Mie Ayam Jamur

I've got Mie Ayam Jamur Gajah Mada cravings since weekend, so I googled the recipe and got tons of them. I picked several that I really think delicious and got the photo to justify (I know I am that shallow hehe).. Finally I mixed three recipes and got my own Mie Ayam Jamur a la GM.

It is a simple dish, noodle, chicken and mushroom, a bit bok choy, spring onion, fried shallot and clear chicken broth. I was a bit terrified because I am not a good cook and this dish looks simple to eat but will be hard to prepare :p

Fingers crossed, I prepared all the ingredients and hoping it will taste good (even though I knew it would'nt taste anything like GM's because I don't know their secret recipe).

Here's the recipe :

*for the chicken and mushroom toppings*
1 chicken breast
3 chicken thigh fillet
8 pcs mushrooms (they are huge), sliced
1 pc ginger as big as your thumb), sliced then keprek
5 cloves garlic, uleg with salt
3 tbsp sweet soy sauce
1 tbsp salty soy sauce
1 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tbsp corn starch
salt and pepper to taste

*for chicken broth*
4 cloves garlic, crushed
1 shallot, sliced
2 spring onions
salt and pepper to taste

1 package of ready to use noodles (500gr)
3 bunch of pak choy, cut 5cm
1 spring onions, sliced finely
sesame oil

Directions:
I don't have chicken frames to make the stock so I just use the chicken fillets to make the broth. So I just wash the fillets, prepare 4 cloves of garlic (crushed), 1 shallots (sliced) and spring onions (tied). Heat the pot, add a little bit oil, cook garlic and shallot until fragrant, dump the fillets into the pot and spring onions also, lots of water to cover the fillet and a bit of pepper and salt to suit your taste. After 30-40 minutes, take the fillets, let cool and slice into bite size. Strain the chicken broth (I got almost 1 litre of stock, I use half of it to make the chicken mushroom topping), set aside. Throw away the shallots and spring onion, and put back the crushed garlic into 500 ml stock to make the chicken topping mushroom.

In a wok, heat a little bit of oil, cook garlic and ginger untill fragrant, add chicken pieces and sliced mushroom, stir. Add salty soy sauce, sweet soy sauce, oyster sauce and 400ml chicken stock. The problem is, I used cooked chicken so they took a little bit longer (than raw chicken) to absorb the soy sauce which give them the sweet taste and beautiful brownish colour. I mixed 1 tbsp cornstarch with 100ml chicken stock and add to the wok to thicken the sauce. Let it simmer for another 30 minutes to reduced and you will get beautiful thick chicken mushroom sauce. Yum!

After that, I prepare 1,5 litre water bring to boil and cook the noodles until tender but still chewy. I did not add oil into the water because I prefer my noodle clean, and after all I need to cut back my oil/fat intake :) Strain the noodle, wash with cold water, put in the mixing bowl. Do the same with the pak choy. Slice the spring onions finely, set aside. To prevent the noodles from getting dry and stick to one another, I just drizzle them with the sesame oil and sauce from chicken and mushroom toppings, but please do this when you are going to eat this dish right away otherwise the noodle will absorb the sauce and become too tender.

To serve, just place the noodle into your bowl, set the veggies, chicken mushroom toppings and sauce, springkle of fried shallots. In another bowl (smaller one) prepare hot chicken broth, drizzle with sesame oil and sprinkle with green onion.

All set and ready. After a few hours in the kitchen, the famous noodle is FINALLY ready, yes it feels took forever to cook especially when you have 1 year toddler who refuse to nap and insist to join you in the kitchen inspecting every drawer and pantry door. Abenk went home just in time for lunch, had two portions of Mie Ayam Jamur a la GM.. And what about me? Well, I just smiled and pat my self in the back :)

I wished I had time to make the condiments like sambal dan the chicken oil (to be mixed into the noodle) but next time I will try to make them a day in advance.

Vinegar Chili Condiment:
12 pcs of red chilis – boil till soft
2 pcs crushed garlic
cuka, sugar & salt to taste
Process them all together and serve fresh.

