Going To My 1st Cooking Class

As I mention on my previous entry about my research to look for where all those imported ingredients are sold, I found that this new Ranch 99 supermarket is probably the best place to shop for your groceries. Off course with the quality that they deliver, there is the price tag as well that comes with it ... But when there is no other place that carries most of the stuff here, what choice do you have right?

Beside their amazing product lines, their food quality is also first rate. Everything looks fresh and new. It will be hard to find one that is expired here if not none. Also in the morning when you arrived when they just open at 10 AM, you will be greet by all of their employees who stand and bow at you everywhere.

Before I started on the menu, let me tell you about my cooking class. Today teacher's name is Hendra Utomo. I am not too sure about his pedigree and his resume but I like him. He is quite knowledgable, very very polite, kind and patience with us. He always try his best to answer all of our questions. He even don't mind when some very annoying students kept making him change his recipes....yes... there is nothing wrong with your eyes. Those 2 students who never cooked at home YET, they took every cooking class they can take even when they went to Hong Kong. They told me that in the morning they only eat bread. For lunch they went out with their girlfriends to eat. Then for dinner, they ordered some food for dinner with their family. They really have nothing else to do but keep bugging the teacher. I saluted the teacher for being patience with them and even do what they asked him to do. Like for example for the apple struddle recipe, the teacher's recipe calls for using phyllo dough but yet those 2 students kept asking him to make it with the normal pastry. When he did it, they asked him again to change the recipe by adding custard to it. Then later they asked him to change the way the apple struddle-with pastry-and-custard into more Napoleon like where you baked the pastry first then you assemble it into tall layers of pastry-custard-pastry-apple filling-pastry again! And when the teacher keep explain it to them that they really need to baked the pastry first before they assemble them with the filling and the custard. Those students kept asking him if they can do it in one shot ( as if they will make it at home! ). They keep asking him until I tried to explain it to them what the teacher said ( as if all of us don't speak the same language! ). Guess what they do to me? They shushed me!!!!!

That really ...really....make me...MAD!!!! Not only I have to endure their constant chattering ( they gosip between each other and then makes many phone calls too with their cellphones! ), they asked questions about the recipe that they can just read it on the recipe paper that the teacher provide for us! And then, they dare to tell me to shut up when I just want to tell them what the teacher is telling them ???

I ignore them completely since then. No more polite chit-chat. Until they overheard my conversation with another student ( after the class ended off course ) that I cooked authentic Taiwanese food at home for my Taiwanese husband. Then all of a sudden they start talking to me asking me if they can come to my home and watch me cook!!!! Yikes!!!! They want me to give them free lesson on how to cook authentic Chinese and Taiwanese food and taste them for free too ?

I did not say anything ...

Later after the class ended, I went to shop for some Taiwanese seasoning like Soy Paste. All of a sudden, the teacher showed up next to me and followed by those 2 annoying students who keep asking him what brand of Chinese seasoning should they buy. Then they saw me with that Soy Paste bottle and they ambushed me! They both speak at the same time asking me what that is and why do I buy it, what kind of cooking will I made using that Soy Paste etc...etc...etc...

Needless to say .... I ran like hell ...

Even though I will write the recipe on my blog. I still suggest for you who live in Surabaya if you have time and money to take this class as I do. Why? Because you can learn more by being here because you can asked a lot of questions during this time. Then you can taste the food to know how they are suppose to taste. You can also taste the ingredients individually and find out what brand works the best for this recipe. Then you can also taste other food that has nothing to do with today's cooking class menu just because the store gave the teachers freedom to taste their products in the hope that the teacher can make a recipe that use that products to promote them to us. So, yeah... going to this cooking class is really fun and very educational. Just hope that you won't have to sit next to that 2 students ...


Pic: This is how the Apple Struddel suppose to look like based on the teacher's recipe. It suppose to use Phyllo dough.


Pic: This is the apple struddle that the students asked for by using the normal pastry. The filling also use custard.


Pic: These are the pastry that the teacher baked first so that he can assemble them into the kind of apple struddle that those 2 students want. Just because that is the only apple struddle that they ever eat when they went to Australia.

So here is the recipe and the pictures of my first cooking class experience. I still have 3 free classes to go to in the future.

