L O T È K

'Lotek' is a Yogyanese kind of salad, and unpopular in Solo though the latter lays just 30 miles away.

It consists of rice cakes (steamed in square coconut leaves' wrapper as 'kupat'), rice crackers ('kerupuk'), cucumbers, steamed veggies -- the must-have of which is spinach -- and fresh tomatoes.

All of those are to be added to some hot peanut sauce that the vendor makes on the spot in a large traditional Javanese stone grinder ('ulek-ulek', or 'ulekan' in Indonesian).

Just in case you forgot, the Javanese food-wrapper for takeouts is made of banana leaves and looking like this:

So that's what lotek comes to you in. This dish seems simple and similar with the Solonese 'pecel' or the 'Indonesian' dish 'gado-gado', but nobody makes it at home.

PUYUNGHAI | Indonesian name: pu yung hay

This was -- as is obvious from the name -- imported from China. Javanization has been very heavy, nonetheless; so that Chinese persons just landed from the Asian mainland have never understood why such an un-Chinese food is claimed as being among the cargo their country sent several hundred years ago.

The main thing in this dish is the omelette, made of duck eggs (never chicken eggs), heavily mixed with some flour, chopped carrots, onion leaves, cabbages, shrimps, chicken, red and white garlic; seasoned with salt and pepper. Pork was originally a part of this, too, but of course Indonesians got rid of it.

The 'Chinese' thing is preserved in that it doesn't contain chili. After getting the omelette done, it is cut to several pieces, and the sauce is poured all over it before eating it with white rice and pickled cucumbers, carrots and red onions.

The sauce is made of sugar, salt, onion, and tomatoes. It is the parameter to tell whether the establishment is 'good' or it is too cheap; 'good' restaurants and roadside tents that sell puyunghai serve it with tomato sauce that is made on the spot. 'Bad' and cheap ones give you some sauce from bottles.

CAPJAÉ | Indonesian name: capcai

The beauty of Chinese food in Java and Indonesia is -- from the cook's point of view -- the ingredients of virtually all dishes are the same. The things that got into the puyunghai get into capcai, too; only it is served without sauces, and the omelette is scrambled and mixed with the rest of the content of the soup. This, too, is to be eaten with white rice.

MIHUN GORENG | Indonesian name: bihun goreng

'Mihun' is the sort of Chinese noodle that is made of flour, white, a bit like a tube, but very thin and brittle when raw. It is cooked in whichever way the more ubiquitous yellow noodles have been.

CAH KANGKUNG | Indonesian name: ca kangkung

This is stir-fried kangkung with garlic, red garlic, onion, chili and pepper. It is usually served with deep-fried fishes such as gurameh.

RÊMPÊLÓ - ATI | Indonesian name: hati - ampela

Deep-fried livers of chickens are some luxurious dish to the Javanese and Indonesians. These are eaten as usual with white rice, fresh veggies ('lalap') and chili sauce ('sambal').

GULÉ | Indonesian name: gulai kambing

This is goat meat curry, heavily seasoned with serai, ginger, lengkuas, and so forth, with a lot of chili. Actually the meat is second-rate plus entrails of the goat -- so gule is much cheaper than other dishes made of goat meat.

If the curry consists of the best meat, like the one made into sate (roasted on skewers), the curry is named tongseng. The seasoning is a bit different from gule; it isn't sweetened.

ENDHÓG BUMBU RUJAK
(Indonesian name: telur bumbu rujak/bumbu Bali)

It might have come from Bali, the original dish; but the Javanese never says so. To them it is just 'rujak seasoning' that is applied to the hard-boiled eggs, although it doesn't have anything to do with 'rujak' either (which is a fruit salad; see the fruits section).

The seasoning consists of lots of red chili, ripe tomatoes, 'kunir', 'sere', leaves of lemon, salt, 'salam' leaves, 'laos', and sugar. See the seasoning at the food section.

ASEM-ASEM CUMI KECAP
(Indonesian name: cumi asam manis)

These are squids ('cumi-cumi' in both Javanese and Indonesian languages), boiled and then stir-fried with garlic, red garlic, onions, tamarind ('asem' in Javanese, 'asam' in Indonesian) and chili; then some sweet soybean sauce ('kecap') is poured in, and it's done. To be served with rice.

SEGÓ LIWET (Indonesian name: nasi liwet)

This dish is the trademark of Solo, Central Java, even more than 'timlo' (see another page of this section).

The name 'sego liwet' or 'nasi liwet' means more or less 'boiled rice'.

It refers to the way the rice is done just for this dish; usually we boil some rice in a pot ('manci' in Javanese, 'panci' in Indonesian), and stir it until the bubbles come out, at which point we take the rice out and put it into the steamer, named 'dandang' in Javanese (there is no Indonesian name for it). Both kitchen props are made of alluminium.

That was before the advent of electric rice-cookers.

And this advent is householdwise -- until today, a lot of Javanese homemakers still cook rice that way, since electric rice-cookers, though might be affordable to many (as long as it is made in China, it won't cost more than US$ 15), suck too much electricity and in the end cause a jump of monthly bill.

