Food & Drink

FOOD

The Sundanese like to say, "If you have not eaten rice, then you have not eaten." Rice is prepared in hundreds of different ways. However, it is simple boiled rice that serves as the centerpiece of all meals. Side dishes of vegetables, fish, or meat are added to provide variety. These side dishes are spiced with any combination of garlic, galingale (a plant of the ginger family), turmeric, coriander, ginger, and lemon grass. Usually the food itself is not too spicy, but it is served with a very hot sauce made by grinding chili peppers and garlic together.
On the coast, saltwater fish are common; in the mountains, fish tend to be either pond-raised carp or goldfish. The Sundanese, being Muslim, do not eat pork. They eat the meat of goats, sheep, water buffalo, and cows. Preferred fowl include chickens, ducks, geese, and pigeons. A well-known Sundanese dish is lalapan, which consists only of raw vegetables, such as papaya leaves, cucumber, eggplant, and bitter melon. It is said to be the only Indonesian dish that features raw vegetables. Thus it often gives rise to jokes comparing Sundanese people to goats.
Batagor

Ingredients

2 blocks of Tahu, (beancurd, tofu) cut into 8
125 g peeled baby prawns, chopped
175 g spanish mackerel, chopped
1 Egg
50 g tapioca flour
2 Cloves of Garlic, crushed
2 stalks of eschalots, chopped fine
Salt
Ingredients for the batter:
150 g plain flour
50 g Rice Flour
1 Egg
350 ml water
Pinch of salt

Peanut sauce
250 g fried peanuts, crushed
Chillies, crushed
Salt
2 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoons of lemon juice
450 ml water
For Serving:
Kecap manis (sweet soy sauce)
Lemon or lime wedges

Directions

1. Mix the tahu, prawns, fish, egg, tapioca flour, garlic, eschalots and salt until well combined
2. To make the dough: Beat the egg, salt, plain flour and rice flour until smooth, add the water little by little until all is mixed thoroughly
3. Take a block of tahu and spread some of the prawn and fish mixture on the top.
4. Dip the tahu into the batter.
5. Deep fry until brown and crunchy. Drain on some kitchen paper.
6. Make the peanut sauce : Mix all of the sauce ingredients and cook on medium heat. Stir regularly while cooking when cooked take of the stove
7. Serve the tahu with some of the peanut sauce poured over it, a slice of lemon or lime and Kecap manis.