Indonesian Tofu Omelettes: Tahu Telur

Sambal oelek is an Indonesian relish or paste of ground red chilies; although some other countries have their own versions, including the U.S. In the U.S., it is easy to find in supermarkets, and likely even in some smaller grocery stores, and especially, of course, in Asian grocery stores, and it is not terribly expensive, although imported brands likely cost somewhat more. 

Tofu has had an increasing popularity in the U.S., and not just in Chinese restaurants, where it is typically listed as "bean curd," but as a distinct product itself, typically sold in rectangular cakes or blocks. Tofu by itself is not an exciting food, but it is good prepared with other flavorful food items, as tofu absorbs the flavors of these foods. In this dish, the tofu gets help by first frying it lightly, including it in an omelette, then adding a tasty peanut sauce. Nowadays, tofu is easily found in supermarkets, and, it isn't expensive. 

 

Ingredients (4 servings): 

 

To make the omelettes: 

 

1/2 of one firm block of tofu, drained and cut into small cubes (about 2/3 inch square)

4 large eggs, beaten

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

2/3 teaspoon salt

5 greens onion, chopped

2 tablespoons oil (peanut oil is good for this)

 

To make the sauce:

 

2 teaspoons peanut oil

1/4 cup peanut butter (smooth or chunky)

1/4 cup finely chopped onion (red or yellow)

1 tablespoon minced garlic

1 medium Roma tomato, chopped

1 teaspoon to 1 tablespoon sambal oelek (according to desired heat level)

1 tablespoon brown sugar (or palm sugar)

3 tablespoons kecap manis (sweet soy sauce)

2 teaspoons soy sauce

1/4 cup water

 

3 or 4 chopped green onions, for garnish

 

In a bowl, beat the eggs, then add the pepper, salt and chopped green onion; mix well. Heat 1 tablespoon peanut oil in a large non-stick skillet (I use a 12 inch skillet) over medium heat. Add the tofu cubes and saute until just lightly browned. Add the egg mixture, pouring it to cover all of the tofu. Brown the omelette on both sides. For the sauce: In a separate pan, add the 2 teaspoons of peanut oil, then add the onion, then after 1 minute add the garlic and chopped tomato and saute everything until softened (use a fork to mash the tomato as it cooks). Lower the heat to low. Add the peanut butter, sambal oelek, brown sugar, kecap manis, soy sauce and water, stir very well to mix everything together. Heat until bubbly (if the sauce is too thick, add more water, a tablespoon at a time, and mix well after each tablespoon, until you get the preferred consistency). Serve each omelette with some of the sauce spooned over the omelette, then top each serving with some chopped green onion as a garnish. 

 

WORD HISTORY:

Sort-This word is related to "assort," "consort," "sorcery" and "desert" (the verb meaning "to leave or abandon a place, position or duty"), all Latin-derived words borrowed by English from French, and to "assert" and "series," also Latin-derived words borrowed directly from that language. "Sort" goes back to Indo European "ser," which had the notion "to put or join in a line;" thus also, "to put one after the other;" thus, "to put together, to connect." This gave Latin "sors," which had a wide range of meanings like: "allotment, lottery, share/portion, category, classification, status/class." This passed into Latin-based Old French as "sorte," meaning "classification. type, kind," and English borrowed the word in the latter part of the 1300s as "sort(e)," with the meaning "a kind or type of something, "originally seemingly used of people and animals, but then expanded. The verb also is from the same ancient origins, and Latin "sors" produced the verb "sortire/sortiri," meaning "to share, to apportion, to divide (up), to draw lots," which passed to Old French as "sortir," meaning "to categorize, to classify, to allot," and English borrowed this verb as "sorten" in the mid 1300s, which was earlier than the noun. Interestingly, German borrowed the word too, as "Sorte," but from two sources; first, from Dutch/Low German, which had it from French; and second, southern German speakers borrowed the word from Italian.       

Indonesian Fried Rice: Nasi Goreng

This can simply be used as a side dish, but it is often served with fried eggs, tomatoes and cucumbers for a meal of its own.