Anyway, the Solonese 'nasi liwet' is dubbed so because the rice is to get cooked in the pot without ever getting transfered into a steamer. So it is considerably softer than the usual.

Of course we don't eat just rice; the Solonese have fixed what to be eaten with this kind of rice a few hundred years ago: fried 'jepan' with chili and coconut milk, which we call 'sambel goreng jepan' and in Indonesian it is called 'sambal goreng labu siam' (see the veggies section).

Then some thick coconut milk with a little salt, which is cooked until it got bubbles, called 'arèh', is put on the rice. Eggs and chicken boiled in coconut milk are also added. Then a little chili sauce, handmade, is to make the dish complete, plus a large shrimp cracker ('krupuk urang' in Javanese, 'kerupuk udang' in Indonesian).

Nasi liwet is that simple; so it is really beyond comprehension why the Solonese chose it as their character-representing dish, or why other people come to attach it to them.

SEGÓ GUDHÊG (Indonesian name: nasi gudeg)

Another amazing thing 30 miles or so from Solo: Yogya has been calling itself, and being called by other places' residents, 'the town of gudeg' ('kota gudeg') -- with much pride in the part of the natives.

It is amazing because gudeg is nothing spiffy; it is a very sweet dish made of young jackfruit ('góri' to Solonese, AKA 'tèwèl' to Yogyanese; see the veggies section again), cooked with palm sugar and the usual seasoning until it turns dark brown and can't get distinguished from cassava leaves, which are boiled together with it, and from the red beans, which are its optional ingredients.

JANGAN GÓRI / JANGAN TÈWÈL
(Indonesian name: sayur nangka muda)

The picture above is of young jackfruit cooked in coconut milk, with some 'so' leaves ('daun melinjo' in Indonesian; see the veggies section again). The material is the same with gudeg. But 'sayur nangka muda' must be eaten on the day it is cooked. Gudeg can be re-heated or left to get constantly simmering in the pot for days.

That's what gudeg really is. No one can eat it the way it is; and nobody ever does. It must be served with rice. And this rice must be given the same thick coconut milk named 'arèh'. Plus 'sambel goreng krècèk', i.e. some dried inner skin of cows, cooked with a lot of chili, 'tahu plempung' ('floating tofu'; see the earlier food pages), and small pieces of 'tempe' (soybean cakes). But that is not yet 'gudeg with rice'. Eggs and chicken, the first must be hard-boiled and the second can be either deep-fried or boiled in sweet coconut milk, are added. Now it is 'nasi gudeg'.

To impress tourists (any Indonesian from out of town is a tourist to us in this matter), we make such a fanfare of dressing gudeg up in 'exotic' containers made of smooth terracotta (that's what 'gudheg kendhil' is).

The gudeg vendors, which are occupying every nook around the town, make much of their 'lesehan' method (i.e. you have to sit on the floor, on thin mats made of woven natural fibers, named 'klósó' in Javanese or 'tikar pandan' in Indonesian), as if people can sit there all night (most gudeg vendors only start selling the dish after 6 PM) even after finishing their meal.

Artists, poets, dramatists and 'intellectuals', which have been Yogya's main export materials and main denizen, added much force to this campaign in 1970's by actually besieging gudeg vendors all night for years, and loudly claimed it to be spiritually enriching.

I have no idea if it was all a neat cultural conspiracy, or spontaneous but not random, wholehearted but not conscious, campaign. The fact is just that it happened that way, and today you will get tired of being told "You aren't in Yogya yet if you haven't eaten some gudeg".

The most famous and official restaurant selling gudeg is 'the restaurant of Mrs Tjitro' ('Gudeg Bu Tjitro'). There is the gudeg vendor right in front of the Yogyanese landmark Tugu, too. And the 'lesehan' deli at the Kuncen Street, 'Gudeg Mbak Sri' ('the gudeg restaurant of Sister Sri'). All along the Malioboro Street, there are dozens of gudeg sidewalk tents.

As long as the cook doesn't fall asleep, or in the middle of a nervous breakdown, the gudeg of whichever place tastes okay -- i.e. the same as other places'.

But tour guides and everyone else (this is probably the only thing that ordinary people agree with tour guides about) will give you the pyramid of 'best places of gudeg' when you arrive in this town, and they would insist on the 'romantic' side of the pic. Forgive them; they know not what they're doing. They have come to believe in the stuff their older siblings and dads and moms and uncles and aunts campaigned for.

JANGAN BÓBÓR CÈMÈ
a.k.a ÓBLÓK - ÓBLÓK GAMBAS
(Indonesian name: sayur lodeh oyong)

The Javanese vegetable that is called 'ceme' (pronounced 'chay-may') by the Solonese and 'gambas' by the Yogyanese is exactly the same with what the Sundanese of West Java and the Betawinese of Jakarta call 'óyóng' (I don't think you'd be able to pronounce this).

The Solonese 'bobor' or Yogyanese 'oblok-oblok' ('lodeh' in Indonesian) is actually anything cooked that way -- in coconut milk, with 'tumbar' ('ketumbar' in Indonesian) -- while the traditional ingredient is spinach. But in another dish named 'jangan bening' (see previous food pages), spinach is inseparable from 'ceme'; so they are often cooked together.

