Balinese-Style Kebabs in Istanbul

Coconut, lemongrass, peanuts and chilies are the main flavors you will taste in these Balinese-style kebabs; or should I say - chicken sate.

Today, I decided to finally dig into some of the exotic ingredients I brought back from our Bali trip in November. We had taken a delightful day-long cooking Balinese cooking class at the traditional home of Wayan and Puspa, owners of Paon Bali Cooking Classes. The food was fresh and full of the sassy Asian flavors that I enjoy so much! I highly recommend this couple's cooking class - they welcomed us into their home in Bali.

Taken in Bali: Wayan grilled our freshly-made chicken sate over the coconut husks.

Time to make my own Turklish version of the chicken sate in we made in Bali!

First, you will need one recipe of the Balinese Spice Paste I made awhile back for my Balinese-Inspired Chicken Noodle Soup. I did have some candlenuts on hand so I used them in place of the blanched almonds I used before.

Candlenuts look a bit like a large hazelnut or a macadamia nut.

Next, you need some ground chicken, so that required a trip to my friends at Kardeşler Kasabı in Beşiktaş. My kasap guy asked me if I was making adana kebab. I said, "Belki." (Maybe.) I didn't want to try and explain that I was making an Asian-style kebab.

Hopefully, you also can find some lemongrass, but the rest of the ingredients are usually found here in Istanbul. If you are back in the U.S. or elsewhere, you probably will have an easier time finding these ingredients. 

You'll need to set aside some time for prepping all the ingredients, molding the kebabs and cooking, but I think delicious food is always worth it! Guess who also made homemade vanilla ice cream this afternoon?

Afiyet Olsun! 

Balinese-Style Chicken Kebabs with Peanut Sauce made at my home in Istanbul.

For a good butcher and a specialty foods shop, check out these two places in Istanbul:

·                     Kolaylar Manav, Arnavutköy (You often can buy lemongrass here.)

·                     Kardeşler Kasabı, Gazi Refik Sok. No: 3 Türkali Mh., Beşiktaş

Balinese-Style Chicken "Kebabs" with Peanut Sauce

Yields: 15 kebabs/sate approx. 40 grams (1.4 oz.) each

Ingredients:

500      g.                                 minced chicken

40        g.         (1/2 c.)             dried coconut flakes

2          T.                                 Balinese Spice Paste

1          T.                                 palm sugar or sub brown sugar

1          T.                                 fried shallots or freshly diced if you don't have time

1          ea.                                juice and the zest of a lime

To taste                                   salt and pepper

15        ea.                                bamboo or kebab sticks (thicker than skewers)

In a large bowl, mix together the chicken, coconut, spice paste, sugar, shallots, lime juice and zest, salt and pepper with gloved hands. Mix thoroughly.

Take about 2 tablespoons (or weigh out 40 grams for each portion) of the mixture and form a ball. Mold the ball onto the end of the stick, flattening out as you go. Repeat the process to make about 15 sticks.

I actually made a double batch of these because we are having friends over for dinner tonight.

Grill the sticks over an outdoor grill until golden brown, turning once. Alternatively, use an indoor grill or grill pan, like I did, to cook the chicken kebabs/sate, until golden brown on both sides, about 7-8 minutes.

Serve with the peanut sauce below as an appetizer or with steamed rice for a main course.

Balinese-Style Peanut Sauce (Base Sate)

Ingredients:

250      g.         (1 1/2 c.)          unsalted peanuts, roasted until golden brown

5          ea.                                cloves of garlic, roughly chopped

2          ea.                                Turkish aci peppers (hot peppers)

50        g.         (-1/2 c.)            ginger, roughly chopped

4-5       T.                                 kecap manis, Indonesian sweet soy sauce

2          T.                                 palm sugar or brown sugar

Pinch                                       salt

juice                                         of 1/2 a lime

240      ml.       (1 c.)                water, plus more if needed

To make the sauce, place all the ingredients (except the water) in a food processor. Blend until you form a fine paste. Alternatively, use a large stone mortar to grind the ingredients into a fine paste.

Then, thin out the paste with water until you reach the thickness you want of the peanut sauce. Slightly heat the sauce. Sate sauces are always served warm in Bali.

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Favorite Sunsets of 2011

As I searched through last year's photos, I realized how many I had intended to but haven't shared here on the blog.

So even though, I may be a tad late in doing a roundup of 2011, I wanted to share my favorite sunset photos taken mainly in Turkey and on a few other trips. I was surprised I didn't have any sunset photos from Alaçatı or Bodrum, but I think I must have taken a nap before dinner and missed out.