 

This dish darkens the rice, so don't think you've done something wrong. For this article, I made the rice without other ingredients like shrimp, chicken or beef, which are sometimes added by Indonesians. This dish uses long grain rice (it has less starch), as you don't want the rice to clump together; thus, basmati rice is a good choice (short grain rice usually has a good deal of starch, which makes it stick together). As is often the case with recipes from other cultures, this dish has 3 special ingredients, one of which is very common (sambal oelek), with the other two being available in numerous supermarkets or in Asian grocery stores, or online. Sambal oelek is a relish or paste of ground red chilies. In the U.S., it is easy to find in supermarkets, and likely even in some smaller grocery stores, and especially Asian grocery stores, as sambal oelek is also made in the U.S., although there are imported brands too (it is not terribly expensive, although imported brands likely cost somewhat more). Sambal oelek is hot, but you aren't using much for the amount of rice and other ingredients, but if you're especially fearful of hot foods, just use 1/2 tablespoon, instead of 1 tablespoon. If you use sambal terasi (see special ingredient #3, below), you won't need sambal oelek. If you don't want to buy it, you can simply use a finely chopped hot chili pepper or two as a substitute. 

 

The second special ingredient, kecap manis, is an Indonesian dark sweet thick soy sauce, unlike what we would most likely think of as typical soy sauce. I use it quite often, and it comes in taller bottles than regular soy sauce. It too is available in some (most?) supermarkets and Asian grocery stores, but you can mix together some regular soy sauce and molasses or brown sugar as a substitute, but the real thing is far better, and I think most people will like it; so much so, that they'll buy it again.

 

The third special ingredient is shrimp paste, which is made from fermented dried shrimp. I suggest buying sambal terasi, which is ground chilies and with shrimp paste added (it comes in relatively small jars (like 6 to 8 ounces, see photo below), and it is from Indonesia, although Indonesians use other types of shrimp paste too). If you use sambal terasi, you can skip using sambal oelek, as sambal terasi has the ground chilies in it. The easiest thing to do, although it is not traditional for this dish, is to use fish sauce, which is easy to find in supermarkets and Asian stores.

 

Just a little information about shrimp paste: it can vary in form from country to country, and it is most commonly used from the Philippines and around through Southeast Asia and in southern China. There are various types and names for it, but it is made of fermented dried shrimp. Now, I had read about shrimp paste, and many of the comments about it centered on the smell it gives off when it is frying, as it often comes in a dried block, from which a certain amount is trimmed and then fried briefly (this dried type is commonly used in Malaysia, where it is called "belacan"). Well, Randy grew up eating and liking Limburger cheese, so I figured I could handle shrimp paste, and I did, but to say it is "smelly," doesn't begin to describe it. The funny thing is, you only use a very small amount, but it will stink up your house or apartment for an hour or so, perhaps prompting your neighbors to call the police to report that you must have stashed a dead body in your house several weeks ago. I actually watched some videos of people who smelled shrimp paste, and some said it was the worst thing they had ever smelled, BUT, when they ate shrimp paste in a finished recipe, they said how good it was. They were right, because it tastes nothing like it smells, as a small amount of shrimp paste delivers a special savory taste to recipes.     

 

Ingredients (4 lunch servings):

 

3 cups cooked long-grain rice, cooled, chilled (leftover rice from the day before is excellent)

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1/4 cup finely chopped onion

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 tablespoon sambal oelek (hot ground chilies) or 1 tablespoon sambal terasi instead

2 tablespoons kecap manis (thick sweet soy sauce) 

if you don't use sambal terasi, use 1 tablespoon fish sauce

1/2 teaspoon black or white ground pepper

1/2 teaspoon salt (can be less or even omitted)

eggs, fried (sunny side up)

tomatoes, sliced or grape tomatoes halved

cucumber, sliced (peeled, unpeeled or partially peeled)

 

If using dried block-type shrimp paste, add the 1/2 teaspoon to a small skillet (no oil) over low heat and toast it for about 2 minutes, breaking it up as it toasts. If you use the dried shrimp paste, you will still need to add sambal oelek or fresh chilies.

