the bright full moon tonight) which means that the moon will be 14% larger and 30% brighter than any other full moons in 2012.  This is the reason why I veganized this snack today.

I called it pancake but it is a snack or dessert instead of a breakfast food.  Indonesians do not eat pancake in the morning, we eat it for snacks and buy it on the side of the road like how it is served as street food in this youtube video: The Making of Sweet Martabak   The video comes with the background noise of cars, motorcycles, horns honking, customers talking, etc.  It's hilarious and so real!   In the video the pancake is a large round like a full moon.  Then, fillings are added, pancake folded into half moon and cut into pieces.  It has been years since I buy street food snacks like this.  This video really brought a lot of childhood memories.

In the youtube video there are a large amount of fat (butter or margarine) that was added on top of the pancake.  This dish is not for those who are on a diet to lose weight.  It is full of fat, sugar, and eggs.   I cut down the fat by not using THAT much fat and veganized it with no eggs.  The pancake I made is also thinner because eggs were not used.  The thinner pancake does not absorb too much fat.  I also replace some of the white flour with whole wheat pastry flour.  I haven't tried it with all whole wheat pastry flour yet but I don't see any reason why it should fail.  You can see that I am trying really hard to make this snack healthier without sacrificing the flavor. 

In the youtube video, processed cheese was also added as a filling as a savory pancake.  It is unhealthy to eat processed cheese, in my opinion.   I decided not to do that nor to try to find a substitution for it.  Maybe someday I'll blog about a savory martabak, a different kind of Indonesian street food.

Every martabak manis recipe I found in the Internet uses eggs.  I replaced the eggs with EnerG Egg Replacer.  This is also a yeast pancake batter.  After the yeast is added, the batter needs to be proofed such as in proofing yeast bread.  All you need in proofing  is about 1 hour of warm temperature area in your kitchen (oven with the light on should do it) to let the yeast works its magic.

I prepared some vegan fillings/toppings for the pancake (from top left clockwise):  vegan chocolate sauce, chopped salted nuts, chopped roasted hazelnuts, and vegan Dutch chocolate sprinkles (De Ruijter brand) and vegan dulce de leche (Bryanna Clark Grogan's recipe or video).

 

Vegan Martabak Manis (Indonesian Sweet Stuffed Pancake)
Makes 3 large pancakes


Batter ingredients:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup whole wheat pastry flour
 Note:  you can use 1 1/3 cup all purpose flour and not use the whole wheat pastry flour
2 cups warm non-dairy milk (can be soy milk, almond milk, rice milk, or coconut milk)
1 tablespoon dry yeast (about 1 pkg dry yeast)
3 1/2 tablespoons vegan sugar, divided
1 teaspoon salt
1 drop of yellow food coloring (an optional)

Eggs replacement ingredients:
1 tablespoon EnerG Egg Replacer
4 tablespoons water

1/4 cup vegan butter or soy margarine, melted
cooking brush

Vegan Chocolate Sauce ingredients:
Any other kind of  vegan chocolate sauce can be used as a filling or make this one.  This can be made ahead of time.

1 can (15 oz) coconut milk
1 cup and 2 tablespoons vegan powdered sugar
3 tablespoons dutch processed cocoa powder

1.  Sift powdered sugar and cocoa powder together with a fine sifter.
2. Mix coconut milk and sifted sugar and cocoa powders in a medium sauce pan.  Stir well to combine.
3. Heat it up in a medium heat until mixture starts to boil.  Lower the heat to low and let it simmer in 25-30 minutes until it is thickened.  The mixture should resemble a condensed milk or gravy.  Let it cool.

Other fillings/toppings:
Any or all of the topping below are great.  I usually combine chocolate sauce above+chopped peanuts for 1 pancake and dulce de leche+chocolate sprinkles+chopped hazelnuts on another pancake.  Sesame seeds, pistachio nuts, almonds, walnuts are also great toppings.
 
1/4 cup chopped salted nuts
1/4 cup chopped roasted hazelnuts
1/4 cup dutch chocolate sprinkles
1/4 cup vegan dulce de leche (I followed Bryanna Clark Grogan's recipe)

Preparing the batter:

1. Warm milk to 120 degrees F.  Pour about 1/2 cup of the warm milk on top of 1 tablespoon dry yeast and 1 tablespoon sugar  in a large bowl.  Mix and let the yeast works itself into frothy mixture (waking up the yeast).  This takes about 5 minutes.
2. Mix the flours, the rest of the sugar (2 1/2 tablespoons), baking powder, salt.  Combine well with a whisk.
3. Pour the rest of the warm milk into the yeast, milk, and sugar mixture.  Then, add the flour mixture (step 2) and combine well.  Yeast should start to work and creates bubbles.  Cover and let this mixture sit in a warm temperature area about 1 hour.  See the picture below.
4. About 10 minutes near the end of proofing the batter process, combine the EnerG egg replacer with water(egg replacement ingredients) in a small bowl.  Using a hand blender with the top speed, mix and blend the water and egg replacer until it is frothy and soft peaks formed.  It usually takes at least 6 minutes.
5. Gently fold the foamy egg replacer into the pancake batter. At this time, I added 1 drop of yellow food coloring.  Mix well.
6.  The batter should be foamy and light.  The consistency should be similar to a pancake batter.

Making the pancake:
The best tool to make the pancake is an 8-inch or 9-inch cast iron frying pan with a lid.

1. Heat the cast iron pan on a medium high heat until really hot (wait about 2-3 minutes).  Use a cooking brush to brush a generous amount of melted vegan butter all over and around the frying pan.
2. Pour 1/3 of the batter  onto the frying pan.  It should sizzle (if it doesn't, that means that the frying pan is not hot enough).  Traditionally, martabak manis has a round crisp edges.  To do this, tilt the frying pan and let the batter runs around the frying pan to create the edges such as in this picture above.
3. Immediately, turn the heat to LOW.
4. Once the batter is bubbling and the top looks firm.  Cover with a lid and set a timer for 10 minutes. Note:  it is important to cover with a lid to let the pancake cooked and the bottom crispy.
5. After 10 minutes, the bottom of the pancake should be brown and crispy and the middle of the pancake is cooked.  If the bottom is burned that means the heat is too high or too strong.  If the pancake is not cooked, that means that the heat is too low.  The key in making the pancake correctly  is the amount of heat and everyone's stove is different unfortunately.
6. Lift the pancake with a spatula or a pancake turner onto a cutting board.  Brush some melted vegan butter on top (this is optional).  Pour some chocolate sauce and sprinkled with chopped nuts.  OR pour some dulce de leche, sprinkled with chocolate sprinkles and top with chopped hazelnuts.
7. Fold the pancake into half (look like a half moon).  Cut into 4 to 5 pieces.  Serve warm. Continue making the rest of the batter.  Use a different combination of toppings/fillings each time.

Enjoy the vegan martabak manis and super full moon 2012 or any full moon!