House of Annie

Us with our Indonesian friends at Kapiolani Park

(thanks for scanning the pic, Nina!)

Before that time, I’ve only ever had Malaysian satay and I will tell you now that to me, Malaysian satay is the best in the world. But it’s hard to make—there are tons of spices to grind and the ingredients list are a mile long. I only reserve making those on really special occasions (or now that I’m home, I just leave it to others to make for me). Indonesian satay, on the other hand, is much easier to prep and the flavor is really good but different.

The main difference is that Indonesian satay calls for Kecap Manis (“Ket-chup Ma-niss”). And not just a little bit of it, it calls for a huge amount of it. Let’s just say that if you wanted to know what Indonesian satay tasted like—it basically tastes like kecap manis with some spices thrown in. And this is not a bad thing—kecap manis is seriously addictive stuff. If you’ve never tried it, you need to go get yourself some from your Asian grocery store (I recommend the ABC brand) and be careful that you don’t end up guzzling it once you get a taste of it.

Falling in Love All Over Again

Coming back to this beach grill outing—we were all sitting around and my friends, Nina and Joe and some of their other Indonesian friends were grilling the satay sticks and next thing you know, they were done and we were handed some. I took a bite and fell in love. It was so delicious, so sweet yet slightly spicy—like a jazzed up chicken yakitori (something else that is heavily soy-sauce and sugar based!) with a peanut sauce that was also drenched in kecap manis, bird’s eye chillies and lime juice (both Nate and I could not stop eating—thankfully they had made enough for us pigs!).

Unfortunately for me, I totally spazzed on getting the recipe from Nina and Joe. The fortunate thing is that we got to eat them several more times while in Hawaii. But once we left Hawaii, I didn’t think about it too much and I certainly didn’t think to make them myself. And after several years, I had completely forgotten about these Indonesian satays. Then, just recently, while reading Rasa Malaysia’s blog, I saw them there. She had a guest blogger (Rita from Mochachocolata-Rita blog) who posted the recipe for Indonesian Sate. Those memories just came flooding right back and my need for them was suddenly quite desperate.

So, I set about getting all the ingredients. First, I bought some kecap manis (thankfully, after checking out a few stores, I found the one selling the right brand!). Then I got the chicken, the bamboo skewers, and the chillies. Everything else I had at home. I was good to go!

ABC Brand Kicap Manis

I ended up making both chicken and pork satays. I had a bag of pork meat sitting in my freezer that was perfect for this so I decided to try it. And after the grilling was done, Nate and I ate much too many sticks for just our small family (these were not Indonesian sized sticks, they were almost double the size!). I must say, they were not as good as what I recall from my memory of it but then again, this was not eating at a park by the beach in balmy Hawaii! But Nate pronounced them delicious and ate more than 12 sticks to prove his point! We were rolling off the table by the time we were done!

Have a try—it’s really quite simple to do and addictive to eat.

Indonesian Chicken and Pork Satay Recipe

adapted from Rasa Malaysia ala MochaChocolata-Rita
(makes about 40-50 sticks depending on how much meat you stick on them)

Ingredients:
50 bamboo skewers (be sure to soak your skewers for several hours before using so that when you grill them, they won’t burn)
500g chicken meat cut into bite-size pieces (I think I had about a lb or more worth of chicken—750g?)—dark meat preferable
500g pork meat cut into bite-sized pieces (it’s better to get pork that has some fat in it)

Marinade ingredients:
3 cloves garlic, minced fine
2-3 shallots, thinly sliced
2 red chillies, chopped (optional)
1 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp ground white pepper
2 tsp ground coriander seeds
2 tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp vegetable oil
1 tsp salt
2 Tbsp soy sauce
loads and loads of Kecap Manis (I’d say between 1/3-1/2 cup or maybe even more!)