If you use sambal terasi, you can add it directly to the recipe, without frying it, and you will NOT need to add sambal oelek or fresh chilies, unless you like super hot food.

If you use fish sauce, it can be added directly to the recipe, and you will still need to add sambal oelek or fresh chilies, but you won't need any shrimp paste or sambal terasi.

 

In a skillet, heat the oil over medium heat; saute the onion, garlic and sambal oelek (or chilies, or sambal terasi) for 1 1/2 to 2 minutes, stirring to prevent sticking or burning, then add the kecap manis (and shrimp paste, if using), fish sauce, then the already cooked rice. Sprinkle on the ground pepper and salt (if using), mix all together well, making sure the rice grains separate and get coated with the flavorings. Cook and stir until the rice is well heated and begins to caramelize. 

Top each serving with a fried egg (sunny side up). Serve with sliced or chopped tomatoes and sliced cucumber on the side.  

 

WORD HISTORY:

Meager-This is a word that English has had twice. It is related to "emaciate," a Latin-derived word borrowed by English from that language, and to "macro-," the prefix, which was borrowed from French, which had it from Latin, which had it from Greek. "Meager" goes back to Indo European "mak," which meant "thin, lean," and the extended form "makros," meaning "long, tall, thin, slim." This gave Old Germanic "magraz" meaning "lean, thin," and this gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) "mæger" meaning "lean, slim, slender." This word either died out in English or it was taken over by the new form or merged into it (continue reading). The Indo European form also gave Latin the adjective "macer" meaning "thin, lean," and this passed to Latin-based Old French as "megre/maigre" with the same meaning, and English borrowed the word in the 1300s, initially as "megre" (also "meigre?"). The additional meaning of "scant/scanty" was added later. The direct relatives of the original Old English word "mæger" and the more distant relative to the modern English form via Indo European are German, Low German and Dutch "mager," West Frisian "meager" (meger?), Icelandic "magur," Danish, Norwegian, Swedish "mager," all with the general meanings "thin, lean, skinny."

Indonesian Boiled Sweet Potatoes and Plantains: Kolak Pisang Ubi

"Scientifically," sweet potatoes and yams are not the same, but in every day terminology, especially in the United States, the terms yams and sweet potatoes are interchangeable. Why? Well, true sweet potatoes are thought to have come from the "New World" (what is now Peru), and yams were brought to the "New World" from Africa by slaves. The thing was, not all Africans brought to the New World had yams, but they found that sweet potatoes were similar to their yams, and the term was applied to the sweet potatoes in the New World. 

Pandan leaves are blade-like leaves from a tropical plant, and they are 1 to 2 feet in length (they have to be cut or folded in order to add them to recipes). Pandan leaves are used in cooking and sometimes in medications in the Philippines and southern Asia. They are available in Asian stores and they aren't all that expensive, and they can be frozen (or kept frozen, as they might well be sold that way). If you don't want to look for pandan leaves, you can skip using them in the recipe. It won't be quite the same, but it also won't bring about an attempt to end the world, but head to a bomb shelter, just in case. What's that siren?

This is a sweet dish, but you can certainly use less sugar, if you so desire.

 

Ingredients:

 

1 pound sweet potatoes or yams, peeled

2 ripe plantains (black peel), peeled

1 pandan leaf

6 tablespoons coconut sugar (or 5 tablespoons brown sugar)

2 inch piece ginger, peeled and sliced

1 1/2 cups water

1 cup coconut milk

1 cinnamon stick

1 teaspoon salt

Cut both the sweet potatoes and plantains into pieces of about 1/2 to 1 inch. To a pan, add the water, coconut milk, pandan leaf, sliced ginger, cinnamon stick and salt over medium heat. Bring to a boil, add the sugar and stir well to dissolve. Add the sweet potato and plantain pieces, adjust heat to maintain a steady simmer, cook until sweet potatoes and plantains are tender.

