Well, after 10 flights in 5 days, and countless hours sleeping on airport couches I am back home (in NY), safe and sound from my trip to Indonesia. I am slowly readjusting to life back in America after being gone for a total of a little more than 5 years and finding myself a bit lost and don't really know what to make of everything. Hopefully this is just the normal reverse culture shock, I mean I did live here for 27 years of my life, even though it does feel like a foreign country to me right now.
I had some crazy adventures during my time in Indonesia, which makes readjusting to life back in suburbia even more difficult and has left me dreaming of all the wonderful ways they prepared their freshly made tempeh. Indonesia is a vegetarians paradise. Some of the best food I ate was in Ubud. The traditional Indonesian Nasi Campur (Nasi which means rice in Indonesian is accompanied by an assortment of small side dishes) was heavenly.
I had some crazy adventures during my time in Indonesia, which makes readjusting to life back in suburbia even more difficult and has left me dreaming of all the wonderful ways they prepared their freshly made tempeh. Indonesia is a vegetarians paradise. Some of the best food I ate was in Ubud. The traditional Indonesian Nasi Campur (Nasi which means rice in Indonesian is accompanied by an assortment of small side dishes) was heavenly.
This Nasi Campur dish I had in a restaurant in Ubud had a mix of green curry with tofu, fried tempeh, shrimp chips, and greens mixed with fresh shredded coconut. And washed it all down with a delicious Bintang beer. Bintang means star in Indonesian and when you go up to a bartender and ask for a Bintang they love to make the joke..."you sure you don't want the moon or the sun?"
Even though, compared to Japan and the US, Indonesia is a really inexpensive place to travel, the "fancy" restaurants can still weigh on your wallet a bit and, of course, its fun to venture out off the beaten path because you never know what you will end up finding. We found one amazing restaurant on a side street off of the main drag of Ubud that had the most delicious tempeh, fried to perfection and topped with a fresh tomato sauce. Simple but so flavorful. This was one of my favorite meals and only cost $1.00. It was so good, I have already tried recreating the dish at home.
Tempeh w/ Spicy Tomato Sauce
1 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp chili pepper flakes
1 tsp oregano
4 tomatoes, chopped
1 zucchini, diced
salt and pepper, to taste
3 tbsp olive oil
1 block tempeh, sliced down the middle, then in triangles
Heat the oil in a large pan, then add the onions. Allow them to saute for 5-7 minutes, until translucent. Add the garlic and saute for 1 minute. Add the spices and tomatoes. Let them cook on a low flame for about 10 minutes and then add the zucchini (the zucchini wasn't in the dish I had in Indonesia but I thought it made a nice addition). Let simmer for another 10 minutes. Then add salt and pepper to taste.
To cook the tempeh, heat oil in a pan. Let it get super hot, but not smoking. Add the tempeh to the oil and let cook for about 5-7 min on one side (until a nice golden brown). Then flip over and cook on the other side for the same amount of time.
I plated the dish with couscous on the bottom, then put the tempeh on top of the couscous then finally put the tomato sauce on top of the tempeh. This was absolutely delicious.
I am now living back at my parents home and have been doing a lot of my own cooking since my parents are not vegetarians, but I haven't gotten around to taking photos of my meals yet.
Tempeh w/ Spicy Tomato Sauce
1 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp chili pepper flakes
1 tsp oregano
4 tomatoes, chopped
1 zucchini, diced
salt and pepper, to taste
3 tbsp olive oil
1 block tempeh, sliced down the middle, then in triangles
Heat the oil in a large pan, then add the onions. Allow them to saute for 5-7 minutes, until translucent. Add the garlic and saute for 1 minute. Add the spices and tomatoes. Let them cook on a low flame for about 10 minutes and then add the zucchini (the zucchini wasn't in the dish I had in Indonesia but I thought it made a nice addition). Let simmer for another 10 minutes. Then add salt and pepper to taste.
To cook the tempeh, heat oil in a pan. Let it get super hot, but not smoking. Add the tempeh to the oil and let cook for about 5-7 min on one side (until a nice golden brown). Then flip over and cook on the other side for the same amount of time.
I plated the dish with couscous on the bottom, then put the tempeh on top of the couscous then finally put the tomato sauce on top of the tempeh. This was absolutely delicious.
I am now living back at my parents home and have been doing a lot of my own cooking since my parents are not vegetarians, but I haven't gotten around to taking photos of my meals yet.