Special Chicken Oil
1 or 2 cup of fresh cooking oil
chicken skin/fat
2 pcs crushed garlic
Heat oil on low heat, mix in chicken skin/fat & garlic, leave it cook till the skin curled. Let cool & keep in fridge till the next day.

skyworks 2010!!

hari ini kami bersenang-senang menikmati libur nasional Australian Day! yang senang pastinya abenk (dan pekerja lainnya) karena setelah weekend sabtu minggu, hari senin kerja, eeeh hari selasa libur.. dan bukan hanya di indonesia yang menganut budaya harpitnas, disini juga banyak yang calling in "sickie". selain abenk, noelle juga senang karena ada agenda hiburan gratis dari city of perth buat warganya.. dan yang paling kondang adalah skyworks alias pesta kembang api :)

walikota perth, ms lisa scaffidi (spelling?) bilang, skyworks udah jadi perayaan tahunan besar-besaran selama 26 tahun terakhir dengan tema berbeda-beda (tahun ini advance australia fair seperti yang terpampang di gedung st george's bank lewat lightshow-nya). menurut walikota, australia day adalah hari untuk merayakan karakteristik unik negeri kanguru yang membuat negara benua itu benar-benar istimewa. pesan dari walikota, australia day adalah kebersamaan seluruh warga tanpa memandang perbedaan latar belakang individu, tapi lebih mengedepankan rasa menghormati dan toleransi satu sama lain sehingga semua orang dapat menikmati aussie day.

tapi buat orang lokal, aussie day artinya adalah kesempatan untuk merayakan "keberuntungannya" hidup di negeri terbaik di seluruh dunia. ada juga yang bilang, australia adalah negara multikultural dan aussie day adalah kesempatan untuk mengedepankan aussie heritage dan merayakannya sebagai satu bangsa. yang lain lagi bilang, aussie day adalah kesempatan untuk merayakan segala sesuatu tentang australia dan kemajuannya selama ini.

well, setiap orang boleh punya pendapat beda-beda, buat yang minat bisa klik http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australia_Day untuk lebih jelasnya. sementara saya, cukup melihat dan merasakan keriaan warga setempat yang dengan bangga memakai berbagai atribut australia. sempat lho beberapa pemuda yang berpapasan dengan kami mengajak kami high five sambil teriak aussie-aussie-aussie! OY! OY! OY!

o iya, kalau ngelihat bule itu tampak santai dan kurang nasionalis, kali ini saya jadi percaya mereka nasionalis sejati. mereka yang setahu saya nggak pernah ada upacara bendera seminggu sekali, dengan mudahnya diajak menyanyikan lagu kebangsaan australia sesaat sebelum acara skyworks dimulai. selain itu, warganya juga diajak untuk cinta produksi dalam negeri, mulai dari produk segar (buah, sayuran, daging) hingga produk macam furniture, kerajinan tangan yang diberi lambang segitiga hijau bergambar kangguru. sederhana tapi besar artinya untuk memajukan perekonomian bangsa dan meminimalisir ketergantungan produk impor. jadi mbatin, kok beda banget sama sodara-sodara di tanah air? kok nggak bisa kayak orang-orang ini?

australia day adalah hari libur nasional di seluruh negara bagian, diawalil dengan penganugerahan Order of Australia dan Australian of the Year awards, berikut pidato Prime Minister. untuk kegiatan lokal, ada juga seremoni penerimaan warga negara aussie yang baru, kegiatan gratisan untuk keluarga di taman bermain dan taman-taman di sekitar swan river, pertunjukan musik, dan airshow berbagai pesawat sebelum pertunjukan kembang api itu.

berbekal info mengenai acara, cara mengakses lokasi acara, tempat parkir dan sebagainya, dan perlengkapan piknik seadanya, berangkatlah kami dari rumah sekitar pukul 15.00 mampir ke domino membeli pizza, salad dan coca cola botol besar. kami janjian dengan keluarga hengky manoppo untuk ketemu di taman bermain. setibanya di lokasi, tikar piknik langsung digelar dan kami santai-santai (ngerumpi buat ortu dan bermain buat anak-anak) menunggu jam 20.00. sekitar pukul 18.30 kami bergeser dari taman bermain ke rerumputan di bibir sungai, ramai banget! sementara menunggu, warga dimanjakan dengan airshow dari sekolah/klub terbang setempat.

