Look what I found; inside this traditional Indonesian sweet (dodol) box that I found inside my late grandmother’s art deco wardrobe, I discovered a stack of old family pictures dated from as early as the 30s. I felt like that I won a jackpot!

There is wise saying that says that one should not reside in the past; however there is a wiser one that says “to learn about one self, one should know about his/her history”. I agree with both of them actually; while we should not reside in the past, knowing a bit of our background and history would certainly help to understand more about our current  life.
The faded dodol box
Unlike many Western societies whose family history is well documented in the church archive sometimes up to 3-5 generations earlier; many Eastern societies including ours don’t know much about our past. We don’t have marriage, birth or baptism records that we could look into. Most stories are handed down orally. As a consequence many family histories are lost along with the deaths of older relatives.
I know that I am the descendant of Chinese people who emigrated to Java island probably back in the early or mid 19th century, but unfortunately I don’t know from where my ancestors came from exactly, who they were and what they did. I could only get the names of my great grand father from both my parents, but unfortunately not earlier than that. Is there absolutely no way to find out about my family history? I don’t know. I hope it is not too late to find out.

The whole Tan family during the birthday of my great grand father’s birthday in front of the family house in Bandung

So in the quest of knowing more about my family history, I have been rummaging every old cabinets, wardrobes, boxes that I could find in the house.
Thankfully, my maternal families were so into photography. My grandfather, who was a baker, was also a keen photographer. He has documented series of family events since the 30s. Looking at those photos, where faces from long passed relatives really spring back to life, I could not help feeling a bit nostalgic of about the whole thing. I miss my Grandma a lot. One thing I learned from looking into those photos is that people in those days dressed more elegantly than we do now! All those body hugging dresses, well matched gentlemen shirt, pants and scarves and that impeccable coiffure. And of course those elegant peranakan kebayas and sarongs! Whatever happens to us? There are so many pictures that I want to share with you that I don’t know where to start.
But nevertheless here they are; some of my first selection. More photos are to come!

The second generation of our ancestors that had paved our way in Indonesia; my great grand parents and their siblings

The legendary great grand auntie, Ma Bon; a strong willed matriach who was independent and fierce.

My grand father (the one standing in the middle, 5th from right) during his school time in Singapore.

My grandmother in her teens; this is the only picture of her without a kebaya

Grandma and her cousins, dressed in kebayas, relaxing in the terrace.

The family trip; my mother is the cute little girl on the right side.

My Grandma posing with her cousins, son and helpers infront of the family bakery, Victoria. (It is still running nowadays in Pagar Gunung street, Bandung)

My mom behind the display in the bakery.

The trucks that were used to deliver the baked goods to the military barrack during the colonial time

The bikes that were used to sell and deliver the baked goods around the neighboorhood. (The sign says: Victoria’s Brood)

Though very small in size, The Netherlands has many places of interests. The trick is you have to know where to look for it. To many unsuspecting souls, the country seems to be rather dull and boring. Flat landscape, less than tasty food, and the-oh-so-grey-sky! Though it has indeed many picturesque towns like Amsterdam, Utrecht or Leiden, let’s face it many tourists come here for the psychedelic experience, taking a glimpse of the famous red light district and an occasional visit to the football stadium. It is not a very flattering image of the country, isn’t it?

The country actually has much more to offer. It has a wide array of interesting fine and contemporary art; and design exhibitions that are worthy to be visited. And of course let’s not forget its country sides with its famous polder system which shapes the most important characteristics of the country’s landscape and the social-political value of the Dutch society (the polder model). The country also has a vast agricultural land that produces many types of vegetables, fruit and flowers; commodities that form the biggest part of the national export. (Now, who said Europe has shifted entirely its economy to the service sector?)

I had visited many Dutch cities throughout the years; however, being carless, I have not seen most of its country sides. Even though the country has a well connected railway network, travelling around the country sides could be somewhat tricky as you would need further bus connections that don’t have frequent schedule.

