Indonesian cuisine

Vegetarian Journal, July-August, 2003 by Nancy Berkoff

If you want to get some of the fat out, an alternate way to prepare coconut milk is to simmer coconut with water over a low flame for about 30 minutes. Strain and let stand; a layer of "cream" will develop. You can skim this off and discard or save for later use. (Coconut cream is wonderful to use in baked dishes instead of soymilk or pureed tofu. It can also be added to coffee or used as a topping on hot or cold cereal.) You can make your coconut milk thicker or thinner depending on your preference; just add more or less water. If using for sauces or curries, you might want thicker milk. For smoothies or as a beverage ingredient, thinner milk may be best. If you want to store it, it must be refrigerated, as it is perishable and can support bacterial growth if left too long at warm temperatures. Coconut milk should last about three days in the refrigerator; if it separates, just shake or stir to mix. Coconut milk does not freeze well, so plan your amounts carefully.

Indonesian meal planners attempt to include sweet, salty, sour, and spicy tastes at each meal, with rice always the center of the meal. If eating authentically Indonesian, you don't have to worry about having enough silver. Traditionally, one eats with one's hands. Food is mixed with rice, rolled into a ball and eaten with the right hand.

Indonesian meals can begin with fritters, rempah or perkedel that are fried or boiled. Ingredients can include combinations of corn, chopped white or sweet potatoes, peanuts, and coconut. Indonesian soups are either delicate broths called sop or meal-in-a-bowl, soto. Entrees can include vegetable combinations, white and sweet potato-based dishes, and hot salads. As much rice as a family can afford is served at every meal. Every meal includes a variety of condiments, which can include chopped fresh or pickled chilies, chopped onions, chopped tomatoes, sambals, soy sauce, pickled cucumbers and carrots, sweet soy sauce, and peanuts.

Desserts almost always include fresh fruit. There are many tropical fruits that are just becoming available on a limited basis in the United States, such as durian and mangosteen. If the cook has time, kelepon is prepared as small balls of sticky rice dough (powdered sticky rice mixed with water or coconut milk), filled with palm sugar and garnished with grated coconut. Dodol is a fudgy dessert, made with sticky rice, coconut milk, and palm sugar.

Tea is usually served with meals, hot or iced, depending on the climate. Many colorful drinks are made with flavored syrups, coconut milk, and fruit. Palm sugar and pieces of sticky rice dough are colored and added as garnishes. Es selasih is a combination of mixed fresh fruit and coconut water (the fresh juice drained directly from the coconut) served with sweet basil seeds. The seeds swell and become like tapioca in the bottom of the glass. Fresh juice drained from unopened coconut palm flowers is called tuak manis and is a thirst-quenching beverage. The tuak begins to ferment almost immediately in the hot climate. Within a day or two a beer-like drink, tuak wayah, is produced. Tuak can be distilled (sometimes in a backyard still) to make arak, an Indonesian brandy-like beverage.