nwasianweekly.com
April 23, 2005
(Photo by Ann-Marie Stillion)
The
bottle contains the secret ingredient of many Indonesian dishes, sweet
soy sauce (or kecap manis). Other common Indonesian ingredients include
chilies, brown sugar and tempeh (fermented soybean).
Indonesian food teems with spices & flavors
I consider myself lucky to have grown up on the delectable cuisine of Indonesia. But most Americans aren’t as fortunate. Unlike the cuisines of its Thai and Vietnamese neighbors, Indonesia’s is not as well known or appreciated.
But Seattleites are now in luck. In the last four months, not one but two Indonesian restaurants have opened up — Batavia in the University District and Indo Café in Northgate.
Indonesia has an extremely diverse population. There are no less than 300 ethnic groups and 25 dialects and languages spoken on the country’s string of 17,508 islands. Not surprisingly, the cuisine is just as eclectic. Like Chinese food, it has regional specialties, including Javanese, Padang and Sundanese. All are quite distinct.
Indonesian cuisine embodies a richness and complexity that reflects centuries of invaders, settlers and immigrants. For hundreds of years, Indonesia was the center of a thriving international spice trade. Cloves, ginger, nutmeg and mace drew traders from India, China, Africa and the Arab world. Arab traders came as early as the fourth century. Portuguese colonists arrived in 1512 and stayed for almost 100 years until the Dutch drove them out. Indonesia gained independence in 1945, but the varied external influences linger on.
The myriad spices in traditional Indonesian dishes are often pounded together in an ulekan (stone mortar) to make a bumbu, or spice base. The intoxicating smell of chili and coriander still transports me back to the kitchen where, as a little girl, I watched my mom pound spices. Preparation of Indonesian dishes is a time-consuming process, and seasoned palates can tell if shortcuts were taken.
Chili (cabe), coriander seeds (ketumbar), cumin (jintan), galangal (lengkuas), ginger (jahe), lemongrass (sereh) and tumeric (kunyit) are some of the most common spices used. Coconut milk and palm sugar (gula Jawa) are also widely used, as is the “secret ingredient” — sweet soy sauce (kecap manis). You can put this stuff on anything and it’ll taste good. (Just ask my dad!)
Tofu, or tahu, a staple for many Indonesians, is often fried. Tempeh, fermented soybean, a common sight in many American natural-food stores, originated in the villages and is widespread, especially in Javanese cuisine.
Fresh fish — eaten fried, grilled or curried — is abundant in Indonesia. It comes not only from the sea, but also the boggy waters of the rice fields. Shrimp, the most common shellfish, is made into crackers or sautéed in sweet soy sauce.
A luxury item in Indonesia, red meat is usually cut up and combined with other ingredients. Rendang daging sapi (beef stewed in coconut milk and spices) contains large chunks of meat slow cooked for a very long time to tenderize it.
Chicken, on the other hand, is cheap and readily available. The Indonesian version of fried chicken (ayam goreng) has the distinct yellow tinge of turmeric, one of many spices in the bumbu.
No Indonesian meal is complete without a sambal, a chili dip or sauce. Sambal terasi has dried shrimp paste. Anything, from chicken to vegetables, can be dipped in it.
Indonesian restaurants
My first advice to anyone who wants to try authentic Indonesian food is to skip the usuals, satay and nasi goreng.
At Northgate’s Indo Café, start with bakso tahu goreng. My mom made this dish often — tofu stuffed with meat and covered with peanut sauce and kecap manis.
The white flesh of the tilapia in ikan bakar pedas Manado, infused with the flavor of the banana leaf it was barbecued in, paired well with the spicy garlic-ginger chili paste.
The bihun goreng (fried vermicelli noodles) was just like I remembered back in Indonesia, very peppery with a distinct burnt flavor to it.
My favorite dessert, es teller, was a satisfying concoction of jelly, jackfruit, young coconut flesh and avocado in coconut milk. The es cincau (grass jelly in syrup) was also good.
Batavia in the University District serves two very typical Indonesian drinks, teh sosro (sweetened iced tea) and es jeruk nipis (Indonesian-style lemonade). This café serves rice entrees that are excellent when dining on your own. Each comes with steamed rice, two side dishes and a choice of a main dish from the à la carte menu.
One of the side dishes, telor Belado, a hard-boiled egg fried and then dipped in a hot and spicy chili paste, was fiery but tasty. The tender rendang almost melted in my mouth, and every bite of that Indonesian fried chicken was flavorful. The gado gado, always different depending on the chef’s desires, came as a bed of cabbage, spinach, sliced hard-boiled egg and tofu topped with peanut sauce and shrimp crackers.
For the more adventurous, try empek-empek Palembang, chewy fish cakes swimming in a delicious sweet-and-sour vinegar sauce.
A warning: You can’t order your dishes hot, medium or mild, so be sure to ask for the spiciness quotient before ordering, or you might be filling up your stomach with water instead of mouth-watering food!
Batavia is located at 4508 University Way N.E. in Seattle. For more information, call 206-547-0777.
Indo Café is located at 543 N.E. Northgate Way in Seattle. For more information, call 206-361-0699.
Pat Tanumihardja can be reached at scpnwan@nwlink.com.
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