THE RARE GEMS

First thing first, Happy Independence Day, Indonesians!! To commemorate it, I intentionally post this recipe because tempe and tahu are Indonesians' fave. But why the title? Well they went AWOL from the market for a bit because of the sky rocketed price of the ingredients.

I actually had the craving to cook this for iftar a few days ago. And now since the-once-rare-gems are back in the market, I feel the need to post my favorite Sambel GorengTempe Tahu recipe....just because (okay, actually was also practicing my photo-composition). Super easy and super delish! 

Balado Tempe Tahu

3 large cloves garlic
3 cloves shallots
5 large red chilies, deseeded if you like
3 chilli padi
3 cm galangal
2 bay leaves
1/2 cup water
1-2 tbsp sweet soya sauce
250 gr tempe
250 gr tahu
sugar, salt and pepper to taste
oil for frying

1. Cut all the tempe and tahu widthwise like match sticks about 0.5cm thick and fry until golden brown. Set aside.
2. Put garlic, shallots, all chillies, galangal, and water in a food processor, blend them until everything combined but still coarse.
3. Heat oil in a frying pan, and once it's hot, pour in the blended spices. Stir the mixture until bubbly and put in the bay leaves. Add sugar (bare in mind you're going to add sweet soya sauce later on), salt and pepper to taste. 
4. Mix the fried tempe and tahu into the spices and mix well. Add 1-2 tbsp (depending how sweet you want it to be) just to give it a nice brown color. Stir and...you're done!

 Loving grandma's china collections :)

Anyway, I spotted Ayu's foodie blog, she's an Indonesian blogger living in Sydney. I love her recipes and especially the photos! Looking at her gorgeous photos inspired me to keep practicing..Teeheee!!