(Picture from: https://www.facebook.com/makanindonesia).
Yes indeed, sometimes we enjoy Indonesian food here in Svinisce.
This may be weird to you, but let me explain.
First of all, I am a Dutchman (oh, but thát explains a lot :-).
No serious, that explains a LOT.
Always, when in history there are connections between some countries, there is exchange of customs, ánd food.
Croatian cuisine for instance has it's cevapcici and soparnik from Ottoman times (yes folks, they are originally Turkish dishes), the Dutch inherited Indonesian food from being colonisers of Indonesia.
(That explains also why Americans have hamburgers, imported by their German ancestors, and the Dalmatians pizza's).
Lucky Dutch, having been connected to Indonesia (and not Germany), as once you've tasted an Indonesian dinner like the one on the picture, you'll understand (and want more).
My mother (100% Amsterdam) was a fine home cook, and from her we all learned and love good food.
Her cooking skills even motivated me to become a professional cook.
And by coincidence there were some other connections to Indonesian dinners, but than this page gets to long.
I was (and still am) cooking every day, and love to create food.
And there we go, as Croatia is extremely rich of excellent ingredients.
Fish, meat, fruits, poultry, vegetables and even a lot of spices are excellent, and crying to be become a great dish.
So they become great dishes, every day something different, always tasty, and always at least an hour or more preparing it,
as cooking takes time, unless you love micro waves :-(
(Lucky me, hating micro waves, being retired, with plenty of time).
Indonesian food however, especially like in the picture, takes a lót of time, even up to two days, so I only do that for good friends,
and mind you, not tó often.
IF....however I do, it's always D-licious !
The only (minor) problem is that a lot of ingredients and spices are not available in Croatian supermarkets, so once in a while I make a list of missing stuff, and organise some sort of "transport" from Holland.
(Things are slowly changing however, as Konzum's big supermarket in Split today sells coconut milk, soy sauce, fresh ginger and more of those goodies, and I grow my own lemon grass).
Still, a lot of these dishes can be prepared from available ingredients, and believe me, once you dig in you wish for more and more often.
And that's my only problem, as when I start eating Indonesian food,
I simply can't stop.
Okay, those two days in the kitchen are another problem,
but that's all for the good cause.
And hospitality happens to be a shared Dalmatian/Dutch virtue.
Selamat makan, or in other words, dobar tek.
PS.
Anywhere on the web you can find recipes,
for instance of "sate" or "satay", a grilled delicacy.
Having a "rostil" (a charcoal grill every Dalmatian has), good meat (pig, goat or chicken), garlic, ginger, red chilly peppers and soy sauce in any good supermarket, makes a perfect introduction to a great kitchen.
-
Slice the meat in cubes, marinate it in a mix of it all,
put it in the fridge for hours or a night.
Than put a couple of cubes on every skewer,
and grill them for a couple of minutes.
!!! Careful, any sweet (and dark soy sauce is) burns easily !!!
Dip it in a sauce made of peanut butter*), dark soy, lemon juice, garlic and water, and serve with some cucumber,
bread, rice or french fries.
AND......a nice cold beer of course !
*) Nót the sweet, flavoured, creamy American peanut butter however,
but genuine Dutch "pindakaas" from Calvé.