Hope you enjoy this photo essay!

§  In April, we drove to Edirne, about two hours from Istanbul. We paused on the Meriç Köprüsü to take this photo before we found nearby Emirgan Aile Çay Bahçesi and stopped for an Efes beer.

§  In May, while we celebrated my birthday dinner at Club Arma Restoran in Antalya, hubby took some photos here. I can't forget the sublime dinner we feasted on of levrek carpaccio and ahtapot izgara and the excellent service we received - including a special birthday dessert!

Even though the sun set behind us in Antalya, we enjoyed the sea view.

§  In July, we took our American friends on a 6-hour road trip to Bozcaada - a lovely island in the Aegean Sea along Turkey's western coast. Do as the locals do - bring a blanket and a bottle of wine to the far western edge of the island. Soon, you'll be sipping wine along the legendary Polente Feneri and watching the sunset behind the windmill farm here.

Perfect timing as a large ship passed by in the distance.

A view of the wind farm on Bozcaada, Turkey.

§  During Ramazan in the sweltering month of August, Jason and I took another Turkish road trip, which included stops in Cunda Adası, Foça, Bergama, Ephesus and Kusadası.

(Taken with my cell phone.) Day 1 on Cunda Adası.

Day 2: on the outskirts of  Foça - a small town about 130 km south of  Cunda Adası.

§  In September, I traveled with a girlfriend to Patmos and nearly got stranded on the island of Samos because of the Greek strikes. Please read: Strangers, Stranded in Samos for the harrowing tale.

Our boat was just coming into shore as the sun set by Patmos, Greece.

§  In October, we celebrated hubby's birthday in Fethiye where we had a fun, but short weekend jaunt. We walked down to the marina with a brown bag of Efes beer bottles and our camera. Drinking a beer in public while sitting on the boardwalk and watching the sunset is probably easier to do in off-peak season.

Seems like there are hundreds of sailboats in the Fethiye Marina.

§  For the Kurban Bayramı in November, we enjoyed watching the sun set over the Indian Ocean in Bali for the first time. This was an amazing trip!

Relaxing at the Nammos Beach club in Bali.

§  After I taught my baking classes in Bodrum at the Erenler Sofrasi, we stopped in the quaint, fishing village of Güvercinlik before heading back to Istanbul. Per Asli's recommendation, we ordered a levrek and çupra dinner with our Efes beer and then watched the fishing boats head to shore as the sun set.

The water was so clear and calm here in  Güvercinlik, Turkey.

Which sunset photo is your favorite? 

If you want to see more sunsets in Turkey, please check out Turkish Travel Blog and Turkey's For Life.

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Bali’s Very Expensive Coffee

My husband and I both kickstart our mornings with a cup of coffee.

It’s probably no surprise that I also enjoy coffee-infused desserts and chocolate candies.

So when we were in Bali and heard about this particular type of coffee, we knew we must try it and buy some of it too!

Our 200-gram package of Kopi Luwak coffee beans from Bali.

Kopi (the Balinese word for coffee) Luwak is one of the most expensive and rare coffees in the world. (I used to think Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee was pricey at $40/pound!) Why?

The reason is because of these two cute critters in this photo.

The civets may look adorable, but I was warned not to get too close to the cage.

Kopi Luwak is produced from the beans of coffee berries that have been eaten by the Asian Palm Civet and other related civets and then passed through their digestive tracts. These furry mammals eat the berries for their fleshy pulp, the berries get broken down in their stomachs and then come out the other end. Yep, the processed coffee beans from the civets’ “droppings” are harvested by hand by the Balinese (and in other Southeast Asian areas), rinsed thoroughly, dried, roasted and packaged just for other coffee lovers around the world!

Well, the process may not sound appealing, the resulting cup of coffee brewed from these beans is aromatic, smooth and tasty! Jason tried two cups of of Kopi Luwak during our recent vacation. I took a few sips as I like my coffee more milky and sweet than dark and strong. Cost: 50,000 IDR per cup or just $5.50 USD for about two-espresso shots worth.

This is the the fancy coffee pot contraption the Balinese locals use to brew a cup of
the Kopi Luwak. My husband was very impressed as he also enjoys
 the Turkish kave experience here.

Outside of Ubud, Bali, our taxi driver stopped at a small family-run shop that processes the coffee beans. I don’t know the name of the place, but it’s located in Sukawati, Gianyar, Bali. This is where we saw the cute civets, pictured, in cages - put on display for the tourists, I’m guessing - and bought our “poop” coffee. Our 200-gram package of Kopi Luwak cost a whopping 420,000 IDR or $46 USD. At that rate, a whole pound of this fancy Balinese coffee would cost $103.50! Yikes!

