Sunday, March 20, 2011

Ma Jeunesse - My Youth

In my youth there are dangerous roads
In my youth there are sullen towns
Impulses in the emptiness of silent nights

In my youth when the night falls
is the swift passage of all hopes
I dance all alone in front of my mirror

But my youth looks at me seriously and says to me:
"What have you done with our time? What have you done with our precious hours? Now the winter wind blows."
In my youth there are beautiful beginnings
My heart trembles with the slightest glance
uncertainty at the end of the road

In my youth there are cracks
gliding flights in a state of drunkeness
landing in distress

But my youth looks at me severely and says to me:
"What have you done to our nights? What have you done to our nights of adventure? Now time is folding."

In my youth there is a prayer
a feat to say or do
a promise, a genre of mystery
In my youth there is a flower
that I picked with gentleness
that I grabbed hold of, frightened

But my youth looks at me cruelly
She says to me: "It is time to go"
I am returning to other stars
and I leave you at the end of your story.

Carla Bruni "Ma Jeunesse",
translation taken from lyricstranslate.com

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

Could you handle some heat? Let's have Spicy Thai Beef Curry then!

Hi! Hello~

Lately I've been quite into cooking. Well, I did enjoy cooking, but never have I really fall in love with it like I do now. I don't know what started it, but before I realized it, I happen to have tried many recipes from books and cooking magazines (my favorite one is FineCooking) and also asked my mum and grandma to give me some real dishes recipes. ;)

And better, I started to cook my own meal on daily basis instead of just in some occasion. Well, still not everyday, I admit, but it's an improvement for me who kept having take outs like my life was depended on it (well, actually it was) before.

So, this is what I had for last dinner. Easy and quick to make, yet very satisfying! That's why I decided to post this for all of you to try it yourself. All the credits goes to Fine Cooking Magazine, from the 34th Best Issue: Soups and Stews. Maybe I'll try to post more from this magazine later, 'kay~

Spicy Thai Beef Curry
(serves four)

1 tbs. vegetable oil
1-1/2 lb. beef sirloin tips
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup thinly sliced shallots (about 2 medium-large)
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh ginger
1 to 2 tsp. Thai red curry paste
1/2 cup low-salt canned chicken broth
1 13-1/2-oz. can unsweetened coconut milk
1 Tbs. fish sauce
1-1/2 cups frozen sugar snap peas
1 large lime, zest finely grated and fruit cut into wedges
1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro

*If you like spicy foods, use 2 tsp. curry paste; otherwise, use 1 tsp. curry paste—the curry will still have a kick to it.


Heat the oil in a 10-inch straight-sided sauté pan over medium-high heat. Season the sirloin tips with salt and pepper and sear the meat in batches until nicely browned on two sides, 1 to 2 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate.

Reduce the heat to medium. Add the shallots to the pan and cook until just tender and lightly browned, 2 to 4 min. Add the ginger and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 min. Add the curry paste and cook, stirring, about 30 seconds. Stir in 1/4 cup of the broth, scraping up any bits that are stuck to the pan. Add 1/3 cup of the coconut milk, stirring until the curry paste has blended in completely. Stir in the remaining coconut milk and broth. Add the fish sauce.

Increase the heat
to medium high. Return the beef to the pan (along with any juices), stir, and simmer until the meat is just cooked through, 8 to 12 min.

Take the pan off the heat
. Remove the meat and transfer to a cutting board. Stir the sugar snap peas into the sauce and cover the pan. Let the meat rest for 1 min., then slice it thinly across the grain; return it to the pan along with the lime zest. If necessary, return the pan to medium heat until the peas are thawed and heated through.

Portion the curry
into 4 warm bowls, sprinkle with the cilantro, and serve with the lime wedges.

(credits: finecooking.com)

Spicy Thai Beef Curry recipe in Bahasa Indonesia:


- 1 sdm. minyak sayur (minyak kelapa/zaitun/canola)
- 3/4 kg potongan daging sirloin (has luar)
- garam dan lada hitam
- 2 siung(ukuran sedang-besar) bawang merah, rajang halus
- 2 ons jahe segar, iris
- 1 sampai 2 sdm. bumbu kari merah Thailand (banyak dijual di supermarket bagian bumbu Asia)
- 1/2 cup (0,1 liter) kaldu ayam
- 13,5 oz. (0,4 liter) santan
- 1 sdm kecap ikan
- 10 sampai 12 ons kacang kapri
- 1 buah jeruk nipis, parut kulitnya dan potong buahnya memanjang biasa
- 2,5 ons daun ketumbar (cilantro/coriander) cincang

*Jika Anda menukai rasa yang lebih pedas, gunakan 2 sdm bumbu kari; Jika tidak, 1 sdm sudah memiliki rasa yang cukup 'menendang'.

Panaskan minyak pada wajan dengan menggunakan api tinggi sedang. Tambahkan garam dan lada hitam pada daging secara merata lalu panggang hingga berwarna kecoklatan di kedua sisinya, sekitar 1-2 menit untuk tiap sisi. Pindahkan dari wajan.

Kecilkan panas api hingga api sedang. Masukkan bawang merah ke dalam wajan dan masak hingga sedikit kecoklatan lalu tambahkan jahe dan aduk hingga harum . Masukkan bumbu kari dan aduk sebentar hingga rata lalu masukkan 1/2 bagian dari kaldu ayam dan 1/3 bagian santan, aduk hingga bumbu menyatu dengan sempurna. Masukkan sisa kaldu ayam dan santan, tambahkan kecap ikan.

Naikkan kembali panas api
hingga api tinggi sedang
. Masukkan kembali daging ke dalam wajan, aduk dan biarkan hingga daging masak seutuhnya.

Matikan api
. Pindahkan daging ke talenan/papan pemotong. Masukkan kapri ke dalam saus yang ada di wajan dan tutup wajannya. Biarkan daging selama 1 menit, lalu potong tipis sesuai seratnya. Kembalikan daging ke dalam wajan bersama dengan parutan kulit jeruk nipis. Jika perlu, hidupkan kembali api hingga panas sedang hingga kapri menjadi empuk dan panas.

Bagi kari
ke dalam 4 mangkuk hangat, taburkan daun ketumbar/coriander dan sajikan dengan potongan jeruk nipis.


I used FRESH sugar snap peas instead of frozen ones and put two spoonful of the paste since I am quite the hot dishes lover. I let the sauce reduce a bit more to get the thick curry I like. Other than that, I follow it exactly as it is, and it's amazing! Oh, and I served it with rice, too. ;)

Well then, enjoy the meal!

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