Category Archives: Out & About

Serabi vs Cucur: Battle of the Indonesian Kue

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Instagram Post 10/23/2018

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So many kue, so little time, but I was determined to get to the bottom of the puzzle. On a recent visit to the monthly NY Indonesian Food Bazaar at St. James Episcopal Church, 84-07 Broadway in Elmhurst, Queens, I had purchased some kue (diminutive Indonesian sweets/snacks) from Pecel Ndeso’s booth, but I misidentified them in an earlier post. So I returned, and thanks to extensive discussion with the vendor and then another vendor who sold the same snack under a different name and my Indonesian friends @nigelsie (aka @hellomoonman), @fefeang (owner of the Taste of Surabaya booth at the bazaar), but especially to @erm718 for her detailed descriptions, I think I’ve got it now, to wit:

The first photo is serabi. @erm718 writes, “Serabi making is very similar to American pancake making, where the batter is spread onto a lightly oiled pan, but not flipped.” (See the browned bottom of the kue in the lower right of the photo.) “Traditionally clay pans are used for serabi, but now metal pans are also used.” Holes bubble up on top as the serabi cooks. Variations exist distinguished by the thickness of the kue and the toppings; the one in this photo, serabi basah (basah means wet), came accompanied by a bag of coconut milk sweetened with palm sugar. Thicker than a typical pancake and with a light, fluffy, almost fine-crumb cakey texture, the flavor was enhanced by the addition of a little pandan essence (that’s where the green tinge comes from). Warm, anointed by the sweet coconut milk, the taste intensified; definitely a treat.

The kue shaped like a flying saucer is cucur. @erm718 writes, “Cucur’s batter is poured into lots of hot oil and deep fried; cucur is eaten as is.” There’s a bit of a chewy quality to it, its puffy, airy interior adding to the sensory pleasure; it benefitted from a little warming as well.

Thanks for your help, Elika!

Lots more to come from the bazaar….
 
 

Pecel Ndeso’s Indonesian Kue

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Instagram Post 9/29/2018

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Here’s the first in a series from another visit to the monthly NY Indonesian Food Bazaar at St. James Episcopal Church, 84-07 Broadway in Elmhurst, Queens. These are kue (diminutive Indonesian sweets/snacks) from Pecel Ndeso’s booth; the disk-shaped twosome are serabi solo. There are many regional variants on serabi; most are made with rice flour but some use wheat flour, and most call for coconut milk. Green almost always implies pandan flavor, while brown indicates palm sugar. The cutaway view reveals the puffy, airy interior.

One of my all-time favorite snacks is anything that involves sticky rice pressed and sweetened with coconut milk. The Indonesian fulfillment of this wish is wajik, which I posted about on 8/16. Usually diamond-shaped (wajik is the Indonesian word that describes a diamond or rhombus shape), this sweet, green blocky rendition is infused with pandan and contains bits of jackfruit, another weakness of mine.

More to come from the bazaar….
 
 

Grenada, Carriacou, and Petite Martinique Day

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Instagram Post 9/13/2018

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The annual event celebrating the culture of Grenada, Carriacou, and Petite Martinique took place on August 26, 2018 at St. Andrew’s Playground in Brooklyn, NY. The food of the Caribbean state is what drew me in, of course, and I had set my sights on “Oil Down”, Grenada’s national dish, a stew with as many variations as there are chefs who make it. Chicken, salted meat, and salted fish all variously factor in, and expect to find dumplings, breadfruit, plantain, yams, corn and other veggies as well, but the essential common ingredient is coconut milk that suffuses everything with an indescribable richness. It’s all cooked down until only the coconut oil remains at the bottom of the pot, hence the name. The greens adorning the top are callaloo, flavorful taro leaves, a traditional component of the dish.

[Photo #2] The sign at a nearby vendor read “manicou”; if you’re concerned that manicou might be some strange sort of foodstuff, don’t worry. It’s just their word for possum. 😉

But seriously, if you’ve never tried it, it’s worth doing once. As with any kind of meat, the taste varies from one muscle to another, and this recipe was well-sauced making it difficult to disentangle the piquant flavors of the gravy and the meat itself, so it defies description; suffice it to say it was unctuous. And it didn’t taste like chicken.
 
