The History Of Indonesian Cuisine
Over the years, much has been written about Indonesian cuisine. Before you get started with Indonesian cooking, it might be nice to learn about Indonesian cuisine first. During the colonial period, the Dutch had a wonderful life in the Dutch East Indies. Mrs did not have to do anything because there was a help in housekeeping, a “Babu Tjoetji” for the laundry and a “Babu Anak” for the children, for the garden there is the Kebon and of course the ‘ Kokkie ‘ for the kitchen. And there is a lot to tell about this lady. The Kokkie was allowed to cook for the Toean and Njonja Besar (Man and Woman of the House) and the Anak-Anak (The children).
The recipes received the Kokkie from Mrs., taken from the Netherlands and Kokkie had to prepare it with the ingredients that were available in India. This was not the same since there was no growth of kale and sauerkraut could not be made. Despite this fact, the recipes from Mrs. Kokkie’s cookbook are so composed that they could make a choice of dishes from the Dutch and Indonesian cuisine. An example of dishes from the Dutch cuisine of the past is pigeon pies (pies tutup), pasties, lapis legit,sop buntut,Kroket kentang and black acid from a duck. In addition, the Dutch family also introduced the Indonesian rice table. Did you know that the name rice table was invented by a Dutch chef of Hotel Des Indes in Batavia?
The food culture of the Indonesian population consists of rice and various dishes. The dishes served are originally sober, but in order to get variation in the menu every day, Kokkie has the Indonesian cuisine the longer the more extensive. When the Dutch went back to the Netherlands in the fifties of the last century, the recipes were taken and they started to lead their own lives in the Netherlands. In the beginning, there were few ingredients available and one had to row with the belts that one had to cook a tasty and original rice table. Over the years, the ties with Indonesia were again firmly cited and the products were fresh and widely available. Nowadays you have a Toko in every big city where you can buy different ingredients.
The rice table
As the Dutch menu consists of potatoes, meat, and vegetables, the rice table consists of white rice with various dishes of chicken, meat, fish, eggs and lots of vegetables (Sayuran). At festive occasions, you can serve in place of white rice Nasi Kuning, yellow rice with an aroma of Sereh and Pandanblad. A festive meal, Selamatan, is often given in births, marriages but sometimes also at funerals. This is a Javanese adat, not Islam, but with an Islamic ceremony. One invites the priest to go out and ask his blessing for the happiness of the child, the newlyweds or the accompaniment of a deceased. Often a Tumpeng, Rice point is served from Nasi Kuning. This rice point is returned to our company logo
Because of the diversity of herbs and vegetables, Indonesian cuisine is more varied than Dutch cuisine. As the Dutch kitchen is prepared with spices, the Indonesian cuisine has many kinds of herbs, including roots, leaves and compound spice mixtures (bumbus). Spices are not used much. In Indonesian Cuisine We use next to the onions and the garlic, the Laos, Jahé (Ginger), Kunir (yellow root), Sereh (lemongrass), Daon salam (species of Laurel leaf), Daon kaffir purut (lemon leaves), santen and of course the red and green Lomboks (Spanish peppers).
Often it is thought that Masakan Indonesia should be spicy or sharp, but nothing is less true. You can make the dishes as sharp as you want. We also know the Cabé rawits, the whole Little red peppers, you better not use it if you do not know the Indonesian cuisine so well, they are really very sharp.
TIP: If you find the food too sharp, you can put the best out with a bit of sugar, a bite of rice or a piece of krupuk. This works better than water.
The main ingredients for Indonesian cuisine are Trassi and Laos. These are really indispensable for nine out of ten dishes. We have had an Indonesian catering company for 13 years and cooked for large groups. Everything was prepared in an authentic way. It is often thought that for a rice table you should have a day in the kitchen. This is not true. By working efficiently you can put the most delicious dishes on the table in no time, not insignificant to mention that the food tastes much better a day later. We only use fresh herbs and no fat-sin (flavor enhancer). After the course, you will know the basics of Indonesian cooking and in a relatively short time, you can cook a delicious rice table. The dishes we are going to make are originally from Java, especially from East Java. This kitchen is generally a bit sweeter than that of West and middle Java, which are a bit sharper and salty. Of course, dishes from other parts of Indonesia are also covered.
The reason we want to share our knowledge with others is first that we like it very much, but also to maintain a lot of cultural heritage. The third generation of Dutch Indian people is no longer so busy with cooking and that is unfortunate because knowledge is lost. We want it to remain because Indian culture is above all a food culture.
