Dabu-dabu

When people ask me which cuisine I like best, my answer is Manadonese (Italian is second). Even my 20+ years of living in the United States couldn't erase that. Both of my parents came from Manado, a city on the northern tip of Sulawesi, which is known for its beautiful girls (ehm) and spicy, hot food. Although my siblings and I were all born and raised in Jakarta (on the island of Java), we grew up eating all types of dishes redolent of many herbs, spices and chilies -- the hallmark of Manadonese cooking.

Even if there was no spicy dish on the table on a particular meal, at the very least one type of condiment was always present: sambal (chili sauce) or, as they call it in Manado, dabu-dabu. And there are as many versions of sambal or dabu-dabu as there are cooks.

The sambal on the right is commonly known 'bumbu rica',
another Manadonese specialty.

Here's how I do the most simple, yet the most refreshing, of them all: dabu-dabu lilang. A meal of hot steamed rice, grilled or deep-fried fish (flavorful ones such as tuna, bonito and tilapia) and this piquant dabu-dabu is one of the best in my book!

Dabu-dabu Lilang

2 tomatoes (such as Roma), diced
3-4 large shallots, peeled and sliced thinly
(or you can substitute 1 small onion for the shallots, peeled and diced)
as few or as many Thai bird chilies as you can handle, sliced thinly
juice of 1 lime
salt
sugar

In a bowl, mix the tomatoes, shallots/onion, chilies and lime juice. Salt to taste. Mix in just enough sugar (start with a very small amount: just a pinch, then add more if needed) to take a bit off the edge of the sourness of the lime (it's not supposed to be sweet!). You can use this right away, or as I prefer it, let it sit for at least 15 minutes to let the juices from shallots/onions and tomatoes seep out and meld with that of the lime.

This yields a small bowl of dabu-dabu. This recipe is very flexible, you can multiply the amount as needed. If there's any leftover, it will keep for a few days, covered and refrigerated.

Those who are familiar with Mexican food will say it's very similar to pico de gallo. It is, except for the cilantro!

Kangkung and Papaya Blossoms

I don't remember ever eating the buds and blossoms of papaya when I was growing up in Jakarta. And I know for sure I never ate them while I was living in the United States (are they even available there?). But since returning to Indonesia a year ago, it's one more 'vegetable' I have fallen in love with.

Papayas are in abundance here. The ripe fruit is lusciously sweet, the green (unripe) one has a mild taste and is pleasantly crunchy, often used in fruit salads and spicy pickles. But the leaves, buds and blossoms, which are used in vegetable dishes, are a contrast in flavor: they're bitter. The bitterness, however, can be scaled back by boiling those parts before cooking them with the other ingredients.

Below is my favorite way to cook (and eat) papaya blossoms: the Manadonese style (which means it's hot and spicy)! If you live where papaya blossoms or kangkung are not available, don't despair (see my note after the recipe). This recipe is more about technique, actually: vegetables stir-fried in garlic and a bit of cooking oil. You just need to sauté the greens until wilted. This cooking method is simple, quick and versatile, used not only in Indonesian cooking, but also in many other Asian cuisines.


Manado-style Kangkung and Papaya Blossoms
serves 4 as a side dish

A large bunch of kangkung*
A large handful of papaya buds and blossoms (more or less, depending on your preference for bitter greens)
2 garlic cloves (more if you want), finely chopped
4-5 red chilies, thinly sliced on an angle
[if you want it really spicy, you can add a few chopped Thai/bird's eye chilies)
cooking oil
salt and pepper

First, clean the greens. Rinse the kangkung well and drain the excess water. Using your hands, scissors or knife, pluck/cut the leaves from the stems, but also include the cut green stems until about 5 cm below the leaves, they're still delicious and provide a nice crunch. Discard the lower stems. The prepped kangkung may look like a lot, but they'll cook down considerably.

Rinse and drain the buds (which look like short, light green Q-tips) and blossoms, discarding any hard stems. If you like very bitter greens, you can leave them as is. If not, you can cut back on the bitterness by boiling these (not the kangkung!) in water over medium heat for about 5 minutes. Drain well.

