Indonesian food

This pleasing, encyclopedic look at Indonesian cookery is an updated revision to Owen's seminal The Indonesian Kitchen (2009). The Sumatran native brings readers along on a journey through the Southeast Asian island and its culinary history, as well as on Owen's personal journey from post-grad student from Yogyakarta to a married woman in England. This edition remains true to the original, with updated photography and a chapter to cover the last 15 years, with a slightly more pronounced focus on tofu and tempeh recipes. Her detailed instructions on creating the proper water-to-tamarind juice ratio as well as differentiating between sambal (spicy hot sauce) and sambal goreng (curries) show off a detail-oriented approach to Indonesian cuisine. Dishes like Kambing bacem (a spiced tamarind lamb), udang goreng (spicy shrimp in tamarind sauce), turbot curry, and naturally vegetarian entrees like fried eggplant with chile will whet appetites. While involved, dishes revolve around a familiar blend of ingredients: shallot, garlic, soy sauce, lime juice, tamarind, and lemongrass. Owen's updated collection is a necessary and engaging mainstay on Indonesian cuisine. It's also an engaging memoir of a woman's very full life, with reflections on her native culinary culture as a world explorer.