Healthy, Cheap, and Easy Recipes for Boarding-House Residents

Looking for healthy, cheap, and easy recipes for anak kos (people renting rooms in boarding houses)? Here are 10 dishes you can cook on a small stove, from tempeh orek to stir-fried mushrooms with sausage.

Eating healthy is often a challenge for anak kos, the people who rent rooms in a boarding house, or kos. They have limited time and a tight budget, and the kitchen usually holds only a small stove and a few basic utensils.

That is why recipes for anak kos need to be easy, affordable, and filling. An article by Rika Amelia on detikSumbagsel rounds up 10 recipes that fit those criteria.

The recipes are drawn from 90 Resep Masakan: Menu Praktis untuk Sebulan by Laras Kinanthi and Buku Resep Makanan Lokal, published by the Indonesian Ministry of Health. All the ingredients are easy to find at traditional markets and minimarkets.

Cheap Ingredients for a Boarding-House Kitchen

These recipes use low-priced ingredients such as tempeh, tofu, eggs, potatoes, water spinach, and eggplant. Plant-based and animal proteins are combined with vegetables, so you still get your daily nutrition.

The cooking techniques are simple, too. You only need to stir-fry, steam, or fry, with no complicated food processor.

The seasonings are typical of Indonesian kitchens: shallots, garlic, chilies, sweet soy sauce, and oyster sauce. They keep the food flavorful even when the ingredients are basic.

10 Recipes for Boarding-House Residents

1. Tempeh in Sweet Soy Sauce (Orek Tempe Kecap Manis)

Ingredients: 1 medium block of tempeh, 2 cloves garlic, 2 shallots, 4 red chilies, 3 tbsp sweet soy sauce (kecap manis), and seasoning powder to taste.

Slice the tempeh lengthwise and fry until browned. Sauté the minced garlic and shallots and the sliced chilies until fragrant. Add the tempeh, sweet soy sauce, seasoning powder, and a little water. Cook until the seasoning is absorbed.

2. Water Spinach with Shrimp Paste (Tumis Kangkung Terasi)

Ingredients: 1 bunch water spinach (kangkung), 2 tbsp cooking oil, 100 ml water, ½ tsp shrimp paste (terasi), 2 shallots, 2 cloves garlic, 6 curly red chilies, 2 tbsp oyster sauce, 1 tomato, plus salt and seasoning powder.

Grind the shallots, garlic, chilies, and shrimp paste into a paste. Sauté the paste until fragrant, then add the oyster sauce, tomato, salt, and seasoning powder. Pour in the water and wait until it boils. Add the water spinach, stir until wilted, and remove from the heat.

3. Spicy Potatoes with Chicken Gizzards and Liver (Sambal Goreng Kentang Ampela)

Main ingredients: 500 grams potatoes, diced; 3 ons (about 300 grams) chicken liver and gizzards; and oil as needed.

Spice paste: 7 shallots, 6 cloves garlic, 10 curly red chilies, 2 large red chilies (seeds removed), and 3 candlenuts.

Additional ingredients: 1 Indonesian bay leaf, 3 kaffir lime leaves, 1 stalk lemongrass, galangal to taste, 200 ml water, 1 tbsp salt, and 2 tbsp sweet soy sauce.

Fry the potatoes until cooked through. Sauté the spice paste with the bay leaf, lime leaves, lemongrass, and galangal until fragrant. Add the liver, gizzards, and water, then cook until the sauce reduces. Add the fried potatoes and sweet soy sauce, and stir until the seasoning is absorbed.

4. Spicy Eggplant (Sambal Terong)

Ingredients: 3 purple eggplants, 2 cloves garlic, 5 red chilies, 5 bird’s eye chilies, ½ tbsp granulated sugar, 3 tbsp cooking oil, and salt to taste.

Steam the eggplants for about 7 minutes, until half cooked. Grind the chilies, garlic, sugar, and salt. Sauté the paste until fragrant, then add the steamed eggplant. Stir until evenly coated.

5. Braised Tofu in Palm Sugar and Coconut Milk (Tahu Bacem)

Ingredients: 2 blocks Chinese-style tofu, each cut into 4 pieces; 350 ml coconut milk; 5 shallots; 3 cloves garlic; 3 cm galangal; 1 Indonesian bay leaf; 1 stalk lemongrass; 100 grams palm sugar; salt; and oil for frying.

Combine the coconut milk with all the seasonings and cook until it boils and the sugar dissolves. Add the tofu and cook over low heat until the seasoning is absorbed and the liquid reduces. Remove the tofu and fry briefly until the outside is slightly dry.

6. Battered Fried Chicken (Ayam Goreng Tepung)

Ingredients: ½ kg chicken, 4 cm grated ginger, 4 cloves grated garlic, salt, 250 grams all-purpose flour, 50 grams rice flour, 1 tsp baking powder, ½ tsp ground pepper, 2 eggs, and oil for frying.

Rub the chicken with the ginger, garlic, and salt. Prick the meat with a fork and let it sit for about 2 hours. Dip the chicken in beaten egg, then roll it in the flour mixture. Repeat twice for a thick coating. Fry until golden and cooked through.

7. Fried Eggs in Sweet Soy Sauce (Telur Ceplok Kecap)

Ingredients: 3–4 eggs, 5 shallots, 3 cloves garlic, 1 red chili (optional), 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp ground pepper, 1 tsp granulated sugar, 1 tsp oyster sauce, 2 tbsp sweet soy sauce, 350 ml water, and 2 tbsp cooking oil.

Fry the eggs sunny-side up and set aside. Sauté the shallots, garlic, and chili until fragrant. Add the salt, pepper, sugar, oyster sauce, sweet soy sauce, and water. Once it boils, add the eggs and cook until the seasoning is absorbed.

8. Tofu and Egg Martabak (Martabak Tahu Telur)

Ingredients: 3 eggs, 1 piece Chinese-style tofu, mashed; 1 stalk scallion; 1 tsp ground pepper; 1.5 tsp seasoning powder; 10 spring roll wrappers; and oil as needed.

Mix the eggs, tofu, scallion, pepper, and seasoning powder. Fill a spring roll wrapper with the mixture and fold it tightly like an envelope. Fry until golden yellow.

9. Potato Fritters (Perkedel Kentang)

Ingredients: 500 grams potatoes, 100 grams corned beef (optional), 2 shallots, 1 clove garlic, ½ tsp ground pepper, 1 egg, 1 stalk scallion, plus salt and seasoning powder.

Peel and cut the potatoes, fry them, and mash them. Mix with the ground seasonings, corned beef, scallion, and egg yolk. Shape the mixture into flat rounds, dip them in the egg white, and fry until golden brown.

10. Stir-Fried Mushrooms and Sausage in Oyster Sauce (Tumis Jamur Sosis Saus Tiram)

Ingredients: 250 grams mushrooms, 2 sausages, 2 red chilies, 2 shallots, 2 cloves garlic, ½ onion, 2 tbsp oyster sauce, 1 tbsp sweet soy sauce, 2 tbsp cooking oil, 1 tbsp seasoning powder, and salt.

Sauté the shallots, garlic, and chilies until fragrant. Add the mushrooms and sausage and stir until the mushrooms wilt. Add the salt, oyster sauce, sweet soy sauce, and seasoning powder. Cook until the sauce reduces.

You can cook all of these recipes on a small stove with basic equipment.