Act One: Recipes for Resilience
The recipes that made us and stayed with us

Focus on staple meals/bases that are prepared as a ritual (or recipes that sustain a household for a period of time e.g. broths, and pastes.)

Ingredients:
- 1kg pork meat + the blood for 1kg of meat
- 10 seeds of a rawit pepper
- 5 red onion cloves
- 3 cloves of garlic
- Pepper and coriander
- Ginger as big as two thumbs
- 4 stalks of lemon grass
- 5 lime leaves
- 2 tbs whole andaliman

Preparing the bumbu:
- bumbu 1: Mortar the rawit seeds, red union, garlic and coriander
- bumbu 2: Mortar the andaliman (do not mix with other spices)

Instructions
1. Heat sufficient oil in a wok pan and fry bumbu 1 when the oil is heated
2. Immediately add in the lemon juice and lime leaves and stir until fragrant. Add the pork meat (cut into smaller cubes) and stir with the bumbu
3. Mix the pork blood of a litre meat with the juice of half a lemon and add in bumbu 2 (andaliman).
4. Let it cook for a while until the meat has absorbed most of the blood.
5. Finally, add salt to taste. Done!

a Batak recipe made for special occasions, such as weddings.

Act Two: Adaptation
Lessons in longing

Focus on recipes that have evolved over time, due to reinterpretation throughout generations or mandated by need-improvisation as it relates to ingredients, supplies, or external factors.

a colonial recipe from the last ethnic group formed in Jakarta, the Betawi. This dish was reserved for the privileged class in colonial times but is now sold by street vendors.

Ingredients (for around 5 people)
- 5 eggs
- 100 g white sticky rice (soaked overnight, water reserved)
- 1 red chili (finely diced)
- 1 shallot (chopped)
- ¼ cup shredded coconut
- 2 tbsp ebi
- 1 tbsp palm sugar
- 5 coriander leaves
- 1 tsp sour cream
- vegetable oil

Instructions
1. In a small pan on medium heat, add 2 tbsp vegetable oil. When hot, add the sticky rice along with the reserved water, spreading out the rice. Cover until cooked.
2. In a large bowl, crack eggs. Add in the chili, shallots, shredded coconut (reserving 1 tsp for garnish), ebi and palm sugar. Whisk well with a whisk or fork.
3. Uncover the pan. The rice should now be quite dry. Pour in the egg mixture. Allow it to cook for 1 minute, then flip the egg, and cook for another 1 minute.
4. Dry fry and pound dried shrimps and desiccated coconut. Garnish and done!

a Madurese version of the typical Indonesian soto soup. As the leading centre of salt production in Indonesia, Madurese dishes are often saltier than other East Javanese dishes.

Ingredients
- 1 medium chicken, parted in 4 pieces
- 1 litre water
- 7 cloves of garlic, pealed and chopped
- 3cm jahe, pealed and chopped
- 3cm kunyit, pealed and chopped
- 4 kemiri nuts, chopped
- 1ts white pepper
- 2 stems sereh
- 4 daun jeruk
- 1 medium kentang, pealed and chopped in small cubes
- 2 boiled eggs
- 100g taugé
- 50g vermicelli noodles, boiled
- 1 daun bawang
- Handful seledri
- 1 jeruk parted in 4

Instructions
1. Put the potato cubes in a bowl and fill with water. Set aside.
2. Mortar the garlic, jahe, kunyit and kemiri nuts into a fine paste.
3. In a large pot, boil water and add the chicken.
4. In another skillet, fry the bumbu in sufficient oil for around 4 minutes.
5. Add the fried bumbu to the pot with the chicken. Add the sereh, daun jeruk, salt and white pepper. Cover the pot and let cook for 30 minutes on medium heat.
6. Remove the chicken from the pot and fry the chicken in another skillet. Then, pull the chiecken apart.
7. Fry the potato golden brown in sufficient oil.
8. Grab a bowl and add the noodles, taugé, fried chicken and fried potato. Add a boiled egg and pour the chicken broth into the bowl. Done!

Act Three: Preservation
Recipes of survival and grief

Focus on stories of grief and preservation, ensuring the recipes outlive them, e.g. losing a family member and attempting to kindle their spirit or energy via food.

a recipe representing my late father. Indonesian ingredients are used while a Dutch method is used.

Ingredients
- 100g tepung terigu (bloem)
- ¼tsp ground vanilla
- 3 split telur (eggs)
- 25dl susu (melk)
- 50g kismis (rozijnen)
- 400g kacang kenari (kenari noten)
- 2 kelapa muda (jonge kokosnoot)
- 100g gula pasir (kristalsuiker)
- 2tbsp mentega (boter)

Preperation
- Sieve the flour with the ground vanilla. Separate the eggs and melt the butter. Roast the kenari nuts and cut them into small chunks. Soak the sultanas in water. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees, this is also the baking temperature.

Instructions
1. Cut the coconut meat into small pieces. Beat the egg whites until you can draw soft peaks.
2. Beat the egg yolks until the sugar has dissolved. Alternately, fold in the flour (with vanilla sugar) and milk.
3. Add the kenari nuts and kismis, but keep some for the garnish.
4. Mix the butter into the flour mixture and finally spoon in the egg white. Keep the mixture light, so do not beat or stir!
- Spoon the mixture into a low, rectangular cake tin and brush the top with some butter. Garnish the top with the remaining sultanas and nuts.
- Bake the klappertaart cake for 30-45 minutes. Done!

- Tekokak
- Santen
- Ikan teri rice
- Kecombrang
- Sereh
- Daun ubi (young cassava leaves)

Bumbu
- Lengkuas
- Bawang merah
- Jahe
- Cabe merah
- Bawang putih

Instructions
1. Crush the young cassava leaves into small pieces. Set aside.
2. In a large pan, heat the oil and fry the bumbu, sereh, lengkuas and kecombrang until fragrant.
3. Add coconut milk, mashed daun ubi (cassava leaves), tekokak, salt and sugar and stir well. Cook while pouring until the spices are absorbed. Remove from the heat, and serve with the ikan teri rice. Done!

a Batak recipe that reminds me so much of my mom. In Indonesia this dish is made with young cassava leaves. However, in the Netherlands, cassava leaves are hard to get so my mom would make this dish with Dutch kale.

Ingredients
- Batang daun bawang
- Salam
- Buah labu siam (chayote)
- Sereh
- Lengkuas
- Daun jeruk
- Santen
- Mie

Bumbu
- Kunyut
- Bawang meeah
- Jahe
- Andaliman
- Cabe
- Bawang putih

Instructions
1. Boil the noodles for approximately 10 minutes. Remove and drain.
2. Sauté the bumbu, sereh, salam leaves and jeruk leaves. Pour in coconut milk while stirring the spices.
3. Add the chayote and stir well. Add salt and pepper to taste: correct the flavour. Just before stirring, add the spring onion. Place the noodle sticks on a plate, and pour enough sauce. Serve with boiled egg. Done!

a Batak recipe which reminds me of childhood adventures in Samosir.