WORD HISTORY:

Crop-The ultimate origin of this word is a bit shaky, but it "seems" to go back to the Indo European root "ger," which had the notion "twist, bend," with a figurative use for "crawl." If true, this would make "crop" related to "group" and to "cripple," both from the Germanic roots of English. Old Germanic had "kruppaz," meaning "a mass of something pressed/compressed together; thus, a cluster;" thus also more specifically, "a pouch in the lower part of the neck of many bird species (part of their digestive system)." This gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) "cropp," meaning "the pouch in a bird's neck," but also, "a sprout (not including the root), the top of plants in a rounded shape," later applied more and more about grain plants, which then progressed to "the collective production of grain in a growing season;" thus the expanded modern meaning in the mid 1500s for specific fruits, vegetables and grains produced in a season (example: "The tomato crop in parts of the U.S. was limited by bad weather in the spring"), which later expanded into non food products (example: "The crop of evening television shows is pathetic," and, "The crop of college football players ready to turn professional this year is a pretty good one"), but also for hair, circa 1800 (example: "The young actor's thick crop of blond hair gave him a chance to play many roles of northern Europeans"). The Old English form then became "croppa," then "croppe" (with the 'e' usually pronounced as 'eh/ah'), before the modern form "crop." The upper part of plants meaning led to the usage of "crop" for a "whip," then especially for a short type of whip used for horseback riding. The verb form came from the noun around 1200 and simply meant "to cut off the tops of plants," which then led to more generalized usage, but especially "to cut off the top of an animal's ear" (seemingly the late 1500s) and later into photography "to crop a photo." The expression "crop up" (likely replaced in some cases in modern English by "pop up") apparently comes from the notion of a sprout coming up through the soil, and then later used in mining jargon in England in the 1600s in reference to "layers of rocks or ore becoming visible through the soil." Forms in other Germanic languages: German has "Kropf" meaning goiter, craw part of the digestive system of many birds, (rare) head of cabbage (from the idea of "round growth"), Low German has "Kropp," craw part of the digestive system of many birds, goiter, Dutch "krop," goiter, head of lettuce, also used at times for fruit or vegetable harvest, riding whip, Danish "krop" meaning "body" (in senses of for live creatures, flesh, carcass, parts of devices like planes or vehicles, insect abdomen), Icelandic "kroppur" meaning "body," Norwegian "kropp" meaning "body," Swedish "kropp" also meaning "body." Note: Old French borrowed the word from Germanic ("seemingly" from Old Norse, but perhaps from Frankish?) giving modern French "coupe," meaning "the back quarters of a horse, the hips, the buttocks." 

Indonesian Chicken Satay: Sate Ayam

There are many kinds of satays or kebabs from various countries, and with different names for the food product, but they are all based upon meat, fish, vegetables or fruits on skewers that are cooked, often by grilling or broiling. "Shish kebabs" and Peruvian "anticuchos"* are examples.

 

"Kecap manis" is a sweet and thick soy sauce, unlike most other types of soy sauce, and it is available in many supermarkets and Asian grocery stores. From my experience, it comes in taller bottles than regular soy sauce. You can use boneless, skinless chicken breast or thigh meat, and while bamboo skewers are traditional, any wooden skewers are fine; just be sure to soak them in water for 20 to 30 minutes before using. Of course, you can use metal skewers too. 

Ingredients (for 15 skewers):

15 wooden skewers (soaked in water for 20 to 30 minutes, traditionally bamboo, but I'm sure Indonesians won't put you onto a skewer and then throw you into Mt. Krakatoa, although you will undoubtedly cook well, YEEEOOOWWW!)

