Spice and Everything Nice!

Summary of my SEA Teacher journey in Indonesia: I ate........I ate so much.

ENAK BANGET!

For me, visiting a country and diving headfirst into its food is the best part of traveling. And Indonesian cuisine? It’s a wild, beautiful, spicy ride. Let me just say, their idea of a "little kick" of chili is more like a full-blown flavor explosion. Luckily, as a lover of spicy food and fried chicken, I felt right at home.Indonesian food is not shy. It is full of big, bold spices. Their idea of "a little spicy" is a serious kick of chili! Good thing I love spicy food.

Our everyday life-savers were the simple things: crispy fried chicken (ayam goreng), tofu (tahu), and rice (nasi). We learned to always say "sedikit pedas" ("a little spicy") when we ordered, just to be safe!

Here are some of my favorite eats:

Beef Satay (Sate Sapi): Amazing. You have to eat it with their bone soup (soto).

Chicken Rendang: A famous curry that is full of flavor.

Nasi Goreng: The classic fried rice. So good.

Ayam Geprek: Fried chicken smashed with super spicy chili sauce. Wow.

Mie ayam: Chicken noodles

Ichan Goreng: Fried Fish

Gorengan: This just means "fried things." They have whole stalls selling fried snacks! I loved the kropek (fried crackers).

I even learned some language through food! Goreng means fried. So kentang goreng is fried potatoes (like fries) and ayam goreng is fried chicken.

Our best friend was the Indomaret and Alfamart convenience stores. We bought water, snacks like mie goreng (fried noodles) and roti (bread), and even used the ATM there.

We cooked Pancit Canton with our Indonesian friends and ate it with bread. They liked our Pinoy combo!

I tried a milk tea that tasted like flowers (jasmine tea) and in Jonggol, I ate tempe (soybean cake) with chocolate drink for breakfast.

The one thing I was too scared to try? Siomay wrapped in ampalaya (bitter gourd). I do not like bitter melon! Maybe next time.

Eating is one of the best ways to know a place. Every bite reminds me of my amazing time in Indonesia. Terima kasih untuk makanannya! (Thank you for the food!)