I Cook My Dreams

Photos: Passport & Plate - Warm Wedang Ronde

nyalaterang — Tue, 11 Mar 2014 20:31:00 GMT

Ingredients
Ronde Batter:

200gr glutinous rice flour
175ml warm water
a pinch of salt

Ronde filling:
Peanut butter

Soup:
2000ml water
2 ginger (crushed)
200gr brown sugar
pandan leaves
colorful sago pearls

How to prepare this recipe
Batter:
1. In a big bowl, mix glutinous rice flour, water and a pinch of salt
2. Stir the dough well (better using your hand)
3. Make sure the dough is thick enough (pizza-like dough)
4. Using your hand, make a small ball from the dough
5. Fill the ball with peanut butter
6. Continue with the rest of the dough
7. Set aside
8. Add the balls into boiling water
8. Wait until the balls are well-cooked (they will be floating up)

Soup:
1. Put water in big pan
2. Add crushed ginger, brown sugar and sago pearls
3. Close the lids and bring water to boil
4. When it is boiling, put white balls and pandan leaves, then close the lids
4. Let it boils for another 10 mins
5. It is ready to serve in cute bowl

The story behind this recipe
These past 3 months were the coldest days here in Jakarta. It's raining and flooding everywhere; it makes me lazy to go outside even to find some food to eat. I was flooded by hungry and I decided to cook something warm and satisfying for my tummy. Here goes my homemade Wedang Ronde! It is warm yet tasty, satisfying enough to cure your hunger. Originally. this recipe came from Central Java. Wedang Ronde is a famous street food and usually people sells it in angkringan (small stall in sidewalks). My mom is a javanese and I have thick javanese blood inside my veins. I stole this recipe from her kitchen, directly from her. She loves to make this dish and I copy the way she cook. This is my first homemade wedang ronde, I made it with my own hand with no help from my mom! Should I be proud, or not? It was really tasty and warm. The ginger soup was great, it made you warm to the bones! the balls were great; I love the chewy texture and the melted peanut butter inside. And the colorful sago pearls... they cooked perfectly and looked appealing. The mixture of sago pearls, balls, peanut butter and warm ginger soup made a good mixture, I still can taste it now while I am typing this!
I spent the rest of the day with perfectly shaped ronde (balls) and warm ginger soup (wedang), the whole family loves it, they said that I can be wedang-ronde seller and open my own angkringan LOL the coldest days in Jakarta turned out to be the warmest days of the year because of wedang ronde. Moreover, it is really good to cook traditional food with my own hand. I feel like I've done a great job: preserving the culture! LOL.

Photos: My Scholarship entry - A 'place' I have visited

nyalaterang — Wed, 26 Jun 2013 14:18:00 GMT

Hi, Jason! I'm 25 yo woman from Jakarta, Indonesia. I love to write because I love story. My credo is every thing - even the smallest one, has its own story. I love telling story from 'rare' point of view, from the point of view that many people might have not noticed at the first place. You should choose me to go with you to spread this credo.

My Scholarship entry - A 'place' I have visited

nyalaterang — Sun, 13 Jan 2013 14:30:46 GMT

Hello, I'm Kenya from Jakarta, Indonesia. I'm now a full time translator in a mining service company. It makes me sit in front of computer for hours. My job can tie my body down to my seat but it can’t tie up my mind. I love arts and I love traveling. Since I can’t go anywhere further than my office, for now, all I can do is mind traveling through Google. My job has told me to appreciate small (even the smallest) things around me because every single entity has their own story and it is worth to be documented. The photos I submitted were taken at a small cafeteria at the back of my office.
Arts and traveling are my biggest passions. I love literature, philosophy; I’m also in love with culture and people. I love writing and of course writing using light and scenes even though I know I am not yet good about it. Capturing people or capturing event through my lens is the best feeling I could feel. I really want to take better shots every time I peek through my lens. For me, to photograph is to experience, and as a human being we need experience to determine who we are. I do hope I can join this great learning experience