Please share us with yours!Halo again friends! I've been having so much fun exploring my home country of West Sumatra, here among more than 17,000 islands in Indonesia! Last week, I talked to you a little about where Sumatra got it's name and what you could find here. Today, I'm writing to you about one of my favorite topics: FOOD!
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Photo of Fruit Rujak Above By By Sofiah Budiastuti (Own work) [CC BY-SA 4.0], via Wikimedia Commons
Food in West Sumatra
Crops that are grown in Sumatra include, rice, corn, tea, coffee and cocoa. Do you like fruit salad? So do kids in Sumatra! Here, it's called fruit rujak, and it's made from slices of unripe mango, jambu air (a bell shaped berry), jicama, papaya and pineapple.
It's also served with a thick coconut syrup and a spicy salt! My favorite food is, of course, honey! But I don't get that from a street vendor like you would get rujak - I have to use my long claws and tongue to get it straight from the beehive.
Sumatra Market Photo By Stefan via Flickr
Because electricity isn't the most reliable in Sumatra, most families don't keep produce for long. Often they'll go to the market daily to get what they need for that day. One pair of brilliant young girls even built a small refrigerator that doesn't require electricity to work, hopefully allowing leftovers to last a few days longer! How clever!
Food in Sumatra has earned a name for itself across Indonesia and most of Asia. People usually call it Padang food, named after Sumatra's capital city, Padang, or sometimes Minangkabau food, named after the Minangkabau culture that the food comes from.
Padang cuisine - that's a special word for "food" - is famous for having big bold flavors like coconut and curry, and also for being very spicy because they use a lot of chili peppers. Because most Minangkabau people are Muslim, the traditional Padang food follows the rules of halal very closely. Halal is a set of rules for how to prepare food that Muslims use.
The proteins that are most common in Padang food are beef, water buffalo, goat, lamb, poultry and fish.Vegetables are usually boiled and almost every meal has a combination of curry, chili and rice. (Padang Food Photo By John Orford (Best Padang Food Ever) [CC BY-SA 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons).
What's for Dinner?
In restaurants, customers sit down and the waiter immediately brings them everything the restaurant is serving that day! The customers then have to be very selective because they will have to pay for the dishes they touch. Remember your manners at the table friends and eat with your hands! Wait, what? You don't use your hands at the table? It's normal to use your right hand at a Sumatran table, but if you don't want to you can always ask for a fork or spoon.
If you want to try some Indonesian flavors, check out the recipe below for Bakso soup - it's a meatball soup that is YUMMY! This should give you an idea of what some of the food tastes like here. If you or your family want to make this, I'd love to hear from you about how it turned out! Just ask your parent, guardian or teacher to please send me a message and ask them to include a picture of your culinary masterpiece if they can.
Parent's Note: Recipe does include eggs. This recipe is very simple and can be done in one pot. Some modifications have been made to accommodate some common allergies, but please keep in mind this recipe.
Your children can help by putting the ingredients in the bowl and then by helping to roll the meatballs. If the child is a little older, they can help you put the meatball in the pot with a long spoon but be very careful that your child is ready for such a task. We don't want anyone to get a burn.
If you or your child aren't bothered by spicy foods, you can always add chili paste to the final product, but this recipe is very mild for young palates.
Please parents, make sure your child washes their hands before and after handling the meatball mixture. They'll have a lot of fun doing it too, so watch to make sure they don't touch their face or their siblings while they're helping you.
A Taste of West Sumatra-Bakso Soup Recipe
Ingredients for meatballs
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1.1 lbs ground beef
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1 cup of cornstarch - OR - 1/2 cup of white rice flour and 1/2 cup of brown rice flour
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4-6 cloves of garlic
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1/2 tsp baking soda
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3 eggs
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1/2 tsp pepper
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1 tsp salt
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1 tbs tamari or soy sauce
Ingredients for broth
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3 liters of beef broth - OR - 1 liter beef broth and 2 liters of water (if your broth is store bought and more condensed)
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3 garlic cloves, crushed
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2 stalks of celery (leaves okay)
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2 spring onions, chopped
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1 tsp sugar
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1 tsp pepper
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Salt to taste
Extras - if you like
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Rice noodles (for friends with a wheat allergy or gluten intolerance)
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Egg noodles
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Rice
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Chili paste
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Soy Sauce
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Tamari (for friends with a wheat allergy or gluten intolerance)
Cooking Instructions
All Recipe Photos Above By Joy Sun Bear, Inc. (www.joysunbear.com)
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Combine all the broth ingredients in a large pot.
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Heat broth on high until boiling.
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While waiting for the broth to get hot, sauté the garlic until soft (this isn't necessary but adds a nice flavor).
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Mix the garlic with the rest of the meatball ingredients in a metal bowl (or food processor).
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Combine well with a masher or in a food processor.
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Scoop the meatball mixture with a melon baller or ice cream scoop and roll them into 1" balls.
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When the broth is boiling, use a long spoon and place the meatballs in the pot one at a time by putting it on the spoon then gently placing the meatball in the broth.
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When the meatballs all float, they are very nearly done. At this point, add the rice noodles (if you're using them) and by the time the noodles are done the meatballs will be cooked through.
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Serve and enjoy!
Next week, I'll be writing you about a very special celebration called Indonesian Independence Day, culture and games! We will also have a fun art craft we will be sharing, so make sure you don't miss it!
May your table be covered in joyful food my friends!
Selamat tinggal friends!
-Joy Sun Bear
Author: joysunbear
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