1 to 1 1/4 pounds boneless, skinless chicken, cut into about 1 inch cubes

2/3 cup sweet soy sauce (traditionally 'kecap manis,' or substitute slightly less than 2/3 cup regular soy sauce mixed with 2 tablespoons molasses or maple syrup, but ... see the note in 'skewers' above about the potential 'penalty')

(optional) 1 teaspoon fresh chopped chili pepper or 1 teaspoon sambal oelek** 

1 teaspoon ground coriander

1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 tablespoon sesame oil for the sauce + a little more for basting the chicken when cooking

1/2 cup coconut milk

Mix together the kecap manis (or soy sauce/molasses/syrup), chili pepper (if using), ground coriander, garlic powder, salt, ground black pepper and tablespoon of sesame oil. Toss the chicken cubes in the sauce mixture, cover the dish and refrigerate to marinate the chicken for a minimum of 1 hour, but 8 to 12 hours is better. You can grill or broil the chicken. Be sure to soak the skewers in water for 20 to 30 minutes before putting the chicken onto them. Let excess marinade drain into the bowl you used for marinating the chicken pieces and keep it (see further below). Put like 4 to 6 pieces of the chicken on each skewer, and allow a little space between the pieces. Grill or broil the chicken, turning the skewers often, and use a brush to baste the chicken pieces with a little sesame oil as it cooks. Cook the chicken until the pieces are getting a little charred appearance (I said "a little charred appearance," not burnt or ashes ... hahaha), likely 6 to 10 minutes. Pour the marinade liquid into a pan, then stir in the coconut milk. Bring to a boil and immediately reduce the heat to maintain a bare simmer for about 3 to 4 minutes, stirring often. Serve the sauce in a separate dish for dipping the chicken and serve the chicken along with some rice.

 

* For Peruvian Anticuchos, here is the link:  https://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2018/09/peruvian-kebabs-anticuchos.html

 

** Sambal Oelek is a chunky hot chili pepper sauce. It should be easily found in the Asian section, or in the hot sauce section, of supermarkets. It is pretty common is the U.S.and it is not expensive, although the price may vary by brand. 

 

 

WORD HISTORY:

Cockatoo-This word for some of the prominently crested birds of the parrot family has an uncertain origin, although it may simply be a name derived from the imitation of the sounds made by such birds, as these birds are chatty. It goes back to Malay^ "kakatua," which was borrowed by Dutch as "kaketoe" (the Dutch were very involved in southern Asia from the 1500s until 1945. Indonesia was long a Dutch colony called "(the) Dutch East Indies" until 1945. Dutch "kaketoe" was borrowed by English in the 1630s (some sources say about 15 years earlier) as "cockatoo." Note: While the name may be from the sound of the birds, Malay "kakatua" pretty much literally translates to "older sister." If true, why the use of the term is difficult to understand, but far stranger words have developed among humans. Of course too, it could indeed be from the imitation of the bird sounds and the word adjusted to conform to the "older sister" term's phonetic spelling.

^  "Malay" is from the overall Austronesian family of languages of southeast Asia and many Pacific islands, where "Malay" is part of the subfamily "Malayo-Polynesian." 

Indonesian Chili Eggs: Sambal Telur

This is easy to make, and if you'd prefer, you don't have to fry the peeled hardboiled eggs. They can be served with rice or try them chilled and served as a salad. I assume most people outside Indonesia do not have kaffir lime leaves, so you can just use lime zest, but if you want to try using the leaves, contact your herb and spice outlets, and the leaves are definitely available online.

Ingredients: 

6 eggs, hardboiled and then shells removed

1/3 cup chopped onion

2 kaffir lime leaves (or 1 teaspoon lime zest)

6 or 8 tablespoons sambal oelek (Indonesian style hot ground chili paste)

2 tablespoons oil

In a skillet, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the whole peeled hardboiled eggs and keep turning the eggs until they get a little color on them (they will kind of blister), then remove them to a plate with a paper towel. To the same skillet with the oil, add the chopped onion and saute until it softens. As the onion softens, keep stirring to prevent browning and reduce the heat to low. When the onion is soft, add the sambal oelek and stir to mix, then add the kaffir leaves or lime zest and keep stirring (you don't have to stir continuously, but frequently). When the sambal begins to reduce and thicken, add the eggs back to the skillet to warm again in the sauce. Slice the eggs lengthwise, serve with some of the sauce over each serving. 

