Monggo Dhahar: Satay (Sate)

Disclaimer: Indonesia, Java Island, and even East Java are very diverse places. What I describe below is based on my experiences living in Malang, East Java, Indonesia. The same dish is served differently in other cities and regions in Indonesia.

Satay (Sate)

Satay (sate) served with peanut sauce.

The archipelago nation of Indonesia is home to a vast variety of cultural cuisines. One such dish is Satay (sate). Satay is usually chicken, goat, beef, fish, shrimp, oysters, or tofu, on skewers, grilled over a wood or charcoal fire.  Here in Malang it is more common to find satay made from either goat or chicken. Like in other places in East Java it is served with peanut sauce and sliced onions. The peanut sauce can either be slightly bitter or sweet, if it is mixed with sweet soy sauce (kecap manis).  Here it is either served with rice or lontong (compressed rice caked steamed in banana leaves).

The Satay Experience

Satay (sate) cooking on a long grill.

Satay is a very common food here. It can be found almost anywhere, from mobile food carts, to roadside tent restaurants, to more formal sit down restaurants. At many places where you can order satay, they will cook the meat in front of you, on a specially made long grill. There is something very enticing about the smell of grilled chicken or goat in the air! Its aroma can be smelled very far away; and the area is usually filled with smoke as well. Once done, if you are eating it as carry out, the seller will give you your sate and rice/lontong either in a paper wrapper or wrapped in green banana leaves. The fun part is taking it home and unwrapping it like the delicious, mouth watering present it is. Satay is usually served either on top the rice or lontong, sometimes it is also served on the side as well. I generally prefer my sate served on top of rice so that the peanut sauce can soak into the rice. Sometimes I like to eat the sate straight off of the skewers, other times I like to remove it with my spoon and eat it with a spoonful of white rice.  If you are ever in Indonesia and you are looking for memorable experience, be sure to try some satay! Selamat Makan!

Reflections on Malang

Yesterday, my wife and I went to eat at a seafood restaurant at Mall Olympic Garden, called D’Çoast. It is a favorite of ours and not just because they offer free refills on tea and rice, which is very rare for restaurants here, but because of the spectacular view of the City of Malang. The view is from the third story of the Mall. One can see far over the city; the many houses with terracotta shingles, numerous phone towers, green and white domes of Masjids[i], church steeples, and mountains in the back ground. I have a similar view from my mountain home, but it is not quite as impressive.

The View Of Malang from DÇoast.

Whenever I behold such a view, it causes me to reflect. During the course of my stay here in Malang I have met many great and amazing people, sometimes by mere chance, such as riding on the same angkot. In Indonesia Malang, with a population of over 800,000[ii], is considered to be a small city. To someone like me, from Henderson, NC, with a population of just over 15,000[iii], Malang is a huge place; the type of city big enough to where you can run into someone once and never bump into them again. To some people this may seem depressing, but to me it makes every encounter I have that much more special.

Still I cannot help but think whatever happened to the little girl I once saw begging on the street corner, the government worker who once paid my angkot[iv] fare, the Papuan girl I once waved at because she was black and I thought that meant she was American, or my friends from Singosari, who although, did not have much, still treated me very pleasant. I also wonder if I will ever see any of those people again.

My friends from Singosari, Malang

Such a view also inspires me to reflect on the many beautiful and scenic places this mountain city has to offer. There are such iconic places in the City of Flowers, such as Ijen Boulevard, with its historic, Dutch built houses and giant palm trees that reach high into the sky, or the water feature near Malang city hall (balai kota), with its numerous lights that illuminate the night with a rainbow of colors.  I also think of all of the experiences I have had here, such as taking my sahadah (the Islamic confession of faith) and getting married. I also think about all of the mouthwatering, delicious food I have had. Indonesia is home to a variety of cultures, in addition to the native Indonesian cultures (such as Javanese, Sundanese, etc), there are Southeast Asian, Chinese, Indian, Arabian, Dutch, and so much more, and each of these cultures have added their own unique flavors to the Indonesian culinary experience.

Malang City Hall (Balai kota Malang)

One final thing that comes to mind is my wife and how out of all of the people in this city or even more so the world, how we could have met one another. It is mind boggling when I try to think about it. Yet I come to the conclusion that nothing in life is a mere accident, that nothing just happens, but there is a reason behind everything, even if we cannot realize just what it is. God is the cause of all things and while his wisdom for them may escape us, it is firmly in his grasp.

My wife Christa, and I at Malang city hall

My blog, until now, has focused mostly on religion and spirituality, and while I still intend to post mainly about these subjects, I have been neglectful of the travel aspect of my blog. Starting soon I will post more about life here in Indonesia, my experiences, the culture, my travels, and of course, the amazing food I eat. Additionally I want to start posting full texts and excerpts of classical texts.

Until my next post,

Happy travels

[i] Mosques

[ii] http://jatim.bps.go.id/?cat=62

[iii] http://www.city-data.com/city/Henderson-North-Carolina.html

[iv] Minibus