Recreating Recipe From My Book: Veggie Chicken Soup and Tempura Tempeh

 

Dinner idea: veggie chicken soup - Photographed by Acik Mardhiyanti

Hi, all of you, It has been a while; how are you? I hope you are still having strong courage and embrace this unprecedented crisis with a calm and positive mind. I believe that there are any lesson and a good thing have been coming toward us even if we are in a rough situation such as; are you care about other people and willing to help them even you are in deep trouble because of the Covid-19 situation? are you upgrading and upskilling yourself in order to survive? or do you see the opportunity? Please, instead of complaining and doing nothing, it is a wise choice for you to do something and make yourself useful.

Dinner idea: veggie chicken soup, tempura tempeh, an apple, and a glass of berry tea - Photographed by Acik Mardhiyanti

Speaking of which, what we have today for our dinner? I cooked veggie chicken soup and tempura tempeh. Because it has a great and good taste I often cook this my home recipe. I wrote this delectable dish in my book. So for more detail about the recipe, you can read my book which means I am not writing a recipe today but, more likely to tell you the story about my veggie chicken soup recipe.

Fresh tempeh - Photographed by Acik Mardhiyanti

Maybe you notice that the vegetable looks different. And yes, we can use a variety of vegetables such as spinach, french bean, bean sprout, carrot, pea sprout, white cabbage, purple cabbage, kale, tomato, or potato, it's up to you which veggie do you prefer. And this time my choice is carrot, pea sprout, bean sprout, and purple cabbage. It enhances the flavor especially combining with rice cake will make this dish more interesting.

Tempura tempeh, fried chicken breast - Photographed by Acik Mardhiyanti

Let's talk about the story of my veggie chicken recipe. Well, I was born and grew up in a remote village. People around me were growing their own foods in their yards and fields. Villager cooked meat only on festive seasons. They often made veggie chicken soup with glass noodles called "soto", curry chicken called "opor" that often eat with rice cake, some rich villager cooked beef rendang. I mentioned in my other article that I can not eat meat but, in some cases, I able to eat meat. Yes, I can eat veggie chicken soup without the chicken meat. For me, squeezing lime on it will enhance the flavor without a meaty smell. Maybe many of you think that I am vegetarian; NO, I am not vegetarian. I just someone who can not eat meat. So it is why I eat tempeh since I was a kid. Nowadays, I still love tempeh and feeling glad wherever I found it. In another word, I like to eat chicken soup and combine it with tempeh. 

Rice cake in the middle, purple cabbage, bean sprout, pea sprout, and carrot - Photographed by Acik Mardhiyanti

In my other article, I mentioned that I started cooking since I was a kid at 11. At the same age, I started working after school in the cookies and snacks industry to earn money. After married, upskilling my knowledge on healthy foods and how to cook them was a priority. Working on designing, studying, it doesn't make me avoid my kitchen. For me, cooking every day in my kitchen and serving healthy foods at the table is my job too. 

Dinner idea: Veggie chicken soup - Photographed by Acik Mardhiyanti

Moving to another country was hard especially when it comes to talking about food. But I have a solution by making my own recipe called fusion. There is plenty of chicken soup or "soto" recipe on the internet, right? And when you read my recipe then you realize it is not common because I used to choose ingredients that easy to find around me. Besides adding more vegetables will make the food healthier. Moreover, my recipe only using chicken breast (skinless and boneless). That's the idea of my veggie chicken soup comes from. Adapting to a new environment is important to me including the foods. I love to learn about new cultures because It will lead me to new knowledge and open my horizon. 

Dinner idea: Veggie chicken soup - Photographed by Acik Mardhiyanti 

That's the story of my veggie chicken soup. I think every recipe that I write having their own stories. And I would love to tell you about it. Most of my recipes are fusion, inspired by Japanese, Western, and Indonesia. Maybe in the future, there is a lot more my fusion recipe which influenced by other countries in the world.

Veggie chicken soup - Photographed by Acik Mardhiyanti

Thank you for reading my article, stay safe, and have a great day! 😊👍

Note:

• Written by Acik Mardhiyanti
• Photographed by Acik Mardhiyanti
• Do not copy this article without permission
• Do not reuse these photographed anywhere else without permission