Pouring Kicap Manis Over Marinade Ingredients

Basting ingredients:
1/4 cup kecap manis
1 tsp fish sauce
1 shallot, thinly sliced
juice from 1 calamansi (or 1/2 lime)
1 lemongrass pounded on the end to use as basting brush

Dipping sauce:
1 cup chunky peanut butter (or you could use ground up roasted peanuts)
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup palm sugar (about 1/3 of a block), chopped
1 clove garlic
2 shallots
1 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp ground coriander seeds
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp vegetable oil (peanut oil would be great!)
1 tsp fish sauce
as many bird’s eye chillies as you can handle, chopped
1/4 cup kecap manis, or more
3-4 calamansi juice or juice from 1 large lime

Method:
1. Marinate your meats in the marinade ingredients. If you’re worried that you won’t be able to tell which is chicken and which is pork, just separate into two bowls and pour marinade over both to cover.

Chicken in Indonesian Satay Marinade

Indonesian Chicken and Pork Satay Skewers

4. Once satay sticks are ready, prepare your grill. (Nate says: I used the bottom bowl and charcoal ring of my WSM, lit off some charcoal, and spread it out in an even layer.)
5. Prepare the basting ingredients and set your satay sticks on the grill. Baste with the basting sauce. (Nate says: the coals were so hot, the satay only needed to cook a few minutes per side before flipping. Next time, don’t use so much charcoal!)

Grilling Indonesian Chicken and Pork Satay

6. For the dipping sauce: blend together first 9 ingredients (or if you’re like me, just pound them in a mortar) and transfer to a small pot. Set to boil and then simmer to incorporate all the flavors. Add chillies, kecap manis and calamansi or lime juice. Stir and taste. Adjust if necessary.

Once your satay meat is done, serve with the dipping sauce. Eat and repeat. Try to stop if you can.

Indonesian Chicken and Pork Satay

Enjoy! Enjoy even more if you’re doing this by the beach in Hawaii ;-)

Cheers, Annie

What’s *your* favorite beach food memory? Leave us a comment and share your stories!

Hungry for more grilled food? Click below:

"Huli Chicken" recipe

Foodbuzz 24, 24, 24: Ultimate Rib Showdown, Part 1

Grilled Ribeyes on the WSM

Malaysian Chicken Wings: Two Ways

Killer Kalbi Recipe

Getting to Know All About You

I first discovered Sarawakian Layer Cakes back in my University Malaya days when my classmate, who hails from Kuching, would bring back these cakes after going home for the semester breaks. I was amazed by how tasty they were and also how beautiful. I’ve always thought that if I had a chance to visit Kuching, I would love to get more of these cakes and, if I happened to live here long-term, I would want to take classes to learn how to make them.

Well, it just happens that here we are, living in Kuching and we have been quite enthralled by a lot of the things that Kuching has to offer. When we visited the Satok market a month ago, we found some vendors selling these Sarawakian layer cakes. I was very excited and bought one to try at home. It was decent but not as good as the ones I remembered from back in college.

So it was a nice coincidence that one day when we were looking for a place to eat out, we ended up at a restaurant that happened to be next door to this Sarawak Layer Cake shop.

My Sara Sarawak Layer Cake Shop, Kuching

While waiting for dinner to be served, I ended up walking next door into the store and was greeted by a friendly staff who showed me a catalogue of all the different Sarawak layer cakes that they made. They had numerous cakes all stacked up in their chiller ready to go. But because it was the Hari Raya season (this was about two weeks before the end of the Ramadhan fasting month), ALL the cakes in the chiller were already reserved. Not only that, they weren’t taking any more orders until Raya was over.

Getting to Like You

Being one who never takes no for an answer, I asked if they had any samples at all that I could at least try. Off he went to the back of the shop and came back with not just a small sample, but large strips of discarded end pieces for me to try. With one bite, I could tell that these were no ordinary cakes. They were delicious—moist and buttery and with just the right amount of sweetness.

Lapis Masam Manis - “Sour-Sweet” Layer Cake

I hurried back to dinner next door and told Nate that he absolutely had to try these cakes. After tasting the sample, he too agreed that it blew the first cake we had bought out of the water. We ended up going to the shop after dinner because I wanted Nate to have a look at the store himself.

The staff member (who was actually the nephew of the owner) let us into the back of the store and showed us how they were baking the cakes. We told him we were food bloggers, and asked if we could come back next time with a camera to document the process. Astonishingly, he was more than happy to welcome us back. We got the number of the owner and promised we would return.