Heat a wok or sauté pan on high heat and swirl 2-3 tablespoons of cooking oil, making sure you coat all the surface. Sauté the garlic and chillies in the hot oil, stirring all the time. When the garlic is fragrant, but not yet browned, mix in the boiled (or raw, if you prefer) buds and blossoms. Stir for about 30 seconds. Then stir in the kangkung, working in batches if you need (waiting for the leaves in the pan to wilt, then adding the next handful, and on until all the kangkung is in the pan). Add salt and pepper to taste.

Take off the heat as soon as all the kangkung is wilted but still retains its green color. Don't overcook it. Serve immediately over hot steamed rice.

*Note: in southern California, kangkung (where it's labeled ong choy, water spinach or water convolvulus) is widely available at most Asian supermarkets. I don't know its availability in other parts of the United States (or other non-Asian countries). If neither papaya blossoms or kangkung is available, you can try substituting them with other dark leafy vegetables such as spinach, kale, collard greens, Chinese brocolli (gai lan/kai lan), bok choy, etc.

Hola, amigos!

No, this post isn't about Spanish or Mexican cooking. Although it's the Spanish word for 'friends', I learned a new meaning for amigos when I moved back to Jakarta, and it has nothing to do with friendship.

AMIGOS here stands for "Agak MInggir GOt Sedikit", loosely translated as "off to the side of the road, near the sewer". It aptly describes the setting of most street food 'establishments' that can be found in every part and neighborhood of Jakarta. These ubiquitous open-air food stalls usually go up in the evening (though some are also open in the daytime), erected on parking lots or other unoccupied corners or sidewalks as the sun goes down each day. The locations aren't exactly prime real estate: there's usually an open sewer/drainage (got) nearby, presumably to expedite cleaning up. They're nothing more than an open, portable kitchen, with tents on poles covering a cluster of rickety folding tables and plastic stools that have seen much better and cleaner days.



If you're a stickler for hygiene, this won't be your cup of tea. These amigos dives will definitely give any restaurant inspectors the heebie-jeebies. (Brings to mind the scene from Ratatouille when the Parisian food inspector unexpectedly walked into the kitchen and found hundreds of rodents staring back at him. Well, it's not that bad, but you get the picture). Food safety health code? (never heard of 'em!) Keeping food at safe temperatures? (huh? Note: although most dishes are cooked to order) Kamikaze flies the size of your thumbnail? (ambiance!) And I also find that any food stall worth its reputation will have a few wild cats slinking through the table legs (and yours), waiting for scraps.

There's not much for atmosphere (unless you count the noise and the exhaust fumes of passing vehicles and cigarette smokes from other diners as so), but that's not why people still flock to these places. And don't be mistaken, their customers come from every level of society: from those who could only afford to eat out at these stalls' rock-bottom prices, to the ones who drove up in their latest, newest luxury cars.

One of the best sop buntut (oxtail soup) we ever tasted
is served at a stall in Sunter, North Jakarta.
A complete meal consisting of this bowl of steaming, fragrant broth
full of falling-off-the-bones meat, a plate of rice
and a glass of tea cost about Rp.32.000 (~US$3).
It would cost at least twice that in a restaurant.

People come because some of Jakarta's best foods are served in these food stalls and they get the most bang for their rupiah. They come here simply for the food, at prices stripped of many overhead costs of proper dine-in restaurants, where similar meals can cost about twice as much, if not more. Most stalls specialize in one type of dish or meal: ie. sop buntut (ox-tail soup) only, or just nasi uduk (coconut rice complete with side dishes), or seafood, nasi goreng (fried rice), es campur (shaved iced over mixed fruit), satay, roti bakar (grilled sandwiches), etc. But if you want variety in your meal, it's no problem either, because there are usually many other stalls nearby, so you can hop from one to another, or simply have the other vendor bring your order to your table.

Sate ayam (chicken satay) with peanut sauce, ten skewers for Rp.8000
(about US$0.80 ... no, it's not a typo)

So if you can get over the 'ick' factor of eating out amigos style, and there are plenty of 'ick' if you are not familiar with it, there is truly a world of food to discover in the nooks and crannies of this city. In fact, street food was just about the only thing I missed about Jakarta during all my years living in Los Angeles, which, despite being world-famous for many other things, doesn't have any street-food scene to boast about. The closest thing there would be the food carts at seasonal county fairs, but then those 'street' grubs aren't exactly easy on the wallet either (five bucks for a plate of funnel cake? Gimme a break! My vote for cheap 'street' food in LA goes to the $1.50 quarter-pound hot dog at Costco, and that already includes as much soda as you can drink! Anyway... back to the subject).

