Kwee Tiauw, and my first Lalapan (Chinese, Indonesian)

Still in my Indonesian phase of course!  I like the book I bought, but I feel like there's not enough hard recipes, and if you know me you know I like to make food, condiments, sauces, broths from scratch.  I like complex recipes that teach you new techniques you ever saw before.  I need challenge.  This Indonesian Cooking book is good to introduce someone to basic, simple and quick Indonesian cooking, but I'll need a better (more expensive) book on the subject and I also should explore the blogs available on (praise them) internets!

I like noodles, and my boyfriend probably likes them even more than me.  This recipe is apparently a Chinese dish (even kept its Chinese name) that's so popular in Indonesia that it became a classic.  It's a really easy dish with simple flavours, but if you add some (a lot for me) sambal oelek on top, the flavours all combine together to create an amazing new taste, so if you like sambal oelek, don't skip it! 

Here's my simplified, slightly adapted version of Kwee Tiauw, from the book Indonesian Cooking by Dina Yuen!

(serves 4-6)

-1lb dried flat wide rice noodles, soaked in warm water for 30-45 minutes, then drained

-2 chicken breasts cut into small bite-size cubes

-13 garlic cloves

-3 shallots

-5tbsp kecap manis or thick sweet soy sauce

-2tbsp soy sauce

-3tbsp oyster sauce

-1/4tsp white pepper

-1/2cup water

-2-4 green onions, cut into 1inch lengths

-1cup bean sprouts or soybean sprouts

-some sambal oelek to serve with

In a big wok or big non-stick pan, add 3tbsp of oil and stir the garlic and shallots for 2-3 minutes.  Add the chicken and stir-fry until mostly cooked.

Add the noodles and toss while trying to avoid breaking the noodles (they'll still break, you can't make a miracle like this one happen).

Add the 2 soy sauces, and the oyster sauce, white pepper and water.  Mix well.  Add the bean sprouts and green onions, toss for a minute and it's ready!

Here is a picture of my first lalapan, plate of vegetables accompanied by a sambal and served with Indonesian food as a side dish.  I used cucumber, tomatoes, and blanched string beans and cabbage. It was good but I wasn't impressed by this peanut sauce sambal recipe from the same book as the noodles. The quantities were wrong, I had to add double the peanuts, and it still tasted more of coconut milk and lemongrass...  I feel like I improvised better peanut sauce without measuring in the past.  So I'll come back to you with other sambals and a better peanut one.  It's still nice to have a plate of fresh veggies to munch on throughout the meal :).