Indonesian In My Kitchen

One of the things I discovered about the Dutch is their almost universal love of nasi goreng (fried rice) and the rijsttafel (lit. the rice table). There are countless Indonesian restaurants across the country and I might be as bold to say that the Dutch prefer Indonesian food over anything else that Asia has to offer. A quick glance at a menu at a Chinese restaurant will show that half of the food on offer is, in fact, of Indonesian origin. This is not true of all Chinese restaurants in the Netherlands but it’s something I’ve noticed at most of the restaurants and takeaways I’ve visited.

A lot of Indonesian food words have found their ways into the Dutch language. Kroepoek, prawn crackers, is a well-loved snack, while for some people, bami has come to refer to almost any type of Asian noodle, Indonesian or otherwise. Words like satay, nasi goreng and tahoe are used in the Netherlands in pretty much the same way as basmati, tandoori and naan are used in the UK.  They have become part of the Dutch culinary culture and most people will know exactly what you mean if you use these words in a conversation.

One thing I’ve noticed is that many traditionally Indonesian ingredients do not have a Dutch translation. Even if they do have a Dutch equivalent, you might still draw a blank if you use that instead of the original Indonesian name. For example, I was once asked by one of my partner’s relatives if I used lombok whenever I made anything spicy. I didn’t have a clue at the time what lombok was as I wasn’t very familiar with Indonesian cuisine. It turned out that lombok was simply a type of chilli pepper.

On another occasion, I tried finding some sereh for an Indonesian recipe I wanted to make and I didn’t really know what I needed to look for. Thankfully the local supermarket had used the original Indonesian name and it turned out that the mystery item was, in fact, lemongrass. Sereh does have a Dutch equivalent, citroengras (literally, ‘lemon grass’), but it seems to be used far less. A quick look around any Indonesian food section in the local supermarket or open-air market is a learning experience and always makes me feel tempted to learn some Bahasa Indonesia.

Here’s a short list of some  of the Indonesian food vocabulary I’ve learnt during my two years of living in the Netherlands :

kroepoek - prawn crackers (rom the Indonesian krupuk or kerupuk)

tahoe – tofu (from the Indonesian tahu)

boemboe – a type of chilli or spicy paste (from the Indonesian bumbu)

nasi goreng - fried rice (nasi means cooked rice and goreng refers to any food that has been fried)

pisang goreng – fried banana fritters (pisang is the Indonesian for ‘banana’)

bami – noodles, originally brought to Indonesia by Chinese merchants (from the Indonesian bakmi)

ketjap manis - Indonesian sweet soy sauce (from the Indonesian kecap manis; manis is the Indonesian word for ’sweet’)

sambal – A type of spicy condiment which is often made from chillis

gado-gado – A type of vegetable salad with a peanut sauce dressing

tempeh – A type of soybean cake

Is anyone fond of Indonesian food? Do you have any recipes you’d like to share?