Therefore whenever somebody asks me to join a ride to the country sides, I always gladly go along. My partner in crime is H, a good friend of mine who lives in Amsterdam. The lady who is one of the driving forces of the Indonesian heritage movement, is truly a role model for me, not only because she has an amazing sense of curiosity and discovery, but also because she has so much energy to match her force of life. She would cycle every evening for 20-30 km around Amsterdam just to wind up after work (and yes she has a full time job and a daughter!). She is so spontaneous that she would call me, out of the blue, to take a 200 km scenic drive to the south part of country! I like her exactly for that!
In the last summer months, we’ve been driving around the South Holland to see places we haven’t visited before. The trip has not only changed my mind about the Netherlands but also had opened my eyes to many new things. Here are some stories and photos from our escapade. Thanks also to S and I, our travel companions to Yerseke!

The Zeeland – the Delta Project
The big flood in 1953 (watersnoodramp 1953) had changed the nature of the relationship between the Dutch and the sea. The incident that had taken close to 2000 lives has left a big trauma for the nation. The sea that has given life and employment for the people for centuries has turned into their enemy in that instance. In response to the event, a state of the art storm-surge-barrier, Oosterscheldt, was built in 1967 (completed in 1986), it has been protecting the delta from the flood ever since. The Delta project is a “must” visit, if you happen to be visiting the country.

The storm-surge-barrier, one of the technological prides of the nation.
The scene of the 1953 flood aftermath, where the locals worked together to construct the water barrier.

Veere
The charming town of Veere is located in the former Walcheren Island. This historical Scottish settlement was submerged under water during the 1953 flood. Nowadays, Veere is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the country. With its charming historical buildings, restaurants, and harbour front; it is certainly worth a visit.

The harbour of wealthy Veere
The bridge of Veere
The charming historical building in Veere
An interesting way to advertise fried fish?
Inside of the candy store in Veere, a sweet treat of Old Dutch candies is a must!
Faces of Veere

Yerseke
There are around 80 mussel farms in the whole country, with Waddenzee and Oosterschelde (Zuiderzee) as the most important mussel producing regions. The country produces close to 50 million kilogram of mussels per year. Yerseke is one of the centres of mussel and oyster cultivation in the Oosterschelde area.   The construction of storm surge barrier had badly influenced the mussels industry in the Oosterschelde area, as it implied the closing of large part of the delta area. However through harsh negotiations, certain parts of the area were kept openned, ensuring the mussel farmers the continuity of their livelihood. The mussels are cultivated twice a year from “mussel seeds”.  One kilogram of seeds would yield 3 kilogram of consumable mussels. Every year in August when the mussel season starts, the Yerseke hosts the annual mussel festival where thousands of people flock to this rather sleepy and quiet town. The village surprisingly packed with many good seafood restaurants that are reasonably priced, along its coast line. A visit to the mussels/oyster farm is recommended, followed by a nice lunch or dinner at one of the local restaurants.

The fisherman boat in Yerseke
The mussel and oyster farm
A big pan of steamed mussels and frieten, a “must try” dish in Yerseke
Or you prefer a large platter of fresh seafood, consisted of oyster gratin, mussels, cockles, prawn, lobster and crab.

Kinderdijk
Kinderdijk is one of the protected heritage site in Holland (it is listed as one of the UNESCO protected sites). Just a little bit outside Rotterdam, the site is relatively easy to reach. Here you could find 19 historical windmills that were built in the 18th century, completely intact and well functioning. The perfect way to explore the area is on bike, a ride along the polder would certainly give you the true Dutch country side experience. You would bump in with the locals and tourists alike having picnics, swimming and fishing in the polder.