 

 

WORD HISTORY: 

Stir-This word is actually related to "storm," and it goes back to Indo European "stur," which had the notion of "move, twirl, whirl, turn." This gave its Old Germanic offspring "storjanan," with the same basic meanings, but with figurative meanings of "destroy, disrupt." This gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) "styrian," meaning "incite, agitate, stir." This then became "stiren," before the modern version, and the meanings have remained the same, with the primary emphasis on the meaning "mix together by using a spoon or utensil" (that is, "making it whirl"), but the meanings "incite, agitate," are still very much in use, keeping it close to some of its Germanic cousins which mean "disrupt." The other Germanic languages have: German and Low German Saxon "stören" (bother, disturb), ^ Dutch "storen" (disturb, bother), Danish "styrre" (disturb, disrupt), Norwegian "styrre" (mix), Swedish "störa" (disrupt, disturb). I could not find a form in modern Icelandic, nor in West Frisian. The noun form is from the same Germanic source, but it likely came into use in English in the latter 1300s from Old Norse, which had the noun "styrr," meaning "tumult, commotion, disruption."

^ German also has the prefixed form "zerstören," which means "to destroy," going back to the original figurative Germanic meaning.

Spicy Sumatran Shrimp: Udang Saos Padang

Padang is the capital of the Indonesian province of West Sumatra on the island of Sumatra, one of the world's largest islands. Indonesia is a country literally composed of thousands of islands.

If you don't like chili pepper heat, use just a teaspoon of sambal oelek* or 1/2 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper or 1/2 fresh red chili pepper. Often when recipes call for a small amount of tomato sauce or tomato paste, I simply substitute ketchup instead, although it is not the same. Of course, you can plan to do a couple of dishes that use tomato sauce or tomato paste to use up the remaining amount. 

Ingredients:

1 pound large, cleaned and peeled shrimp/or tails on (frozen cooked shrimp are fine, and naturally require less cooking time)
1 to 3 hot red chili peppers, or 1 1/2 tablespoons sambal oelek  
3 garlic cloves
4 green onions (white part only)
1 1/2 inch piece ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
2 Roma tomatoes, seeded and roughly chopped
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
2 tablespoons tomato sauce (or ketchup)
zest of 1 lime
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
chopped green onions, for garnish
serve with rice

Since the basic sauce will be made in a food processor, you need not spend much time chopping the ingredients into perfect pieces. Use a food processor and add the chilies, garlic, onion, ginger, Roma tomatoes and turmeric. Process until smooth. Heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat, add the processed sauce mixture, the ketchup/tomato sauce and the lime zest. Stir the mixture while cooking it for about 3 minutes. Add the shrimp and cook until tender, while turning the shrimp to coat them with the sauce. Serve with rice and strew some chopped green onion on top of each serving.

* Sambal Oelek is a chunky hot chili pepper sauce/relish "originally" from Indonesia. The American made version can be easily found in the Asian section, or in the hot sauce section, of supermarkets.   

WORD HISTORY:

Level-This word is distantly related to "litre" (American spelling "liter"), a word borrowed by English from French; to "lira" (an Italian monetary unit), a word borrowed by English from Italian, and to "livre" (a former French monetary unit), a word borrowed by English from French, although not commonly used in more modern times. The ultimate origin of "level" is not known, although some believe it to have been borrowed from some Mediterranean language by Italic, or perhaps developed by Italic, the parent language group of Latin and some other languages like Umbrian and Oscan. The Italic word was something like "lithra," which meant "a measurement of weight (pound)." Ancient Greek either also borrowed the word from a Mediterranean source itself, or Greek borrowed the word from Italic through its extensive interaction with Sicily, where a "litra" was a type of coin. The Italic form gave Latin the noun "libra," which was "a measurement of weight;" thus also, "a balance of 2 scales for weighing." This produced the Latin diminutive (makes the meaning of the word "smaller" or "dear") "libella," which was a part of a Roman monetary unit, but also, more importantly, "an implement used in building to help make surfaces even, horizontal." This passed into Latin-based Old French as "livel," with the same meaning. English borrowed the word circa 1350. The adjective (be even, having to do with evenness) and the verb (to make even) developed from the noun in the middle of the 1400s. Several figurative uses developed, including "to take aim with a gun," which "might" have later produced the American English expression "do your 'level' best" in the mid 1800s, from the idea of "keep your gun as level as possible when aiming to get the best shot." The idea of "balanced, even," gave rise to the meaning, "fair, honest," and also "not prone to extreme emotional reactions" ("level headed/levelheaded").            

