Fusion Salad Served With Grated Coconut

 

Ichi's Fusion Recipes: salad with grated coconut dressing, fried tempeh, Japanese rice with nori and furikake, and crackers - Photographed by Acik Mardhiyanti

Welcome back to Ichi's Fusion Recipes! How's your day? Today is special as I am going to share one of my favorite dishes from my hometown. However, I twisted in my style so this is fusion! Are you ready to know about this particular dish? Let's rock!👊😃

We call it "Urap" or you can call it salad which consists of boiled vegetables such as long beans, bean sprouts, sometimes cassava leaves, cabbage, or it could be others one example is the Belinjo flower! If you are following Ichi's Garden you would remember that I wrote about the Belinjo plant. So this is the link if you haven't read my article about the Belinjo plant: https://ichi-garden.blogspot.com/2021/10/from-flower-seeds-and-leaves-we-eat-all.html

These boiled vegetables are served with grated coconut that is cooked with seasonings. In my village we prepare this dressing by fry on the pan, meanwhile in another place for example in the city where I completed Bachelor's degree, they steam it. And I pick fry pan the dressing since it is one of my favorite dishes.

Ichi's Fusion Recipes: Fusion salad served with grated coconut - Photographed by RDZ

Before talking about the recipe, let me tell you the story about "urap." It is a regular dish in every household in my hometown that everyone has their own family recipes. In my village, there is a flower that we can pick to add to "urap" dish. The color of this flower is red and white with a crescent shape before maturing. The best way to eat this flower is when it is in a crescent shape. One part of this flower has a bitter taste so we have to plug it. Unfortunately, I do not know the plant that produces this particular flow

"Urap" is one of the menus on two special days; the first is a birthday celebration, second is a death anniversary. In the past, I did not need to blow the candles on the birthday cake on my birthday. My birthday was identic with "nasi kunig" or yellow rice that consists of yellow rice, "urap" or salad, boiled egg, fried noodles. Each one of those dishes has meaning. Yellow rice is identic with a happy celebration including birthday, this salad must use green vegetables as the symbol of life (maybe like a plant), the egg is also the symbol of the birth, noodles is the symbol of long life. My father would prefer yellow rice on my birthday rather than a birthday cake. Yeah, my father kept this tradition and I bet that was how my grandma taught him. And now my turn to keep this tradition alive. On the other hand, we can also find "urap" on death celebration. The difference is we do not use green vegetables or just simply place the dressing without vegetables; more likely the symbol of sadness. In addition, on the death anniversary, we do not include a boiled egg on it as the egg is the symbol of birth. Another thing is in the death celebration only white rice, not yellow rice. To celebrate my birthday sometimes I invited my friends over to eat yellow rice or just a family dinner.  Meanwhile to mark the death celebration (my grandparent) my father invited our neighbor at least 60 people to eat at our house and each one of them would bring home those dishes. All of those points are that "urap" or salad is a close dish in my life.

I do not remember when the last time I cooked this salad was. And two weeks ago, I planned to cook "urap."  Finally, yesterday I made this unforgettable dish! However, if you ask or read "urap" article (I bet lots of article about it) the way on how to prepare, seasonings, and ingredients, it might not be the same on the way I create it. Why? I adapted it to where I live today including the ingredients that I could find and use.  On top of that, I want to make it simple without consuming my time in the kitchen; quick and easy recipe yet tasty and great! So, this is "Urap" in Ichi's style recipe, I call it salad served with grated coconut. Check it out!😉

1. Making the dressing aka grated coconut dressing

Ingredient:

• 250 g of grated coconut
• 5 g of low sodium salt - you can add 5-7 g salt but I prefer 5 g only
• 5 g of garlic powder
• 5 g of onion powder

Ichi's Fusion Recipe: garlic and onion powder that I use - Photographed by Acik Mardhiyanti

• 5-7 g of course ground black pepper
• 10 g of red crushed chili pepper - this is optional 

Ichi's Fusion Recipes: crushed chili pepper and black pepper that I use - Photographed by Acik Mardhiyanti

• 2-3 g of smoked paprika

Smoke paprika that I use - Photographed by Acik Mardhiyanti

• 2,5 g of turmeric

Turmeric that I use - Photographed by Acik Mardhiyanti

• 50 ml of olive oil
• 1 or 2 tbsp of water- this is optional
• 2-4 kaffir lime leaves

These are what you do:

• Prepare a frying pan

Ichi's Fusion Recipes - Photographed by Acik Mardhiyanti

• Add grated coconut, garlic powder, onion powder, turmeric powder, black pepper, smoked paprika, salt, and crushed chili pepper. Add kaffir lime leaves and pour olive oil. Turn on the stove on medium-low flame. Stir them for about 7 minutes then turn off the stove. Note: do not stop stirring until the time is up. Meanwhile, you stir, pour the water but pouring water is optional. I use water so that my grated coconut dressing is not too dry.

Ichi's Fusion Recipes - Photographed by Acik Mardhiyanti

• that's it, grated coconut dressing is ready!
• This dressing is enough to serve up to 8 people. Tips: we can store this dressing on the fridge after cooling down by putting it into a sealed container and we can use it the next day

I put grated coconut into a container and place it in the fridge - Photographed by Acik Mardhiyanti

2. Vegetable

You can choose a wide range of varieties of vegetables. For instance: carrot, kale, lettuce, long bean, french bean, radish, cucumber, zucchini, et cetera. This is what I pick:

• 4 radishes
• 1 pack green spinach
• some french bean
• white cabbage
• carrot
• purple cabbage

I just boiled all those veggies and done. Or you can just let the veggie in raw! these boiled vegetables are for 2 servings (lunch and dinner for two).

3. To arrange salad

Fusion salad served with grated coconut - Photographed by RDZ

• prepare a plate, place all boiled veggie
• Add grated coconut dressing. and mix them well
• Serve with rice, boiled pumpkin, or sweet potato

Ichi's Fusion Recipes - Photographed by Acik Mardhiyanti

Ichi's Fusion Recipes: fusion salad served with grated coconut, boiled pumpkin, fried egg, fried tempeh - Photographed by Acik Mardhiyanti 

• I also pick fried tempeh and a fried egg to complete this set menu
• Do not forget to eat fruit!

Ichi's Fusion Recipes: fusion salad served with grated coconut, fried tempeh, Japanese white rice with nori and furikake, crackers, grapes, and a glass of green tea - Photographed by Acik Mardhiyanti

What do you think? It sounds good, isn't it? It is simple yet tasty!😋😍

Thank you for reading my article, see in the next article and bye!🖐🙂

Note:

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