The cows grazing in the field. The Dutch take their cows and farms seriously!
Facts about the Dutch cows:
There are 4,5 million cows in NL
There are 30 thousand farms across the country
Each farm has an average of 50 cows
2,5 million cows are slaughtered per year for their meat
One cow produces 30 to 40 litres of milk per day
One cow drinks 150 litres of water per day (wow!!)
One cow weighs 700 kg
A cow lives on average 6 to 8 years (provided it is not butchered!)
One Dutch person eats an average of 22kg of meat and 66 litres of milk per year
(Source: KRO, NL)
The windmills in Kinderdijk
The one that stands against the test of time

Another post from Santhi about Singaporean best-loved dish: Chicken Rice. Happy Reading! This one comes with an amazing recipe! (Sari)

WHO’S AFRAID OF SHARING? Lesson from a chicken rice restaurant in Singapore.
Our time has done wonders to culinary world in many ways. It has changed of what it means to be a cook and it has changed of what it means to ‘to be able to cook’.
In the era where celebrity chefs can afford to live in ultra posh mansions that can put to shame their movie stars neighbour’s mansions, being a superstar chef means willingness to share recipes and cooking skills. Cooking demonstrations and cooking shows are something that celebrity chefs need to do to maintain their status. The more tips and recipes their share with public, the more knowledgeable they appear and the more popular they become.

With the wonderous progress of internet, virtually everybody can cook provided they are willing to do some efforts. Good recipes are just a click away. You can compare one recipe to another before you decide which one to follow. For us ordinary cooks, we certainly don’t need to endure the fiery temper of Mr. Ramsay to learn how to make a perfect custard.

A few weeks ago, newspaper readers in Singapore had something to talk at breakfast time on one glorious morning. These readers found out that their popular chicken rice restaurant called Boon Tong Kee (BTK) together with other two popular restaurants bare all their famous dish recipes in the national sunday edition newspaper. Now, I know that due to all progresses that I have mentioned above, this step is not unprecedented as many restaurants noticeably share their recipes to public before. They launch recipe books or conduct cooking classes. Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant, for example, share some of their recipes in a cook book. However, they still keep their finger lickin’ good chicken recipe a secret. Rumour has it that they prepare the special herb mix in portions at several different places in US and the complete recipe is kept in a vault with two separate combination locks. I think what KFC does is understandable, the recipe after all is their weapon to be ahead of the competition right? So what on earth make these restaurants in Singapore share their recipes to public what more in the national newspaper? What made BTK decide to do that?

Let me tell you a bit about BTK and the chicken rice itself. BTK is one of the renown chicken rice restaurants in Singapore. According to the newspaper their annual revenue reaches an impressive amount of 15 million Singapore dollar. They started with selling only chicken rice and then slowly extending their menu to serve a wide array of dishes of prawn, pork and many more. Chicken rice originated in China. More specifically in Hainan island. The dish came to Singapore (and also to some places in Southeast Asia like Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia) along with the diaspora of Hainanese people. The dish consists of rice cooked with chicken broth served with poached chicken, chilli sauce on the side and garnished with slivers of cucumber and sprigs of coriander leaves. Once in Singapore however, the poached chicken was given a Cantonese twist and the rice a Southeast Asian flavour by adding pandan leaves. The chilli sauce was also adopted to suit the palate of chilli loving people of this region.

(Chicken rice is a beloved Singapore dish, some would claim it as a Singapore national dish. Singaporeans are loyal to their chicken rice restaurant just as men are loyal to their football club. Chicken rice is not only loved by locals, but they are also popular among tourists and expats. There are probably hundreds of chicken rice restaurants in Singapore, each boasts their ‘original unique’ recipes and cooking methods, for example by employing a certain technique of selecting their chicken, making their chicken broth or concocting the chilli sauce. For me, the chicken rice from Boon Tong Kee is simply the best because of their fragrant and fluffy rice and their plump but tender to bite chicken).

Certainly our time has also changed the way chefs and restaurant owners think, so it seems. In a small country with a small population where competition in every aspect of life is high, being able to be the best especially in a restaurants business often means keeping one’s recipes secret from your competitors. BTK’s owner, Mr. Thian Boon Hua said he shared his recipe before to some people who then opened their own restaurant. Mr Thian said that if his chicken rice recipe can help someone make good of their lives and earn a decent living, he is more than happy to share it. He added that they became a serious competition, the competitors will keep them on their toes and motivate them to improve. A very noble cause indeed….