 

Allerton Avenue International Food Festival – Part 2

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Instagram Post 8/30/2018

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More Scenes from the Allerton Avenue International Food Festival in the Bronx.

Empanadas Monumental had a stand right outside their shop at 752 Allerton Ave. Based on the cuisine of Santiago in the Dominican Republic, their wares ventured well beyond empanadas; this quipe is a good example. Quipes are made from bulgur (par-cooked cracked wheat) stuffed with meat and/or cheese and deep fried. If the word sounds familiar, it’s based on the similar Middle Eastern dish, kibbeh.

The second photo reveals the interior of one of their many empanada varieties, pierna ahumada, smoked pork with cheese.
 
 

Allerton Avenue International Food Festival

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Instagram Post 8/25/2018

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Scenes from the Allerton Avenue International Food Festival in the Bronx.

It was a treat to see Mama G African Kitchen at the festival. I’ve written about one of their brick and mortar restaurants (3650A White Plains Road in the Bronx) here and here so I don’t need to repeat how much I like their food; I’ll just show you what we got:

Waakye – you may see variant spellings but the pronunciation is wah-chay (rhymes with watch-way) and it’s Ghana’s culinary claim to fame. Similar to West Indian rice and peas, it’s made with rice and black eyed peas or cowpeas; the characteristic reddish-purplish-brown color can come from dried red sorghum leaves, millet leaves, or even baking soda. Yellow gari (ground cassava) on the side.

Jollof rice – There’s a keen rivalry among West African countries over whose version is the best but tomato paste figures heavily into all of them.

Fried turkey (the part that goes over the fence last – yum!), plantain, and fried croaker submerged under spicy sauce.

Delicious!
 
 

Paterson’s Peruvian Parade – 2018

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On the last Sunday of July, Paterson, NJ, plays annual host to its exuberant Peruvian Parade and festival celebrating the country’s culture and national heroes. Here are some photos from this year’s culinary extravaganza in “Little Lima”, home of America’s largest Peruvian community, starting with dessert – because life is short:

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Picarones, Peru’s answer to the doughnut: a wok in progress.


Topped with one of a variety of sweet sauces.


Two of my favorite ice cream flavors sharing a single cup: lúcuma and cherimoya with big hunks of fruit. It’s difficult to find fresh lúcuma locally but the frozen pulp is easy to come by in Latin American markets. Cherimoya, sometimes called custard apple, can be found fresh without much ado – frozen pulp is also readily available. If you have a blender, buy the frozen pulp and try your hand at making a batido!


Anticuchos. Grilled skewers of tender, marinated beef heart always accompanied by boiled potato; Peruvian street food at its finest. Don’t be repelled by the fact that it’s heart – it’s just another cut of beef, and a particularly delicious one at that. Try it, you’ll like it.


Causa, another Peruvian favorite. This cold dish takes many forms, but the base is always seasoned, mashed yellow potatoes. From there, it’s layered with tuna, salmon, or chicken salad, olives and other vegetables, and topped with another layer of sunshiny potatoes.


Ceviche. I saw easily a half dozen different versions at the festival; stands offered divergent types of fish and each had its own custom recipe for leche de tigre, the ceviche marinade.

Mark your calendars for next year’s event!
 
 

The Garifuna Annual Culture Pot Celebration

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Instagram Post 8/20/2018

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The Garifuna Indigenous People of St. Vincent and the Grenadines held their Annual Culture Pot celebration recently in Crown Heights, Brooklyn and the food was delightful.

[1] The emblematic dish, cassava bambam, is made from compressed grated cassava and coconut grilled in a ring on a hot griddle. (The name Garifuna actually means cassava-eating people.)
[2] Smoke herring with breadfruit salad; it’s similar to potato salad but with breadfruit as the base. The flatbreads are madungo bakes made from arrowroot starch.
[3] Saltfish (dried cod) with more breadfruit salad (it’s delicious) and provision (boiled plantain) hiding beneath; coconut dumpling on the right.
[4] Pelau. Think pilaf but deeply flavored. And even more breadfruit salad (no, really – it’s delicious) on top.
[5] One of our desserts was dukuna (aka dukana), a gingery sweet potato dumpling, wrapped in a banana leaf and boiled.
 
