Learn about Indonesian cuisine, including the top five foods, and the top five foods for the brave
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Fira: Selamat siang! Welcome back to IndonesianPod101.com! This is Fira here! |
| Gina: And I’m Gina! Hello! This is All-About, Lesson 7, Indonesian Cuisine. Fira, what can you tell us about Indonesian cuisine? |
Lesson focus |
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| Fira: Hmm, that’s a hard question, but what comes to mind first is the variety. |
| Gina: What comes to my mind first is sate! |
| Fira: Haha! That’s my favourite too. Sate is "grilled meat skewers" like shish kebab, but smaller. There are countless varieties of sate, available anywhere from fancy restaurants to the rustic kaki lima portable vendors! |
| Gina: Yeah, and you can get chicken, beef, and sometimes pork if you’re in a non-Muslim area. |
| Fira: If you’re more adventurous you can try goat, tuna, and even rabbit sate! |
| Gina: Wow. I’ve seen rabbit sate, but I’ve never eaten it. How else do sate differ from shish kebab, Fira? |
| Fira: The peanut sauce! Most types of sate come with a splash of sweet soy sauce, a sauce made from chilies and other seasonings, and a couple of spoonfuls of sweet and savory peanut sauce! That’s the best part of sate! And as I’ve said before, you can get this anywhere! |
| Gina: That sounds scrumptious! Okay, what’s second on the list? |
| Fira: Bubur! |
| Gina: "Rice porridge!" You might have less-than-favorable impressions of porridge from stories like “Oliver Twist” or “Goldilocks and the Three Bears”, but I promise you, this won’t disappoint you. |
| Fira: Yeah, bubur is made by boiling rice in chicken broth on low heat. After the rice is cooked, many ingredients like fried shallots, seasoned chicken or any type of meat, and sambal are added. |
| Gina: What’s sambal? |
| Fira: Sambal refers to any condiment that combines chillies and other fresh ingredients. Most Indonesians can’t really enjoy their food without a variety of sambal. |
| Gina: Ah, yes, in many areas of Indonesia, you’ll have to adjust to chili-hot food, which is known as pedas or "spicy-hot". Okay, Fira, what’s next? |
| Fira: Next is tempe. |
| Gina: This is like the nuttier-tasting cousin of tofu. How exactly is it different from tofu? |
| Fira: Well, tofu is made from soybean milk that’s been boiled and pulverized. Tempe, on the other hand, is made with whole soybeans which are treated with a special type of mold. |
| Gina: Ew! That doesn’t sound too appetizing. |
| Fira: I know, but it’s delicious! Trust me! So, after a while, the mold joins the soybeans together in a sort of cake, which is then cut up, fried, and used in all sorts of dishes. |
| Gina: Sounds like ideal food for vegetarians. How does it taste, by the way? |
| Fira: I think it tastes like nutty mushrooms, myself. |
| Gina: Interesting. Okay, what’s next? |
| Fira: Pisang goreng |
| Gina: "Fried bananas" |
| Fira: When it’s cooked well, this is the simplest yet one of the most delicious desserts out there. You can even enjoy it in the morning, as it’s a famous breakfast item, along with strong, sweet Indonesian coffee. |
| Gina: That does sound sweet! My mouth is watering! Okay, what’s the last one? |
| Fira: Last on our list is ayam goreng. |
| Gina: I love this dish! This is the old, classic "fried chicken” which can be made in many different which ways. |
| Fira: That’s right. The most popular one is Ayam Goreng Kalasan, or "Kalasan-style fried chicken”. |
| Gina: Where exactly is "Kalasan"? |
| Fira: "Kalasan" is a small town in Central Java where this style of fried chicken originated. The one thing that makes this style very special is that the chicken is parboiled in young coconut water with several spices before being deep-fried. |
| Gina: Mmm! I remember having this chicken a few times in Java. Tender and juicy on the inside, crispy on the outside, and an unforgettable flavor that’s to die for! But not literally, ahem. |
| Fira: So there you have it; the five Indonesian foods that we’d like to recommend. |
| Gina: Now I’d like to ask our listeners if they’ve ever been to an Indonesian restaurant. |
| Fira: Yes, please let us know in the comments at IndonesianPod101.com! If you’ve tried Indonesian cuisine, please let us know what your favourites are. |
Outro |
| Gina: Until next time, bye everyone! |
| Fira: Sampai jumpa lagi |
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