Customer Reviews

Indonesian Regional Cooking

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
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1 star:		(1)

 

 

I am Indonesian but grew up in the United States. It has been difficult for me to collect information, history and recipes from my native homeland, but I was so thrilled when I found this book. Sri Own gives history, methods and classic recipes that I remember my mother and family cooking for me as a kid. I wish that more people, Indonesians as well, would value the richness of the food, culture and culinary possiblibites and potential that Indonesian food has to offer.

This book is a comprehensive guide to the preparation of Indonesian regional foods, as well as the culture, history, and ingredients that make the food distinctly Indonesian. Sri Owen covers internationally known favorites from every region, as well as local favorites you might know only from your family or your travels there (martabak!). I love the notes with anecdotes, history, and techniques preceding each recipe. And for non-Indos or those not familiar with Southeast Asian ingredients, the glossary of ingredients and techniques provides short descriptions with suggestions for substitutions, as well as scientific, Indonesian, and English names. This book is a much-used reference in my Indonesian cooking.

This is not only an excellence cooking book but also a very good traveling book. It gives you the briefing on each region of Indonesia and then presents its vanishing recipes with an easy-to- follow instruction. I am really enjoy reading this book.

As is the case with many Thai/Asian cookbooks, make sure that you have a good Asian grocery store in your area. While many things can be substituted, most substitutes are inferior, and of course the end results will not be as amazing. Yes, ginger can be used instead of galangal, lime zest instead of kaffir lime leaves, foil instead of banana leaves, but you'd lose a lot in the process.

So far I have only cooked a few of the recipes in this book with good results, and the main difference I can find between Indonesian and Thai cooking, is that Indonesian food seems more subtle, while Thai bursts with big bold flavors. This isn't a bad thing, especially when you don't feel like having a spicy curry dish. It takes a little while to get used to that.

The weirdest thing about this book is that the author isn't afraid to do some bashing of cooks and restaurants she describes to have visited while researching the book. There are numerous references to overcooked fish, horribly made this-and-thats, but don't let that intimidate you. It's delish.

I bought the book 10 years ago. Jesus, the price skyrocketed. I am a chef in my indonesian restaurant and the recipes are not that authentic, neither "enak". Some of the ingredients are lemongrass and galangal powder, which are not used in indonesian kitchens, they always use fresh ones. Do not expect photos of the dishes at all. The explanations are plain and the results worse. If you are into indonesian cooking, you would better get the Indonesian Street food secrets.