As a foodie, I’m glad we tried this rare coffee and learned about something new. But for now, I think I’ll stick with buying our $9/pound Starbucks coffee beans here in Istanbul!

Has anyone else tried any of the world’s most expensive coffees?

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Ubud’s Outdoor Market, Bali

Whenever we travel, I always try and find a farmer’s market to visit.

The sights and the smell of unfamiliar products, the noises and the lively atmosphere always entices me into the often hectic market scene.

The growing village of Ubud, thanks in part to the Eat, Pray, Love movie starring Julia Roberts, in Bali was no different. This two-storey market, at the corner of Jl Monkey Forest and Jl Raya Ubud, is filled high with fruits, vegetables, dried spices, wood carvings, baskets, batik shirts and sarongs and all sorts of souvenirs aimed at the tourists. Just like the Grand Bazaar, you will need to haggle with the stall’s owners if you want to get a good deal.

A view of the Ubud farmer's market taken from the second floor.

Jason and I took a brief tour through the Ubud market with our tour guide, I Wayan Subawa, as part of a day-long cooking class we did through Paon Bali Cooking Class. I wanted to touch, sample and buy practically everything. Since we were on limited time, I had to settle for photographing as much as I could.

For now, I’ll leave you with some of my favorite market photos taken in Ubud, Bali. Hope you enjoy the journey as well!

Our tour guide, I Wayan, explains what a snakefruit is. The outside skin looks like a snake's, peels away easily, and the inside fruit tastes a bit like an apple-pineapple.

An upclose shot of the snakefruit.

Bali's rambutan tastes very similar to lychee fruit.

Fresh palm sugar! The palm sugar is cooked and boiled down until it creates a thick syrup.
The syrup is left to solidify in coconut halves.

A view of one stall's goods: spices and wood carvings of all kinds.

Colorful Bali temple offerings - these are weaved together and filled with flowers, sometimes 
coins, fresh fruit and incense and left at the temples in honor of the Hindu gods.

One fat kilo of vanilla beans sold for about $55 USD. At least that was the starting price,
and I didn't really have time to barter so I didn't buy them.

One Balinese woman was making and selling a variety of puddings and stewed fruits.
I Wayan told us not to buy because we might get Bali Belly since we aren't used to it.

One of my favorite market shots. A Balinese woman selling a variety of fresh
herbs, such as pandan leaf, and grasses.

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Swimming in the Indian Ocean

Today, we took a dip in the Indian Ocean on two different sides of the island of Bali.

On the southwest side, near our villa in Seminyak, the ocean's waves were the most strong and powerful I've ever dealt with in my life. I literally stood in the ocean a bit past my knees and could feel all the sand get sucked out from under me. I didn't want to get too far from land without Jason who was watching our backpacks on the beach. This beach also was a bit dirty with trash strewn about along the shore. (Mallasef!)

This afternoon,  we headed to the southern-most tip of Bali, just south of Jimbaran Beach, to the Nammos Beach Club. The side of the island features very high cliffs, clean beaches and impressive underwater scenery. We put on our goggles and swam out in the clear water to a reef of-sorts. This is where I took this post's photo and many more on our good camera.

I hope we get one last glimpse of the ocean before we leave tomorrow.

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Bali Is Green!

Such a simple statement, but couldn't be more true here on this small island. Bali is covered with creeping vines, many kinds of trees including fruit trees with bananas, coconut, durian, jackfruit, mandarins and colorful, exotic flowers. This landscape is the polar opposite of our city-life in Istanbul. But what's most impressive is the terraced rice paddies surrounding the village of Ubud where we are staying. The view of the green hills surrounding our hotel, Alila Villas, in Ubud, Bali. Today, Jason and I completed (survived) a 38-kilometer bike ride, starting near Mt. Batur, a still-active volcano. This intense ride allowed us to see some of the lush countryside. We rode past countless vibrant rice paddies, even stopping to see the harvest (done by hand) upclose. We continued on through the hills and small villages where we saw beautifully decorated and architecturally-appealing Hindu temples. Each village has 3 main temples, and each family has one temple - ranging from the most simple statue to the ornate. This area is like a photographer's dream - if only I weren't just peddling by them! We did capture many photographs on our trek, but how can you truly capture the beauty of this place?

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Balinese-Inspired Noodles Kick Off Our Bayram Trip

Today, we are embarking on an adventure I never would have dreamed of doing when I was younger.

Southeast Asia seemed a million miles away from small-town life in the Midwest, United States. But now, living in a different part of the world makes me feel like nearly anything is possible.