Today's Cooking Class Menu Is :

1. Pisang Goreng Kremes
   
2. Brownies Kukus Bandung
3. Apel Strudle
   
   
   
   

1. Pisang Goreng Kremes

I will try my best way to discribe this dish. Basically is like this: you slices a ripe banana into fan-shaped then you prepare a thin batter that later will look and taste a lot like tempura batter except a bit sweeter. Use a lot of oil in a big wok, then pour this thin batter into the not-so-hot oil. Right after you pour the batter you stir them clockwise gently ( this is the key! ). Why? Because by doing this you made them stick to each other like a spider web. As a result you get a big ( as big as the wok you use ) round tempura, while it is not crisp yet ( right after stirring ), you push it to half the side of the wok to create half circle dish. Wait a few second to make them crisp and harder a little then gently you put your banana on it ( if you do it too soon the banana will dropped through it! ). Then fold 1/3 of it's side to cover the banana and the other 1/3 of it's side on top of it too. Just try to imagine this half circle is divided into 3 imaginary section, the middle one is for banana, then you scoop the right side on top of the banana, and then scoop the left side to cover it again. Got it? No? Well...

Here is the recipe:

Batter "A" :
20 gr tapioca flour
450 ml water

Batter "B" :
18 gr rice flour
70 gr tapioca flour
12 gr sugar
1/4 Tbs salt
A dash of Vanilla powder
200 ml water

1 egg yolk

few riped banana sliced into fan shaped each
Oil for frying

Shredded cheddar, shaved chocolate, sugar powder, sliced strawberries ( optional )

Procedures:

1. Cooked batter "A" until they look like a glue
2. Mean while, heat the oil with medium heat
   
3. Mix the ingredients from "B", then add only 2 Tbs of "A". Mix them well.
4. Now is the time to add the egg yolk and mixed it well too.
5. Pour about 1/4 cup of the batter into the oil. Stir the batter clockwise gently few times and then wait for few seconds.
   
6. Push the batter into half the pan to make a half circle.
7. Wait until the batter is half cooked but not crisp yet. Then it's time to add the banana in the middle of that half circle batter.
8. Fold both sides of the half circle to enveloped the banana.
9. Fried it until light golden color or until crisp enough.
   
10. You can put some shredded cheddar and sprinkle some chocolate shaving on top of it or just dust the top with sugar powder.

NOTE: To make a beautiful "Pisang Goreng Kremes", patience is the virtue. One step at a time and wait for a short time in between step.




Pic: Fold both side of the half circle on top of the banana


Pic: Sliced the banana into fan shaped

2. Brownie Kukus Bandung ( Bandung's Steamed Brownie )

Use square cake pan the size of 20 x 20 x 10 cm for this recipe.

"A" ingredients:
4 whole eggs
4 egg yolks
300 gr sugar
25 gr emulsifier ( SP )
1 tsp vanilla essence / rhum baker
1/4 tsp salt

"B" ingredients":
175 gr butter
100 gr melted chocolate block
1/2 Tbs rhum pasta/baker
1 Tbs chocolate pasta

"C" ingredients:
185 gr all purpose flour
15 gr milk powder
2,5 gr baking powder
40 gr cacao

"D" ingredients"
50 gr butter
100 gr cream cheese
100 gr dark chocolate, melted

Ingredients for topping:
50 gr butter
100 gr shredded cheese ( cheddar )

Procedures:

1. Prepare the steamer first
   
2. Melt the butter, dark chocoate, rhum pasta, chocolate pasta until the chocolate melted but not boiling. -- this is from "B" ingredients.
3. On a bowl of mixer, mixed eggs, sugar, cake emulsifier, salt ( from ingredients "A") until light and fluffy.
4. Mix and sieve ingredients "C" .
5. Mixed "C" to "A" first before you mixed them with "B".
6. Divide the batter into 2 parts.
7. Buttered the cake pan well before you pour half of the batter in it. Then cover the batter with parchment paper that has already been buttered too. Steam it for 25 minutes.
8. Melt the butter, chocolate and cream cheese but don't let it boiled or you have to start with new ingredients again. Then put this into pipping bag and start squeezing the filling on top of the steamed brownie. Make sure that you gave at least 2 cm space all around the edges because if you pipped the filling until the edge, it will melt and your brownie will stuck to the pan and look ugly!
9. Then put the other half of the brownie batter into another pipping bag and spread it to cover everything. You should start pipping it from the edge ( the opposite from the filling ) This way the brownie batter will envelop the filling and make your cake look neat and it will be easy to take it out from the cake pan. Steam it for 25 minutes.
10. When it's done, spread the brownie with butter and sprinkle the cheese on top.

Pic: The teacher spread some butter on top of the "Brownie Kukus Bandung"

Here are extra video clips for making Apple Struddel both by using Phyllo dough and normal pastry :