Beyond the obvious economical benefits of eating out amigos style here, there's a more ingrained reason: it has been a part of the fabric of life and culture for as long as anybody can remember. The simple make-shift tents are as much a part of Jakarta's dining scene as the newer, cleaner, glitzier restaurants. I simply can't imagine living and eating in Jakarta without them. So as far as food goes, I have the best of both worlds.

The Omnivore's 100

I got this list from a food blog called "Very Good Taste", which, in turn, was referenced by the Epi-Log.

Just go down the list and see which food/beverage item you have tasted so far. Again, I didn't come up with the list, I just copied and pasted it from the VGT site. If you're wondering on the definition of an item (what's poutine*?), just Google it or search it in Wikipedia, or you can click here to go to the original article where the author has helpfully linked some items to their respective Wikipedia page.

Below are my results:
- bold black text = been there, done that
- (italicized text in parentheses) = my own personal notes, comments, etc.
- crossed-out text = I will never try this! Not even a taste, a nibble or a sip. No.

So, here we go... the VGT Omnivore’s Hundred:

1. Venison
2. Nettle tea
3. Huevos rancheros
4. Steak tartare
5. Crocodile
6. Black pudding
7. Cheese fondue
8. Carp (gurame)
9. Borscht
10. Baba ghanoush
11. Calamari
12. Pho
13. PB&J sandwich
14. Aloo gobi
15. Hot dog from a street cart (most memorable: bacon-wrapped hot dog topped with grilled onions from a street vendor in Los Angeles' Garment District while hunting for bridesmaid's gowns with the bride-to-be and fellow bridesmaids. We each ate one. Not exactly helpful to our 'mission', huh?)
16. Epoisses
17. Black truffle
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes (plum wine: it tasted like cough medicine... yuck!)
19. Steamed pork buns (ba pao!)
20. Pistachio ice cream
21. Heirloom tomatoes
22. Fresh wild berries
23. Foie gras
24. Rice and beans
25. Brawn, or head cheese
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper (does raw Thai/bird's eye chili [cabe rawit] count?)
27. Dulce de leche
28. Oysters (I was only six when I first slurped a raw one from the shell. No, I didn't gag. I liked it.)
29. Baklava
30. Bagna cauda
31. Wasabi peas
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl
33. Salted lassi
34. Sauerkraut
35. Root beer float
36. Cognac with a fat cigar
37. Clotted cream tea
38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O
39. Gumbo
40. Oxtail (nothing like a steaming bowl of 'sop buntut')
41. Curried goat
42. Whole insects (I'd rather crush them flat with a sandal)
43. Phaal
44. Goat’s milk
45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more
46. Fugu (ehh... no thanks, I don't have a death wish)
47. Chicken tikka masala
48. Eel
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut
50. Sea urchin
51. Prickly pear
52. Umeboshi
53. Abalone
54. Paneer (in the form of spinach-based 'saag paneer')
55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal
56. Spaetzle
57. Dirty gin martini
58. Beer above 8% ABV
59. Poutine*
60. Carob chips
61. S’mores
62. Sweetbreads
63. Kaolin (ugh! I don't think this is a 'food' item at all)
64. Currywurst ('curry' and 'wurst'? Those two words don't belong together)
65. Durian (oh yeah! The King of fruit that can humble the most adventurous eater)
66. Frogs’ legs
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake (all of the above!)
68. Haggis
69. Fried plantain (with garlic pork and rice & beans at a Cuban restaurant -- thanks, Edo!)
70. Chitterlings, or andouillette (deep fried pork intestine with porridge, anyone?)
71. Gazpacho
72. Caviar and blini (do I get a half-point credit?)
73. Louche absinthe
74. Gjetost, or brunost
75. Roadkill (bleeagghhh...)
76. Baijiu
77. Hostess Fruit Pie (high school cafeteria flashbacks...)
78. Snail
79. Lapsang souchong
80. Bellini
81. Tom yum (I miss the Sanam Luang in Pomona)
82. Eggs Benedict (... and Las Brisas in Laguna Beach)
83. Pocky (my kids love 'em, too!)
84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant (... someday, someday...)
85. Kobe beef
86. Hare
87. Goulash
88. Flowers (papaya blossoms)
89. Horse
90. Criollo chocolate
91. Spam
92. Soft shell crab
93. Rose harissa
94. Catfish (pecel lele with lalapan and sambal terasi...)
95. Mole poblano
96. Bagel and lox
97. Lobster Thermidor
98. Polenta
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee (how about Kopi Lampung or Kopi Luwak?)
100. Snake

