Happy Belly: Tempeh Kering

Ok so Oma e-mailed me the recipe!

First of all, a little bit about kecap manis for those who aren't too familiar.  It's a sweet, thick soy sauce (think maple syrup consistency) and a little goes a looong way.  You won't be able to find this at your local grocery store, however most  asian grocery stores carry it, or it's available on Amazon.  It literally is the Indonesian equivalent to American ketchup, and it's even made by Heinz. (it's not tomato based.. it's definitely soy sauce, just saying they/we put it on everything)  I have been smothering my foods in it for as long as I can remember, and its the key ingredient in my favorite easy peasy meal - a fried egg over steamed rice, drizzle with kecap manis and devour.  It's great as a marinade, in stir fries or as a dip for sweet potato fries.  Also, there are two kinds of kecap manis, you want the sweet kind.  It wasn't until a few years ago that I was even aware of a salty version.. so yeah, definitely sweet.

Anyways.. moving on...to another note about this recipe.  Tempeh kering is possibly akin to American chicken wings, in that while most recipes look similar, there are indefinite variables in seasoning and spice.  I'm sure every indonesian Oma has their own version of the sticky sweet goodness that is tempeh kering, and this is just my Oma's. (imo its the best, obv)  So anyways, if you're new to indonesian, or asian cooking, or even just using tempeh maybe try my Oma's version first as a base, and adjust to your liking for future meals.

Ingredients:
1 small onion
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 hot peppers (we used jalapenos, choose any that suites your own taste)
1 bay leaf
1 pack of galangal (or laos, we used a pack of dried laos root, you can sub ginger if you can't find laos locally, just be careful and don't over season with fresh ginger)
Kecap Manis

Cut the tempe in small pieces, fry untill golden brown, set aside.

Stirfry cut onion, garlic and peppers till light brown, add 1 cup of water, 2 cooking spoons of ketjap, add bay leaf, galanga and tempe, add salt to taste, let simmer till water evaporate.  Remove bay leaf. Done, Eet smakelijk!

Oma's House: True Love

The other night when I was at Oma's house for dinner I asked her to pull out her wedding photos.  The story of how my Oma and my Opa met is a really incredible one.  My Oma grew up in Central Java, and she was a middle child out of 11.  Her father was Dutch and her mother was Indonesian.  During World War II the Japanese invaded Indonesia, and the Indonesian people saw it as an opportunity to be freed from the Dutch colonial rule.  As a result, the Netherlands declared war on Japan, and sent men into the East Indies for battle.  My Opa was amongst those men, and while he was stationed on Papau New Guinea he was looking at some photos his officer had brought back from a mission in Indonesia.  One photo fell to the ground, and when my Opa picked it up he noticed it was of a beautiful woman.  The woman in the photo was my Oma, and he was so infatuated with her photo he called into the radio and dedicated the song "True Love" to her along with a message for her to contact him.  They began writing letters back and forth, and ultimately because of the war my Oma's family had to leave Indonesia behind and move to The Netherlands.  A few months later they were engaged, and married.  

Below are some of their beautiful wedding photos.  My Oma's wedding dress was hand made by my Opa's mother, and she is saving it for me up in the attic!