Green Soybeans Porridge (Bubur Kacang Hijau)

250 gram green soybeans
750 ml water
300 ml coconut milk (substitute fresh milk)
100 gram sugar (or 100 gram brown sugar)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 Pandan leaf

Coconut Sauce
200 ml thick coconut milk
2 cm ginger, crushed
a pinch of salt

Clean green soy beans. Then cook with water until it’s soft. Add more water until the soybeans become porridge. Stir well while cooking.

When the green soya is ready, add coconut milk, vanilla and pandan leaf. By the time the coconut milk is half left, add sugars (or brown sugar) and salt. Keep stirring it.

Cook until it becomes thick like porridge. To prepare the coconut sauce, just by boiling all the ingredients.

Serve the green soybeans porridge (bubur kacang hijau) with the coconut sauce.

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Cilantro, Soapy but has many Health Benefits

This herb, popular in Mexican and Asian dishes, is surprisingly divisive. There's even a website dedicated to cilantro-haters. The aldehydes give cilantro its fragrance and give off that soapy smell and flavor, but some people find it pleasing.

Want to make it more palatable? Crush up the leaves, which converts the aldehydes into a less noxious aroma, making it easier to eat.

On the other hand, Cilantro has many health benefits, such as:

Protects against the Salmonella bacteria
Reportedly works as a natural chelation treatment
Aids in digestion and helps settle the stomach and prevent flatulence
An anti-inflammatory that may alleviate symptoms of arthritis
Protects against urinary tract infections
Prevents nausea
Relieves intestinal gas
Lowers blood sugar
Lowers bad cholesterol (LDL) and raises good cholesteraol (HDL)
A good source of iron
A good source of magnesium
Rich in phytonutrients and flavonoids

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Sweet ,Spicy, and Sour Fruits Salad (Rujak Buah)

Unripe Mango
Pineapple
Melon
Cucumber
Sweet potato
all fruits thinly sliced

Sauce :

100 g fried peanut
2-3 bird's eyes chillies (optional)
1/2 teaspoon dried shrimp paste
100 g palm sugar
1 teaspoon tamarind juice
100 ml water

Peel and Clean all fruits then sliced. Store in the fridge for 15 minutes
Grind and blend all ingredients for the sauce.

Serve fruits with sauce.

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Fried Meatball (Bakso Goreng)

250 g Minced beef/Chicken/Prawn (or mixed meat)
35 g tapioca flour
75 g ice cube, crushed
2 white eggs
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
2 tablespoons fried shallots
2 tablespoons sesame oil (optional)
salt and pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients for meatball (except spring roll wrapper) and grind them in food processor until it's sticky. Then put in fridge for 45 minutes to one hour.

Heat oil in deep fryer, and fry with medium heat until it is golden and cooked.
Serve with fresh chillies or chilli sauce.

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Chicken Spring Roll (Lumpia Ayam)

For Filling

1 chicken breast, cook until tender, keep the stock.
Cut the meat into small pieces.
2 big carrots, thinned sliced
½ onion, chopped
2 cloves of garlics, chopped
1 tea spoon of pepper
½ tea spoon of sugar
A pinch of salt or, chicken seasoning

For wrapping
20 Spring Rolls Sheets

The filling : Heat 3 table spoon of oil, and stir fry the onion and garlic. Then add chicken meat and carrots. Pour some of the chicken stock, just enough to make the carrots tender. Add pepper, salt and sugar. Cook about 10 minutes or until the carrot is tender and water absorb.

Place the spring roll wrapper with one corner at the bottom so that it resembles a diamond. Brush the four edges of the wrapper with the beaten egg or water. Add the filling in the bottom part of the wrapper in a thin log shape, not touching the edges. Leave the bottom few cm clear. Lift the wrapper over the top and tuck it in under the filling. Fold over the left side, and then the right side and roll it up to form a tube. Brush a little more egg along the top part and seal the roll. Repeat until all the rolls are finished.

Once the oil is hot, deep fry the spring rolls until lightly brown, which should take only a minute or two. Put them on the toweled tray to let them drain. Serve your crispy spring rolls as an appetizer. serve with a sweet and sour sauce or chili sauce.

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Unusual uses for vinegar: Remove stickers

If you’re just getting around to removing that Kerry/Edwards decal from your bumper, or trying to peel a price tag off a new purchase, you’ll never guess what magic ingredient is about to make your life a lot easier.

Warm a little bit of white vinegar on the stovetop or in the microwave and then dip a rag into it. Hold the rag over the sticker until it’s thoroughly saturated, and it will peel right off without leaving sticky residue behind. This trick also loosens wallpaper adhesive.

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Sweet Marinated Bean Cake (Tempe Bacem)

250 g tempe, cut into 6-8 pieces
1 cm of galangal*
2 Salaam leaves (bay leaves)
250 ml thick coconut milk
250 ml water
*can be substituted with 1 tablespoon of galangal powder

Spice Paste
2 cloves of garlic
1 tsp of coriander
4 shallots or half medium red onion
1 tsp of tamarind (asem jawa)
2 tbsp of palm sugar/brown sugar
salt to taste

Grind or blend the spice paste.

Boil the coconut milk/coconut water together with tempe, galangal, Salaam leafs, and spice paste. Add the water and continue cooking until the spices and water are absorbed. Then cool them off.

Heat up 50 ml oil into deep frying pan and fry the tofu both sides, but don't do it too much (too dry/crunchy).

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Health Benefits of Sage

Do you know that Sage may help Preserve memory, soothe sore throats? Herbalists recommend sipping sage tea for upset stomachs and sore throats, a remedy supported by one study that found spraying sore throats with a sage solution gave effective pain relief.

And preliminary research suggests the herb may improve some symptoms of early Alzheimer's disease by preventing a key enzyme from destroying acetylcholine, a brain chemical involved in memory and learning.

In another study, college students who took sage extracts in capsule form performed significantly better on memory tests, and their moods improved.

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Warteg Style Omelete (Telur Dadar ala Warteg)

5 eggs
2 tablespoons rice flour
3 stalks spring onion

Spice paste
6 shallots
2 cloves garlic
2 red chillies
1 bird's eyes chilli (optional)
salt to taste

Whisk the eggs slowly with fork but do not foamy it.

Grind or blend the spice paste. Then put in a bowl and mix it with rice flour and spring onion (and grated coconut, optional).

Add the egg into the mixture.
Heat the oil in non-stick frying pan the fry the egg with low heat.

Cut into pieces and serve with steam rice.

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Chile Peppers Boost Metabolism

Chile peppers add a much-appreciated heat to chilly-weather dishes, and they can also give a boost to your metabolism. Thank to capsaicin, the compound that gives fresh chiles, and spices including cayenne and chipotle, their kick.

Studies show that capsaicin can increase the body's metabolic rate (causing one to burn more calories) and may stimulate brain chemicals that help us feel less hungry. In fact, one study found that people ate 16 percent fewer calories at a meal if they'd sipped a hot-pepper-spiked tomato juice (vs. plain tomato juice) half an hour earlier.

Recent research found that capsinoids, similar but gentler chemicals found in milder chile hybrids, have the same effects-so even tamer sweet paprika packs a healthy punch. Capsaicin may also lower risk of ulcers by boosting the ability of stomach cells to resist infection by ulcer-causing bacteria and help the heart by keeping "bad" LDL cholesterol from turning into a more lethal, artery-clogging form.

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