MTM

40 INDONESIAN FOODS WE CAN’T LIVE WITHOUT
(20/20)
Today Food Quotes:
Great food is like great s*x. The more you have the more you want. -Gael Greene
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【Indomie】
If you had to name one food Indonesians couldn't live without, it would have to be one that is easy to transport, since they're often on the go.
That makes instant noodles Indomie beloved by all. Sold at grocery stores, village mom and pop shops and even from the basket of bicycles, Indomie calls for nothing more than hot water and a packet of chemical-induced flavoring before it's ready to fill one's tummy.
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【Nasi uduk】
A perennial favorite among native Betawi, nasi uduk is rice cooked in coconut milk and includes a pinwheel of various meat and vegetable accoutrements.
It almost always includes fried chicken, boiled eggs and tempe (soybean cake) with anchovies and is topped with emping (melinjo nut crackers).
It's cheap, fast and popular among lunchtime crowds.
Nearly four decades old and still going strong Nasi Uduk Babe Saman packs in everyone from students to celebrities morning, noon and night.

40 INDONESIAN FOODS WE CAN’T LIVE WITHOUT
(19/20)
Today Food Quotes:
I prefer to regard a dessert as I would imagine the perfect woman: subtle, a little bittersweet, not blowsy and extrovert. Delicately made up, not highly rouged. Holding back, not exposing everything and, of course, with a flavor that lasts. -Graham Kerr
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【Bebek goreng】
Ducks are common companions to rice fields around Indonesia, but they can be difficult to prepare for consumption.
Too often fried duck comes as a mass of tiny bones and overly fried oily meat. That doesn't make it any less worthy of the top 40, though.
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【Gorengan】
Or simply "fried foods," gorengan are the most prolific snacks in all of Indonesia.
Street carts typically offer crispy golden nuggets of tempe, cassava and tofu, as well as fried bananas, sweet potatoes, vegetables fritters made from shredded carrot, cabbage and bean sprouts and fermented soybean cakes.
Any kaki lima which serves an oil-stained news-wrapping gorengan topped with a handful of green chili

40 INDONESIAN FOODS WE CAN’T LIVE WITHOUT
(18/20)
Today Food Quotes:
Cookery is not chemistry. It is an art. It requires instinct and taste rather than exact measurements. -Marcel Boulestin
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【Daun pepaya】
Papaya is one of the fastest growing trees in Southeast Asia, and its bitter leaves are great for sauteing.
This dish is common in Manado, but regional variations have made it popular among the leaf-and-seed-eating crowd, a big bunch in Indonesia.
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【Otak-otak】
Another famed fish cake from Palembang, otak-otak has a more charming appearance, since it's wrapped in banana leaves before being grilled over charcoal.
Indigenous Sumatrans eat it with red chili mixed with fermented soy sauce, but in Jakarta it is served with Java's ubiquitous peanut sauce.

40 INDONESIAN FOODS WE CAN’T LIVE WITHOUT
(17/20)
Today Food Quotes:
One cannot think well, love well, sleep well, if one has not dined well. -Virginia Woolf
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【Siomay】
Think of it as Indonesia's version of dim sum -- traditional steamed fish dumplings known in China as shaomai.
A complete portion comes with a steamed potato, cabbage, egg, and bitter gourd, and is served with a boiled peanut sauce similar to gado-gado.
Perhaps Indonesia's most ubiquitous traveling street food, the best way to dine on siomay is from a bicycle vendor, who carts his large steamer around on the back of his bike.
For the less health-inclined, an alternative to siomay is batagor, which is fried instead of steamed.
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【Ikan bakar】
Grilled fish, plain and simple. But in a country with more than 17,000 islands, fish is bound to feature prominently.
While squid and prawns have a place in Indonesian cuisine, ikan bakar gets a far better showing for a fleshy texture that is great for dipping.
It is usually marinated in the typical trove of spices and served with a soy and chili-based sauce.

