Indonesia Eats: Jakarta

This is the last of the three-part series ranting about food from Indonesia.  Jakarta, the archipelago country's capital, gets its own segment even if it's part of the island of Java because I say so and this is my blog.  Hah!

I was left alone in Jakarta after every travelling friend had flown to their home countries--except me, that is.

Check out some of the food I had in Jakarta:

Kopi (Coffee)

This was the first thing I ordered upon hitting land in Jakarta, after the flight from Semarang.  Like I said, there's no coffee like Java coffee and Jakarta is still in Java!

Tempeh with Peanuts

 This Tempeh was served in what was, for me, an unusual way.  They minced the tempeh and mixed in some spices, chilli, and peanuts.  Then they added some sweet soy sauce for flavouring.  It was really good, though.

Terong Pedas (Spicy Aubergine)

This dish explains itself.  That red stuff on top isn't tomato sauce; it's chilli sauce.  This is very, very spicy but very, very good!

Ancient Coffee

I don't know what the Indonesian term for this particular coffee mix is.  It just said "Ancient Coffee" on the menu.  That white layer underneath is actually condensed milk, while that brownish part is espresso that has been lightened a bit by the milk.

Gado-Gado

This is a very good vegetarian meal!  Unfortunately, I only got to eat it as my last meal in the country before I hopped on a taxi that took me to the international airport.  It's rice with cabbage, lettuce, cucumber, mung bean sprouts and eggs, drenched in thick, heavenly peanut sauce.  It was quite possibly the best meal item I had in Indonesia!

Indonesia Eats: Central Java

The previous entry was on a few food items from North Sumatra and Aceh.  The day after the wondrous night we had out in the streets of Langsa where we feasted on awesome sidewalk snacks, we flew to a place much like the one I live in--only with better roads.

Feast on these food items from Central Java:

Pokok Jeraju Gunung (Sawtooth Coriander / Long Coriander)

I came across this plant growing wildly among the grasses and weeds on a mountain where a coffee processing plant stood and it had an oh so familiar aroma. It took me a good minute to realise it smelled like coriander--only a lot, lot stronger. It reminded me of a green I ate while staying with the Vietnamese refugee community in Palawan several years ago. I picked a leaf and nibbled on it a bit. My conviction that it was edible and that I had eaten it before only got stronger!

It turns out the plant is called Eryngium foetidum, also called Sawtooth coriander or long coriander and it's a common herb used in Southeast Asian cuisine.

Sop Buah (Fruit Soup)

On the last night of one of our fellow travelling friends, we went to the city centre square of Pati City, called Alun-Alun and got our first taste of Javanese street food.  This fruit soup is made with various sliced fruits, condensed milk, pink food colouring and ice.  Stir and experience awesomeness!

Bakmi Jawa (Javanese Noodles)

This is basically boiled noodles with sweet soy sauce, scrambled eggs, cabbage and chilli.  It's a meat-free version of what everyone else on my table was eating.  We ate this along with the item above.

Tempeh, Taho (Tofu), & Telur (Eggs)

This is a typical breakfast plate for me in Central Java.  Tempeh is caked fermented soy beans.  It is Indonesian in origin and is much richer in plant protein content than its Sinosphere cousin, tofu--which here is simply plain fried.  The egg is an omelette with scallions and bits of tomato.

Kacang Buncis (Green Beans) stir-fry

The dish you see is another one of the pure vegetarian options found in a typical lunch table in Pati, Central Java.  It's basically green beans, hot chilli pepper and carrots stir-fried in oil with garlic.  I like to drizzle it with a molasses and soy-based sweet Indonesian sauce called Kecap.

Right next to the stir-fry, you can see small cucumber halves.  They are eaten like a fruit to pipe down the heat of your meal (since Indonesian food is very spicy).  It really helps your mouth cope with the heat especially if you are not used to chilli sauce in literally every single meal.

Tempeh, Telur (Eggs), & Perkedel Kentang (Fried Potato Balls)

I love the way they cooked this Tempeh--thinly sliced, marinated in brine and soy sauce, and deep fried to a heavenly crisp.  The dark liquid sitting on it is called kecap, the sweet soy and molasses-based Indonesian sauce.

My favourite item on this photo is the one closest to the camera--that thing that looks like a dumpling.  It's mashed potatoes with herbs and a special vegetarian sauce, rolled into a ball, drenched in beaten egg and deep fried.  Mmmmm! Amazing!

The brown stuff above are tea eggs--just hard boiled eggs marinated in black tea.

Es Kelapa Muda (Iced Coconut Milk)

This is coconut water with coconut milk and shredded young coconut flesh.  I remember there being a gelatinous thing in there--that pink fleshy thing on top.  They said it's made from seaweed.  So, yeah, vegetarian--except perhaps for the pink food colouring but I didn't give it much of a thought anymore.

Es Jus Jeruk (Iced Tangerine Juice)

This is iced tangerine juice.  It's served with a heap of sugar which they leave you to stir for yourself with a spoon.  People who don't like their tea too sweet just leave the sugar alone without stirring and take gentle sips.  Either way, it's really good.