My results: 48.5 out of a 100 (the half-point comes from #72).

*poutine is a Canadian comfort food (some say heart-attack-on-a-plate) made from french fries "topped with fresh cheese curds, covered with brown gravy and sometimes additional ingredients".

Notes on #5, #89 and #100 (crocodile, horse, snake, respectively): my husband has been trying to get me to try them. There's a food stall here that specializes in 'sate kuda' (horse satay). Then there's a nearby Chinese restaurant named "Raja [King] Cobra", specializing in, what else? Dishes made from snake meat, heart, liver, etc. Thankfully, I haven't seen any crocodile meat featured in a menu so far. While I'm pretty resistant to his efforts at this point, I also have an 'I'll try (almost) anything once' philosophy when it comes to food. So maybe sometime in the future... stay tuned.

My dear husband also wants me to try a meat not found on this list: dog. 'Nuff said. (update: he tricked me into eating Fido! He gave a vague answer when I asked if it was pork or not. It wasn't.)

But there is another item not on this list that I very much enjoyed on several occasions while growing up: (with no disrespect to the Dark Knight) bat meat! ... Holy poutine, Batman!

Okay, so how did you do? Comments, please...

A bit of Americana in Jakarta

After about six months of living in Jakarta, surrounded by (and eating) a lot of food we could only dream about in Los Angeles, we began to really miss American food. A great burger (In-n-Out!), bacon, steak, BBQ ribs, hot-off-the-grill bratwurst and good ol' American breakfast: pancakes, maple syrup, stuffed omelettes, crispy hash browns, sausage links, bacon (oh, did I mention that already?) ... American diner food, basically (we miss you, Denny's...).

Well, the good thing about living in Jakarta is you can have the best of both (culinary) worlds. You can't find genuine Indonesian 'street cuisine' in Los Angeles, but you can find (almost) everything in Jakarta. Of course, the 'imported' stuff costs a lot more and a little bit harder to find, which is pretty much true with any imported goods in any country.

So a couple of weeks ago my husband and I ended up in Hard Rock Cafe Jakarta for lunch, it was about 3 PM already and we were starving. After perusing the all-American menu, we both decided to satisfy our hankering for burgers. He ordered the Legendary Burger, which is basically a bacon cheeseburger. But this being Indonesia, most restaurants comply to the halal standards (the Muslim's definition of kosher), meaning the non-halal pork cannot be an ingredient... thus the beef 'bacon'.

Do you know what this beef 'bacon' taste like?

Pastrami. Thickly sliced dried pastrami. Uhuh.

That just intensified our longing for the real rasher made from a hog. Crispy, salty, smokey, streaky with fat... (aw, come on, don't act like a healthy food snob, you know you also love bacon... it's been said that bacon is what kept many people from becoming true vegetarians).

I ordered the enigmatically named S.O.B. Burger (below), enticed by toppings of chipotle sauce, guacamole and Monterey Jack cheese. Not bad. For both burgers the ground beef patties were thick and juicy (think Islands Burgers, not McDonald's). And they correctly cooked the meat per our requests: medium rare.

A few days later we set out to shop for more American food, this time at SOGO Food Hall, a high-end (read: pricey) supermarket specializing in imported goods. We justified this splurge by telling ourselves that we'd streeeeetch these ingredients to last for several months, cooking and eating them only once in a while.

Thankfully we did find two familiar faces at this supermarket (Aunt Betty! Aunt Jemima! So good to see you in Jakarta!). So with their help we can now have buttermilk pancakes and maple syrup at home (we tried a local pancake mix... uh, never mind. And yes, I do realize it's maple flavored corn syrup, but hey, Aunt Jemima is genuine Americana!).