For us ordinary or aspiring cooks, the unveiling of this famous chicken rice recipe is such an event worth of celebration. I have tried to replicate this dish for several times, but something is always not quite right. After studying the recipe thoroughly, I see why I can’t get the chilli sauce right! What an eye popping way of doing it!
So I’m sharing this happy news to Cookaloca readers and friends with a big thank you to Mr. Thian.

The ingredients for chicken rice are available everywhere, it’s worth to try. If you are not too crazy of using MSG like I do, simply ommit the stuff from the recipe.

Here is the recipe as quoted from The Strait Times, The Sunday Times (September 27 2010)
Cantonese poached chicken
Serves five
Ingredients
1 whole chicken weighing 1.6kg to 1.8 kg
20g salt
20g old ginger, smashed
3 tsp shallot oil, drained from frying
Shallots with oil
3 tbs soya sauce
3 tbs water
15 g sugar
1 tsp sesame oil

Method
Place chicken in a pot, pour enough water to cover the bird. Remove the chicken and bring the water to a boil.
Add salt and ginger to the boiling water. Bring to a boil again.
Hold the chicken by the neck, slowly immerse then lift it from the boiling water. Repeat five times.
Place it in the pot, cover and turn off the heat. Allow it to cook for about 45 minutes.
Remove the chicken and rinse under cold tap water for a few minutes until the inside is no longer too hot to touch.
Immerse the chicken in an ice bath and set aside for about 10 minutes or until it is cooled.
Cut it up into serving sizes.
Drizzle shallot oil over.
Dissolve the sugar in the water then mix in soya sauce. Pour this mixture over the chicken before drizzling sesame oil over it.

Hainanese flavoured rice
Serves five
Ingredients
700g Thai fragrant white rice
60g chicken fat, available from wet market poultry stalls.
40g old ginger
40g shallots
20g garlic
900ml chicken stock
7g MSG (optional)
5g chicken essence powder
3g sugar
10g salt
3 pandan leaves, tied into a knot

Method
Rinse rice, drain and set aside for 30 minutes before use.
Blend ginger, shallots and garlic to a smooth paste.
To a heated wok, stir fry the blended paste with chicken fat till fragrant.
Add the rice and stir fry until well mixed. Transfer to an electric rice cooker. Turn the rice cooker on.
Add chicken stock, MSG, chicken essence powder, sugar and salt. Stir continuously until enough moisture has evaporated and the rice is no longer cover with stock.
Add pandan leaves, close the cooker lid and allow the rice to cook.
Wait five minutes after the cooker has automatically switched off when the rice has cooked, before turning on the cooker again. Re-heating the rice ensures that it is dry and fragrant.

Chilli sauce
Serves five
Ingredients
60g fresh red chilli
30g chilli padi
10g dried red chilli, soaked till soft then drained
10g salt
15g ginger
10g shallots
7g garlic
4g MSG
4g chicken essence powder
5g sugar
3ml vinegar
2ml sesame oil
10ml cooking oil
5ml lime juice

Method
Scald fresh red chilli and chilli padi briefly.
Blend fresh red chilli, dried red chilli and chilli padi until a smooth paste form.
Place the chilli paste in a jar, mix well with salt and cover. Keep the jar in a cool dark place for between 10 and 15 days. Mould may form naturally as part of fermentation process.
Blend ginger, shallots and garlic to form a smooth paste.
Remove the layer of mould from the chilli paste and pour the remaining fermented paste into a pot.
Add the ginger-shallots-garlic paste, MSG and chicken essence powder, sugar, vinegar, sesame oil and cooking oil. Bring the mixture to a gentle simmer over low heat, stirring regularly to prevent the paste from burning.
Turn off the heat when the mixture reaches about 90 deg C and leave to cool before adding lime juice. Mix well. If the paste is too thick, dilute with a little chicken stock.

