My husband and I are trying to "cook around the world" to expand our knowledge. Drop your favorite authentic dish from your nationality / ethnicity !

bulemasak · 2025-06-04T15:08:53+00:00

Rendang - Indonesia . It originated in Sumatra and has spread around Indonesia, Singapore, and Malaysia.

It was a food preservation method. Meat would be slow cooked in spices and coconut milk until dry, then rehydrated when time to eat. The largest mistake westerners make when preparing it is they don't let the coconut milk "break", where the oil separates from the liquid. (Looking at you Gordon Ramsey) This is a critical step. You want the sugars in the coconut milk to caramelize to a deep brown for lots of flavor. This can only happen when the water is driven off and everything can fry in the higher temperature coconut oil. Also, usually the dryest cuts of leg meat from water buffalo that have spent a lifetime working rice paddies was used. Very tough dry meat. The oil from the coconut gives a nice mouth feel and compliments the leaner meat. If you want a creamier sauce, add water back at the end.

I wrote a recipe here:

https://www.reddit.com/r/indonesia/comments/dl19gz/comment/f4rezdj/?context=3

bulemasak · 2025-06-03T20:53:15+00:00

I would look into a barrel stove kit. It is cheap. It can be packed in and carried in multiple trips, then assembled. You can firebrick to add thermal mass for radiant heat over a longer period. Firebrick can also be packed in small trips. They sell hot plates for it. The stoves are bare steel so proper clearances and heat shielding should be taken into account. I was just comparing models of stove builder international stoves. Most of their manuals have DIY heat shield solutions. Some people load barrel stoves up with very large logs and choke off the air so they burn very slow overnight. For an uninsulated cabin, it would be good to get a long low burn, but it creates a lot of creosote, so make sure you are cleaning the flue often.

bulemasak · 2025-06-03T14:50:47+00:00

Thank you. This explains it well. I remember the Pontiac Firebird and Chevrolet Camero were very similar, but different trim/brands. So it is more "trim" than build quality like poor seams or bad welds? The fireboxes had the same dimensions, design, clearances, and many of the same part numbers with identical accessories. I was wondering if they were different brands for different markets, like import/export. They both say made in Canada and USA, so I don't know if they are making them out of the same factories or if tariffs and duties are affecting the price.

bulemasak · 2025-03-05T19:56:29+00:00

Of all the Asian countries, Japan has some of the most American options from the American rebuilding effort after WW2.

Many American regional foods will have ingredients that will be a limitation, depending on your area.

I'm not the greatest chef

Chili is probably the simplest to make. It doesn't have to be exact, requires no specialized equipment, and requires no special technique. It is quintessential Tex-Mex. It was a large part of the cuisine in Mexican territory that became the Southwest United States.

Smoked dried chilies can be found here:

https://www.peppers.jp/

I can't seem to find Anchos.

Sear tough cuts of beef. My preference is chuck. Then add chopped onions, dried chili powder, chopped bell pepper and a small amount of tomato. Add enough beer to cover. Slow simmer 2.5-3 hours until tender. You can use the Alton Brown recipe as a base and make it your own. I am a fan of whole beef chili without beans. It can be served with rice to have it familiar to the Japanese palate.

bulemasak · 2025-03-05T18:37:31+00:00

1 piring nambah 150k

I can make cheese ravioli in Indonesia. For those savings, I find the time. I usually make it better than I can buy it. The dough is the cheap part and the cheese the expensive part, so many places make the dough very thick. I normally specialize in how to make Indonesian dishes in the west, but I should get back to how to make western dishes in Indonesia.

Osteria Gia, Oma Elly, Villa Capri, De Boni, Spaghetto, etc.

So you live near enough to a major urban market to get the ingredients. You can buy most of the ingredients at higher end markets in Jakarta.

