Happy Eid al-Adha!

This year, my family are celebrating Eid al-Adha at yours truly! I woke up today to a series of lebaran-themed dishes cooked by my Mom and my aunt. There weren’t any mutton curry, but we sure didn’t skip on the Opor Ayam. 

My Aunt, Tante Ira, brought a bucketfull of Opor Ayam and, my all-time favorite dish of hers, Sambal Goreng Paru. They were very vibrant in color and very flavorful. The only thing that was missing from the two dishes is a bigger portion. 

Indonesia is famous for its’ spices. Every dishes are cooked with spices and it is guaranteed that the flavor will be wholesome. One of the easiest dish to cook is Sambal Goreng, which is, basically, any ingredient cooked with sambal, or chilly paste. You can use tempeh and it’ll be Sambal Goreng Tempeh. You can use potato and it’ll be Sambal Goreng Kentang. The concept of the dish is very simple, don’t you agree? This time, Tante Ira took the liberty to use cow lungs to make Sambal Goreng Paru and, I bullshit you not, I bet you can’t just have one serving of it and be content. 

Tante Ira’s Sambal Goreng Paru was spicy and full of flavor. I could definitely taste the shallot and garlic that she used to cook the dish. There was a hint of sweetness here and there, but savory is the one that dominate the whole flavor wheel. The cow lungs were tender, yet also chewy, but still easy to nibble to, even for my Grandma. 

On the one hand, Tante Ira’s Opor Ayam was also a two-thumbs-up kind of dish. The broth was very creamy and lip-smacking. The chicken was very succulent and tender, and finger-licking good! Combine the broth with a handful of rice, then add some shrimp crackers while you’re at it, and you got yourself a very delicious meal. 

Mom, on the other hand, cooked a very similar dish to Tante Ira, but she used baby squids instead of cow lungs. Yes, Sambal Goreng Cumi! Mom shines bright in terms of cooking, just like Tante Ira and my Grandma, as her Sambal Goreng Cumi captured the heart of everybody in the house this afternoon. It was savory, even though a wee bit too spicy for my taste, and the green tomato slices gave that sour and juicy zest that elevates the deliciousness of the dish to another level. 

Tante Wai just got home from Solo last night and she brought with her some chicken that she bought from the traditional market, Pasar Gede. The chicken was fried at home earlier this morning and it is one of the best fried chicken I have ever tasted! Despite the fact that fried chicken are mostly savory, this particular chicken tasted sweet as well because of the sweet soy sauce that they used to bathe the chicken with at the market. We, Indonesian, refers the spices used on this particular chicken as “bumbu bacem”. It can be used to other food base as well, such as tempeh, tofu, and egg.

Other dishes were also available! We got Orek Tempe, Bakwan Jagung, thin omelettes, fried Tempe Bacem, fried tofu, sweet and spicy potato chips, fruits, Sayur Asem, a lot of Ketupat, as well as some Lontong. The bunch of us gathered immediately in the dinning room as soon as all the dishes were served and dig in together. Blessed. 

P. S. Tante Ira's dishes are available to order if you would love to try some. Her Instagram account goes by the name Dapurnya Tante Manado. Just slide in her DM and order away! 

Nastar Medan ala Dapur Reuni

Mohon maaf atas judul yang sangat tidak mengundang ini, kekreativitasan gue sudah gue kerahkan seluruhnya untuk mengedit video sedari jam sembilan pagi tadi. Video apa, kalian tanya. Tunggu tanggal mainnya, ya. 

Biasanya gue senang didinaskan di luar Jakarta, tapi entah kenapa, posting Medan kali ini rasanya lama banget. Rasanya seperti di konsinyir (istilah yang kami, mantan taruna dekil bau matahari, pakai yang artinya adalah dihukum tidak boleh pulang ke rumah). Meskipun tidak terlalu ngefek ke performa terbang gue, tetep saja lebih enak terbang dengan kondisi hati dan pikiran yang positif dibandingan dengan kondisi mental yang butek. 

Dan, biasanya, diet gue berjalan dengan lancar. Gue bisa menahan lapar seharian dan berujung hanya makan satu porsi capcay seafood dan empat potong tahu goreng isi. Tapi kali ini, gue rasanya ingin membatalkan diet gue dan memakan segala makanan yang mau gue makan. Untungnya gue masih bisa menahan untuk nggak mengunyah nasi dan roti, tapi sayangnya iman gue kurang kuat untuk menahan godaan Nastar Medan buatan Dapur Reuni ini.

Pertama kali gue mencoba nastar yang ukurannya hampir setengah telapak tangan gue ini adalah ketika posting Medan terakhir gue dengan Kapten Aditya Hergiantomo. Di tengah perjalanan kami dari Padang menuju Singapura, beliau mengeluarkan kotak kecil bernuansa kuning berhiaskan buah nanas. "Nan, ayo, Nan," kata beliau. Berat rasanya untuk menolak, karena gue sedang diet karbohidrat dan gula, tapi orang mana yang menolak rezeki, kan? 

Gue ambillah satu buah. Awalnya gue agak kaget dengan bentuknya yang tidak sekecil nastar pada umumnya. Lebar, bos! Udah lebar, padet pula. Dalam hati gue menenangkan diri, wes nggak apa-apa. Makan kue satu nggak bakal naik lima kilo juga, kali! Pas banget gue tengah kelaparan, akhirnya gue buka bungkusannya dan gue cemilin. Jujur, gue eman-eman, karena enak banget. 

Dibandingkan dengan Kue Nastar yang biasa kita makan saat lebaran, Nastar Medan ini berbentuk lebih besar, agak lebih pipih, lebih berhias dan menarik perhatian, dan termasuk padat. Adonan kuenya tidak gampang rontok, begitu juga dengan taburan keju panggang di atasnya. Dan, Nastar Medan ini tidak hanya sekedar dibentuk bulat, tapi ada tanduk-tanduk kecil di sekelilingnya yang membuat kue tersebut terlihat seperti landak (atau sisik di kulit dinosaurus. Pilih mana?). 

Isinya, seperti biasa, nanas. Manisnya tidak berlebihan, pas, seperti selai nanas yang biasa Ibu buat di rumah dulu saat beliau masih rajin membuat Kue Nastar. Selainya pun tidak terlalu basah, pas di lidah, dan serabut-serabut buah nanasnya cukup kenyal. Jujur, gue suka banget sama Nastar Medan ini. Lebih dari Kue Nastar yang biasa Ibu beli di Pasar Sumberarta menjelang Lebaran. 

Satu kotaknya isi empat buah kue dengan harga Rp18.000,00. Memang agak mahal, tapi cukup menyenangkan hati untuk dicemilin sendiri, ataupun dibawa ke rumah sebagai oleh-oleh. Ini aja gue udah gagal diet gara-gara nggak kuat untuk ngegayem sebiji.