Cookaloca welcomes Santhi Tjio, our first ever guest writer who happens to be my twin sister (see a photo of us here)! She is a cultural historian, anthropologist and architect (and yes, just like me she is not content being either ‘this’ or ‘that’, I guess it runs in the family!). She currently lives in Singapore with her family. And you guess it right! she is the main reason why I visit Singapore every now and then. And just like me, she has a deep passion for gastronomy, well more on the eating part than the cooking part though. She’s been itching to contribute an article to this blog for a long time, but her activities have not allowed her to do so (until now), which is really a pity as she always has interesting thoughts about culture clash in the dining table and gastronomy in general. And now finally, we got to read some of her view points. Here is what she thinks about our way of eating as opposed to the western ones.  Happy reading !(Sari)

Being an Indonesian, a country that is often perceived as exotic by some, I am often asked if I normally eat with chopsticks at home. Well, to answer the question once and for all, nowadays we eat with spoon and fork. We place the spoon at our right hands and the fork on our left. We use the spoon to scoop up the food to our mouth and also to cut the food. We use the fork to shove our food to the spoon. However, Indonesians do not always eat with spoons and forks. Traditionally, people eat with their hands as many Asian people do like the Indians, Pinoys, Thais, Cambodians and many others. Nowadays, some people do still eat with their hands but city people noticeably have abandoned this way of eating except when they are eating a certain kind of dishes which are considered to be more enjoyable when eaten with hands, like the Sundanese food or Padang food for example. When eating with hands, most people refrain to use their left hand which is traditionally considered as unclean and reserved for toilet activity.

How the Indonesian use their hands when eating is not the same in every region. While generally, people only use one hand when they are eating; there are different techniques that can be used when doing so. The Javanese, for example, would use the tips of their finger to form a bite-sized portion before bringing the food to the mouth. Sumatran people would use their fingers and palm all together to do the job before bringing the food to their mouth. How the Sumatrans do it, I suppose, is quite similar with the ways the Pinoys and Singaporean Malays handle their food.

Many people who are not familiar with the tradition of eating with hands would be squeamish to eat in such way. But let’s not to forget that in places where eating with hands are the norm, washing one’s hands before eating is a must. In many restaurants in Indonesia which serve traditional Indonesian dishes, we would find a small enamel or aluminium bowl filled with water with a lime wedge prepared next to our plates. The idea is to use it before and after eating. Before eating, the water will wash away dirt from our hands. After eating, the lime will wash away the grime from our fingers while giving them a refreshing scent. In some Malay restaurants in Singapore, we will find that such practise is also observed while using different version of hand washing utensils.

Living in a globalised world, our ability to adopt many different culture practices and our knowledge to other cultures becomes proves of our ‘cultured’ selves. In the food department, we learn to eat many different kinds of cuisines with many different kinds of cutleries. More and more people are being at ease eating with chopsticks when they are at a Chinese or Japanese restaurant. More non European people learn to eat well with knives and forks when they are in European restaurants. More and more non European people know their snail tongs to their claw crackers. More Western people learn to eat rice with spoons and forks when they are in Southeast Asian countries (although many of them tend to place the spoon in their left hands and the fork on their rights). I often wonder however why not so many people are willing to eat with their hands when they are in situations where doing so is acceptable and even encouraged. Eating with hands for some reasons are deemed to be uncultured and primal. Why some table manners are considered to be more mannered than the others’?

I am urging you to try eating with hands for once in a while, of course I’m not recommending you to try it when you are in a posh Michelin starred restaurants while trying to impress a date. But please, do have a try and judge honestly. You will find that eating with hands gracefully require a skill of more than just stuffing your food in your mouth. Most importantly you will find it enjoyable. But please don’t forget to wash your hands first…
Photo credit: Santhi

I just got back from the Rhine Valley, Germany, for the wedding of cousin E (yes, the one from the Sicilian trip). Cousin E and S decided to get married after several years of dating, and I could not be happier for them, these two  beautiful people really deserves one another. And especially because they could have not picked a better location for the wedding, the Schloss Reinhartshausen, a charming castle/hotel in the heart of Rheingau, Germany’s most important wine growing region that stretches along the Rhine river from Bingen to Mainz. The area that receives more than average sunshine annually compared to other wine growing areas, is famous for its quality Riesling, Spatsburgunder, Gewurztraminer and Silvaner wine. Being a German-wine fan (and a good cousin) I was so thrilled when I received the invitation.

