The Dutch colonised Indonesia and occupied this volatile segment of the Pacific Ring of Fire for 300 years. All in the name of spice, however one could argue that establishing a strong military and political base in Asia could also have been a strong motivation for embarking on such a dangerous journey for some nutmeg and cloves....
Nevertheless, the Dutch controlled the Spice Route of the world and set up base in Batavia (today Jakarta) on the island of Java. It made them very wealthy, and Amsterdam overtook Venice as the richest capital in Europe. Indonesia is the world's largest archipelago with over 18,000 islands and hundreds of bubbling volcanoes. The fertile valleys of deep, rich, layered volcanic ash and the equatorial climate allow for the bountiful production of food. It is often said that the soil is so nutrient-rich, that even the picket fence and the rattan lawn chairs sprout and grow.
Capitalising on these perfect cultivation conditions, the Dutch (struggling to cope without a decent cup of coffee in the morning) introduced Arabica coffee beans from Yemen to Indonesia and covered the island of Java with coffee, sugar and tea plantations. To protect their coffee industry, the Dutch legislated the kultuurstelsel (culture system) in 1830, which prohibited the natives from drinking coffee (as it would corrupt their culture which up until then was coffee free, of course). The curious plantation workers, desperate to get a taste of this aromatic, coveted drink, observed that the civets, raiding the plantations for the coffee berry, only ate the fleshy pulp of the fruit, and left the seeds undigested in their droppings. So they collected the droppings, cleaned them, roasted and ground the beans to make their own brew. That was the birth of Kopi Luwak, the exotic and expensive coffee made form coffee beans egested by the Asian Palm Civet. If the beans are "wild sourced", they sell for over $700/kg, whereas "caged sourced" beans trade for around $100/kg. And in terms of taste? The general consensus within the industry is that it just tastes bad! This is definitely a case where you pay for the story, not the quality.
Over the centuries, many seafaring nations arrived in Indonesia and left behind profound cultural, religious and culinary influences. The Spanish brought chilies and peanuts from Mexico, the Chinese brought ginger and garlic, the Indians brought turmeric, cinnamon and coriander, the Dutch planted cauliflower, beans and carrots, and the Arabs brought the Muslim faith. Arab traders are responsible for the rooting of Islam in Indonesia, and today it is the most populous Muslim nation in the world.
No-one can compete with Indonesia when it comes to indigenous fruit: the hairy Rambutan, the fragrant Mangosteen, the star shaped Carambola and the unusual Durian (which looks like an oversized hand-grenade but detonates like a stink-bomb....No airline in the world will serve it, because of its unbearable smell. Indonesia has many regional cuisines, shaped by the different ethnic groups on the islands, but they all share 5 main cooking methods: 1) Goreng / frying, 2) Panggang/grilling, 3) Tumis/ stir frying, 4) Rebus/ boiling and 5) Kukus/ steaming. Rice is central to Indonesian culture ( they even have a Rice Goddess - Dewi Sri ), and is the staple for all classes. There is nasi uduk (rice cooked in coconut milk), nasi kuning (rice cooked in coconut milk with turmeric, or geelrijs), nasi ketupat (steamed rice in coconut fronds) and lontong (rice steamed in banana leaves). Nasi Goreng is considered to be Indonesia's national dish, and that is exactly what I felt like eating last night.
The four of us visited the authentic Indonesian restaurant Jakarta in the suburb New Farm. Situated on a large bend of the Brisbane River, the New Farm peninsula was originally a productive farming area (where convicts worked the land), a Marine Base in WWII, and a wharf, store and auction site for the wool clip form all over Queensland. Located 2km south-east of the city, New Farm is the most densely populated suburb in Brisbane. In the 1980's it had a drug-addled reputation, with a low-rent, grungy culture. Since then, gentrification kicked in, together with "infill development", and today it is one of the trendiest residential hotspots in the city.
Jakarta is sandwiched between an Indian and a Chinese Restaurant on busy Brunswick Street. The décor is distinctly Indonesian, and so is the music. The tables are covered with original cotton Batik tablecloths from Indonesia and set with a fork for the left and spoon for the right hand. But the stand-out feature of the restaurant is the food (as it should be). All our meals were truly delicious ( Keith rates Jakarta in our top 10...which he insists we re-visit once the 52 weeks are over). We shared a variety of entrees ( lumpia sayur/pangsit goreng/bakwan udang and perkedel kentang). I then ordered the Nasi Goreng Istimewa, which was textbook perfect; Keith devoured his Gulai Kambing - a traditional Indonesian style lamb curry which he raved about; Nielen had the Kari Ayam (chicken curry), and Phil enjoyed his Ikan Bumbu Bali - fish fillets in a Balinese sauce. In Indonesian cuisine, chili is hardly ever added to the dish, but rather served on the side as a sambal. This way you can fire up your food to personal preference. All the dishes were served with rice. They also offer the Dutch-Indonesian fusion Rijstafel as a banquet, which illustrates the colonial opulence and diversity of Indonesian cuisine.
We discussed some fascinating facts while relishing the unique flavours of Indonesia: Most Indonesian men smoke, Phil told us, but 90% smoke kreteks, which are clove spiced tobacco cigarettes. The creator of kreteks, Haji Jamhari suffered serious chest pains, and was rubbing clove oil on his chest to relieve the pain. He sought deeper relief, so in his wisdom, he added dried clove buds to his cigarette to inhale the curative magic of the spice. The story goes that his chest pain disappeared immediately.....
We also discussed the ill-fated maiden voyage of the VOC ship Batavia (1629) that ran aground on the Abrolhos Islands off the West Coast of Australia and the ensuing events which involved the extremes of human behaviour, both evil and heroic. If you are interested in history, this is a story well worth researching.
Indonesia is the 4th most populated country in the world (after China, India and the USA), with 230 million people. Migration to Australia started in the 1700's when seafarers traded sea cucumbers with the Aboriginals. In the 1800's many Indonesians came pearl-hunting off our west coast, or sought employment on the sugarcane plantations in north Queensland. In 1942, huge numbers fled the Japanese occupation as refugees, and in 1950 after independence, over 10,000 residents of the former Dutch colony with Dutch citizenship migrated to Australia. Today nearly 120,000 Indonesians call Australia home.
And now the time has come for us to celebrate our own......in joyful strains then let us sing: Advance Australia Fair ( in this case Australian Fare...).
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