Damfino. I lived in Indonesia for a while and developed quite a liking for it. We had a good Indonesian restaurant here in Houston for a while, but they sold it and the new owners ran it into the ground.
It’s in every Korean restaurant and every Vietnamese restaurant I’ve ever been in, as well. Let’s just say it’s good stuff.
As for ketchup, I’d always heard that it was of Indonesian or Malay origin, at least the word, but the bottle of “Kecip” I have here is a sweet, thick soy based sauce. No tomato ingredients. (Random House says it comes from Malay language)
I have a really great idea for an Indonesian style restaurant. Thought about it some years now, although I have never been to Indonesia… I’m not really going to elaborate or extrapolate here, as it’s a cherry, and I don’t want to broadcast it.
All this talk has stirred my emeory-I remember that a local store used to stock a line of Indonesion food mixes (in pouches)-these were made in Holland.
I wonder if these products are available in the USA?
Yes, I’ve seen pouches of pre-mixed spices (bumbu) in the Asian grocery store around Chicago. They have mixes for different variants of soto, nasi goreng, and many other things.
Both of my parents are Chinese Indonesian, and I miss Indonesian food too. I’d love some sate, rendang, gado-gado and krokets…