BALI!

Some photos from my trip to Bali...





Temple Tour...








Wading to the temple to make an offering and get a blessing...







Get this monkey off my back...please.





Smile!






Gettin' a cup of homemade joe...from the tree to the wood stove to the mortar to the cup...check it out!









This is from the Barong & Kris Dance, an ancient dance that represents the eternal fight between good and evil...

RECIPE: Nasi Kerabu (Herbed Rice)

This is a simple rice dish that is really delicious. It's usually prepared with whatever fresh herbs you happen to have at your disposal. The more herbs, the better. You can also cut up fish or chicken and toss with the rice. Use Thai rice if possible, but any rice will do. It is usually served with SAMBAL (that's the little red/brown stuff on the side there). I've included the Sambal recipe on a brand new blog I've started just for recipes:

http://singaporerecipes.blogspot.com/


Ingredients:
4 cups cooked rice
1/4 cup grated coconut, dry fried until golden brown
1 tbsp oil
50g salted fish, soaked in water for 1 hour, rinsed and dried
2 cups of finely shredded daun ulam (mixed herbs)
1 lemongrass, sliced thinly
2 shallots, sliced thinly
1 inch young ginger, shredded
1/2 inch galangal, shredded
1/2 inch fresh tumeric, shredded
1/2 torch ginger, sliced thinly
salt to taste
pepper to taste

Daun Ulam (mixed herbs) - use whatever herbs are available to you in your region and a combination of your choice
Daun Cekur (Aromatic Ginger Leaves)
Daun Pegaga (Asian Pennyworth)
Daun Pudina (Mint Leaves)
Daun Limau Purut (Kaffir Lime Leaves)
Daun Gagus (Young Cashew Leaves)
Daun Kaduk (Wild Pepper Leaves)
Ulam Raja (Wild Cosmos)
Daun Semangkok
Daun Teh Besar
Daun Teh Kechil
Daun Belinjau
Daun Chemparai
Daun Tengeh Burong
Daun Puchuk Paku (Young Fern shoots)
Dill
Daun Soup (Chinese Celery)
Young Passionfruit Leaves
Watercress
Daun Ketumbar (Coriander Leaves - Cilantro)
Daun Kunyit (Tumeric Leaves)
Daun Selasih (Thai Basil Leaves)
Young Noni Leaves

Method:
1. Heat oil in a wok over medium heat and fry the salted fish until lighly brown. Remove and cool. Then flake it.
2. Combine the rice with the rest of the ingredients with 2 wooden spoons. Adjust taste with salt and pepper.
3. Serve with Sambal Belachan (recipe for THAT follows).

Step 7: Chop the cilantro (coriander)

Step 6: Add the salt & pepper.

Step 5: Add the prawns.

Step 4: Fry the garlic.

Step 3: Melt butter in the wok.

Step 2: Crush the black pepper. It should be course, not fine.

Step 1: Dry roast the black pepper in a wok (no oil) until it starts to move (careful not to burn it)

RECIPE: Butter Prawns

This is the first thing we made. It's really hard to screw this one up. It starts with butter and garlic. How can you go wrong from there?

BUTTER PRAWNS
Serves 4

Ingredients:
2 tbsp butter
4 garlic cloves, peeled & chopped
250g (about 1/2 lb.) prawns (shrimp with heads and whiskers on)
salt and black pepper (lots of pepper if you like pepper)
1 tbsp coriander leaves (that's what they call cilantro here)

1. Dry roast the black pepper in the wok without oil. When the peppercorns start to move back and forth, you know they're done. Careful not to burn.
2. Crush the toasted black peppercorns, coursely.
3. In a wok, over medium heat, melt the butter and fry the garlic till light brown.
4. Add the prawns and season with salt and pepper. Cook until prawns turn pink, about 5 minutes.
5. Serve garnished with coriander leaves.

Now, if you want to kick up up a notch, you can use this as the starting point for making an even better recipe - BLACK PEPPER PRAWNS.

After step 2, you can add 1 tbsp of oyster sauce and 1-2 tsp of black sweet soy sauce.

Kampong House Cooking Class

I've been taking cooking classes from a local chef called Ruqxana. The classes are small (2-3 students) and are held in Ruqxana's home kitchen. The menu rotates every day. Monday = Indian, Tuesday = Chinese, Wednesday = Malay/Indonesian, Thursday = Indochina/Thai, Friday = Singapore/Asian Fusion. This weekend she hosted a larger group - 12 students - on a personalized kampong cooking class on PULAU UBIN, a small island off the west coast of the mainland. Accessible only by ferry, a trip to Pulau Ubin is a throwback to Singapore in the 1960's. The island is home to Singapore's last kampongs (villages) - there are still about a hundred villagers living here. In contrast to the modern and efficient public utilities on mainland Singapore, Palau Ubin residents rely on wells for water and noisy diesel generators for electricity. Some villagers depend on fishing for subsistence, while others tend to their provision stored and eateries. At the main village, near the jetty, some houses have been converted to bicycle rental shops to support a quiet tourist trade.

The first part of the class was a tour of the jungle. Ruqxana took us on a hike where she showed us all of the fantastic natural herbs and spices that we would use to cook the meal planned for that afternoon. The jungle is basically your personal free grocery store if you know what the plants look like. There's a shot here where Ruqxana is plucking some lemongrass, and another spot where she found a huge cinammon tree that had fallen to the ground (you have never smelled cinammon until you've scraped the bark right off the tree).

VISITING WITH MALAYSIAN ROYALTY

Some photos of my trip to Istana Pasir Pelangi in Malaysia to celebrate Hari Raya holiday with Her Royal Highness Raja Zarith Sofiah (courtesy of NYU acting prof Gaurav Kripilani's invitation to faculty). The Princess' house is...well...see for yourself. Hari Raya Aidilfitri (also Hari Raya Puasa, literally "Fasting Day of Celebration") is the Malay term for the Muslim festival of Eid ul-Fitr. Hari Raya is also known as Lebaran. Muslims in Malaysia and Singapore celebrate Eid like other Muslims throughout the world. The term "Hari Raya" literally means "Day of Celebration" — it is also occasionally used to refer to Eid ul-Adha in the form of "Hari Raya Aidiladha". The main greeting used by Muslims in Malaysia and Singapore is "Selamat Hari Raya" which means "Happy Eid" in Malay. Another greeting is "maaf zahir dan batin" which translates loosely to "I seek forgiveness (from you) physically and spiritually", for Hari Raya is a time to reconcile and renew relationships with others. It's also a time to pig out on amazing Malaysian food.
Some great shots of a couple of baby marmosets (the Princess has her own little zoo on her estate with a bear, monkey, iguana, boa constrictor, etc.) A dragon dance by the children.

TISCH ASIA OPENING GALA

Well, folks. It's official. We got signage. We got a building. Freshly steamrolled asphalt. A big party with dragon dancing. Jackie Chan. Most importantly, we got students shooting film. (Pause for celebratory cheer).

These are mooncakes...cute, huh.

MATT MYERS APARTMENT READY FOR VISITORS

3 bedrooms, 2.5 bathrooms - the works. Plenty of room for guests. Anyone?