TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Four great Indonesian cookbooks for your kitchen shelf
Many Indonesian dishes are not exactly a walk in the park to prepare, but you can start by checking out these English-language cookbooks
Change text size
Gift Premium Articles
to Anyone
Share the best of The Jakarta Post with friends, family, or colleagues. As a subscriber, you can gift 3 to 5 articles each month that anyone can read—no subscription needed!
Learning to cook from a cookbook is one of the easiest ways to master the skill. (Shutterstock/-)
B
lessed with rich natural resources and a myriad of cultures, Indonesia is home to a vast number of traditional cuisines that also come in different flavors and varieties. Thus, those interested in cooking Indonesian dishes may find the task quite challenging, but you can start by checking out these cookbooks available in English.
The Little Indonesian Cookbook
Author: Heinz Von Holzen
Written by Heinz Von Holzen, a chef who specializes in Balinese food, this book has a total of 42 Indonesian dish recipes. Some of the recipes included inside are soto ayam (chicken noodle soup), otak-otak (minced fish), rendang (beef simmered in coconut milk and spices) and sayur lodeh (vegetables stewed in coconut cream). The book also comes with headnotes intended to make the food-making process easier.
(Read also: Must-try local foods served with cheese)
The Best of Indonesian Desserts
Author: Yasa Boga
Anyone looking for authentic Indonesian dessert recipes shouldn’t go past this book. Readers will find recipes ranging from lemper ayam (stuffed chicken rolls) and agar-agar gula melaka (palm sugar jelly) to durian tarts, all written by Yasa Boga, a group of career women-turned homemakers with years of experience in the culinary world.
Indonesian-Chinese Cooking
Author: Cherry Hadibroto
Cherry Hadibroto, a member and initiator of Yasa Boga, shares her knowledge on Indonesian-Chinese or China Peranakan foods in this book. From foods that are served in restaurants and food stalls, to dishes that are only served in households, Cherry wrote the recipes she is familiar with as a Javanese-Chinese herself. Some of the dishes included are sup kimlo (meatball, mushroom, glass noodles and vegetable soup) and cap cay (Indonesian-Chinese style stir-fried vegetables).
(Read also: The best gado-gado eateries in Jakarta)
Indonesian Cooking: Satays, Sambals and More
Author: by Dina Yuen
With a desire to make an easy guide that anyone could follow in mind, Dina Yuen wrote this recipe book based on her experience in Jakarta. The Chinese-Russian chef and entrepreneur has learned about Indonesian culinary traditions since moving to Jakarta at the age of 12. Some of the recipes in the book are satay, gado-gado (steamed vegetables with peanut dressing), oxtail soup, and terong balado (eggplant sambal) recipe. (kes)
