LEAF (Part 1)

Indonesian cuisine is very rich in the use of herbs and spices, especially the Manado kitchen. Besides flavor of grains and tubers apparent, some types of leaves of certain plants provide aroma, flavor, and color are delicious in cooking. Herbs can be obtained in traditional markets, but to facilitate it, many Indonesian families who grow their own herb leaf variety in their homes. Choose herbs that are still fresh and not rotten. If kept, put it in a plastic bag that had been given a few holes. Store in refrigerator. Herbs used for cooking or baking scent. Usually leaves spice is used fresh, not dry. How to wear it to stay put in the dish, but specifically for turmeric leaves and pandan leaves, leaf conclude first and torn or sliced, so that the aroma that came out excellent. Here are some of them.

Basil Leaves

Is one of the favorite herbs for aroma fresh and very easily available in the markets or on the yard of the house. Also known as basil leaves, some are even calling it a basil leaf because of its shape similar to basil leaves original is smaller than basil. Basil leaves can be eaten raw or for cooking. Basil leaves used for cooking a lot of fish.

Basil leaves give the fragrance its distinctive aroma cuisine. The leaves are used in fresh condition, either as vegetables or as a condiment dishes like spiced or laksa. Apart from giving a fragrant aroma, basil also can reduce the fishy smell in fish dishes, egg, or chicken.

The use of basil in cooking is wash basil, enter lifted just before cooking, stir well. Let the basil leaves wither evaporate as steam cooking.

Bay Leaf

Bay leaf is the name of leaf-producing trees spice used in cooking archipelago. This plant is also known by other names such as lemongrass Ubar, meselangan (Sumatra), tannic, chelating tannic, serah (Maluku), and Manting (Java). In English known as Indonesian bay-leaf or Indonesian laurel, while its scientific name is Syzygium polyanthum.

Bay leaf popular in kitchens Asia, such as Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, and Thailand. Almost oval shape of guava leaves. Bay leaves are usually used in the form of whole, fresh and dry. Sold in branches of fresh or dried leaves. In order to get a fragrant aroma, choose leaves that are not too young and intact. In Indonesian cuisine, bay leaves are widely used as a spice in cooking such as stir-fry dishes, vegetables, tamarind, lodeh, pepes, curry, curry, yellow rice, soup, and pureed savory. Typical fragrant aroma of bay leaves make a dish more fragrant and savory.

Enter 1-2 bay leaves fresh or cooked in a stir along with other seasonings. Or add 2-3 bay leaves for cooking fry the coconut milk or broth of 1 liter. For dry, wash and then mixed with other spices.

Celery Leaves

Celery leaves have a fragrant aroma. In the market are sold in a fresh state and powder. This spice is usually used to give fragrance to the dish soup, soup, fry or other dishes. Celery leaf stems are also often used as a fragrance ingredient broth.

Coriander Leaves

Form leaves resemble celery with leaves younger and sharp aroma overpowering. In addition to the leaves, roots are also used. Sold fresh in traditional markets or supermarkets. Coriander leaves give flavor to the dish fry, stir-fry, or for sprinkling, especially the seafood dishes. Enter whole or chopped coriander leaves into the dish. Or sprinkle over stir-fried dishes, it could be weeks to garnish food. Cilantro roots are used for flavoring fresh curry. Cut the root end 2 cm toward the stem cilantro. Blend together with other spices.

Curry Leaves/Koja Bay Leaves

This leaf is one of the ingredients that are often used in Asian cuisine, including Indonesia. European cuisine is also know as curry leaves (curry leaf). Also called temurui leaf or Koja leaves. Texture leaves almost like bay leaves but smaller in size, can be purchased at a traditional market in a state of dry or fresh in the Sumatra household yard. This leaves sold in the market in the form of fresh and powdered. Widely used in North Sumatra and Aceh kitchen. Koja bay leaves give the fragrance on fry dishes such as curry coconut milk, curry, stir the meat, or vegetable broth. In addition to more savory flavor, curry leaves also removes the fishy smell of meat or fish dishes. The use of curry leaves in cooking is to insert 2-3 curry leaves into the dish, boiled until wilted and fragrant. Or use 3-5 leaves for every 1 liter of fluid.

Gedi Leaves

Gedi leaves has green color and seemingly similar cassava leaves. Can be obtained in the yard of the house because of a domestic plant. Gedi leaves useful to flavor and thicken the savory dishes from the Manado kitchen, especially for Manado porridge (porridge tinutuan) is not complete if it is not added as a seasoning mix. In addition to a slurry mixture of Manado, gedi leaf also be used as curry, bobor vegetable, or pan-fried. Usage gedi leaves the dishes are clean wash gedi leaves, 2-3 gedi leaves enter into dishes, boiled until wilted.

In addition to delicious, gedi leaves are also rich in vitamin A, iron, and fiber is good for digestion. The collagen content of the leaves is also beneficial as antioxidants.

Guava Leaf

Also known as guava leaves kelutuk. Used is part of the young leaves (leaf). Usually obtained from the yard of the house. Guava leaves are used to give color to red-brown on boiled egg dish. Choose leaves that are fresh and intact, washed, placed in the bottom of the pan, then put it on top of other seasonings and boiled eggs that will be made pindang. In order for young papaya leaves boiled fresh green, 300 g boiled papaya leaves for 15-20 kelutuk guava leaves until tender papaya leaves. Drain kelutuk guava leaves.

Indian Mint

Scientific name: Coleus amboinicus Lour. This plant is found in almost all parts of Indonesia with a variety of different names, in Central Java called leaf Cumin, Sundanese call ajeran leaves, called goat leaves at Madura, Bali called Iwak leaves and in NTB called herbs jo. In the area of ​​North Sumatra Batak itself is referred to as leaf shapes or torbangun. Foreign name: Country borage, Indian mint, Mexican mint (UK), Tan day la (Vietnam), Zuo xiang shou, yin du bo he, dao shou xiang (China), Kuuban oregano (Japan).

Country borage a tropical plant whose leaves have a certain scent that is known as aromatic plants. These plants are found in India and Ceylon and South Africa, have a flower that looks sharp and contains essential oils so called Coleus aromaticus.

Leaf shapes have soft-boned features, jointed, circular, with a diameter of about 15 mm, the middle and ends about 10 mm, can breed easily. The leaves are still fresh forms a thick, dark green, both leaf surfaces slippery.

Planted as hedges or ornamental. Sometimes it can be obtained in certain areas of traditional markets. Leaf shapes are used to remove the rancid aroma chicken dish fry dishes nodes in North Sumatra (Batak). It is advisable to choose young leaves, the use of herbs is to incorporate into the boiling cooking.

Jintan Leaves

Looks thick and downy make leaves is often called thick leaves. This caraway-scented leaves the combination of cumin and anise odor. Can be obtained at the Manado household yard. Shipment includes plants easily grown, even if taken from young stems though. Caraway leaves gives aroma and flavor and makes the dish into a thick, somewhat slimy. Caraway leaves is widely used in the Sulawesi kitchen, especially North Sulawesi. The use of jintan leaves is to put away or finely shredded leaves and add to the cooking fry to get a distinctive flavor and creamy texture.

Kesum Leaves

Including mint family. Leaves such as leaf shape cayenne pepper. Can be replaced with curry leaves. Kesum leaves give a distinctive savory aroma on cooking, especially cooking fry. Widely used in the kitchen of Sumatra, Malaysia and Singapore. Enter kesum 3-5 leaves into the dish, boiled along with other ingredients and seasonings until wilted.

PEPPER

Pepper (Piper nigrum L.) is a plant spice seeds taken. Pepper very important component of world cuisine. In Indonesia, pepper mainly produced on the island of Bangka. Pepper can be regarded as the king of the kitchen because the kitchen is used around the world. In the past pepper seed trade is a commodity, the price is very expensive and one of the triggers of exploration Europe to East Asia to master the trade.

There are three kinds of pepper that can be encountered, but what sets it apart is the way to harvest and prepare it before it is marketed. White pepper, the peppercorns are picked when ripe. Then the skin is peeled by soaking in water for two weeks, after the pepper dried in the sun for three days. Black pepper, peppercorns are plucked while the skin is still green/young, not soaked and immediately dried in the sun. Green pepper is young pepper.

White pepper and black peppercorns are sold dried in the form of granules and powders. Green pepper rare and hard to be found. Black pepper flavored sharper and more pungent flavor. Cuisine archipelago generally more use of white pepper. Black pepper is widely used in the kitchen of Bali and Aceh. Usually pepper used in cooking fried chicken, vegetable soup, and many others. Select pepper grains with a large grain and smelling fresh, not stale.

The highest nutrient content in pepper is vitamin K, vitamin A, vitamin E and vitamin C. It also contains B vitamins, such as niacin, pyridoxine and riboflavin, as well as some of folate and choline. Pepper also contains fiber, carbohydrates and protein, but very low in cholesterol and sugar levels.

Basically pepper is used in cooking to give a spicy flavor that warms the body. The content of capsaicin in the peppers, make hot pepper has properties. This hot nature of the work to burn calories and fat, so that the pepper can help you lose weight. Preferably prior to use pepper roasted prior to produce sharper scent. Ground black pepper grains are widely used as a topping on dishes.

KENCUR

Kencur or commonly known in the scientific world as Kaempferia galanga L. In Indonesia is known in various regional names such as ceuku (Aceh), tekur (Gayo), kaciwer (Karo), cakue (Minangkabau), Cekur (Lampung), kencur (Java), cikur (Sunda), Kencor (Madura), brick (Manado), watan (Minahsa), (Gorontalo), cakuru (Makassar), Ceku (Bugis), niche (Bali), cekur (Sasak), sokus (Roti), Sukung (Timor), suha (Seram), assuli (Ambon), Onegai (Buru), Bataka (Ternate, Tidore), ukap (Irian).

This plant is expected to come from Tropical Asia region. Most people suspect that the origin kencur is Indo-Malaysian region. But other literature sources to make sure that kencur plant origin is from India and subsequently cultivated by the countries in various parts of southeast Asia, southern China, to Australia.

In Indonesia alone, kencur first present in the Moluccas, because at that moment spices in Indonesia is based in Maluku. Kencur cropping center is still concentrated in Java, especially Central Java and East Java. One of the central areas of greatest kencur today is Boyolali (Central Java), which in 1992 contained kencur planting area covering 703 hectares with a production of 1,301 tons of wet logs.

Kencur (Kaempferia galanga L.) is widely used as raw material for traditional medicine (herbal medicine), fitofarmaka, cosmetics, food and beverage flavoring, spices, sauces and mixed materials, cigarette in the cigarette industry. Empirically kencur used as an appetite enhancer, a bacterial infection, cough, dysentery, tonic, expectorant, colds, stomach aches. Essential oil in the rhizome kencur sinnamat containing ethyl and methyl p-methoxycinnamate are widely used in the cosmetics industry and is used as an asthma medication and anti-fungal. The many benefits of kencur enable the development carried out intensive cultivation adjusted to the desired end product. Production, quality and content of active ingredients in the rhizome kencur determined by the varieties used, the way the growth of aquaculture and the environment.

Kencur main product is the rhizome which can be used as a medicinal plant material (botanicals) Traditionally, industrial raw material for beverages and spices. Priangan (West Java) kencur leaves are commonly used as raw salad. 

Kencur plants use as a food ingredient, among others:

-    Young leaves (shoots) are used for raw vegetables or make urap.

-    Rhizome kencur used for flavoring food (spices), for example in the manufacture pecel, ointment, crackers, gado-gado and others.

-    Rhizome kencur mixture used to give flavor to the rice.

-    Rhizome kencur used as ingredient in the confectionery industry.

Usage As Spices

Kencur gives a fresh aroma and distinctive in sauce, soybean sauce, ointment, pecel, lodeh and bobor vegetable.

Usage: Peel kencur, puree together with other spices. Kencur following young fresh leaves are eaten as a salad. As a substitute for fresh can be used kencur powder is packaged in a bottle.

GINGER

Scientific name Zingiber officinale, is the name given by William Roxburgh from the Greek word zingiberi, from Sanskrit, singaberi. Local name: Halia (Aceh), Bahing (Batak Karo), Jae (Java), Ginger (Sunda), Jhai (Madura), Jae, Jahya (Bali), Sipodeh (Minang), Jahi (Lampung), Melito (Gorontalo), Lia (Flores), Goraka (Ternate), Late (East), PESE (Bugis), Lali (Papua). Foreign names: Ginger (UK), Khan Jiang, Chilang (China), Gingembre (France), Gengibre (Spain), Ingefaera (Sweden), Imbir (Russia), Sanyabil (Arabic), Zensero (Italy). Familia or parts of plants: Zingiberaceae.

Ginger is thought to have originated from India. But some are believed ginger comes from the China. From India, ginger was taken as the spice trade to Southeast Asia, China, Japan and the Middle East.

Ginger (Zingiber officinale) is a wild plant in a fields who had higher levels of soil rather wet (humid) and plenty of sunshine gain, such as Southeast Asia, Brazil and Africa. Currently Ecuador and Brazil became the world's largest supplier of ginger. Ginger including chronic herbaceous plant species. The characteristics of this plant among other things has erect stems, fibrous roots and bulbous with horizontal rhizomes. Medium large-small ginger rhizome plants is largely determined by its variety. Ginger rhizome rather thick-skinned tubers fibrous wrap meat and have a brown color with a distinctive aroma. Stem ginger is a pseudo-stem with a height of 30 to 100 cm. Elliptic leaf shape and not so wide. Pinnate leaves with a length of 15 to 23 mm and a width of 8 to 15 mm. The flowers are oval and have 2 sex and have 1 stamens and 3 pistils of flowers. Ginger flower has a length of 35 to 50 mm and a width of 15 to 18 mm. Scaly peduncle much as 5 to 7 pieces. Yellowish green flowers. Lips flowers and anthers purple. Ginger flowers appear in axillary in a sitting position. Ginger is a plant of tropical and subtropical regions suited to be planted in the lowlands to the highlands (1500 meters above sea level).