40 INDONESIAN FOODS WE CAN’T LIVE WITHOUT
(16/20)
Today Food Quotes:
Life expectancy would grow by leaps and bounds if green vegetables smelled as good as bacon. -Doug Larson
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【Tahu gejrot】
These clouds of golden, fried tofu look like little packages behind the windows of the boxes from which they are sold.
Tofu is a poor man's snack, but that also makes it prevalent.
Menteng Plaza has a version of fluffy tofu steeped in sweet soy sauce and chili and served in a pestle and mortar.
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【Sop kambing】
If Indonesia ever got cold enough to necessitate a winter stew, sop kambing would be even more popular.
A robust soup with a yellow broth full of celery, tomato, and great chunks of goat meat, this dish could make the Campbell's soup man quiver. Be warned if you have high blood pressure since the dish will heat you up.
Ginger, lime leaf, candlenut and spring onion give it peppery smell that adds to its refreshingly earthy flavor.

40 INDONESIAN FOODS WE CAN’T LIVE WITHOUT
(15/20)
Today Food Quotes:
A recipe has no soul. You, as the cook, must bring soul to the recipe. -Thomas Keller
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【Lontong sayur】
Boiled for hours in coconut leaf casings, the glutinous packed rice cake known as lontong is one of the best vehicles for pairing with thick peanut sauces and curries.
It serves as the base for this savory morning favorite, a coconut-milk curry made with young papaya, soy-braised tofu and hard-boiled eggs.
Crushed up krupuk add a little crunch to get you going.
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【Rendang】
Perhaps Padang's most famed curry, rendang is not an everyday food since it takes time and skill to make.
Its secret is in the gravy, which wraps around the beef for hours until, ideally, it's splendidly tender.
A dried version, which can be kept for months (like jerky) is reserved for honored guests and important celebrations.

40 INDONESIAN FOODS WE CAN’T LIVE WITHOUT
(14/20)
Today Food Quotes:
Cooking is like love. It should be entered into with abandon or not at all. -Harriet van Horne
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【Ketoprak】
Not to be confused with the theatrical drama of the same name that re-enacts Javanese legends, this Ketoprak is made from vermicelli, tofu, packed rice cake and bean sprouts.
It rounds out the quintet of pestle-and-mortar-based dishes that include gado-gado and pecel, and is a simple street dish that tastes mostly of peanuts and spice but is chockfull of carbohydrates.
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【Balado terong】
The color of this dish is enough to set taste buds going.
Nothing more than grilled purple eggplant topped with heaps of chili sauce made from dried shrimp paste (balacan), it calls for a substantial portion of rice to even out the fire engine flavor.

40 INDONESIAN FOODS WE CAN’T LIVE WITHOUT
(13/20)
Today Food Quotes:
Soup is just a way of screwing you out of a meal. -Jay Leno
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【Sayur asem】
This clear, refreshing soup derived from tamarind pairs well with fried food since it's stocked with vegetables and some of Indonesia's most interesting ingredients: melinjo, bilimbi, chayote.
A very close relative called sayur lodeh is made with coconut milk and has a sweeter flavor.
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【Sop buntut】
Revitalized by the chef at Hotel Borabodor in 1973 after a food and beverage staffer saw a government minister eating a bowl on the street, oxtail soup is loved by Indonesians from all classes.
The high-end version -- now the domain of Indonesia's diplomatic corps -- uses imported Australian beef, 7,000 kilograms a month to be precise, and comes complete with steamed rice, pickles, lime and sambal.
Its less pretentious outlet Sop Buntut Bogor Cafe is now in Pacific Place Mall.

40 INDONESIAN FOODS WE CAN’T LIVE WITHOUT
(12/20)
Today Food Quotes:
The tradition of Italian cooking is that of the matriarch. This is the cooking of grandma. She didn’t waste time thinking too much about the celery. She got the best celery she could and then she dealt with it. -Mario Batali
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【Perkedel】
So simple it's often overlooked, Perkadel's unassuming appearance belies its flavorful punch.
A distant relative of Dutch minced-meat frikandel, these croquettes are either potato based and filled with beef or made from corn (perkadel jagung).
In Bandung, crowds line up late night in seedy alleyways to snack on potato fritters made soft from frying in hot oil.
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【Martabak】
Think of a spongy, thick crepe made with 10 times the lard and you'll be somewhat close to imaging martabak.
The sweet version looks more like a pancake filled with gooey chocolate, peanuts or cheese, while the savory one is made from crispy pulled pastry like filo that is flattened in a wok as egg and minced meats are rapidly folded in.
Served with pickled cucumber and a sweet and sour vinegar.