Culinary Adventures with Camilla

Catching up...I just realized that I never finished this post. Whoops. We kicked off the boys' Fall Break with some tabletop travel to Indonesia in our cooking around the world adventure. Indonesia is an archipelago that consists of over 17,000 islands of which only about a third are populated. Culinarily, Indonesian foods are based on indigenous techniques and ingredients but influenced by India, the Middle East, China and Europe. Spanish, Portuguese, and Dutch traders brought new ingredients when they colonized. And the flow went both ways when the native spices - such as cloves and nutmeg - were taken from the Indonesian Moluccas islands back to Europe. For our dinner, I revamped some leftover rice into Indonesian Nasi Goreng . And we also had Ayam Goreng Kuning , Indonesian Fried Chicken. Delicious all around! For the talls, we ended with a clove-scented coffee. This Global Table Ambassador is signing off for now. We'll be heading to Iran next.

This is a great recipe for leftover rice. At least I liked it. Riley was a little weirded out by the tiny eyes looking at him. Oh, well... I did use whole shrimps versus shrimp paste; I also didn't have any eggs, so we went without. 4 C cold, cooked rice 2 T olive oil 2 T butter 1 T minced garlic 3 T dried mini shrimp 3 shishito peppers, sliced soy sauce sliced cucumbers for garnish sliced tomatoes for garnish In a large flat bottom pan heat the olive oil. Add the garlic, shrimp, and peppers and cook until aromatic. Add the rice and butter. Break up the clumps of rice with a fork. Cook until completely heated through and sizzling. Season with soy sauce. Garnish with slices of cucumbers and tomatoes.

I was very nearly put off with the realization that this recipe for Ayam Goreng Kuning, Indonesian Fried Chicken, comes from Indonesia's franchise chain Mbok Berek . That's sort of like an Indonesian KFC. Thankfully the similarities end there. Indonesian fried chicken is first marinated in herbs and spices, then simmered in a coconut broth, and only then is it fried to golden, crispy perfection. Chicken pieces (I used chicken thighs, one per person) 4 T minced garlic 1 T crushed coriander seeds 2 t ground turmeric 1 t ground paprika 2 bay leaves, crushed freshly ground sea salt freshly ground rainbow peppercorns coconut milk water butter olive oil In a large bowl, rub the chicken with the garlic, coriander, turmeric, paprika, bay leaves, salt and pepper. Refrigerate and let marinate for at least one hour. Add the chicken, marinade, coconut milk, and water to a large pot. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for about 30 minutes, or until the liqui...