Fresh Salsa of Bali: Sambal Matah

First, I realize certain ingredients for some recipes can be difficult to find, but often there are easier to find substitutes. Shrimp paste, which is indeed a paste, should be easily found in the Asian section of your supermarket or in Asian grocery stores, but you can substitute fish sauce, which is a liquid and pretty much available everywhere. Shallots are closely related to onions and garlic, and indeed, they have a taste that mimics something of a combination of the two. Lemongrass is a grassy plant generally from Asia and Africa, and it smells and tastes lemony. It "sort of resembles" green onions (also called spring onions or scallions), and besides its culinary uses, it is used in medicines, deodorizers and such. It is available in many supermarket produce sections and Asian, especially South and Southeast Asian markets. I have bought it both fresh and frozen at the West Side Market here in Cleveland. You can substitute some fresh lemon peel for lemongrass. 

"Sambal matah" is a fresh salsa or relish; that is, it's preparation does not generally require cooking, although it may be added to recipes that do require cooking. It is a common feature on the Indonesian island of Bali. It is not the same as "sambal oelek," a type of thick hot chili sauce, which has become quite well known in the U.S., and in other parts of the world too, I'm sure.   

Ingredients:

2 red chilies (cayenne or ripened serrano peppers), halved lengthwise, seeded and finely chopped
2 green chilies (serrano or jalapeño), halved lengthwise, seeded and finely chopped
1 medium sized garlic clove, minced 
2 shallots, finely chopped (or 2 green onions, white part only)
2/3 teaspoon shrimp paste (or 1 teaspoon fish sauce)
1 stalk lemongrass, white part only, chopped (or substitute 2 or 3 strips of fresh lemon peel, minced)
1 roma tomato, seeded and chopped
2/3 teaspoon brown sugar
pinch salt
1 tablespoon lime zest
1 tablespoon lime juice

If using shrimp paste, put the paste into a small non stick skillet over low heat to toast it for just a couple of minutes, scraping and stirring constantly. Break up the shrimp paste and add it to your bowl. If you are using fish sauce instead of shrimp paste, just add it to the other ingredients, no heating required. Put all ingredients into a bowl and mix gently, but well. Can be served at room temperature or chilled.   

Fish fillets with sambal matah...

Sambal matah with fried chicken breast ...

WORD HISTORY:
Relish-This word is distantly related to "slack," a word from the Germanic roots of English, and to "lax," a Latin-derived word borrowed by English. It goes back to Indo European "sleg," which had the notion, "to be loose, or slack." This gave Latin the verb "laxare," meaning, "to loosen, to make slack." Latin then added the "re" prefix, which meant many things, among them: "once more, again, back," and this gave Latin "relaxare," meaning, "to loosen, to slacken, to stretch, to make wide, to undo." This passed into Latin-based Old French as "relaisser/relaschier," meaning, "to relax, to release;" thus also, "to leave out, to leave on its own, to leave behind," which produced the noun "reles" (originally "relais"), meaning, "aftertaste" (that is, "the taste left behind"), and then simply "taste." English borrowed the word (circa 1500), and the meaning expanded to "enjoyment of a taste or flavor," and the verb developed in the mid 1500s meaning, "to enjoy the taste of something," then later it expanded to simply, "enjoyment of something, not necessarily of food;" thus we have a fairly common expression, "I relish the thought of going on vacation." The noun meaning developed to, "flavorful addition to food, a condiment," in about 1800, the primary meaning of the noun up to present times. (Note: In American English,^ but I'm not certain about English in other parts of the world, "relish" means "primarily chopped up pickles with some other ingredients that produces a thick, but moist, mixture that is commonly added to hamburgers, hotdogs or other sandwiches; and it is sometimes made to be sweet in flavor, and sometimes made to be more tart. My point here is that to Americans, the word "relish" is not a general word, but rather a specific product made from pickles as the main ingredient. There are other types of relish, but they are specifically called "tomato relish," "cranberry relish," "corn relish," or others. The Indian Subcontinent is the home of "chutney," a relish made from any number of fruits, vegetables and herbs that are eaten alongside a meal or with some type of Indian flatbread, but "chutney" is used as a general word.)