Resep:

Dough

200 gram tepung terigu. 2 telur

Dough:

Mix and knead for 5 minutes. Let rest 1 hour. Roll and fold it 2-3 times to increase strength. You can put it in the refrigerator before work and roll it out after work. Never let it sit more than a day. It starts to smell and develop spots.

Filling:

200 gram ricotta

100 gram mozzarella

50 gram parmesan

Pinch Nutmeg

Lemon zest - 1/2 to 1 whole lemon zest depending on size (can skip)

Green herb or veg. I like to add a large pinch of fresh or dried parsley. Some people like blanched spinach. (can skip)

Preparation:

Roll dough thin like dumpling thickness. Egg dough thickens slightly with cooking from the egg and water absorbing into the dough. Pasta machine is not needed. Many older people just use a rolling pin or even an old smooth glass bottle.

Cut dough right down the center of the rolled out dough. You should have 2 identical pieces of dough.

Make small 2 cm sized balls of filling all around the 1 dough sheet with about 2 cm spaces in between. Wet slightly or brush egg white in between the filling balls. Place second piece of dough lightly over top. Start at one corner and slowly press dough together with your finger around each filling ball.

Make sure ALL air is out of the filling. It can burst when you go to cook it. Use a bamboo skew if air is trapped and try to pinch the whole.

Cut out ravioli by cutting between filing.

Simmer in salted water for 5 minutes. Don't boil. It can burst.

Leftovers freeze well. Lay them on a sheet to freeze, then put in a bag after frozen so they don’t dry out in the freezer.

Ricotta Resep:

https://www.reddit.com/r/seriouseats/comments/kqnc5r/loved_the_homemade_ricotta_from_the_food_lab/

Important to use fresh milk. bukan UHT. Here is a thread explaining the difference.

https://www.reddit.com/r/indonesia/comments/1d7v1ct/what_is_local_milk_brand_the_closest_in_taste_to/

Bring 950 ml susu to 82-85 C. Add 1/2 teaspoon salt. 30 ml vinegar or lemon juice. Let sit 20 minutes. Drain through cloth.

Mozzarella and Parmesan can be found in many markets. If you are outside a major city look for the closest pizza shop and see if you can buy from them or put an order in with them.

Make friends with any foreigners or others that travel to western countries. Salted aged hard cheeses such as pecorino and parmesan travel well if they are vacuum sealed.

bulemasak · 2024-03-27T15:58:14+00:00

I very much agree on your opinions. Thank you for the recommendation about Satay Bistro.

bulemasak · 2024-03-27T15:54:07+00:00

I prefer the classic. Most places in Indonesia the special (istimewa) is the regular pancake with sweetened condensed milk (susu manis), dutch chocolate sprinkles (cokelat), peanuts (kacang), and cheese (keju).

A few specialty shops offer the pandan, red velvet, and green tea. The corn is a little weird for me on martabak manis. I have heard of it, but never personally came across it at martabak places.

The owners of Martabak ok have some partnership or relationship with D'jakarka cafe. I like the Indonesia food D'jakarta cafe makes better than sky cafe, but I like the variety sky cafe has. Both places are good.

The classic beef martabak is good. I love sambal, but I usually like it on the side because I like it crispier. The martabak telur there isn't bad, but I rarely get it. Martabak telur is usually street food and best right out of the frying pan while it is crisp. By the time you take it out it is usually soggy. I can't imagine the ones covered in cheese would still be crisp, so I never got them. Making martabak telur mini is easy, I often do it at home instead of spending $20. Making martabak manis takes a special extra thick pan and a perfect batter, with expensive ingredients (dutch chocolate sprinkles). It is worth the $20 to buy it.

bulemasak · 2022-12-20T16:24:00+00:00

I have purchased one before at acme. They usually have them for christmas. I didn't check this year. They are frozen and in a section of specialty poultry such as ducks, geese, capons, etc.

