Indonesian Food

Today was a very international day. Our bible study had a 'fun day' and usually with such a day we choose a theme. Our host, Glenys, had us watch "Super Nanny" so we went for a British food theme. Needless to say, I am glad that Glenys had such a colourful table runner and set of dishes because it was a very, very beige spread. Some of the things we made were: fish in batter & chips (some women had never had vinegar on their chips before), tea biscuits, cornish pasties, various beige cookies (tasty but beige), and cucumber & cream cheese sandwiches with the crusts cut off. I am describing this meal to you mostly because I want you to appreciate what I did next.

At 1:30 this afternoon Janet & I set off to the university (UPH) where we were part of a panel of 6 Indonesian food "testers" (we labelled ourselves guinea pigs). It was a very interesting experience, and I must say that the food was in no way beige. We were given 3 different plates or bowls of what would be food for a meal. The 2nd round was the 'snack' round. I cannot remember all of the ingredients of all of the meals, but as you will see, some of them stood out in my mind because of my lack of "experience" in eating them ever before.

We ate:
*Coto Makassar (soup)
This was a slightly spicy soup that had lemongrass, citrus leaves, coriander (very nice taste); I wasn't too sure about the ingredient "beef innards." I think I had something like kidney or liver.

* Gudeg Jogja (variety of items on a plate)
This was a bunch of brown items on a plate and they included (well, white rice AND...) tofu, a boiled egg (kind of pickled and very chewy...brown stained skin), sweet beans moulded into something that looked a bit like an artichoke (I quite enjoyed this), marinated & cooked tofu, and a mixture of (brown...) jack fruit, beans, beef hide, coconut. This was the favourite when the panel was asked to choose the favourite "meal food."

*Papeda (fish ball soup)
Words that were used to describe this soup were: horrible, scary, gelatinous, "No way I could attempt a bite." It consisted of spicy (so say the brave ones) gelatinous ping-pong ball sized clear balls floating in a fish-based soup. The garnishes consisted of a leafy green (like spinach), garlic, onion (i think) and some other items I couldn't identify. This was the least favourite of all six dishes.

I forgot to mention that the panel was made up of ex-patriots and consisted of one of each: American, Canadian, Malaysian, Australian, Korean and Chinese. We ranged in age from probably 16 to 45.

Once these three dishes were tasted we moved on to what were labelled "snacks." Janet and I had to confess, we were confused as to how to differentiate a snack from a meal food, especially when the snack was in a fishy liquid.

*Batagor Bandung
This is one dish I quite enjoyed, and I'm glad because I wanted to leave with at least one dish that I would dare make at home or at least try in a restaurant. It was (probably) deep fried tofu wrapped in something like a spring roll skin. It was crunchy and had a spicy peanut sauce on it.

*Pempek Palembung
This was, I think, fish and sago (sort of like a tapioca...it may actually be the same thing in a variety of forms) mixed together with spices and deep fried, and these chunks were placed in a fishy brown soup base. Two different kinds of noodles were added to it. Not a favourite of mine.

*Kue Putu Mayang
This was a very colourful easter-pink and green (and some had greyish-white) noodles of sago and coconut, and probably more ingredients I am unfamiliar with. It looked gelatinous and it was, but I quite liked it. It had a sauce that looked like a brown sugar sauce poured over it. I've seen this kind of dish quite regularly in malls and in Indonesian eating areas. I liked it.

As always, when put in stretching situations, it is an opportunity to learn more about yourself. Today I learned a few things. I learned:
*that I do not like fish in any liquid form; I prefer it in a lovely chunk, preferably warm.
*texture is huge for me when I eat; although I enjoy tapioca and cream of wheat, I could not see myself ever learning to enjoy gelatinous fish balls. I didn't really enjoy the innards, either. Too grainy.
*I am more adventurous that I sometimes give myself credit for.

I was really glad for this opportunity to try Indonesian food, and I have to say that there have been other times throughout our stay here that I have tried other kinds of Indonesian and really enjoyed it. I think that if I was to live here and try these things on and off I would learn to appreciate some of the textures (not fish balls though) and flavours. What I am curious about is what Canadian foods would I put in front of an international panel and what their reaction would be.

Thanks for reading.