spaghetttti

That bubur is a specialty of Maluku (The Mollucan Islands) where my husband's from, they call it bubur aceh , which makes no sense to me. Maluku is east and Aceh is way over in western Indonesia, and they don't even have this dessert soup. Hmmmmph! Anyway, my in-laws' versions vary: some have shards of pre-cooked glass noodles (which they call laksa) and sticky rice. Another version has barley. Some like it hot, others cold with crushed ice. Traditionally, our family has this as nice opener for breaking the fast at Ramadhan, which by the way, is just around the corner.

My favorite supermarket has just become a more fun place to shop now that they have recently opened a special Japanese section. It just boggles the mind, so many wonderful looking things, but I don't read Japanese. We saw these packets and can't wait to sprinkle over rice tonight. Is this salmon furikake? Confetti on rice!?!

Well, as evidenced by my greasy, sticky mouse -- it's almost anything & everything I'm reading about on eGullet! During the pizza survey in NYC, I was chomping on some delivery pizza. Back in the Burger Club days, I was making & eating them while scrolling through the posts. And, my keyboard needed extra cleaning while following & eating the boiled peanuts thread! I may have gained 50 pounds as a result but I love eGullet!

Odading is the sister of yu char kway, just a sweet, denser version. Why do these things taste best when fresh? They're awful even an hour old! Floss is abon dried, shredded & fried meat. I've seen a variety of floss: pork, beef, chicken, fish, shrimp & squid. It's the topping on the nasi kuning we're having for lunch here today to celebrate a co-worker's birthday. Where's the sambal?!?

Yeah, that's a whole lot better than doing the Paul Newman thing*! *Cool Hand Luke - 50 raw eggs

Do you like baked eggs? This was a childhood favorite of mine. I don't do precise recipes very well but what I do now for individual servings: take a buttered ovenproof bowl, toss in some sliced or chopped onions, green peppers, tomatoes, diced cheese and crack open an egg into the bowl. Season with salt & pepper, pour some milk or cream over, top with a generous slab of butter and sprinkle paprika over all. Bake until all is set and egg is cooked to your desired degree of firmness. I like it with the whites all cooked and firm, and the yolk just slightly runny. Good with a crisp, green salad and some good crusty bread.

You mean besides that goofy cake stuck right smack dab in the middle? Ok, please bear with me, it'll be less than systematic! In the 1st photo: to the right of the cake is a chicken dish called opor ayam, a rich curry which brings out the color of turmeric and the flavor/fragrance of lemongrass. 2nd photo: in the lava mortar: a fresh, belacan sambal - tomatoes, chillies, garlic/shallots, palm sugar, salt. tamarind and shrimp paste. Next to it is a stir fry of tofu, long (snake?) beans and three kinds of mushrooms. 3rd photo: top left is sambal goreng teri, fried anchovies (beheaded as in Laksa's blog ), and peanuts in a sambal base. (One of my favorites). Next is rendang a red beef curry. Slightly below that is karedok, a type of salad with shredded cabbage, beansprouts, string beans, basil leaves in a peanut sauce. Next is some more of the opor ayam and in the glass bowl is soto ayam a chicken soup heady with ginger and lemongrass. In the last photo you'll see a dish I made: Sambal Goreng Ati (please recall The Heartland thread on Chicken Livers). Diced chicken livers are cooked in a red sambal with some coconut milk & lime leaves. I added fried diced potatoes and some so-un (beanthread noodles?) and topped the platter with golden fried shallots. Whew, and in two weeks we'll do something like this again for my parents' guests!

Gosh, coming very late into this and I wish I'd known about this thread earlier. My parents entertain in their home frequently and on Sept. 30 will host 30 visiting Dutch dignitaries. My mother plans to have a rijstafel which means she'll have Indonesian dishes as well as Indo-Dutch. I'll be helping making the huzarensla, macaroni schotel, bitterballen and klappertaart. Mom recently celebrated her 75th birthday, and this is some of what she served. Though my parents have live-in help, they only make the one procession bringing out the dishes to the table. If you need any recipes, I'll be more than happy to share what I can.

Kerak telor is a savory kueh/snack, made from layers of sticky rice, duck eggs, shrimp floss and golden fried shallots.

Odading fluffy pillows of deep fried dough. Delicious fresh, hot out of the wok -- great for dunking in morning tea or coffee.

I just had that luscious, juicy mango for lunch. This variety is called aromanis. Harum manis meaning frangrant - sweet, this wasn't particularly fragrant but it was heavenly sweet. Now is the absolute right time for them, and I'm going to get some more!

Heheh, somehow I knew you'd be the one to ask! That is called pisang asar. Homemade by my sister-in-law, it's slices of pisang kepok, from a type of banana tree that she has growing in her back yard, topped with a mixture of ground kacang kenari (a type of almond, I guess) and gula merah/brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg & a little cardamom, then baked. That type of banana stays firm when cooked, so it's especially nice for pisang goreng/banana fritters, too. Michael, it is good! I know you liked the bananas you used to get in Malaysia, have you ever had something similar to this dessert while you were there?

Rambutan shell eyes for Halloween! Sue-On - Have you tried the tamarind drink yet? I really like it. skyflyer3- That black sapote continues to sound intriguing. Haven't been able to find it here, hope it doesn't remain elusive too much longer! I've not seen those here, gingerly, do you like them? How do you prefer to eat them? It's jambu time, with so many varieties available now. This guava is lovely to eat out of hand or with some scoops of vanilla ice cream!

Owen, I still can't get over this fantastic post. Everything looks so good! I wanna try the deep fried chocolate covered key lime pie! When & where's your next expedition? Yetty

Something's definitely in the air. Feeling really frazzled and I haven't really cooked all week, so last night I made opor tahu (tofu curry), salted fish and sambal. Dessert was B&J's Everything but the Twist ice cream & some fantastic Kalosi coffee, strong & black.

My uncle used to work at the Indonesian Consulate General (5 E. 68th) and I believe that their canteen served some really good lunches, open to the public. Do they still do that?

Cassava treats from the market.

Lucy, what about those lovely chanterelles? Or do they not go with escargots? Whatever you do decide to cook, I'm sure it will be wonderful.

Do you mean these? We call them gandasturi, do you remember what they're called in Singapore? One of my favorite places -- shop 'til ya drop & eat to the beat. The food, the food!!

So, how did you end up cooking these? I'm curious as to whether they're meant to be casings to be stuffed or eaten as described from the picture on the package. How did they taste - flavor/texture? Oops, I see where you said they're too skinny.

that's absolutely hilarious! ok, sorry I got carried away with the smilies

Michael, what a nice thing to say! Well, if anyone does travel to this part of the world, I'd be very happy to welcome them here in Bandung.

Whew, I think I neeeeed a cigarette, and I don't even smoke! I grew up in that area and when I come back, CK will be one of the first places I'll head for! Thanks all for that amazing dinner report....I was there with you in spirit, too

More, more, more!

I just love pisang goreng/ fried bananas, and these are pretty special. Pisang kepok are used and are fanned out just before a dip into the batter and into the fryer.