Snacks

3 recipes

Martabak Telur

A simple flour-water-oil dough rests for 1 hour (gluten relaxes; will roll paper-thin). Filling: beef mince cooks with shallot, garlic, ginger, curry-leaf, ground spices till dry and aromatic; cools; mixes with beaten eggs, spring onion and chopped coriander just before frying. Dough divides; each portion stretches paper-thin like a strudel; filling spoons in the centre; the edges fold over to make a flat square parcel; pan-fries for 3 minutes per side. Cuts in quarters; eats with chilli-pickle sauce.

1 hour 55 minutes Serves4

Pisang Goreng (Indonesian Banana Fritters)

Saba bananas (or under-ripe regular bananas) peel and halve lengthways. Batter: rice flour, plain flour, sugar, baking powder, salt mixed with cold water and a touch of vanilla to a thick pancake-batter consistency. Bananas dip into the batter to coat; lower into hot oil (175°C); fry for 4-5 minutes turning, until deep gold and crisp. Drain on a rack. Eats hot, sometimes dusted with icing sugar or drizzled with palm-sugar syrup.

30 minutes Serves4

Tahu Isi (Stuffed Fried Tofu)

Firm tofu blocks halve crossways into triangles. A small slit cuts into each triangle to make a pocket. Vegetable filling stir-fries quickly with shallot, garlic, soy sauce and a pinch of sugar; cools. Pockets stuff with filling. Stuffed tofu dips into a thin rice-flour batter; fries in moderately hot oil 3-4 minutes till crisp gold all over. Eats hot with whole fresh chillies on the side and a saucer of sweet-soy dip.

50 minutes Serves4