When Foodbuzz sent out the call for proposals for this months 24, 24, 24 blog event, I immediately thought that this would make a great event. These Sarawak layer cakes are truly beautiful and labor intensive. The opportunity to learn more about how they were made in a small family-run business was too good to miss out on. We were so excited when they accepted our proposal! We called the owner and arranged to meet him in his store on Saturday afternoon.

Getting to Hope You Like Me

Idris Ibrahim, Owner of My Sara Sarawak Layer Cakes shop

Idris Ibrahim and his wife Hamsiah own My Sara Enterprise. They have been baking Sarawak layer cakes for over 15 years. The storefront, which is located across from the Four Points Sheraton near the airport in South Kuching, is actually only 3 months old. Prior to that, all their baking was done out of their home.

His wife first learned how to make the Sarawak layer cakes from his sister, who teaches baking and other home skills at classes out in the rural communities of Sarawak. After observing her sister-in-law from a distance, she decided that she could do it herself. Without much training of any sort, she took it upon herself to make these cakes and found that she had a knack for doing it. Soon, people started ordering her cakes. Thanks to word-of-mouth advertising, business took off. Last year, they did 700-800 cakes during the Hari Raya season alone.

Idris works only part-time at the store, as he still has his full-time job as a site supervisor for a construction company. One of his best customers and enthusiastic supporters encouraged him to open the store in town to be closer to his customers. At first, he didn’t want to do it because, as he put it, “you don’t have to pay rent if you’re working out of your house.” But the move paid off – this year, they doubled their production with the new store.

In fact, they are so successful, that they were fully booked for the whole month leading up to Hari Raya. In the last few days, he and his staff worked from 7 am in the morning to 4 am the next morning to fulfill all the orders. It was grueling work, but they filled every order. They even managed to make a few extra for last minute customers.

Their layer cakes are famous throughout Sarawak. They are sold to the Sheraton across the street, served to visiting Sultans, sent to stores in Kuala Lumpur, and even shipped to Switzerland.

What is the secret to their success?

Putting it My Way

In a word, QUALITY. They do not cut corners on the ingredients. “Many layer cake makers use vegetable oil or margarine instead of butter. With margarine, the cakes come out drier. We use butter, but not just any butter. We have found that our cakes come out best with Golden Churn brand.” They also use only Grade A eggs and real chocolate flavoring.

Interestingly, it doesn’t take an expensive oven to turn out the best layer cakes. They use inexpensive, gas-fired ovens from Indonesia to make their cakes. Furthermore, they only use the bottom section of the oven. The reason this is that you are not really baking a whole cake – you are actually grilling (broiling) each layer with top heat very briefly. If you tried to bake the cake in a conventional oven, you would end up with a dry, overcooked cake.

Gas-Fired Oven for Baking Sarawak Layer Cakes

When Idris bought his wife an expensive, industrial electric oven for the store recently, he was scolded by the wife. She told him that the electric oven would not produce cakes that were as moist and delicious. With an electric oven, the heat circulates over the whole oven, thereby drying out the layers that are already done. In the gas ovens, the cakes remain tender and moist. This expensive oven now sits in his office unused as they continue to use the gas ovens.

But Nicely

When we arrived on Saturday afternoon, Idris told us that they had gotten a rush order, so his wife and their remaining staff who were not on holiday were back at the home, making cakes. But he stayed behind because he knew we were coming. He even started baking a layer cake for us, so he could demonstrate the process of building a Sarawak layer cake to us. How nice is that?!

A normal layer cake has between 12-20 parallel layers of cake. This particular Sarawak layer cake design has 5 parallel layers on the bottom, a fanciful design section in the middle, and 5 more layers on the top. For each layer, a small amount of batter is measured out, ladled on, and spread evenly in the pan. Then the pan is put in the oven for about five minutes before it is taken out and tamped down flat with a special tool before the next layer of batter is spread on.

Spreading Batter on Sarawak Layer Cake

The middle design will take strips of different colored layer cakes, cut into either square or triangular face.

Green Square Strips for Sarawak Layer Cake Design

Yellow Triangular Strips for Sarawak Layer Cake Design

You Are Precisely

Idris demonstrated how to get a triangular slice by holding a square slice between two, right-angle brackets and cutting between the brackets with a utility knife. The utility knife makes a very clean cut with no ragged edges.

