Empal Kisi

Trying out something new is great when you have nothing to do, and for me now, cooking is an outlet to vent off the frustration of not being able to do much. (I have to constantly remind myself that I'm pregnant, even with the already bulging belly!)

My mom and I, we make a nice team because we share many similarities; and cooking with her is always a great fun. Today we're making empal kisi, an Indonesian marinated beef and ca kangkung (stir fried kangkong) for dinner, and as we chatted away, the lovely fragrance of spiced beef permeated the kitchen. Dinner will be ready very soon!!

Empal Kisi - serves 4

Ingredients

6 pcs oyster blade beef, trimmed

1 tbsp ground corriander, fry in a shallow pan (without oil) for a minute, set aside

4 cm fresh/ frozen galangal, grated

1/2 tsp turmeric ground

1/2 tsp sugar

salt & white pepper to taste 

Method

1. Pre-heat oven to 180 (bake, not fan forced)
2. Boil oyster blade pieces,
3. Add in coriander, turmeric, sugar, simmer until the meat becomes tender and the stock is 3/4 reduced. Season to taste with s&p. Reserve the left over stock.
4. Pound the meat with meat tenderizer until it is slightly torn & thin.
5. Oven bake for approx. 10 minutes. Slather the reserved stock on the meat as it cooks.
6. Change the oven setting, fan-grill the grated galangal til' crisp - approx 10 minutes. 
7. Toss the crisp galangal atop the meat and serve immediately.

milestone - the 4th month

I detect no particular cravings up to this point, and I sigh with relief as I recalled many, many horror stories I've heard from others about craving the weirdest things. I abhorred garlic for the longest time though initially. Its smell made me nauseated and thus Chinese food was out of the menu for a long time!!

Luckily my parents are here, and my mom has been such a lifesaver during those difficult days where I was hungry yet didn't have any idea what to eat. *gasp* I've never been a fussy eater before, and yet, I'd refuse food suggestions left & right it wasn't funny.. 

Morning sickness was almost non-existent, but late night sickness came to visit quite frequently, so I devised a plan to nibble on plain snacks and crackers. Lemon and ginger flavored biscuits too, helped me survive those nights in between the unavoidable toilet trips. First trimester, ah, what a joyful time!

Top 5 snacks for pregnancy

Forget crackers, they weren't as filling enough for my rumbling stomach, and I had to resort to (most of the time) a bowl of rice in the end anyway. Here's the list of my most loved snacks during pregnancy.

1. Peanut butter on bread.
2. A bowl of oatmeal porridge. (simply salted or with a piece of banana)
3. Pumpkin flavored Cup-a-soup.
4. Dairy Farmers' mango & passion fruit yoghurt
5. Mc Donalds Quarter Pounder ^^,

I know that Quarter pounder isn't supposed to be on the list, but I was quite fond of it during my pregnancy. (My excuse was that I'm having a boy, thus the extra testosterone made me crave it :P). Aside of those 5, I often have warm Milo with milk, banana and avocado too.