my mommy had gone home to visit family last week. she left with 1 suitcase and came back with 2 because of all the consumable goodies she had to bring back (we all put in our requests!).
opening that package reminded me of all the unique indonesian flavors and food that i miss (it's worse when i'm pregnant and i get horrible cravings for it). flavors that bring back childhood memories, or moments in time during our visits back "to the homeland..."
top 10 favorite indonesian goodies:
1. krupuk. [i can find something similar here at the asian grocery store, but it's not quite like the ones they have in indo.]
2. klepon. [i could eat these yummy indonesian dessert every day. they are so good!]
photo source.
3. chocolate sprinkles. [these aren't your ordinary chocolate sprinkles that you find at the grocery store. no. originally introduced by the dutch, these are 100 times better. one of my favorite "snacks" as a child (and even now, when i can get it) is buttered bread with chocolate sprinkles. it's even better when you use the green (pandan) bread.]
4. roti pandan. [transaleted: pandan bread. i have the means to try and make this (found some frozen pandan leaves at the asian grocery store), but i'm afraid it might not turn out as good. this was one of the things that came in the package yesterday. my mother brought 6 loaves home. can you guess why she had to take 2 suitcases?]
photo source.
5. mie bakso. [i have had some success in recreating this dish here, thanks to the asian grocery store. it came in handy when i had severe indonesian food cravings with gibson.]
6. gula jawa. [literal translation: javanese sugar. it's actually palm sugar. pretty similar to brown sugar, but i think it's got a sweeter flavor (i don't know how sugar can be any sweeter, but that's the only way i know to describe it. this is what makes the peanut sauce!]
7. cap bango brand kecap manis. [sweet soy sauce...a staple in any indonesian home (at least i think so). if i had a choice i would only use the cap bango brand, but sadly they only import the ABC brand here in the states.]
8. rambutan. [this fruit grows in indonesia and thailand. it's never in season when we visit so i've had to settle for the canned version here in the states. emma and i ate a whole can of them one time. but it tastes so much better fresh!]
9. manggis. [this fruit is also quite tasty...very juicy like when you're tryin to eat a ripe peach (though it doesn't taste at all like a peach). i like the sweet flavor of this fruit. trader joe's used to sell freeze-dried manggis, and i would buy them all the time. too bad they discontinued it.]
10. es cendol. [this sweet, cold drink/dessert is tasty, tasty. a perfect way to cool off from all the hot, humid jakarta weather.]
after all this, i think we might just have some indonesian food for dinner tonight!
1 comments:
Oh just to let you know, I can get Cap Bango Kecap Manis here in Seattle. There was a year when they only had Kecap ABC but they finally brought the Cap Bango brand back. Not to mention Kofi (and I of course) only prefer the Cap Bango brand kecap manis. So good!!
--Michelle
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