After baking and tamping down flat the bottom layers, he laid down the triangular strips in parallel rows.

Laying Down the First Layer of Triangular Strips

Oh, I forgot to mention that Idris uses condensed milk as the “glue” to hold the Sarawak layer cake design section together. Other cake makers will use jam to hold the layers together but then the cakes don’t last as long.

Drizzling on Condensed Milk Glue for Sarawak Layer Cake

Next, he laid down the square green layer cake strips in the grooves created by the triangular trips.

Laying Down the Green Strips Layer

Another application of condensed milk “glue” and another layer. This time, it’s yellow square strips in the grooves of the green strips.

Laying Down Next Layer of Yellow Strips

And green strips again…

Followed by a last layer of yellow triangle shaped strips, which he then presses down so it is even and parallel to the bottom of the pan.

Pressing Down the Sarawak Layer Cake Design Section

With the design section done, he can continue baking on the top layers.

Spreading Batter for Top Layers of Sarawak Layer Cake

The final layer is the most crucial one. As each layer is baked on, the cake gets higher and the layers get closer to the gas flame. If you are not paying close attention, you will burn the top layer. If that happens, the cake cannot be salvaged and you must start over.

Tamping Down Top Layer of Sarawak Layer Cake

Once the cake is done baking, he cools it to room temperature before putting it in the chiller.

The process of building a Sarawak layer cake is so laborious and time-consuming. Here is a slideshow I put together of the entire process.

Slideshow of Sarawak Layer Cake Making Process

We stayed a full two and a half hours to watch him make one cake (and even then, he had already prepared some of the other layers ahead of time). I can only say that, after having the privilege of watching him make this cake, I am in awe of the people who bake these cakes. I certainly have changed my mind about baking it myself. Even if I knew how to do it, I don’t know if I have the patience to bake something that takes so long and yet is so quickly devoured!

For all the work he put in to making his Sarawak layer cake, his prices are so reasonable. He only charges $25 for a small 2”x2”x8” cake and $100 for a full 2”x8”x8” cake. Thanks to Foodbuzz and the 24, 24, 24 event stipend, we could afford to take home 8 cakes that day.

Before heading off, we walked across the street to the Four Points Sheraton. We went in to see the buffet at the Eatery Restaurant. There we found My Sara’s Sarawak layer cakes, neatly sliced and displayed on the dessert table

My Sara's Sarawak Layer Cakes at Four Points Sheraton Eatery

My Cup of Tea

After dinner, we called up our food blogger friend Mike to let him know we were coming over to his house with some Sarawak layer cakes to taste. Mike set up his special photo lighting stand in his kitchen so I could take pictures of some of the cakes.

Sarawak Layer Cake Medley

After all the photos were taken, we sat down to enjoy the cakes over cups of tea and conversation. Mike and his wife both agreed, these were top quality cakes. Each individual cake had its own delightful character and flavor.

We’re so glad that we found the My Sara Sarawak Layer Cake shop by chance. We were totally amazed by Idris’ warmth, humility, and willingness to share by allowing us into his store to document his cake-making process. And we are very thankful to Foodbuzz for allowing us to share this experience with you, dear readers!

Cheers and Aloha, Annie and Nate

My Sara Sarawak Layer Cake Shop is located at:

Lot 9957, Aras Lantai, RH Plaza
Jalan Lapangan Terbang, Kuching
Tel: 082-459842

It's near the Kuching airport, just across the street from the Four Points Sheraton, next door to the Bella Italia restaurant.

During the Raya season, you can also find their cakes in West Malaysia, at the Shazzen Sarawak Layer Cake outlets in Jaya Jusco, various locations, KL.

We have so much more to learn and share about the foods of our new home in Kuching. Don’t miss a thing! Subscribe now to receive our latest posts to your RSS reader or to your Inbox.

It turned out to be really tasty and very easy and fast to make.  So even if it's not completely authentic, please do try it because it was gone in even less time than it took to cook it.  Do prep everything ahead of time because shrimp cooks up fast and you certainly don't want to overcook them.