 ^ I "assume" Canadians are very similar to Americans in the use of the word "relish," but I'm not 100% certain of that.         

Indonesian Chicken

I'm calling this "Indonesian Chicken," as it is based upon some recipes I've seen from that island nation. It is a good dish for a slow cooker. By the way, Indonesia is a group of islands; that is, it is an archipelago. It consists of more than 17,000 islands, although many of the islands are uninhabited. The best known islands are Sumatra, Java, Bali and New Guinea, although only Western New Guinea is actually part of Indonesia. Indonesia's capital city of Jakarta is located on Java, and that island's name was applied to coffee from there, and this was taken by American English to eventually become a slang term for coffee in general, as "Java coffee" arrived at West Coast American ports. Much of Indonesia was a Dutch colony (called the Dutch East Indies) until the area was overrun and occupied by the Japanese during World War Two, and the end of that war brought Indonesian independence. How many Indonesians died as a result of the Japanese occupation is unclear, but it certainly seems to have been in the hundreds of thousands, and perhaps even a couple of million. The long association between the Netherlands and Indonesia gave many influences to Dutch cuisine still in evidence to this day.

I highly recommend boneless chicken for this recipe, as when I first made this, I used whole chicken legs and it left small pieces of bone in the finished dish, and that's not fun.

Ingredients:

8 chicken thighs (preferably boneless) or whole chicken legs
1/2 cup ketjap manis (or substitute*)
1/4 cup water
1 heaping teaspoon sugar
4 garlic cloves, chopped
juice of 2 limes
6 green onions, chopped (with green)
1 tablespoon chopped ginger
1 chili pepper, finely chopped
2 tablespoons cornstarch mixed with 3 tablespoons water
1/4 chopped parsley

Add everything, except the cornstarch and water and parsley to a slow cooker. Put on "high" for one hour, then turn the setting to "low" and cook for about another 3 to 5 hours. Add the cornstarch/water mixture and stir it in, as best you can. The liquid should begin to thicken almost immediately, but let everything cook for a few minutes before checking to see if the sauce has thickened enough. Serve with rice and with the parsley sprinkled on top.

* "Ketjap Manis" is Indonesian soy sauce, which is syrupy and sweet. Some supermarkets or Asian markets will likely have "ketjap manis," but the keyword here is, "some." You can substitute regular soy sauce with some molasses, or even brown sugar, cooked together for just a few minutes.

I had the chicken with rice, raw carrot pieces, tomato slices and fresh basil leaves...

WORD HISTORY:
Parsley-This is a compound word, with the first part related to the name "Peter," and the second part related to "celery," a word borrowed by English from French, which borrowed it from Italian, which got it from Latin, which got it from Greek (whew!). "Parsley" goes back to transliterated Greek "petrosélinon," which meant "parsley" (literally, "rock/stone parsley," because it grew on rocky slopes). This came from Greek "pétros," which meant "rock, stone," but where Greek got the word is unknown. The second part came from Greek "sélinon," which meant "celery." "Sélinon" is also a word of unknown history. Latin borrowed the compound Greek word as "petroselinum," which then became "petrosilium." This was borrowed into English as "petersilie," meaning, "parsley." Meanwhile, the Latin form was passed to Latin-based French in the abbreviated form "peresil," which heavily influenced the English form (essentially merged with it) in the 1300s. The other Germanic languages all use forms from the Latin; and in fact, German uses the same form as English once had, "Petersilie."