culinary

How I Cope With My HomeSick

March 25, 2018


Since move to Australia at April 2017, actually I didn't feel any homesick attack because the lifestyle differences between Australia and Indonesia. It probably because the Australian lifestyle, people, until language triggered me to be survive here.

I moved a lot since I was at Indonesia. So, with moving into this really brand new place, I'm hoping I could express my self freely.

But, sometimes, as someone that born and grew in Indonesia, I missed that country. Especially the food. When I was at Indonesia, I used to see and ate three meal in a day with rice, and in Australia, sometimes it took more than a week to eat rice, LOL.

So, my boyfriend agree to give one day for me to serve Indonesian food for our meal. And we agreed that we will have Indonesian meal every dinner at Sunday.

But, sometimes, even though I served Indonesian meal for dinner every Sunday, I also made Indonesian snack for my boyfriend for his afternoon snack. Since I still don't get job yet, and I have lots of time to do at home, so I could see why not.

Lots of things that I have to do for preparing Indonesian meal, even though it's only once every week. But, it gave you positive feed back to, beside makes you feel comfortable in the new places.

Preparing Indonesian food it's not the easy thing ( I thing). Because the spices is not as easy and as cheap Italian or Mexican food here. Yes, since Asian food is not a big thing like European food, so it is difficult to gather the spices

Also Read: Place to Go When I Miss Indonesian Food

I Become More Familiar With Kitchen

I wasn't a person that not really understand about kitchen thing, but also someone that really good at cooking. I never thought that kitchen was a great place to hang out back in Indonesia. Especially, sometimes it became a privilege place for my mother, LOL. I tried to help her but it became chaos, so I prefer didn't stepped at the kitchen.

But, since in Aussie is need more effort to find Indonesian restaurant ( I live at the suburb while Indonesian restaurant mostly at the CBD), so my chance is making it by my self. Since I have to make all the foods by myself, I have to be familiar with all the spices and all the kitchen utensils.

I totally doesn't matter if you women, and girls decided not really into cooking. Because I think it's all the choice. And man cooking? I can see why not. Even my boyfriend sometimes cook or making a coffee for me. He think it is something normal if men also able to do something at kitchen.

Making Me More Familiar With Indonesian Food

I never tried some Indonesian snacks before move to Aussie. For example, I never tried cilok, cimol, or sempol. But since I moved to Aussie, I able to taste it, not to mention lots of culinary from other places in Indonesia. Even thought I still make a simple snacks, but hey, I made it.
cimol Bandung homemade

tahu (tofu) pletok & fried siomay, also home made
Why I became more familiar with Indonesian food? Because you couldn't just made the same food every week, right?

Nowadays is so easy to find lots of recipe for Indonesian culinary. Starting from the authentic one until the modified one. So, I couldn't find any difficulty to find something to cook every week. 

Making Me Creative

There were times for me to be really creative. For example when the spices that I need are not at the spice isle at the supermarket, I should know what the exchange for that.
have to be familiar and lots of mix and match too
I experienced that it still difficult to find galangal and turmeric. Sometimes if you are lucky, you will see it at the onion isle at Coles or Woolworth. If not, you will find it in powder form. As long as it didn't kill the taste, I could say any mix and match for the spices will be allright.

And, my boyfriend not always want to eat Indonesian meal with rice. And if he want with rice, usually he want it not just plain white rice. So, yeah, I also need to be creative for served rice.

Introducing Indonesia Trough Food

It always not an easy tasks for me to introducing my country. I need to be really careful not too overproud. I don't wan to be be blunder because too over proud. Telling something based on fact and datas is not as easy as it seems.

One of my facebook's friend made a blunder when she tried to "lecture" me for being proud as Indonesian. Instead lecturing me, she generalized something unnecessary like compared Indonesia and Aussie. Well, you couldn't do that when your purpose is to introducing something.

For me, the easiest way is by culinary. Because like old saying in Indonesia, "from stomach you start fall in love."

