Page 20 - EBOOK_81 Homestyle Recipes With The True Taste Of Indonesia

desired thickness without worrying about raw meat and its juices flying all over the place.

Metal Ladle A metal ladle with a long handle is necessary to work with soups and certain noodle dishes.
Purchase one that’s a good size with a sturdy handle, preferably one that is metal throughout or those with an
outside layer of wood on the handle. Plastic ladles are never used in Indonesian cooking unless for serving desserts
or cold dishes, and wooden ladles can often impart a strange flavor to the dish so should be avoided as well.

Mortar and Pestle (Cobek or Ulek) A traditional Indonesian mortar and pestle is one of the greatest kitchen
tools of all time. Unlike those from other countries, Indonesia’s version is flatter and more open on top, like a plate
with rounded edges rather than an enclosed bowl-like contraption. The pestle is also shaped differently, having a
distinctive curvature for ease of grip allowing for Indonesia’s unique technique of grinding. Made of basalt stone, the
Indonesian mortar and pestle allows herbs and spices to have optimum surface area contact with the rough stone
that produces the delicious and spicy sambals with their smooth texture. Typically heavier than their Thai or Mexican
counterparts, the Indonesian mortar and pestle is more readily available in Western regions in recent years. These
should never be washed with soap of any kind but rather rinsed thoroughly with warm water and allowed to
completely air dry before storing.

Rice Cooker One of the easiest tools to use in an Indonesian kitchen is a good quality rice cooker. I can’t
imagine any modern day kitchen without one; it saves on time, cleanup, and effort while cooking perfect, fluffy rice.
You should follow the general instructions of your particular rice cooker though my personal rule of thumb for
perfect white rice is 2 parts water to 1 part uncooked rice. These days you can find all types of rice cookers with
price tags ranging from as low as $15 to as high as several hundred dollars. For the average home kitchen a rice
cooker somewhere in the middle range does just fine. It does pay in the long run to invest in at least a decent rice
cooker rather than the cheapest one because this is a tool that should last you for years. The great thing about