anyway, jam 20.00 acara kembang api dimulai dan berlangsung selama 30 menit. luar biasa indah! sayang kamera pocket kami nggak bisa menangkap indahnya skyworks, bikin saya dan abenk bertekad belajar foto pake kamera beneran.. yuk hunting kamera yuuuk.. :p

sepanjang acara, saya (dan noelle juga) terkagum-kagum dengan kembang api yang beraneka bentuk dan warna ditingkahi musik! saya jadi tertarik dengan kembang api, tapi belum sempat browsing tentang cara kerja/cara membuat kembang api seperti pertunjukan skyworks itu..

all skyworks photos by Hengky Manoppo

my old tank top = dress noelle

beberes lemari pakaian saya menyimpulkan saya harus berpisah sama sejumlah pakaian yang sudah tidak pernah dipakai lagi, salah satunya tank top kesayangan. saya suka warnanya yang biru kobalt bergaris putih, temanya nautikal. rasanya sayang untuk membuang/mendonasi karena motifnya itu. dan rasa enggan berpisah menghasilkan ide untuk tetap memilikinya dengan cara mendaur ulang si tank top jadi dress buat noelle.

daur ulang dalam bentuk rekonstruksi pakaian merupakan salah satu deskripsi konsep clothing recycling selain menjual dan mendonasikan pakaian yang tidak dipakai lagi. beberapa waktu lalu saya terjerembab di situs ini dan jadi tertarik juga untuk mencoba berkreasi sama pakaian yang nggak dipakai lagi.

sedari dulu saya tertarik dengan disain dan kegiatan jahit-menjahit (manual) tapi seringnya proyek-proyek itu nggak selesai karena keterbatasan waktu dan bosan, maklum lah menjahit tangan butuh ketelitian, telaten dan kesabaran supaya bisa selesai. saya nggak sabar jadi proyeknya terbengkalai begitu saja.

nah, sekarang setelah jadi IRT didukung adanya mesin jahit hasil beli di ebay berikut alat-alat jahit lainnya, jadilah saya membulatkan tekad untuk mencoba satu proyek menjahit sampai selesai. idenya banyak, tapi one at a time tampaknya lebih bijak (dan meminimalisir kemungkinan bosan). jadi, sabtu malam kemarin saya mulai menganiaya si tank top lawas dengan harapan bisa menjadi dress cantik buat si nonik :)

saya membuat dress ini tanpa pola, hanya angan-angan langsung dijabarkan dengan gunting menari-nari di kain. model dress pun yang sederhana, tanpa lengan, kancing cepret dipunggung. pertama-tama, tank top dibentang lalu dipotong sesuai dengan panjang dress yang diinginkan. setelah dipotong (masih kelihatan print mossimo hijau-nya) dibuat beberapa pleats supaya bagian bawah dress bisa disambung dengan bagian atas dress yang bahan kaos juga tapi putih polos (ini beli meteran di toko tekstil). bagian atas dress pakai patokan singlet noelle sambil mereka-reka letak kancing belakangnya. asli langkah bonek :)

setelah membuat pleats, sambung bagian atas dress (putih) dan bagian bawah (biru garis putih), karena masih amatir sudah diduga hasil bagian dalamnya nggak rapi karena saya nggak punya mesin obras. setelah tersambung, dress mulai kelihatan bentuknya tapi belum ada kerung lengan dan leher, jadi mulai lah saya gunting-gunting lagi bagian atas dress sampai bentuknya benar-benar kelihatan seperti dress.

setelah itu, sisa kain tank top kan masih lumayan banyak, mulai lah saya berkreasi membuat aplikasi bentuk hati untuk ditempel di dada dan punggung, juga bisban untuk di kerung lengan dan leher supaya bagian atas dan bawah dress tampak senyawa. ini foto saat bajunya selesai di assembly, sampai sekarang memang belum kelar karena snap button alias kancing cepretnya belum dipasang karena toko langganan sedang menunggu order alat khusus untuk memasang si kancing cepret itu, katanya sih hari kamis. selain itu, di sambungan dress masih ada print temannya merek mossimo hijau yang masih ngintip, bentuknya garis horisontal dan R dalam lingkaran (registered) untuk brand mossimo itu. kelihatan menyebalkan jadi saya kepikiran untuk ngasi waistband yang kontras misalnya merah supaya makin nautikal dan cocok untuk musim panas. tapi, berhubung saya nggak punya pita ataupun kain merah, proyek waistband harus menunggu sampai saya ke toko tekstil lagi.. untuk keperluan foto, waistband-nya pinjam punya dress stussy saya yg merah garis-garis putih.. kalo dah jadi ibu dan anak bisa kembaran tema nautikal nih.. hehe