The trip was also happy distraction for me, in the past few months I have been experiencing a rather difficult life changing period. Though it was really hard in the beginning, I soon discovered that it was my chance to shed all the emotional burdens and the negative energies; I was given a second chance to start all over again; on my own and on my own term. The experience has been extremely exhausting. So the idea of combining a wedding, wine tastings and spa-hopping (in the neighboring Wiesbaden, see here and here) in one trip was just exactly the thing that I needed! So I packed my bag eagerly, bringing my dancing and tracking shoes, and hopped on to the high speed train to Germany, and just rode along with it; passed the border of Netherlands along the river Rhine to the wonderful wine country; and discover whatever it has to offer.

September is actually the best period to visit the region; it is the harvest period, the grapes are ripe, beautiful and plump, and ready to be harvested. If you also time your trip accordingly, you could also visit of the region’s many wine festivals. As for the wedding it is quite another story, being the last days of the summer, a grey and gloomy D-day was expected, cousin E was nervous about the weather, but the day turned out to be so spectacularly beautiful and warm. The sky was cloudless and blue. It was beyond everybody’s wildest expectation. The generous burst of sunshine of course did not fail to lift up everybody’s mood. I saw smiles on everybody’s face. Everybody was standing outside the Schloss in their summer dresses; we were sipping cold sekt (German sparkling wine) and white wines, and nibbling on some carefully prepared hors d’oeuvres! Imagine that, on the last days of September! I even came back with sun-kissed arms and cheeks.
I would like to share some pictures from the trip to you all, hope you could in a way also feel the magic, the joy and the happiness! I have to thank again cousin E and S for the lovely wedding!
The deeply moving wedding mass at the St. Markus church in the village of Erbach-Etville

Shortly after the mass, we gathered outside to welcome the newly wedded couple. Look at the cloudless blue sky!

The beautiful wedding dress and flower bouquet

Cousin E during the cocktail party at the back garden of the Schloss.

Beautiful cousin E making the toast

The tasty hors d’oeuvre:  a piece of baguette with black olive paste, marinated baby sardine and deep fried rucolla

The bride getting ready to throw away her flower bouquet. Oh no, I don’t want any of those again!

The sumptuous but intimate 4 course dinner for 50 guests at the cellar of the castle

The main course: Beef steak with Merlot sauce, flushed down by a good glass of Spatsburgunder wine

The happy sun-drenched grapes

A relaxing walk along the vineyard, the perfect activity for the day after.  When you could take no more of the fermented version, a view and nibble of the fresh ones certainly would not hurt you!

Seems like a déjà-vu? Well, you are partly right! This recipe is rather similar to my previous sole fish recipe. It is nevertheless not the same recipe!
Instead of sole, this time I used Pangasius or cat fish which has firmer and chunkier flesh than sole. It is certainly more filling and substantial in flavour. This fish has a hint of earthiness which is characteristic to many fresh water fish.

Instead of using the usual semolina flour, I used polenta as the coating which gives a thicker and crunchier coat. For the sauce I combined tomato with caper to give an extra depth of flavour. I also added a pinch of chilli flakes to make it spicier. This tangy sauce makes it a perfect companion to the robust Pangasius fillet.  Happy cooking!

Ingredients (for two persons)
2 Pangasius fillets
1 cup of polenta flour
1 teaspoon of ginger powder
1 teaspoon of garlic powder
1 teaspoon of cayenne pepper
A pinch of black pepper
Salt to taste
Half a cup of olive oil to fry

For the sauce
2 large tomatoes, cubed
8 capers, halved
2 table spoon of white wine vinegar
2 table spoon of olive oil
A pinch of sugar
Salt to taste

Method
Mix the polenta and dried herbs
Coat the fish evenly with the polenta mix
Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan
Fry the fish on both sides on medium heat until the coating is golden and crunchy
Serve with the sauce.

For making the sauce:
Heat the olive oil in a sauce pan
Add the tomatoes, capers, white wine vinegar, sugar and salt
Simmer for 8-10 minutes on low heat until it gets pulpy
Check the seasoning.