Family Day at PSA Holiday Bungalow : Food

Gas grilled

Hubby's grandaunt contributed satay meat (beef & chicken) and she brought along satay sticks, assuming the ladies will sit around and help with skewering the meat, prior to grilling.

As it turns out, everyone was in big-time holiday mood and no one ones to get down to it. So, instead of satay 'panggang' (grilled), it became satay 'goreng' (stir-fried) instead. My BiL used the hot plate at the gas grill for the beef burger patties too.

After a round of these, he later grilled some mushrooms and abalones. Yes, abalones! Apparently, the grandaunt who prepared the satay was given a can of abalones and she didn't know what to do with them. So she marinated them and brought them to the BBQ.

Most of them were curious about the taste because abalones are very uncommon amongst the Malay community. And they are expensive, to boot. So everyone gingerly took a small morsel to taste. They were such a chewy delight!

My mum and I regaled everyone with the tale as to how we got our first taste of premium abalones which cost more that $30 a can. We eventually sliced those expensive seafood and cook them with.... instant noodles. -____-

Charcoal grilled

As with the norm, the chicken wings were pre-cooked (method as mentioned HERE).

Chicken wings & otah

I brought along my favourite item to a BBQ party, namely Nam San's spicy mackerel 'otah' (or otak-otak, for the Malay purists out there). Spiced fish patty wrapped in banana or coconut leaf.

Nam San's otah is wrapped in banana leaf so the the fragrance got infused into the fish meat as it was grilled.

Seems like the 'griller' didn't manage to hold proper control over the BBQ fire. All the banana leaf around my otah got really charred. My grandma-in-law was so disturbed by the sight that she peeled all of them for her beloved family. :)))

Ingredients for Soto & sardine sandwich

For those who prefer something 'lighter', grandma had prepared Soto (Javanese chicken soup), to be eaten with either noodles or 'lontong' (compressed rice cakes).

One of hubby's aunts prepared some toasted sandwiches with sardine fillings.

Oh, there's also some spaghetti bolognaise prepared by yet another one of hubby's aunts. I had some of that and topped it with some grilled mushrooms. Yums! (sorry, by then I was too busy eating to snap any pics. hands were dirty, too :P).

Javanese specialties

You can also call them grandma's specialties, cos' she's darn good at preparing these! Then again, which Javanese granny doesn't prepare good 'sambal goreng', tell me? Not to meantion the easy-peasy 'urap' (also known as 'keluban')?

Even both my own grandmothers can prepare some mean 'sambal goreng' and 'urap'! Not to mention my own mum. It's seriously time for ME to learn!

Those in the unknown, 'sambal goreng' is a mix of various vegetable items like long/french beans, tofu, 'tempe' and sometimes some shrimps and meat or even offals (here, we have the 'babat' - layered beef tripe), fried in chilli paste (with a strong hint of lemongrass and galangal). Here, the bonus ingredient will be the addition of some stinky beans (petai).

'Urap' or 'keluban', meanwhile, is generally a type of salad where veggies like long/french beans, bean sprouts, four-angle beans and young tapioca leaf are blanched and mixed with spiced dessicated coconut (usually with a strong hint of 'kencur' - aromatic ginger).

Salad, Javanese style

One of my favourite salad greens, 'Ulam Raja' (King's salad). Do you know that this leafy delight actually originated from Spain and got distributed over Southeast-Asia through Philippines?

This slightly bitter leaves with a scent that's reminiscent of young mango (really!). Here, it's paired with 'timun kecil' (also known as' timun Padang'). Which is actually some really cute, mini cucumbers.

These greens really complete the savoury food round-up. Nothing like some good fiber, eh? It was such a delight to dip them in 'sambal belacan', together with the sambal goreng, urap satay meat and savoured with a plate of hot, fluffy white rice. Mmmm.....!

Desserts

One of hubby's aunts made double-chocolate cupcakes. She's really generous with the chocolate chips so there were much chocolatey goodness.

The marshmallows were meant for the kids to grill over the fire but since the BBQ pit is pretty high, they very much enjoy eating them just like that.

There's also a huge bowl of fruit cocktail. I gotta admit that I'm one of those people who take only a bit of the fruit mix and enjoy many rounds of the water (a mix of ice-cold water, diluted syrup from the fruit cocktail and a good squeeze of lime) instead.

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So there you have it. Things that you can consider when planning a BBQ, perhaps?