 

Indonesian Independence Day Celebration

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Instagram Post 8/16/2018

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Indonesian Independence Day is August 17 and you can catch the local celebration (Bazaar Kemerdekaan) Saturday the 18th on Whitney Avenue near Broadway in Elmhurst, Queens (11am-5pm). There’ll be fun and entertaining cultural activities and, of course, an assortment of delicious authentic food. I’ve posted numerous photos of Indonesian dishes lately, but not many desserts, and the cuisine has plenty of them to satisfy your sweet tooth. Three of my favorites from Masjid al-Hikmah’s approximately monthly bazaar (48-01 31st Ave, next scheduled event to be announced) are…

[1] Martabak Manis. The pancake has a radically different texture than savory martabak, more like a soft crumpet, actually. It’s folded around chocolate, peanuts, grated fresh cheese, coconut and sweetened condensed milk.
[2] Kue Singkong. These dense cassava cakes can be found steamed or baked in fanciful shapes and sizes. This one, sprinkled with coconut, obviates the need to decide between plain and chocolate.
[3] Wajik. This kue (bite-sized sweet snack) is made from glutinous sticky rice, palm sugar and coconut milk; it’s usually diamond-shaped (wajik is the Indonesian word that describes a diamond or rhombus shape). So good!
 
 

Indonesian Food Bazaar at St. James’ Parish House

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Instagram Post 8/10/2018

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Indonesian cuisine is as varied as it is delicious and Queens is home to two monthly warm weather events (but not during Ramadan) that present an opportunity to try it, one bite at a time. Each offers a panoply of homemade dishes, a little sweet, a little spicy, from Indonesian fried chicken and skewers of sate to more challenging, but equally delectable, fare, so there’s sure to be something to please every palate. This weekend, head to the Indonesian Food Bazaar at St. James’ Parish House, 84-07 Broadway in Elmhurst, on Saturday, August 11th; arrive early (the event begins at 11am) to ensure the greatest selection. I suggest you go with a group so that everyone gets to sample a bit of a wide variety of dishes but take-home is always an option. Here are a few recent photos, mostly of less familiar items.

[1] Siomay Goreng (fried siomay dumplings) that tasted as good as they looked

[2] Mie Goreng – stir fried noodles in a flavorful sauce with lamb and veggies, deep fried krupuk (crispy garlicky crackers) on the side

[3] Martabak – savory omelet/pancake folded around an assortment of ingredients (a must-do)

[4] Bebek (fried duck), gudeg (green jackfruit stew), two chunks of bacem (sweet tempe), egg, krecek (cow skin), all over rice

[5] Kikil (beef tendon – yellow), rice, cumi (squid – purple) in back, paru (cow lungs – brown) cooked in green chili in front. That green bean is petai or sator (unfortunately called stink bean over here, but not really that stinky IMO)

Note also that every time I attend one of these, there’s always something different to try. I’ll write about the other event, the Indonesian Bazaar at Masjid al-Hikmah in Astoria, in the coming weeks.
 
 

Barbados Festival Day

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Instagram Post 7/31/2018

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Barbados Festival Day is an annual event that occurs in mid-July at Seaview Park in Canarsie, Brooklyn. Dozens of vendors, each with their own recipes for Bajan home cooking, lined the Canarsie Cricket Grounds leading to an almost overwhelming number of decisions – but “almost” is the operative word since our appetites prevailed and we sampled more than our fill. If you go next year (and you should), expect to find curry goat, curry chicken, roti, escovitch fish, souse (pickled pork), cassava pone, conkies (delicious snacks made from cornmeal and steamed in a banana leaf), conch fritters, island drinks like mauby and sorrel and so much more, plus specialties like…

[1] Cornmeal Cou Cou, arguably the national dish of Barbados and similar to polenta, topped here with dolphinfish (actually mahi-mahi and unrelated to dolphin).

[2] The breadfruit Cou Cou with saltfish (preserved cod) was even better.

[3] BBQ Pig Tail

[4] Sea Egg Rice (rice with sea urchin)