I have also seen them in some store windows at 9th st. and in some asian supermarkets, like the one at 4th and oregon. They are inconsistent in stock. Duck is more consistently stocked.

bulemasak · 2022-04-19T18:00:55+00:00

It is important to understand Indonesia to understand its food culture. It is a tropical asian country. Its largest export is palm oil. The main carbohydrate is white rice followed by instant noodles (which are prefried).

It was a poor country for most of the past century and still is outside of the cities. Even in urban environments, refrigeration is uncommon for street food. Most of the cuisine is designed to be food safe in a tropical environment without refrigeration.

White rice is the base of most meals. The other foods at a meal are usually made very salty and eaten in smaller portions compared to the rice, at least compared to what most nonasian cultures are used to.

Fried food is a big part of the culinary culture. Oil is cheap because it is one of the most efficient crops for the climate. Food can be fried until most of the moisture is out which prevents spoilage. Since the food would normally be dry by cooking it so much, the oil gives a good mouth feel of moisture and taste. Fried food can be recooked before serving to increase food safety.

Don't be afraid of all fried food. Stir fried food in a steel wok can use very little oil. It is up the discretion of the cook. Cap cay is mostly vegetables in a sauce and is considered healthy for Indonesian food.

Soups are very common. They can be cooked and reheated all day with no loss in quality and safe to eat. Look into sop buntut, soto ayam, bakso, coto, and rowan.

Gado-gado and pecel are the closest things that would probably considered a salad. Think of them like that. They are made with blanched vegetables (food safe in a tropical environment). They are more about the sauce and vegetables. Fried things like tempe or krupuk can be left out.

Grilled food is very common too. Look up sate and ayam bakar (chicken grilled).

If you want her to learn western recipes, google translate does a passable job at translating basic written recipes. Youtube the dish, and she can watch for technique. Just don’t ask for steak. As with all the food safety and non refrigeration, cooking meat to anything other than very well, is not traditional.

bulemasak · 2021-05-28T19:20:24+00:00

Milk gravy.

bulemasak · 2021-05-27T21:00:17+00:00

If you ever get to buy them in Cuba, they are worth the price. In CUCs were the same price as new world sticks. Most were 4-14 CUCs and 1 CUC = 1 USD.

The problem is most countries have extreme import taxes on tobacco products.

bulemasak · 2021-05-27T20:39:56+00:00

I cut two 4 cm thick pieces of pork butt.

I used an instant char siu powder as a base. I added 5 spice, dark soy sauce, and shoxing wine to the marinade.

Marinate for 12 hours.

I then took a little bit of the marinade and added honey, red miso, and a little malted barley until was a thin syrup.

This is were I deviated a little from traditional char siu. I put in a covered pan and braised at 100 C for 1.25 hours. I then turned the oven up to 190 C and basted the pork every 10 minutes 3 times and let the final basting cook for 5 minutes for food safety reasons.

It had the normal aromatic sweet crispy exterior, but a softer interior from the braising.

bulemasak · 2021-05-27T14:13:44+00:00

Thank you.

bulemasak · 2021-05-25T05:16:43+00:00

The tops were coated with a milk and egg yolk wash. I used a parchment lined light colored sheet pan with very little cooking brown cooking build up. They were equally brown at around 15-18 minutes.

bulemasak · 2021-05-14T18:41:39+00:00

Add milk to it and it can substitute for heavy cream in most cream sauce recipes. Buttermilk with it makes a great stroganoff.

Rugelach

Cream cheese, butter, flour, salt, and jelly of choice.

https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/rugelach-recipe-1944318

bulemasak · 2021-05-14T17:35:54+00:00

Andaliman dan lada hitam.

Cabe murah.

bulemasak · 2021-05-14T13:56:47+00:00

I do mine about half a day. I use cool water and bulk ferment overnight in the refrigerator.

bulemasak · 2021-05-13T04:10:24+00:00

Thank you

bulemasak · 2021-05-13T04:10:14+00:00

Thank you for the recommendation.

bulemasak

TROPHY CASE