JAKARTA FINDS: Pantry Magic Minang Cooking Class

Last week I attended an Indonesian Cooking class, specifically Minang Cuisine. A popular example of Minang food is Padang, which can be found all over Jakarta and is familiar to even an expat like me. Padang is an area of Minang and the cuisine is coastal composed of fish and seafood. Minang cuisines is however not restricted to Padang. It is a bigger region, wherein Padang is located, and the cuisines can be different because of the difference in the location i.e. highland cuisine is more beef & chicken. I enjoyed an indepth look into Indonesian cuisine, beyond the usual sate and rendang. I got to discover some ingredients that I’ve never encountered before and taste some things that my fellow attendees (mostly Indonesian for this class) where not familiar with either. How cool is that? Photos of the cooking class after the jump!

I arrived to Ibu Nany preparing the different ingredients for the class.

While waiting we enjoyed some tea and coffee which was perfect because 9 am is a bit early for me hehe.

For this class we were going to learn how to make:

Singgang Ayam free range chicken cooked in singgang style (stewed on top of banana leaves) with spices, coconut milk and turmeric leaves
Asam Padeh Dading Kacang Merah spicy sour stewed beef shanks with red beans, asam gelegur and spices
Assorted Sambal
- Sambal Terubuk with Fermented Shrimp
- Sambal Durian
- Sambal Hijau

As a bonus, we would also see the preparation for and taste…

Ampiang with palm sugar and yogurt Ampiang is traditional glutinous rice crisps that is hard to find in Jakarta. It reminds me of oats.
Ai Kahwa dried coffee leaves that is brewed in boiling water, a traditional rural drink in places where they plant coffee. The rural people believe that it helps lower blood pressure (not medically proven). It gives a mild dose of caffein that’s not as strong as drinking coffee.

ASAM PADEH DAGING KACANG MERAH

SINGGANG AYAM

There was a whole lot of chopping and grinding in this cooking class!

Some new ingredients for me. I don’t know about you but I grew up in a family of women who didn’t cook. The women in my family are business women, they made money to pay someone to cook. So I never really cooked until I moved to Jakarta. There are so many things that are not familiar to me. Like the galangal which is very similar to ginger, but doesn’t have the strong smell. Or the daun ruku-ruku which is used to do singgang with fish… it helps take away the fishy smell.

Et Voila

Slow cooking is a trait of Minang cuisine. Usually the busy women of Minang, have other things/chores to do while waiting for the meal to finish cooking. It’s a fascinating process to watch for someone who always tries to make something quick in the kitchen. After the whole morning of learning from Ibu Nany, we were finally ready to enjoy what she was teaching us to cook.

My favorites were the asam padeh daging and the sambal terubuk (the red one). Though I am not used to super spicy food, I enjoyed the meal… It helps to have tons of piping hot rice and a lively conversation with the other attendees of the class.

Let’s not forget dessert… which was a delight enjoyed with their excellent coffee! Here’s the amazing Leila, showing me how a cappuccino is made. (She’s trying to escape the camera hehe)

Thank you so much for having me Rianto, Chindy, Ibu Nany and Lisa! Lisa was wonderful in translating the cooking techniques and tips of Ibu Nany for me. Because of her and a very helpful fellow attendee, Fang-fang, I had no trouble at all keeping up! Thank you Lisa and Fang-fang!

I also wanna thank the Pantry Magic staff who are amazing! They are so helpful and always cheerful, ready and excited to share their knowledge of food and cooking. They make going to Pantry Magic (which I’ve been doing almost weekly lately) such a delight!

This Minang cooking class is a part of the Indonesian Cooking Heritage Series.

Pantry magic Jakarta and Azanaya present a series of authentic Indonesian cooking classes, which not only cover well known Indonesian cuisine, but also original local delicacies that are not widely known. These cooking series create a better understanding on the depth and exotic Indonesian cuisine. They aim to promote and preserve the utmost values of Indonesian food culture by conducting a regular cooking class, hosted by incredible native talent, who not only transform knowledge of Indonesian cooking techniques but also share their genuine passion for food.

Each cooking class will represent 3 dishes from a particular region in Indonesia, which have been featured in an award winning event: Underground Secret Dining, with astonishing reviews from participants.

Pantry Magic hosts regular cooking classes of various cuisines, aside from the Indonesian Cooking Heritage series. Some interesting classes they have had before that I missed were: