Thursday, May 15, 2008

Bikin Tahu Sendiri / My Homemade Tofu

Sebagai pencinta tahu, hidup di Indonesia itu serasa hidup di Surga. Segala jenis tahu tersedia, tahu Bandung, tahu kediri, tahu cina(putih), tahu takwa, tahu pong, tahu gejrot, tahu bacem, tahu isi, tahu tahu aku pindah ke Amrik!!! Lho kok udah enggak di Surga tahu lagi. Walaupun masih bisa mendapatkan tahu dengan mudah di Asian Store ataupun makan masakan yang ada tahunya di restauran-restauran, Amrik bukan surganya pecinta tahu seperti aku ini.
Lalu suatu hari aku nemu website yang ngajarin caranya bikin homemade tofu! Sebagai orang iseng tentulah aku pengen nyoba bikin tahu sendiri. Jadi...aku conteklah cara2nya lalu kubandingkan dengan website dari Indonesia...terus ngerayu Evi (Epoy) minta bilangin ke suaminya, Scott, yang jago carpentry untuk bikinin aku kotak tofu press.
Terus pas udah dikasih tofu press sebagai kado natal aku mulai cari bahan2 & perlengkapannya. Setelah terkumpul , akhirnya hari ini aku nyoba bikin tahu sendiri....

_______________ english version _______________

As a tofu lover, living in Indonesia was like living in Heaven. All kinds of tofus are abudantly available. There are Bandung's tofu, Kediri's tofu, chinese (white) tofu, takwa tofu, gejrot tofu, bacem tofu, stuffed tofu, etc. Then I moved to the US and I was not in tofu heaven anymore! Eventhough I am still able to find tofus in the Asian stores or eat tofu dishes in restaurants, its not the same! USA is still not heaven for a tofu lover like me.
Then one day I found a website that shows how to make homemade tofu! As I always have too much time on my hand (ooo...really???) , I'd like to try it. So I copied the instruction ..compared it with an Indonesian instruction (found on the net also)...then I asked Evi (Epoy) to ask her husband, Scott, who is a good carpenter to make me a tofu press box. After they sent me one as a christmas present, I started to gather all the ingredients and equipments. And today, I finally made my first homemade tofu...



Bahan & Perlengkapan (ingredients & equipment)
1.400 grams Kacang kedelai mentah (raw soy beans)
2. 15grams Magnesium sulfate (beli di apotik...bisa diganti garam epsom, beli di walmart)
(get it in a drug store...or you can use epsom salts, I got it in walmart)
3. Kain kasa (cheese cloth)
4. Blender (blender)
5. Air (water)
6. Panci besar (big pot)
7 Saringan (filter/colander)
8. Kotak Press tahu (tofu press box)

PROSES / PROCESS:


1. Cuci bersih kedelai mentah lalu rendam di dalam air semalaman (wash thoroughly the raw soy beans and soaked in water overnight)


2. Blender kedelai dengan air sampai jadi bubur (add a little water and blend it to make soy porridge)


2. Masak bubur kedelai sampai mendidih kurleb 10menit (simmered the porridge for approximatelly 10 minutes)
3. Saring bubur kedelai dengan kain kasa, ambil airnya saja..peras ampas tahu untuk mendapatkan air tahu sebanyak mungkin (pour the soy porridge over a cheese cloth, squeeze the chesse cloth to get as much of the soy milk)
4. Biarkan agak dingin. (let it sit to cool down)
5. campur 15gr magnesium sulfat dengan 1/2 cup air panas mendidih (mix 15 gram magnesium sulfate with boiled water)
6. tuang kan kedalam air tahu (pour into the soy milk)
7. Biarkan kira2 10menit sampai air tahu mengental (let it sit for about 10 minutes until the soy milk turn into soy curd)


8. Pindahkan gumpalan air tahu ke atas kain kasa yang lebar (Move the curd to a wide cheese cloth in a big colander)
9. Lalu masukkan ke dalam kotak pemeras tahu (then move it into the tofu press box)


10. Tutup tahu rapat (put the lid on)


11. taruh pemberat di atas kotak tahu (press the lid with a weight)


12. Jenis pemberat tergantung seberapa keras/padat tahu yang anda inginkan
semakin berat pemberat dan semakin lama diberati semakin keras dan padat tahu yang dihasilkan (the weight determines on how firm you want the tofu to be. The heavier the weight and the longer you leave the weight on the lid, the firmer tofu you will get)


13. setelah kurang lebih 1 jam atau tahu sudah agak dingin, keluarkan dari kotak tahu
(after approximately 1 hour or when the tofu is cold enough, take it out from the box)


14, Inilah tahu pertama hasil buatanku!!! (This is my first homemade tofu!!!)