This is a big trip for us! We've used many connections to make this trip possible.

Today, we are heading to Singapore where we will spend part of the Kurban Bayramı ** as well as four days in Bali, Indonesia. I am behind ecstatic! I’ve been planning our itinerary for weeks down to the specific hawker stalls I plan to eat at in Singapore.

Yes, I’m that anal when it comes to planning our trips, but if something would deter us from my detailed plan, I wouldn’t be devastated either. Adventures...mishaps....sometimes lead to even better discoveries or at least provide great travel stories! (See: Strangers, Stranded in Samos.)

While we are in Bali, we are taking a Balinese cooking class and market tour. I’m always looking for ways to expand my skills in the kitchen and this was right up my alley.

A couple years ago, Jason bought me a cookbook called “Bali Unveiled: The Secrets of Balinese Cuisine” by Chef Heinz von Holzen. I had hoped to take a cooking class from von Holzen, but his classes were full.

Because many of the ingredients are difficult to find or don’t even exist in Istanbul, I’ve had to heavily substitute for the original recipe so this is definitely an expat fusion recipe. On this trip, I plan to stock up on exotic ingredients such as lemongrass, coconut oil, galangal, palm sugar and fresh tumeric.

Earlier this year, I learned what galangal was when I took a Thai cooking class here from another expat. Galangal is a rhizone similar to fresh ginger root but has a delicate pine, ginger-like aroma. I had a small stash here thanks to one of my British friends whom travels often to London.

Galangal does look like ginger, doesn't it?

This is another one of those recipes that requires quite a bit of prep time because of all the chopping and measuring that’s necessary. If you have the time and the ingredients, you will be rewarded with a spicy and aromatic broth for the noodles. Delicious!

Afiyet Olsun!

A bowl full of my Balinese-inspired chicken noodle soup. This should help ward off any winter colds! =)

Balinese Spice Paste for Chicken (Base de Siap)
(Heavily adapted from von Holzen’s cookbook)

Ingredients:
25 g. (2 ea.) aci Turkish chilies or hot peppers, finely sliced
110 g. (3/4 c.) shallots, chopped small
60 g. (1/2 c.) garlic, chopped small
25 g. (1 ½-inch piece) fresh ginger, chopped small
30 g. (1/3 c.) galangal, chopped small (or omit)
1 ¾ tsp. ground tumeric powder (subbed for fresh tumeric)
50 g. (3.5 T.) blanched almonds (subbed for candlenuts)
25 g. (2 T.) brown sugar (subbed for palm sugar)
75 ml. (-1/3 c.) sunflower oil (subbed for coconut oil)
2 ea. lemongrass stalks, crushed and chopped small
125 ml. (1/2 c.) water
1 tsp. salt

Many ingredients! Thank goodness, I even found these peeled shallots here!

Combine all ingredients except the lemongrass, water and salt, in a stone mortar or food processor and pulse until coarsely ground.

In a medium-sized pot, add all the ingredients and cook over medium heat for about 1 hour or until all the water has evaporated and the paste takes on a golden hue. 

This is what the spice paste looks like as it is cooking down.

Balinese-Inspired Chicken Noodle Soup
Serves: 4

Ingredients:
1 T. sunflower oil
125 g. (1/2c.) spice paste from above recipe (Reserve the extra paste in a glass jar in the refrigerator and use a spoonful whenever you want to jazz up future noodle/soup dishes.)
500 g. (1#) chicken, chopped small
2 ea. carrots, cut into 1-inch matchstick pieces
1 L. (1 qt.) chicken stock
TT salt and freshly ground black pepper

Garnish: fresh green onions and cilantro

In a large stock pot, add the oil and spice paste and sauté until fragrant. Add the chicken and cook for about 10 minutes until the meat is evenly coated and partially cooked.

Add the stock and remaining ingredients. Simmer the soup for about 30 minutes. Ladle the soup over your favorite cooked noodles - rice noodles or even spaghetti noodles work great! Garnish the soup with chopped green onions and cilantro.

** The Kurban Bayramı, also known as the Feast of Sacrifice or Eid el-Adha, is the most important Islamic religious festival of the year and lasts for several days, Nov. 5-9, 2011. The festival celebrates the Biblical and Kur’anic account of Abraham’s near-sacrifice of his son, proving Abraham’s complete trust in God. In the story, a ram is provided for the sacrifice instead. Following this tradition, the head of each Turkish household hopes to sacrifice a sheep on the morning of the first day of the holiday period and the meat is shared among family, friends and the poor.

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