I love to eat and I especially love to eat delicious food.
I read cookbooks like novels and frequently try new recipes,
rarely following the directions precisely. Over the years
in Bali, I have developed a system where I translate English
language recipes into my limited Indonesian while Wayan, my
cook, carefully writes these in a notebook. When she has time
she transfers the recipes along with her notations (and better
Indonesian) to a larger format and now several years later
we have six bulging, plastic sleeved books full of recipes.
Almost everyone who eats at our house raves about Wayan’s
cooking. Recipes are often requested and friends sheepishly
ask if their pembantu can come and learn from Wayan. Thus
the idea for this column was born. Here in the paper you will
find the English version of the recipe and on the Bali Advertiser
website both the English version and the Indonesian version.
You can easily copy and paste the recipes from the website,
then print them. [ www.BaliAdvertiser.biz and click on articles
then click on Food Glorious Food, easy! Paste as unformatted
text works best ].
I suggest that you go over each recipe with your cook before
it is attempted for the first time. Some of the concepts are
difficult to translate such as “cook the fish just until
done”. This may need some explaining and experimenting.
In the coming months recipes will be presented for such dishes
as Pomelo Salad, Rhubarb Crisp, Saffron and Orange Fish, Honey
Glazed Tofu, Tempe Salad, Mango Chutney, and Cottage Cheese
Pancakes. The tastes will range from Western, to Indian, to
Asian, to Mexican, to Fusion.
I have often left the titles as Wayan wrote them because I
like them that way. Thus the Mexican “Tostada”
has become “Toast Dada”. In the Indonesian directions
an “open” is an oven while “openkan”
is to bake, and “mixerkan” is to beat with an
electric mixer so you shouldn’t have a problem figuring
out what “blenderkan” is.
Recipes are a tool to inspire creativity - an idea - a place
to start. If we don’t have all the ingredients we substitute
what is available. So with this in mind I hope you will be
“berani” enough to change, add, or delete ingredients
as your taste directs.
On the web site you will find a conversion table. I use American
cup and spoon measures for liquid and dry measuring. For produce
and fish, I mostly use grams.
