West Sumatra

I had just returned from paradise. A tropical and food paradise. Hence the long pause in my food blogging activity. Jeff and I flew back to our homeland, Indonesia, this past December. I took a break from cooking for about three weeks and we ate out almost every single day. In those days we didn’t eat out, our parents and relatives sent food for us! Our families spoiled us with both home-cooked and street food. Ah…the beauty of returning home.

What else can I tell you here about our culinary travel while visiting our families? Ooo yeah, seafood! The plentiful, never ending seafood! Tons of different kinds. The place is heaven for serious seafood enthusiasts such as yours truly.

In this first blog entry in 2013, I wanted to display a few original dishes from the motherland. Since most of my cooking is heavily influenced by Indonesian taste, especially East Javanese and West Sumatran, I thought I’d share images of the real deal, our favorites, and some street food. They will also serve as my cooking inspiration later on.

Eaters discretion is advised

Street food: Bubur Madura

Street food: the sweet Bubur Madura (made of rice flour and drizzled with melted palm sugar.)

Jeffri’s Favorite: Sate Kelapa (chicken or beef satay with shredded coconut)

A big time favorite: Nasi Campur (vegetable, hard boiled egg, and Javanese beef steak over white rice)

Nasi Madura or Madurese Rice (white rice topped with fried tempeh, beef, vegetable stir fry, hard boiled egg, and a VERY spicy sambal or chili paste)

Kupang Lontong and Sate Kerang. Kupang Lontong is East Javanese traditional and favorite food. (Kupang Lontong is small shellfish with rice cake in a broth cooked with shrimp paste.)

Sate Kerang (small clams satay). They are normally served with Kupang Lontong.

Roti Bakar or Toast with fruit jam

Rujak Buah (fruit salad with peanut, chili pepper, and palm sugar dressing)

Beef Soto Seller

Fried tofu with vegetable filling

My favorite breakfast menu: Bubur Ayam (chicken porridge topped with fried shallots, green onion, sambal, and a little bit of soy sauce).

“To die for”: Grilled prawns

“To die for”: Sambal Pencit (young mango in chili paste, a condiment)

“To die for”: Grilled seafood (Baronang fish) with the spicy condiments. (Asia Baru Restaurant, Surabaya)

Traditional tea drink with ginger, lemongrass, lemon, and honey (Ubud, Bali)

Jogjakarta’s Nasi Kucing or cat’s rice (the name refers to the very small portion. I guess cats eat very little). It’s got rice with sambal, fish, and tempeh.