How to host the ultimate Indonesian dinner party

Phaidon’s newest cookbook, The Indonesian Table, by Petty Pandean-Elliott, has recipes that go far beyond the usual spices and curries.

Just some of the gorgeous flavours of Indonesia from Phaidon’s latest cookbook, The Indonesian Table, reviewed here by enthusiastic home cook, Christopher Zinn

From an archipelago of 17,000 islands with a population of 270 million people, my challenge was simple: choose 12 recipes from Petty Pandean-Elliott’s The Indonesian Table for 12 excited guests, including some who were born in Indonesia, and others who had worked, reported on, or toured the Spice Islands. But how to choose?

Offal was the first dish off the list as Australians tend not to indulge in tripe and other innards as eagerly as West Sumatrans. Javanese coconut blossom sugar presented a hurdle to unearth, but then emerged from the bowels of my pantry.

The Indonesian Table (Phaidon) is a new cookbook by Petty Pandean-Elliott

The role of rice is central in both Indonesian culture and cuisine. However, a local proverb suggests something lost in translation:

Once the rice is pudding, it’s too late to reclaim the rice.

In years gone by, the Spice Islands attracted European plunderers to exploit the native nutmeg, mace and cloves, but they also bought vanilla and other spices, which the canny Indonesians have made their own.

I was delighted, as I went about making my choices, to be reacquainted with such a lively cuisine which, like the country, is endlessly surprising.

Images from The Indonesian Table by Petty Pandean-Elliott

I went in the end for dishes that could be shared, and I tried for something less predictable than salads, satays and stews, and some crowd-pleasers like beef rendang and gado-gado.

The instructions were easy to follow, the ingredients accessible, and the photos seductive, allowing us to serve the dishes with pride.

We asked everyone to wear some batik and bring an object such as a gift, jewellery, map or even a book linked to their time there to get in the vibe. For added atmosphere, a gamelan orchestra fired up on the CD player.

I have earlier reviewed Phaidon’s encyclopaedic national cookbooks of Australian, British and Portuguese cuisines, and all have required foraging harder-to-find ingredients.

A recent trip to Lombok yielded a few small bags of its tangy coffee, some umami-rich sambals and a stinky shrimp paste seen drying by the side of the road. Thankfully, customs cleared them all.

Gorgeous colours and flavours from The Indonesian Table

Nearby markets supplemented our backyard’s meagre crop of lemongrass and lime leaves for the industrial quantities required by chosen recipes.

We also sourced eschalots, pandan leaves, red and green chillies, and limes.

To replicate the Indonesian culture of local provisioning, we asked Ben, the spearfishing son of Di, my co-host and trusty Indon ex-pat, to legally collect various seafood from around Bondi.

His successful harvest of unusual fish complemented the flavour and textures of the Sulawesi sour fish soup and the Acehnese-flavoured charcoal BBQ.

Another welcome inclusion was a pork satay not, as often experienced, smothered in peanut sauce but teased with a rica-rica sambal of chilli, ginger and lime.

In an Indonesian‘s eyes, one unforgivable omission is to run out of rice. Yet, given that this was a delicious Javanese turmeric coconut nasi kuning and no one left hungry, there was no shame.

We perhaps had too much fun, not least because guests were telling spirit stories from this superstitious country, but because we forgot two essential dishes, one of which we found lurking in the fridge and the other in the oven.

Christopher Zinn jogs off some of his feast on Bondi Beach. Picture: John Appleyard

Surely the gathering couldn’t tackle the celebrated water spinach with chilli and miso or the spice-encrusted ayam taiwang or Lombok roast chicken? Our guests politely polished them off in the true Indonesian tradition of possessing a great capacity to eat.

The Indonesian Table doesn’t shy from naming a coconut and strawberry pavlova inspired by a slushed ice drink amid its appraisal of national puddings.

We settled for steamed plantains with a strawberry granita and compote, all topped with coconut custard. Despite being at the end of a hearty meal, we demolished the dessert.

While stressing all the regional cuisines, the book is handily divided into sections such as snacks, salads, soups, satays and sweets.

We managed to include curries, tempeh and other staples. Sadly, there was no room or time to have any noodles, given these dishes require copious amounts of chopping.

The standouts included the pickled pineapple, the spicy, sour-sweet vegetable salad and the Sumatran duck curry. Di was delighted to finally discover the secret behind making her favourite Javanese street food, crunchy tempeh.

For years, I’ve believed if I was only allowed one cuisine for the rest of my life, it would be Indian, also the subject of another resplendent Phaidon publication.

But the island-hopping spirit inherent in Pandean-Elliot‘s gastronomic itinerary, especially her salads, has sorely tested that delusion. I shall have to sample more.

One of our Indonesian guests said in her country, people don’t just say they love somebody. They show it by making and sharing their food. It made a lot of sense.

This aromatic and vivid collection of beautifully illustrated dishes is sensuous, beguiling and well within the scope of most home cooks.

As with those prepared to stray from the hackneyed honey pots of Bali, if you are a little adventurous, be ready to have your senses thoroughly stimulated by the eastern promise of this charming book.

Christopher Zinn is a bon vivant and enthusiastic home cook. He has reviewed several of Phaidon’s cookbooks for these pages.