Indonesian-Inspired Sauteed Shrimp

Ingredients

3 tbsp butter
4 cloves minced garlic
1 pound large (30-35 count) shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 tsp kecap manis

Kecap Manis

(if you don't have this, I recommend using my thick soy sauce as a substitute but use only 1 tsp and up the sugar to 1 tsp)
2 tsp Worchestershire sauce
2 tsp oyster sauce
1/2 tsp soy sauce
1/2 tsp sugar
3 stalks green onion, sliced thinly on bias
salt and pepper to taste

Method
1.  Mix kecap manis, W sauce, oyster sauce, soy sauce and sugar in a small bowl.
2.  Melt butter in saute pan on medium heat.
2.  Saute minced garlic until fragrant and lightly browned.
3.  Toss in shrimp in one single layer.  Cook for 30 seconds and turn them over.
4.  Add the sauce and mix with the shrimp.  Stir-fry until shrimp are just pink, about another minute.
5.  Add the green onions, and toss until just wilted.
6.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

Indonesian-Inspired Sauteed Shrimp

Enjoy!

Cheers, Annie

Hungry for more shrimp? Click below:

Chopped Shrimp Waldorf Salad

Steamed Egg Tofu with Ground Pork and Shrimp

Pumpkin Mee with Prawns Recipe

Vietnamese Summer Rolls

Hokkien Prawn Mee

When I first visited Malaysia, one of the many dishes that stuck out in my mind was Ikan Bakar - a fresh skate wing that was marinated in a spice paste, wrapped in a banana leaf and grilled. The sweet and spicy chili paste, coupled with the smokiness of the singed banana leaf, permeated the tender flesh of the skate.  Everytime we go back, I look forward to having this dish.

Here in the Bay Area, we were introduced to Bay Leaf Indonesian Restaurant in Sunnyvale.  They have a dish similar to the grilled skate wing called ikan pepes.  Ikan simply means "fish".  Pepes is the type of cooking process used: wrap in banana leaf, steam until cooked through, then finish off on the grill.  Ever since having ikan pepes at Bay Leaf, I've been meaning to do this dish at home

We called up our favorite fishmonger, Pat from Mission Fresh Fish, and requested he save a couple of snapper for our next visit to the Saratoga Farmer's Marrket.  As with all his fish, these were caught just a couple of days before the market.  He'll even clean the fish right there for you.  The prices on his fish are very reasonable, especially considering the freshness of his product.

Pat from Mission Fresh Fish with Two Fresh Snapper

The spice paste recipe for this Ikan Pepes came from "Homestyle Indonesian Cooking":

Ingredients

1 Tsp tamarind pulp, soaked 5 minutes.
2 Tbsp warm water
6-10 large chiles, chopped
1 stem lemongrass (only the inner part of the bottom 10 cm), thinly sliced
5 candlenuts
1 small, ripe tomato
1/2 Tsp ground turmeric
1/2 Tsp dried shrimp paste
1 Tsp salt
1 Tbsp finely chopped palm sugar
1/2 cup loosely packed basil leaves

Method

1. We scored the fish on both sides and marinated it with some lime juice and salt.  We preheated the oven to 350*F.

2. We then ground all the ingredients for the spice paste together until it became smooth.

3. Since we did not have a banana leaf handy, we used aluminum foil.  Spread out 1/3 of the paste down onto the foil.  Then smear 1/3 of the paste inside the stomach cavity of the fish. Smear the final 1/3 on top of the fish.

Ikan Pepes: Fresh Whole Snapper with Indonesian Spice Paste

4. Instead of steaming, the fish was sealed up in the foil and baked in the oven for 20 minutes.

5. We then opened the foil packet up and broiled the fish for another 5 minutes.

Ikan Pepes: Fresh Whole Snapper with Indonesian Spice Paste

6. Serve with rice.

This ikan pepes was outstanding.  Not as sweet as the Bay Leaf restaurant version. But also not as spicy (we used some milder chile peppers from our garden) so it balanced out okay.  I liked the basil flavor that was prominent in this dish.  Because this fish wasn't grilled, though, it lacked that smoky quality.

This recipe was entered into the "Waiter, There's Something in My..." Indonesian recipe roundup hosted by Andrew of Spitoon Extra.

Aloha, Nate