Indonesia

As the fourth largest country in the world by population, it’s amazing how little I knew about Indonesia before this week. I’ve had a fun week! I made Mie Goreng (Indonesian noodles) last Friday: https://www.recipetineats.com/mie-goreng/. I picked up an Indonesian lunch with friends on Saturday (more details below). I wallowed in food shows on Sunday (Gordon Ramsey: Uncharted Season 2, Episode 4 on DisneyPlus and Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown Season 12 Episode 3 on Amazon), and I still had plenty to do and see the rest of the week including figuring out more ways to use the sambal oelek (super good chili paste) that I bought for the noodle recipe.

It’s not that I had never had Indonesian food before. My first experience with Indonesian food was several years ago at the 626 Market, an Asian night market which started in the San Gabriel Valley (the 626 area code), and spread into Orange County. The chicken satay hooked me from the first bite. I’ve also eaten at Bone Kettle in Pasadena with my sister Suzy and at Borneo Kalimantan Cuisine in Alhambra where I became a big fan of rujak buah, a fruit salad with pineapple, cucumber, jicama, yams and a spicy sauce with peanut chunks. This recipe adds apple and mango: https://ketchupwithlinda.com/rujak-buah/

The restaurant that really excited me was Taste of Sumatra in Upland. Karina and I ate the pepes (spicy seasoned fish in banana leaf), beef rendang, fried chicken, egg belado (boiled eggs with chili sauce), sayur lodeh (vegetable stew in coconut milk), lemper (like tameles, but with rice instead of corn), and pastel (like an empanada). This is a place I would go back! Here are more similar recipes: https://www.taste.com.au/recipes/collections/indonesian-recipes

The other place I would go back is Medan Kitchen in Rosemead, which is not a restaurant, but a grocery store. Since I wanted to do more this last weekend to experience Indonesia, my friend Joanie asked an Indonesian friend what was the best place to try and she sent us there. Of the many amazing options that were prepared, boxed and ready to go, we picked up Gado-Gado (mixed vegetable salad with peanut dressing); beef rendang; chicken on a spicy bed of tofu and peppers; yellow rice; batagor (fish dumplings and tofu fried in wonton shells); siomay bandung (steamed fish dumplings); tahu isi (tofu stuffed with vegetables); bakwan sayur (vegetable fritters); rujak buah (because I can’t get enough of that pineapple, yam, cucumber, and jicama salad); and martabak manis, an Indonesian pancake stuffed with nuts, chocolate, and cheese: https://sortedfood.com/recipe/6277. Since there were only a few small tables outside Medan Kitchen, Val invited us to eat in her nearby backyard, so Val, Joanie, Gladys, Phyllis, Lynn, and I had a great Indonesian meal together!

But although I’ve had Indonesian food, I didn’t know much about Indonesian culture and history. I started with the Khan Academy’s introduction to Indonesia which includes some history, some art, and a video introducing Indonesian rod puppets (wayang golek): https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/art-asia/southeast-asia/maritime-se-asia/a/introduction-to-indonesia. If you like the puppets, the Smithsonian put up a full-length play, The Birth of Hanuman, the Monkey General: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xDiH8ktqZu8

The Khan Academy also has a section on Bali, one of the islands of Indonesia, with videos on shadow puppets and Balinese dance, costumes, and music: https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/art-asia/southeast-asia/bali/a/an-introduction-to-bali. More demonstrations of the shadow puppets and conversations with some of the people involved are found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D1V5j82hvh8 and the Kecak Dance at the Uluwatu Temple is shown here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=46FCjDUb8zI

In selecting a book to read, I decided to go with non-fiction and listen to Krakatoa: The Day the World Exploded by Simon Winchester. It discusses the plate tectonics which impact Indonesia, the Dutch colonizers, the eruption which destroyed the island, and the aftermath, including the political fallout and the recovery of plants and animals on the son of Krakatoa, a new island created by the volcano. I borrowed the CDs from the Los Angeles County Library. The History Channel has also made a documentary on Krakatoa as it is reemerging: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Hee_Mm9X-k.

I checked in with my Indonesian friend Yanti and she suggested I add poetry by Rendra, an Indonesian poet laureate to my reading list. I found it fascinating! There is so much in his poetry to discuss: https://dippingintolight.com/rendra-w-s-1935/

I wish I had time this week to also read some fiction. Indonesian writers are well-respected, and it isn’t hard to find their books. The San Bernardino County Library has The Rainbow Troops by Andrea Hirata. The Los Angeles County Library also has The Rainbow Troops as well as Child of All Nations by Pramoedya Ananta Toer and Man Tiger by Eka Kurniawan. More Indonesian literature can be found here: https://www.wordswithoutborders.org/find/languages/indonesian

If you are looking for Indonesian movies, Netflix has fifty with summaries found here: https://reelgood.com/origin/indonesia/on-netflix. Both Hulu and Tubi have an Indonesian superhero film called Gundala and Hulu also has House Hunters International with episodes in Jakarta and Bali.

Indonesia is also known for its animals. Birutė Mary Galdikas is to the study of orangutans (which are exclusively from Indonesia) what Dian Fossey is to the study of gorillas and Jane Goodall to the study of chimpanzees. In this lecture, Galdikas discusses what they will need to survive: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8lqRSSuXba8. You could also get out to the San Diego Zoo Safari Park to see Sumatran tigers, or try to catch them on the Tiger Cam: https://www.sdzsafaripark.org/cams/tiger-cam

I would love to visit any of the places The Crazy Tourist highlights for Indonesia: https://www.thecrazytourist.com/15-best-places-visit-indonesia/#more-24151

When this pandemic is over, your local travel advisor could plan a great trip to Indonesia. Shout out to my favorite travel advisor, Kaitlin Darnell at Laura's Travel in Redlands. May the travel industry survive and thrive - may we all survive, thrive, recognize our mutual humanity, learn to deal with our conflicts, and allow peace and health to flourish in Indonesia and throughout the world.

Photo Credit: Mahmud Ahsan https://unsplash.com/photos/QqPcxfFKqfU