As for the bacon, another very familiar American, Uncle Oscar of the wiener and bologna fame, came to our rescue with "America's Favorite Bacon - Naturally Hardwood Smoked"! The vacuum-packed red-white strips of pork belly looked gorgeous as we grabbed the one pound package and believe it or not, most of it is still in our freezer. We are using it judiciously, as we promised ourselves.

Other staples from the land of Uncle Sam in our fridge and pantry: a jar of Kraft's Real Mayonnaise, a tub of Kraft's Grated Parmesan Cheese, a jar of Ragu's Classic Alfredo Sauce, a box of Barilla pasta, a small bottle of EVOO, and a small jar of crushed oregano (yes, several of the ingredients are Italian, but we regularly cooked with them at home in LA. After all, pasta has become as American as apple pie pizza!).

Buttermilk pancakes or bubur ayam (chicken porridge) for breakfast? Homemade pasta alfredo one night, ketoprak from a street vendor the next. Variety is the spice of life!

Try not to drool on your keyboard...

Just a very tiny sampling of the food we've tasted so far...

Pisang goreng (deep-fried bananas) in the background
with the croquette-like combro,
which is made from cassava with a spicy savory filling
made with oncom, chili pepper and other spices.

A delicious twist on the deep-fried squid at a modern Chinese restaurant:
the unique batter is made from salted eggs.
It's not as salty as you might think, but I could definitely taste the egg yolk
... boy oh boy, pile on the cholesterol!

A serving of Sate Padang from a vendor that sells only this dish.
There are just two choices: beef and/or beef tongue.
The plate comes with slices of lontong (rice cooked into dense patties),
then everything gets smothered with the savory yellow sauce
that defines this dish, then a spoonful of fiery hot sambal,
finished off with a sprinkling of deep-fried shallots
... oooh... soooo... gooooood!

The ultimate and definitive Indonesian condiment: the sambal or chili sauce!
No meal is complete without at least one type of sambal,
and there are innumerable recipes and variations from every region.
The three sambals pictured above are the selections
from a restaurant called Bumbu Desa,
which serves traditional West Javanese/Sundanese 'desa' (village) food.
This restaurant has become one of our favorites!

This rujak ulek cart is one of many street food vendors
that can be found right outside the house.
Rujak is Indonesia's fruit salad with a sauce made from peanuts, palm sugar,
chili, and sometimes terasi (fermented shrimp paste).
This vendor only charges Rp.5000 (about fifty cents) per plate,
he'll make yours to order, just choose from a variety of fresh fruit:
mango, papaya, pineapple, jicama,
kedondong (I don't know the English word for it),
and yam (I know it's a veggie, not fruit!).
You also need to tell him how spicy you want your peanut sauce to be!

This is 'rotbar' or roti bakar (literally, grilled bread).
This version has sliced bananas and chocolate sprinkles
sandwiched between thick slabs of white bread,
which is then grilled and topped off with shredded cheese
and a swirl of sweet condensed milk.
Other fillings include tape singkong (fermented cassava,
it tastes way better than it sounds!),
srikaya (a 'jam' made with coconut milk and eggs),
strawberry jam, etc. Rotbar is perfect with tea
... and coffee, of course!

Saving the best for last: martabak manis!
Rich, chewy, super thick 'pancakes' folded over chocolate, cheese, peanuts,
sesame seed and sweet condensed milk (front slice),
or just with the cheese and milk (just as yummy!).
Think of it as crêpes on steroids, mixed with a hefty dose of margarine :D
... oh yeah!

Gading's "Food City"

Less than two weeks after our arrival in Jakarta, we celebrated the birthday of a relative at Kelapa Gading's "Food City" with about 15 members of my husband's family. This "Food City" is an open air food court complete with a stage for a live band, ringed on three sides with small restaurants. But don't even compare this with the average 'food court' in an American mall with your boring corporate franchises ... the food here is authentic and so much more delicious!

Here's a tiny sampling of our feast:

Ikan gurame saus asem-manis
(deep fried 'gurame' fish with sweet-&-sour sauce)

Kepiting saus tiram
(crab with oyster sauce)

Kodok goreng saus mentega
(deep fried frog legs with butter sauce)
Ohhhh... soooo yummyyyyy...