Catatan /Note:
Petunjuk lain menyarankan untuk memeras air tahu sebelum di masak jadi peras dulu bubur tahu sampai menjadi air tahu baru dimasak sampai mendidih. Saya akan coba cara itu lain waktu untuk melihat perbedaannya.
(Another instruction tells you to squeeze the soy porridge before you cook it, and then boil (simmer) the soy milk in the pot on the stove.
I will try that way another time to see the difference.)


kalo pengen punya kotak tofu press , rayu aja Evi & Scott, (eh ada fee-nya sedikit buat ongkos bahan ama ongkos kirim lho!)
If you would like to have a tofu press box , you may ask Evi & Scott to make you one for a little fee.

Mau contek cara lebih lengkap plus keterangan2 untuk bikin tahu yang lebih bisa dipertanggungjawabkan Click Here
If you want to see the complete information on how to make homemade tofu Click Here

Friday, May 9, 2008

Happy Mother's Day! / Selamat Hari Ibu!

Minggu, tanggal 11 Mei 2008 adalah hari ibu di Amerika Serikat ini, Selamat Hari Ibu untuk ibu ibu tercinta di Amerika.


My beloved Mother, Hardini (1940-1993)

Di Indonesia, hari ibu, jatuh pada tanggal 22 Desember. Hari ibu Indonesia jadi hari yang lebih khusus untukku sejak tahun 1993. Karena pada Hari Ibu tahun 1993 itu ibuku tercinta dipanggil Tuhan. Setelah mengalami sakit yang cukup lama, akhirnya ibuku pulang ke rumah Penciptanya. Dulu aku sedih sekali, tetapi sekarang aku bahagia karena aku tahu ibu juga bahagia dekat Tuhan. Tiap saat aku selalu ingat ibuku dan kangen sekali. Aku sangat bersyukur punya ibu seperti ibuku.
Selamat Hari ibu untuk semua ibu tersayang.....kami sayang padamu!

_______________ english version _______________

Sunday, May 11th 2008 is Mother's Day here in the United States. Happy Mother's Day dear all mothers in America!
In Indonesia, Mother's Day is on December 22nd. Indonesian mother's day became more special to me in 1993, because on that day in 1993 my mother has passed away. After had a cronical illness for so many years, she finally went Home to meet her Creator on Mother's day. I was very sad but now I am happy because I know that now she is very happy too. I always miss her so much and I always very grateful to have a mother like her.
So Happy Mother's Day dear Mothers...we love you so much!!!

Wednesday, May 7, 2008

The Year of "Jack in The Pulpit"

Pertama kali denger namanya "Jack in The Pulpit' yaitu waktu anakku sedang ngerjain PR ilmu sains dari sekolahnya. Dan Ketika kami jalan-jalan ke Ringing Rock Parks di Pennsylvania, dia nemu satu tumbuh di bawah pepohonan di sana. Kita langsung foto2 taneman (bunga liar) itu soalnya menurutku nama dan bentuk tanamannya unik dan lucu (lihat aja di foto). Bentuknya seperti tanaman kantung yang suka makan serangga (aku gak tau namanya) itu tapi ada tongkat yang penuh biji-bijian muncul dari bagian dalam kantong itu, dan bagian kantong yang di atas menutup sedikit ke bawah. Kantongnya ada yang warna coklat tua kemerahan dan ada yang hijau agak putih, kita nebaknya mereka tanaman jantan dan betina tapi gak tau pasti yang mana yang jantan yang mana yang betina.