Nasi Goreng Vegetarian (Vegetarian Fried Rice)

Fried rice sold on the streets usually has chicken or beef in it when eaten by most people but you can tell the vendors not to put any.  What amazed me about this dish is they actually fried the rice in a wok and added the toppings only after we placed our orders.  It was very fast and very efficient.  You always know you're eating freshly cooked food because you see it being made everytime.

Martabak Manis (Sweet Stuffed Pancake)

Martabak is of Indian origin, much like most of Indonesian cuisine.  There are two types of stuffed pancake:  sweet and mealy.  What you see in the photo is the sweet kind, eaten as a snack.  Manis means sweet.  It brushed with chocolate and peanut syrup and then folded in half before being sliced, ready for eating.

The mealy kind is filled with a salty and spicy type of sauce with vegetables, herbs, chilli, and sometimes meat.  It is eaten as a meal, obviously.  It is usually sold in the same stall that the sweet kind is found.

Indonesia Eats: North Sumatra and Aceh

For the whole month of June, I was in Indonesia for a month-long exposure-cum-training with the Alternatives to Violence Project.  Before flying in, I was honestly a bit worried that I might not be able to maintain vegetarianism while there.  The principle is compassion, not fanaticism, so I don't want to bother people about it and if they had to go out of their way to make special food just for one person (me), that wouldn't be very nice.  I was there to make friends, not to become a burden just because of my eating habits.

I must say, though, that food was such a pleasant surprise.  Every single meal had a vegetarian option--a lot of times even vegan--so I didn't have to violate vegetarianism to survive.  On top of it, they have amazing food!  Very, very spicy and too much for those with sensitive palates--as in they spend close to an hour making chilli sauce with about 50 chillies in a mortar and pestle right before they start cooking a meal--but amazing nonetheless!

Here are some food items from North Sumatra and Aceh Province:

Es Teh Manis (Sweet Iced Tea)

This is the only food item photo I have from North Sumatra.  It's black tea, which they simply refer to in their language as teh, meaning "tea."  This photo was taken in a village called Barak Induk in the mountains of Langkat, North Sumatra.  It took me over five minutes to order this at a road-side shanty cafe because I went there alone, with no Indonesian-speaking friends, and the woman running the shop spoke absolutely no English.  I had fun communicating with hand gestures and my less-than-a-shotglass of Indonesian words.  I'm glad she was very kind and patient with me.

This tea is made by soaking dried black tea leaves in very hot water before transferring it onto a mug, with the leaves strained.  Then ice and two to three tablespoons of sugar are added.  I'm not even joking about the sugar.

Kopi (Coffee)

This is kopi (coffee) prepared the traditional Javanese way.  Although we were in Aceh, we stayed in a place run by a mix of Javanese and Acehnese people and they always make their coffee this way.  I guess nobody can beat a cup of Java the way the Javanese make it!  Hah!

They grind the roasted coffee beans to powdery bits, put a tablespoon or so in a tall glass and pour hot water in it before spooning in heaps and heaps of sugar.  The Indonesians seriously love their sugar!  It's interesting to note that, in Sumatra, they always use a handle-less glass to contain coffee even with ceramic mugs lying around.

Roti Cane / Roti Canai

This is Roti Cane, a type of grease layered, popped flat bread.  This is the exact same type of bread Malaysians call Roti Canai.  There is no difference in the composition and way of cooking, just the way the name is said in both Bahasa variations.

This bread is more commonly prepared to go with a meal.  Usually, there is a bowl of some sort of curry or stew where you dip pieces of bread in after tearing them off from the rest of the plate.  In this case, however, the bread was sprinkled with sugar to be eaten as a snack on the roadside of the City of Langsa in Aceh, just opposite the city centre square where a festival was going on.

Teh Tarik (Pulled Milk Tea) with ice

This is Teh Tarik, pulled milk tea of Indian origin.  They make it by pulling milk tea onto one container from another, back and forth for what seems like an eternity to form bubbles and create a heavenly taste.  It's usually just served hot but it isn't a culinary crime to drink it with ice.

Roti Bakar (Grilled Bread)

This is Roti Bakar, grilled bread.  It tastes kind of like waffles from heaven.  I mean, seriously, this was seven times better than the western style waffles I'm used to!  The waffle-like bread is grilled, sliced and then served with some sort of filling.  In this case, the filling is pineapple jam and chocolate syrup.  What was particularly awesome about it was that the chocolate syrup tasted really close to the traditional cacao preparation I'm used to back home.

Acehnese Vegetarian Meal

This was an Acehnese vegetarian meal with a mystery vegetable that was probably a member of the cabbage family.  It tasted really, really good.  It was composed of rice as a staple, fried diced potato in sweet sauce, green beans, cassava leaves (which I didn't even know were edible before I went to Indonesia), spicy omelette, and the mystery vegetable (the green flowery thing).