Cubeb are small, reddish-brown, irregularly shaped berries about 1/8 inch wide, just a bit larger than peppercorns.When dried and ground, they have a sharp, pepper-like taste with a trace of bitterness. At times, it has been used in place of pepper. They grow on a perennial, tropical vine with a grey stem and smooth, pointed…
Indonesian Food
Ketjap Manis
Ketjap Manis is a thick, dark, rich condiment sauce made in Indonesia. It is made from black soybeans, though it is also possible to use yellow soybeans. They are allowed to ferment, then mixed with garlic, palm sugar, and star anise. The taste is mild, not hot. It is used by almost everyone in Indonesia,…
Limau: Citrus fruits in Malaysia and Indonesia
Limau is a term used in Malaysia and Indonesia somewhat generically for citrus fruits. Adjectives are tacked onto it to further clarify what fruit exactly is meant. “Limau” by itself is a lemon; “Limau Bali” is a pomelo; “Limau gedang” is grapefruit; “Limau Kesturi” is a Kalamansi Lime; “Limau langkat” is a mandarin orange (Citrus…
Lombok
Lombok is a generic name in Indonesia for chiles about the size of one’s finger.They can be dark green or bright red. The word will usually be accompanied by an adjective, giving more details about the exact kind of chile meant. Lombok Hijan: green peppers Lombok Merab: red peppers Lombok Merak: from Merak province Lombok…
Sago Grubs
Sago Grubs are the larvae of a beetle called the “Capricorn Beetle (Rhynchophorus ferrungineus or Rhynchophorus bilineatus.) The grubs are about 1 1/2 inches (4 cm) long, white and plump, with a dark brown head. They are juicy and burst in your mouth when you bite into them. They are eaten in Papua New Guinea…
Sambal Bajak
Sambal Bajak is an Indonesian sauce that is more like a slightly chunky brown paste. You can use Sambal Bajak as a side condiment on a plate, or spread it on crackers. Sambal Bajak is made from red chile, powdered galangal, garlic, nutmeg, palm sugar, dried shrimp paste, shallots and tamarind. Some recipes call for…
Sambal Bawang
Sambal Bawang is a red sauce, more like a chunky relish or chutney, based on shallots. It is made from Dried Shrimp paste, shallots, garlic, oil, salt, red chiles and lime juice. The garlic and shallots are sliced. You heat the oil, add everything and sauté it for a few minutes, then cool and stir…
Sambal Brandal
Sambal Brandal is a spicy Indonesian condiment relish. It is served as a side condiment, not mixed into other food as an ingredient. It is made from ground fresh small chile peppers often called “Dutch Hot Peppers.” These, along with shallots, shrimp paste, and Kemiries (nuts), are sautéed in coconut oil, then lemon juice and…
Sambal Dabo Lilang
Sambal Dabo Lilang is an uncooked Indonesian relish made from chopped onion, tomato, and red and green chiles, flavoured with fresh basil and lime zest. It has a hot but fresh taste. You let the flavours marry for several hours before using. Cooking Tips 1 medium sized onion 1 small tomato 1 teaspoon fresh basil…
Sambal Kacang
Sambal Kacang is a hot, spicy Indonesian peanut sauce. The peanuts are stir-fried first, then pounded into a paste along with peeled garlic, sliced and seeded bird’s eye chiles, and Kaempferia Galangal. put into a pan and simmered for an hour with kaffir lime leaves, sweet soy sauce, salt and water then lime juice added…
Sambal Limau
Sambal Limau is an Indonesian relish. The name of the relish should actually be Sambal Limau “Napis”, to be more precise. It is served with salads with fried fish or chicken. Cooking Tips 4 red chiles 2 teaspoons of belacan 2 key limes (juiced) sugar and salt to aste Seed the chiles, chop them up…
Sambal Manbo
Sambal Manbo is an Indonesian condiment sauce. It is made from finely chopped birds-eye chiles, a souring agent such as tamarind juice, fried, ground peanuts, soy sauce, onions, dried shrimp paste, and garlic. The onion and garlic are cooked until soft, then the rest of the ingredients are added except the tamarind juice. The mixture…
Sambal Mangga
Sambal Mangga is an Indonesian chile relish based on unripe mangos. It is made from shredded unripe mango, onion, red and green chiles (seeded and de-stemmed), dried shrimp paste, and salt. The shredded mango has salt sprinkled on it, and is left for about 15 minutes, then the juice is squeezed out of it. Meanwhile,…
Sambal Manis
Sambal Manis is a dark, bright red hot sauce made in Indonesia from chiles, onion, tomato, spices, sugar and vinegar. The chile peppers are ground up. In Indonesia, Palm Sugar will be used instead of white sugar (try dark brown sugar), and tamarind paste instead of vinegar. It has a mild, sweet taste. It is…
Sambal Soto
Sambal Soto is an Indonesian chile sauce traditionally served as a side dish to noodle soups. It’s made from fried candlenuts, shallots, bird’s-eye chiles, garlic, salt, white sugar and citrus juice (lemon or lime.) To make, you whiz all the ingredients together in a food processor, or pound the solid ones in a mortar and…
Sambal Tauco
Sambal Tauco is an a Indonesian salty relish made with salted yellow soy beans (which you buy in a can.) It is made from shallots, garlic and green chiles that are puréed together into a paste, then heated for a short time with lemon grass, tamarind juice, palm sugar and oil, then coconut milk and…
Sambal Tomat
Sambal Tomat is an Indonesian tomato-based condiment. There are two versions, fresh and cooked. Both are made from tomatoes, red birds eye chiles, shrimp paste, lime juice, shallots, garlic and oil. For the cooked version, the ingredients are sautéed briefly, then the tomatoes and shrimp paste added and simmered for a bit, then the mixture…
Sambals
Sambals are Indonesian sauces. The ingredients vary wildly depending on what kind of Sambal is being made, but chile is common in many of them, and thus they tend to have a hot flavour. Not all, though,are incredibly hot. Mild ones include Sambal Oelek and Sambal Manis. A Sambal can be as simple as a…
Tauco
Tauco are salted soy beans, either yellow or black, fermented and made into a paste. In the first stage of fermentation, the bean skins get covered with a mould. In Indonesia, the beans are sold tinned whole, not made into a paste yet. In Indonesia, the paste is mostly made from yellow soy beans, and…