Setelah liat pertama kali di Ringing Rocks Park itu, kita jadi selalu nyari2 tanaman itu di taman di kota kita, hackettstown atau di mana aja kita pergi hiking, jogging ataupun pas jalan kaki santai. Dan setiap kali kita nemu si jack itu kita pasti berhenti untuk mengaguminya sekali lagi.
Lalu sepanjang musim panas yang udaranya makin panas, biji2annya berubah warna jadi merah cerah, oranye dan kuning...dan kita sekali lagi makin seneng sama tanaman ini.
Terus selanjutnya pas musim salju (dingin) udah selesai dan musim semi datang lagi tahun ini, kita mulai nyari2 taneman itu lagi di taman kota kita pas kita jogging/jalan kaki pagi hari atau sore. Taneman ini baru mulai tumbuh di awal bulan April .. dan kali ini mereka tumbuh banyak sekali, lebih banyak daripada tahun lalu. Mereka ada di mana-mana , di setiap sudut dan pojokan taman pasti ada. Makanya kita sebut tahun ini Tahunnya si Jack in the Pulpit!
Kita seneng nyari mereka di sepanjang jalan setapak di tanah di antara tanaman lain yang juga mulai bermunculan di musim semi ini. Kayaknya seru nyari warna hijau di antara warna hijau lainnya, mereka kelihatan sama tapi berbeda. Rasanya seperti kalo kita nyoba konsentrasi mau dengerin bunyi bas gitar di tengah lagu "Hotel California"nya The Eagle. Awalnya memang susah untuk cuma dengerin bas gitarnya aja, tapi sekali kita bisa nangkep bunyinya pasti seru deh dengerinnya, coba aja! dan kalau Anda punya kesempatan jalan2 di sebuah Taman (di Amerika bagian Utara) coba deh cari "Jack in the Pulpit" di antara tanaman hijau lainnya di tanah .... dan selamat menikmati!

Kalau Anda ingin tahu lebih banyak tentang si Jack in the Pulpit (latinnya: Arisaema triphyllum) tanaman asli dari daerah benua Amerika bagian Utara ini , baca aja lebih lengkap di sini Jack in The Pulpit
Berikutnya (kaming sun) adalah bunga liar favorit kita yang lain yaitu "The Lady Slipper" Walaupun agak susah nyarinya, kita akan coba kasih tau tipsnya untuk menemukan tanaman ini. Jadi sering2 tengok aja ya!

_______________ english version _______________

The first time we heard the name "Jack in The Pulpit" was when our son, mentioned it when he was doing his science class project. And then when we visited The Ringing Rocks Park in Pennsylvania, he pointed one on the ground under the trees in the park. We took pictures of the plant (wild flower), because we thought the shape of it and the name was really cool (see the picture) it was like some kind of green seeds sticking to a stick pointing up inside a bag (pulpit) that has a cover, and the plant only has two or three leaves. Some of the pulpit has a dark brownish reddish color and some has lighter green whiteish color, we guessed they were male and female plants...we dont know which one is which for sure though.

After we saw it the first time in the Ringing Rocks Parks, we started looking for it wherever we went hiking in our own town park or in other places we went to for jogging or walking or hiking. And whenever we see it we always stop to check on the plant and admiring it all over again. Along the time when the summer is getting hotter, the seeds in the pulpit turning color into dark bright red and orange and yellow...we were once again think it was really really cool!!!...
After the winter was finally over we started looking for the plants again in our park when we did our jogging/walking in the morning or early evening. They just started to grow again in the beginning of April.. and....now there are a lot of them, more than last year, They were everywhere, in all and every corner of the park even under the part that is really shady. That is why we call this year "Year of Jack in the Pulpit" We like to look for them along the trails in the ground among all the plants that was also growing or springing during the spring time. It was fun looking for them (green) between the other greens, they looked the same yet different, it just like trying to focus on listening just to the bass guitar playing in the song "Hotel California" by The Eagle...at first you will have difficulty just listening to the bass guitar..but once you caught the sound you will be able to enjoy it more. Try it! ...it is really fun, and when you walk in a park try to look for a "Jack in the Pulpit" among the other greens in the ground....and have fun!!!


If you want to know more about the plant (latin : Arisaema triphyllum) natives of North America region ...read more here
Jack in The Pulpit
coming soon, our other favorite wild flower "The Lady Slipper". Although more difficult to find we will giving you hints and tips on finding them, so stop back often!