What's Cookin'?

Indonesia has created one of the world’s great cuisines by blending influences from around the world with the islands’ own cooking traditions.
The basic diet on most of the islands is rice (nasi), rounded off with vegetables, fish and occasionally meat and eggs.
National dishes include Satay, gado-gado and nasi goreng.

Nasi Kuning
(Indonesian Yellow Rice)

6 cups rice
6 cups coconut milk
4 1/2 cups water
6 stalks lemon grass
4 bay leaves
1 1/2 tsp. turmeric
1 1/2 tsp. salt
Wash the rice in cold running water until the water runs clear. Place all ingredients, except rice, in a pot. Bring to a boil, add the rice, cover the pot, reduce the heat to low, and simmer for 20 minutes, until the rice has absorbed all the liquid. Fluff up with a fork and turn out onto a serving platter.

Nasi Goreng Bahari
(Fried Rice with Seafood)

5 Tbsp. vegetable oil
1/2 lb. peeled shrimp
Crabmeat from 3 boiled crabs
1 1/2 pounds cold boiled rice
1 Tbsp. sweet soy sauce
1 Tbsp. light soy sauce
Spice-paste
5 red chilies
6 cloves garlic
Salt to taste
Heat the oil in a wok and fry the pounded spice-paste until fragrant. Add the shrimp and stir-fry until they turn red. Add the crabmeat.
Add all of the rice, the sweet soy and the light soy sauce. Stir continuously until everything is well blended and heated. Serve on a large dish, garnished with a fried egg or a shredded omelet and slices of cucumber. Serves 8-10.

Indonesian Satay

3 Tbsp. soy sauce
3 Tbsp. tomato sauce
1 Tbsp. peanut oil
2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
1 pinch ground black pepper
1 pinch ground cumin
6 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves, cubed
1 Tbsp. vegetable oil
1/4 cup minced onion
1 clove garlic, peeled and minced
1 cup water
1/2 cup chunky peanut butter
2 Tbsp. soy sauce
2 Tbsp. white sugar
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
Skewers
In a bowl, mix soy sauce, tomato sauce, peanut oil, garlic, black pepper, and cumin. Place chicken into the mixture and stir to coat. Cover, and marinate in the refrigerator for at least 15 minutes, but not overnight. This will make the meat too dark.
Preheat the grill for high heat.
Heat vegetable oil in a saucepan over medium heat, and sauté onion and garlic until lightly browned. Mix in water, peanut butter, soy sauce and sugar. Cook and stir until well blended. Remove from heat, mix in lemon juice, and set aside.
Lightly oil the grill grate. Thread chicken onto skewers, and discard marinade. Grill skewers about 5 minutes per side, until chicken juices run clear. Serve with the peanut sauce.

What’s Cookin’? will run every Wednesday in 2008. A different country’s foods will be featured each week. Next week: Iraq.