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'€˜Sambal'€™ gets five-star treatment

Temptation: Veal cheek rendang is served with caramelized shallot rice mash and crystallized tempeh

Yuliasri Perdani (The Jakarta Post)
Jakarta
Thu, May 21, 2015

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'€˜Sambal'€™ gets five-star treatment

T

span class="inline inline-center">Temptation: Veal cheek rendang is served with caramelized shallot rice mash and crystallized tempeh. Courtesy of the Ritz-Carlton Jakarta

Sambal is the very heart and soul of the true Indonesian dining experience '€” an integral part of every daily meals.

It is even common for some people to add a spoon of the chili sauce when enjoying Western cuisine, like steak and pasta '€” a gesture that may be frowned upon by many chefs.

But chef Sean Macdougall begs to differ.

'€œIt is up to everybody,'€ said the executive chef at the Ritz-Carlton Pacific Place in Jakarta.

'€œI think it is nice to have a little bit to accompany it. And I think the great thing about Indonesian sambal is you have amazing flavors from different components, such as terasi [dried shrimp paste], roasted shallots and mango.'€

With the aim of delivering a unique sambal dining experience, chef Macdougall has incorporated Indonesia'€™s all-time favorite piquant relish with western cooking techniques.

In collaboration with Life is Sweet, an event organizer aimed at promoting and developing Indonesian cuisine, he summed up the varieties of sambal in a five-course menu in a recent pop-up dinner at the hotel.

'€œSome say that the traditional sambal dish is not chic enough. Thus, we'€™re offering an exciting, out-of-the-box redefinition of sambal through this dinner,'€ said Michael Soetantyo of Life Is Sweet.

Opening the dinner was a slow prawn confit in turmeric-based bumbu kuning with gandaria sambal and peanut gel. The sambal delivered up a dash of sweet and sour from the gandaria fruit '€” a grape-sized fruit that is related to the mango.

Behind the scenes: Kitchen staff delicately prepare the appetizer, slow prawn confit in turmeric-based bumbu kuning with gandaria sambal soil and peanut gel. Courtesy of the Ritz-Carlton Jakarta
Behind the scenes: Kitchen staff delicately prepare the appetizer, slow prawn confit in turmeric-based bumbu kuning with gandaria sambal soil and peanut gel. Courtesy of the Ritz-Carlton Jakarta

The second dish was agnolotti stuffed with betutu duck stuffing and Bangka Belitung mushroom sauce. Completing the dish were drops of parmesan cheese and liquefied sambal hijau Bali.  

Macdougall toned down the spiciness of the first two sambal '€” in contrast with the original version of tongue-tingling and tear-inducing sambal.

He slowly elevated the heat in the main course, however, '€” baked barramundi in bumbu haut mere with pumpkin cenil and sambal sere tabia.

Originating from Bali, sambal sere tabia delivers harmony with the heat of bird'€™s eye chilies and rich savory flavors of coconut oil and dried shrimp paste.

Macdougall also experimented with the famous spicy Padang rice dish in veal cheek rendang with two-grain rice and crystallized tempeh.

The melt-in-your-mouth veal cheek covered with succulent rendang gravy met its soulmate: sambal lado ijo with ikan teri '€” a coarse green chili sauce with anchovies.

The star of the menu was the dessert '€” mango crème moulée with dehydrated sambal limau, calamansi gel and candied young mango. It was a thrilling surprise that the citric flavor of lime-based sambal went along with the French-style custard and the diced mango.

'€œThe original recipe has terasi but because it is a dessert, we took it out and toned down the chili,'€ Macdougall said.

Throughout the menu, the chef gave a modern presentation to sambal, which is traditionally ground with a mortar and pestle to create a coarse texture.

For the dining experience, he liquefied and dehydrated the sambal and kept the spicy level at medium low to cater to every guest'€™s taste buds.  

Among the guests enjoying the dinner was veteran actress Christine Hakim, who took a bite of a bird'€™s eye chili, placed on the table as decoration, to add more heat to the appetizer.

But judging by the empty plates on the table, and the smiles on the guests'€™ faces as they left, it had been a sumptuous dining experience.

'€œCompliments to the chef,'€ said a guest after finishing the main course.

Yoen Wahyu, a culinary expert from the Indonesian Chefs Association (ICA), said there was ample room for Western-style sambal dishes to grow in the local market, thanks to Indonesians'€™ craving for spicy dishes.  

'€œAt first, we ate many chilies because the plants thrived in our soil. Then, we became addicted to spicy food, which at some point made our taste buds immune to dishes with simple flavors,'€ he said.

'€œIndonesians seek '€˜the kick'€™ of sambal through constant reinventions and flavor combinations.'€

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