So beside treating my homesick, Indonesian food also helping me introducing Indonesia too.

Also Read: My Boyfriend's Parent Visit

Doesn't Have A Complicated One

All of Indonesian are agree that Rendang is the most delicious food in the world. But sometimes I found it's hard to cook Rendang from zero. Because it is complicated, lots of spices that really hard to find here, or sometimes it is expensive.

Simple and Quick as the First Step

"Where should I start if I want to try something like you do?"
Try to make something simple first. A simple snack that it seems easy to find at your home country, and try to made it at your new country. Like me, I started to made a simple Indonesian snacks first, something that so familiar for me.

Because fritter is easy and simple and I could find it in every corner of the street of Indonesia, so I made that as the first attempt. 
potato doughnut, I made it with following Australian way

instant spices could be a great choice for a newbie 
And, if you starting to made something "heavier" than snack, you could try the instant spice. I did that several times, especially when I decided to made a meal that need lots of spices. 

Not Always Looks Alike the Real One

Since Asia is so well known by eating with rice, and now I am not at the place where rice is not the essential food in every meal, I have to be more creative to serve my Indonesian food. 
Indonesian chicken grilled with sweet soy sauce, mix with peas, corn cub and chips
For example, I made this Indonesian chicken grilled with sweet soy sauce. In Indonesia, they served it with rice and sambal and some fresh vegetables. But in here, I change it to be served with chips and peas & corn.
one of my boyfriend's favorite Gado Gado

Or gado-gado. Gado-gado in Indonesia considered as not the main menu. Mum said because gado-gado have no rice in it (typical Asian), but don't you know that gado-gado can be a salad exchange?

Since it have fresh vegetables in it, also the vegetables fritter, it is enough to be a main meal. Especially when they served it with boiled potato. In my version, I also add grilled chicken, with salt and pepper, or not with it, and boiled egg. The peanut sauce will help it to be delicious.
Indonesian chicken rendang (made from instant spice) and rice
Not always no rice, sometimes I also served it with rice. Like this Rendang I made from instant spices. Since my boyfriend use to eat meal with green vegetables, I mix the rice with peas & corn & paprika powder plus rosemary when I cooked the rice.

The More You Serve it, The More Variation You Have

At the end, I getting used to cook something quick, and know how to use kitchen utensil in a good way. And of course it makes me able to make a creation that made my Indonesian food have lots of variation without leaving its authentication.
nasi goreng jawa (Javanese fried rice) homemade
For example, this fried rice. I made this from zero. Even though I have to called mum first to get the recipe, but I also add some things that match my boyfriend taste.
spinach soup, chicken honey grilled and corn fritter
Or match meal between spinach soup (my boyfriend's favorite too), chicken honey grilled, and corn fritter that failed, plus white rice mix with peas & corn. Simple but since not everyday eating something like that, so it became special. LOL.

Do you know some Indonesian (an Asian) really like spicy food, and Indonesian have lots of variation of sambal? I also introduce it to my boyfriend. At first he didn't really into  Sambal Terasi and Sambal Tomat since the taste is the same and only one HOT. So I tried to introduce him with Sambal Kecap and surprisingly he like it.
Balinese satay lilit & sambal matah with nasi uduk (rice with coconut milk) and scrambled egg
And, recently, I made Sambal Matah a Balinese Sambal complete with Satay Lilit too. Plus I made Nasi Uduk complete with the scrambled egg too. My boyfriend said the rice have different taste, and delicious. Plus the mix between all of it making him want more.
fried chicken with salty egg
I don't know where is the origin of this meal, but it pretty popular in Indonesia
The longest meal I ever made? Salty fried chicken. Around three week in the making. LOL. Well, I need to make the egg salty first for three week, then made the menu. 

I am happy and proud that I could introducing my country to my boyfriend, and I also hope I could do that too to the other family member.

What else I should cook for next weekk? Any Idea?

sharing is caring

You Might Also Like

0 comments

Hi, please write your comment here, but I will delete all the spams...