Two Recipes From Bali, Gourmet, October 1973

I also made a dessert from the same issue, which I'll post later.


I had to adapt the one recipe for vegetarians, so I exchanged fried tofu for the pork. I also used fresh mushrooms, but treated them like rehydrated dried ones. The biggest issue really was trying to locate the spices. While fish sauce is a bit more common these days, Ketjap Manis is not. I consulted Google, and put together a pretty decent version myself.

I knew the eggplant recipe was good from watching Danny tuck in. I'm sure the coconut cream didn't hurt any (yeah, that will bring most eggplant haters around) but he generally likes eggplant, and curries, so this was familiar territory. Mr. ETB ate his, though he didn't seem quite as enthusiastic as Danny.

The same page in the magazine had a recipe for cabbage cooked in coconut milk with cumin seeds. I really wanted to make it, but I'd already prepared more food than the boys can consume in a couple nights, so I'll save that one for next time. I still have half a tin of coconut milk left, so I guess coconut caramels are on tomorrow's list.


The Ketjap recipe makes about a quart. It keeps well (for months, I'm told) so bottle it up and try using it in place of soy sauce in recipes. I'm interested to try making baked tofu with it.

For The Ketjap Manis:

1 cup dark brown sugar
1 cup water

1 cup soy sauce
7 tablespoons blackstrap molasses (or the darkest you can find of the unsulphured stuff)
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon black pepper

In a sauce pan, combine the brown sugar and water. Cook, stirring over medium heat until sugar dissolves. Increase heat to high, and cook to 200 degrees F. It goes quick, so watch it. Reduce heat to simmer, add the remaining ingredients and simmer about five minutes. Remove from heat, transfer to a sterilised jar, and keep in the fridge.

For The Vegetarian Bahmie Goreng:

1 pint mushrooms (fresh) trimmed and chopped
1 block extra firm tofu, pressed dry, and cut into 1 inch cubes
Oil for frying
1 tablespoon ketjap (see above)
1 tablespoon brown sugar (the recipe called for palm sugar, not available here)
1 pound noodles (I used Spaghetti)
1 large onion, chopped
1/2 cup finely chopped cabbage
1/4 cup celery
A handful of snow peas, chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tablespoon chopped ginger
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes (the recipe called for dicing chillies, but I just don't go there. The rooster sauce would work here too)
1/8 cup soy sauce+ 1/8 cup water (the recipe called for 1/4, but this was PLENTY)
5 tablespoons oil (the recipe suggest peanut, I used soybean)
1/2 cup chopped scallions
Fish sauce

In a small suacepan, cook the mushrooms until they give off water (about 5 minutes over medium heat), and strain into a bowl. When cooled, squeeze dry in a dishcloth. Place in a large casserole dish. Prepare the tofu by frying in a small bit of oil until golden on all sides. Add to the dish with the mushrooms. Combine the ketjap and brown sugar. Mix with tofu and mushrooms. Set aside, or chill until needed.

Meanwhile, cook the noodles with 1 tablespoon oil in the water (yeah, I thought that too, but I did it anyway, and they came out fine). Drain. While noodles are cooking, heat 5 tablespoons oil in a wok over medium heat and cook the onion, cabbage, celery, garlic, ginger, and red pepper flakes until softened. Add the drained noodles, and the tofu/mushroom mixture. Add the soy sauce and and 1/2 teaspoon (more or less to taste) fish sauce. Mix well, and cook a few minutes to re-heat. Serve topped with chopped scallions.


For The Eggplant in Coconut Cream:

I used coconut milk, not cream. I did skim most of what I used from the top of the tin where the fattiest part tends to collect. I don't use coconut cream, and I couldn't see buying it for one recipe. I also omitted the fresh chilies in favour of dried, and completely skipped the 1/8 teaspoon shrimp paste.

2 medium eggplants
Oil for cooking
2 medium onions, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 teaspoon chili flakes
1/2 cup coconut milk


Peel and cut 2 medium eggplants into rounds 1 inch thick. Place in a colander, sprinkle with coarse salt and layer. Weight with a plate and a jar filled with water (or whatever you have) and let sit 1 hour. Rinse, dry well with towels, and cut them into 1 inch dice.

In a wok, heat 1/4 cup oil and fry the eggplant until browned and soft. Add the onions, garlic, chili and fry until onions are soft. Add coconut milks, and cook until thickened and warmed through. Serve hot over rice.