Substances contained in ginger (Zingiber officinale) primarily rhizomes, between Iain: essential oils, resins, mineral, sineol, fellandren, camphor, borneol, zingiberin, zingiberol, gingerol. zingeron, lipidas, aminos acid, niacin, Vitamin A and protein.

Usage As Spices

Old fresh ginger is usually used for stir-fry dishes. Fry dishes, especially seafood, and wedang, because pungent thus neutralizing the rancid aroma. Ginger powder is widely used to add flavor to cakes and biscuits, syrup and powdered spice mix. Candied ginger is used to mix the cake, and ice cream topping because it tastes sweeter. Pickled ginger is used as a complement to grilled or baked dish because it tastes fresher and less spicy.

As fresh herbs, ginger select the elderly. Peel the ginger and slice thin, coarse or finely chopped, or crushed. To get a better aroma, roasted ginger to the skin to peel and scrape the skin. As for obtaining water ginger, grated ginger that has been peeled and then squeeze the water. In a saute dish, ginger slices or chopped ginger is usually sauteed along with other fresh spices until fragrant. If used in large amounts, usually selected young ginger that it's not too spicy. As a complement to the cake, drinks or pudding used candied ginger. For the candied ginger, before it combined with other materials, cut or chopped so that the smell out.

In Java there is famous beverage called ginger. This drink is used to warm the body as a strong spicy flavor of ginger. To make it, burn a few slices of ginger, scrape the skin, crushed and boiled together with water to taste, add the brown sugar and granulated sugar. Boil until the water is reduced and filtered quarter. If you want more spicy you can add some lemongrass stalks are crushed grains and 2-3 cloves.

Tips

So that long-lasting fresh ginger, select the old bulbs, wash and then wipe it dry. Enter in a plastic bag or wrap it with a piece of paper and store in the refrigerator. Fresh ginger can be can be retained for up to 6 weeks.

GARLIC

Garlic has the Latin name Allium sativum Linn. Word all means odor and sativum means cultivated. Local name: garlic (Malay), lasun (Aceh), dasun (Minangkabau), lasuna (Batak), handak onions, bacong landak (Lampung), onions (Java), bodas onions (Sunda), babang pole (Madura), kasuna (Bali), kasihong onions (Dayak), lasuna kebo (Makassar), lasuna pute (Bugis), pia mapoti (Gorontalo) bawa bodudo (Ternate), incuna (Nusa Tenggara), kalfeo foleu (East).

These plants come from mainland Asia and is grown in Indonesia, is a bulbous herb plant cloves layered or tiered. Garlic grows cluster and stand up to a height of 30-75 cm. Having a pseudo-stem is formed from the stem-leaf midrib. Leaves resemble the shape of a ribbon, flattened and elongated. Each bulb consists of a number of child onion (cloves) and every clove wrapped in a thin white skin. Root consists of fibers of small amounts to many. There are varieties of garlic that produce flowers, but some are not. Small flowers, the color pink.

Every 100 grams of garlic bulbs containing 4.5 grams of protein, 0.20 grams of fat, 23.10 grams of carbohydrate, 0.22 mg vitamin B1, 15 mg of vitamin C, 95 calories of calories, 134 mg of phosphorus, 42 mg calcium, 1 mg of iron, and 71 grams of water. Garlic also contains the active substance awcin, awn, enzymes alinase, germanium, sativine, sinistrine, selenium, scordini, nicotonic acid.

The mineral content contained in garlic, such as selenium and several enzymes such as allinase, peroxidase, myrosinase, and others. Of the various contents contained in garlic, which is the highest sulfur content of other minerals. The sulfur compounds of garlic gives a lot of drug efficacy is also responsible for the pungent smell produced this spice. The smell of garlic is formed by the action of the allinase enzyme on alliin sulfur compounds. This enzyme is inactivated by heat, so when you cook garlic, aroma produced not as strong as the smell of raw garlic.

Usage As Spices

Garlic including the type of seasoning that comes from the tubers. Are the main ingredients in the kitchen Asia. Garlic gives savory flavor in dishes with a strong aroma. For stir-fry dishes, crushed, finely chopped or coarsely chopped. For the marinade, use grated garlic or garlic powder. For topping the dish fry, use slices of fried garlic.