bisa dilihat di foto, model cilik bertubuh montok sedang memeragakan adi busana (one off haute couture) buatan mamanya, sayangnya karena si model nggak bisa diam untuk difoto maka hasil fotonya pun seadanya saja. dan saya baru sadar dress ini ngepas di badan noelle, jadi masa pakainya cuma sebentar :(

update :

akhirnya setelah barang2 pesanan datang, saya mulai menyelesaikan dress perdana ini mulai dari pemasangan kancing cepret dan selembar fabric belt yang dijahit dari sepotong kain. memasang kancing butuh ketelitian dan kesabaran terutama buat rookie, dan saat membuat ikat pinggang kain warna merah itu, saya lupa bahwa dress ini buat noelle, alhasil belt-nya kepanjangan :) tapi nggak apa lah, nanti coba saya buat pita yg bagus, mungkin dua kali ikat supaya cantik??

hasil akhir sewing project perdana

13th month

wow, time travels REAL fast. my baby noelle now turn from baby into toddler, a very young child. well, still infant or baby if you rely on clothing labels and airplane tickets who listed 0-24 months as baby, and 2year above as child. but i saw in my baby formula, NAN HA for toddler 1-3 year.. and factually, i won't call noelle as a baby because she's now so big, growing tall, walking on her own, loves to play and tease me as well as if i am her friend. that's not a baby, that's young person, my little friend. i keep saying that everytime i look at her :)

in the same time last year, noelle was 1 month, a little baby, interested only in feeding, crying, sleeping, bathing, changing, and cuddling.. now that she is 13 month, she thinks she can do -almost- anything, and trying to speak up for herself. not verbally but you'll get it.

other parents said to me, taking care of toddler needs strength and patience because they like have unexhausted source of energy which parents or carer usually can not catch up. yep, that's correct. our routine now changed as she likes it. three times nap during the day become only one nap, a short one. our small apartment now become her wonderland. she loves to go from one room to another, inspecting the surrounding, pick up something from the floor, climbing on the furniture, checking out the drawer, peeking into the front loading washing machine, even locked herself in a room and then crying for help -LOL!-.

i watched her when she play with her toys, or "talking" with herself in the mirror. she has not speak yet, but she babbled to her toys and mirror image as if she's telling stories to them. another time, she cried and i asked her about the matter and she pointing to underneath the TV unit and babbling about something in different tone and facial expression, and then i asked my self, "is she talking to me and trying explain something?" so i bend on my knees and check the pointed place, turns out there are 3 objects of different shapes and colors lying helplessly. she must be threw them and they got stuck because her short arm cant reach them.. OH.. now you're talking, girl.. :)

i like to play with her, especially the game "catch me if you can" which means i chase her around or vice versa. my little daredevil also loves to play roughouse, swinged from right to left, back to front, held up high to touch the ceiling lamp, and being held on her tigh so she hang upside down.. i thought she was gonna frighten and scream, turn out she just laughed and giggle.

oh yeah, that giggle! she has this special giggle that makes you feel like you did something stupid/silly and deserve to be laughing at while in fact you did/said nothing like that. i never thought to record it on video, but will do before the giggle disappear forever.

two nights ago, she cant sleep on her own so i voluntarily wrapped her in her old babywrap and cuddle her and then gently rocked her to sleep. she always loves it, enjoying herself with her eyes closed and 5 minutes later she was sleeping.. and ME smiling + thinking, i am carrying a LIVE BOLSTER, 14kg bolster. 10 kilos heavier from her birthweight, 30 cm taller than her birth height..

oh baby, why are you growing up so fast?? ehem, this is an inconsistent question, actually.. because on the other day, i wished that she grow up fast, taking care of herself so i can be ME again. selfish mind that comes from a tired body!!

baby noelle, now that you're a big girl.
i know you want to be independent, but at the same time you scared of it all.
i know you want my help, but at the same time you dont want it.
your tantrums the other day showed me that.
i know, just in a matter of time, you'll learn how to express your feeling in a better way.
grow up with me, baby..
i am here,
on your constant beck and call..
24-7, 52 weeks, 12 months, 365 days, 100 years
i am yours.