Babi Ketjap Day

There I was again, on a cold, windy night, in the mood to cook a hearty dinner. Somehow cold, windy nights, and may I add, stormy today, prompted me to cook a tasty dinner when hubby arrives home. The wind howling through the alley beside our penthouse, used to be, to my untrained ear, a volcano erupting in Noord Holland. I used to be terrified by this roaring tirade but now I am not. To celebrate my little modest self-accomplishment, I decided to cook up a feast and let the babi ketjap sizzle and crackle more than the wind outside! Courtesy of my ladles and bouncing technique of the pork fillets!

Starting out on a good note, I first rummaged the fridge for available ingredients. I found some mushroom which I most certainly must use by today as it is the expiry date, half a packet of provencial vegetables, salad from Spain and of course the good old babi in the form of two pork strips.

Ingredients used. I had it easy as I had pre-cut vegetables already.

In the end, although I "tore" the salad, I did not use it as I felt it would be overload of vegetables for hubby who does not eat so much vegetables. Based on my limited experience, salad has a strong smell and does not go well when cooked with babi ketjap.

After chopping eight medium size champignons (mushroom species popular in Holland) into French fries size strips, I did the same with the pork. For the salad, I just tore the salad head with my bare hands and immediately it harmonized into salad petals. I rinsed the salad. I have to add “rinse” as in the Netherlands some vegetables are already rinsed for you and this is very clearly started on the package. If one were to buy chopped or torn salad (the end result is the same, whether you chop it or tear it from the butter head – with clean hands, naturally!), they are already rinsed for the user. Salad in this form is usually five times more expensive than a full butter head. Surprisingly despite the great difference in price, most customers here prefer the pre-cut vegetables.

First in went the now already cut pork fillets in Thai cooking oil. No need to wait until they are fully cooked. In fact after three minutes or so, I put in the mushrooms. Somehow I always had this feeling that mushrooms need to be cooked extra longer to weed out any poison, if remaining! Since I already had the mushrooms in, I thought why not the provencial vegetables as well. So plop they went in.

Stir frying the pork fillets. You can bounce them for extra tender meat and for the sound effect. 

I stir-fried the whole combination for another three minutes. Then I added the babi ketjap sauce inside. It was thick and fragrant. While mixing the sauce, I also added 100 ml of water.

The process of stir frying the medley.

The fragrant ketjap sauce starts to come out after a while. I test-tried it and it was good. Maybe also the fat from the pork fillet made it tastier.

Tempted to eat already. It is now 8.15 pm and hubby is still not home yet. Good thing I have this blog to occupy my fingers from heading to the kitchen and eating the babi ketjap without waiting for him!

The babi ketjap ready to be served.

I am pleased to say I have created a sizzle in the kitchen enough to match the roar of the wind outside. How is that? When I am cooking, I do not hear the wind anymore. I hear only the oil spattering in the wok and that my friend, is my own volcano brewing inside.

What more can I say, perhaps being unnecessarily philosophical today - great storms can never distress you if you cook up your own babi ketjap storm and you’re comfortable with it!

December 8^th, 2011

Also on a day when the lift to our penthouse is not working. Maintenance men are replacing the revolving disc of the lift. In the process, also cooking up a storm in the lift.