GÊRÈH (Indonesian name: ikan asin)

The picture above shows rows of salted fishes -- which is what the Javanese and Indonesian names above mean.

Any fish from the sea which is preserved in salt is called 'gereh' or 'ikan asin' ('asin' is both Javanese and Indonesian for 'the taste of salt').

To Central Javanese people, originally 'gereh' or 'ikan asin' means dried salted fishes. Later the same terms are used to dub every fish preserved by wet salt, in which case the fish stays substantial and not flattened.

West Javanese and Sumateranese people call wet-salted fishes 'ikan peda'. The second word means 'wet-salting'; it is a technique of making preserved food that is usually applied to tuna fishes (I have to remind you again that in Indonesia tuna is always sold 'fresh', i.e. blanketed by raw salt, three of them in one little woven bamboo box, for approximately 15 to 20 cents US$).

Central Javanese people call it 'gereh kranjang' (the second word means 'basket', referring to the woven bamboo container of the fishes).

So, don't get confused whenever reading some online recipe that says you'd need 'ikan peda' to do the food, while you are staying in Yogya or Solo and there is no such a thing around when you make inquiries. They just have never been called 'ikan peda' around here.

GÊRÈH LAYUR GORENG (no Indonesian name)

To both the Javanese and Indonesian, salted fish have been denoting poverty -- this view was even more prevalent than today in 1980's. For one thing, they are cheap (that's bull); secondly, they taste like whatever might if salted (that, too, is incorrect); thirdly, cats love them (this is outrageously wrong); fourthly, only a few people really like salted fish (that is, for a change, right).

Usually salted fish is deep-fried and treated like crackers. Some are stir-fried with chili, like bawal and teri fishes. The latter has more fans than the rest of salted fishes combined. It looks like this when deep-fried:

TÊRI GORÈNG

Teri (read it as 'taree') is a generic Javanese and Indonesian name to call every sort of little fishes -- very small fishes, no larger than a baby's little finger each, and as flat as cardboard.

But the word 'teri', to the Javanese, only applies to sea fishes.

Freshwater fishes of the same size are all put under the name of 'wadêr'. They are always sold already deep-fried, at Javanese restaurants and a few roadside delis. The latter sell them per kilogram (one kilo is a little more than two pounds).

Today, 'wader' is considered as some rare delicacy and exotic snacks by the smug gourmands and the so-called Indonesian chefs in Jakarta, although even in Jakarta people can get them easily for free -- let alone down here in Yogya. Small kids always go getting them in the rivers, irrigation ditches and around rice fields and never get home empty-handedly.

Some varieties of 'wader' are real survivors -- they can live even in the waste-water ditches, as long as those aren't toxic. (detergent is not considered as toxic by these fishes, although we might dub it so).

There is no Indonesian name for them, and the Indonesian lexicon doesn't adopt this Javanese name either. The mini fishes from the rivers stay nameless as far as Indonesia in general is concerned, although as a matter of course the Jakarta-based gourmands and chefs find it imperative to dub them 'exotic river gems' for tourism's sake (sic. I'm only quoting one of the most famous Indonesian TV personalities who's presenting a 'Let's Cook Indonesian Dishes' show in English).

PARU
part of JÊROAN (Indonesian name: jerohan)

'Jeroan' in Javanese, or 'jerohan' in Indonesian, mean the internal organs of cows. 'Paru' means 'lung'. Jeroan parts are usually deep-fried after seasoned with palm sugar, garlic, salt, and so on, and they are always boiled first before frying.To be served with rice, chili sauce, and raw veggies ('lalap') such as cucumbers, white cabbages, and kemangi leaves.

Here are the other kinds of 'jeroan':

ISO
(Indonesian name: usus sapi goreng)
i.e. deep-fried intestines of cows'

BABAT
(Indonesian name: babat goreng)
i.e. deep-fried inner meat of cows'

ÊMPAL
(Indonesian name: daging sapi goreng)
i.e. deep-fried beef (the usual meat)

The latter is not 'jeroan', but somehow it is always sold by the same vendors serving 'jeroan'. They are also always present wherever soto is found (see it at another page at this section).

Exactly the reverse of how most caucasian nations see this stuff, 'jeroan' is one expensive food to the Javanese, and savored as one of the best dishes the ethnicity ever produced.

The same applies to Indonesians in general.

Except, of course, to vegetarians and the species that continually fusses about 'healthy food' and 'cholesterol' and such.

PÈPÈS IWAK MAS
(Indonesian name: pepes ikan emas)

'Pepes' refers to the way the food is done. So it can be chicken, even beef or soybean cakes or tofu; but the original material to get 'pepes'ed is fish.

The oldest sort of pepes is made of gold fishes ('iwak mas' in Javanese, 'ikan emas' in Indonesian, alias 'carp').

'Pepes' necessitates nearly all of the Javanese seasoning agents (see them at the third page of this section), plus tomatoes and red chili. Sere, or 'serai' in Indonesian, plays an important part here, while it is rarely used except for 'heavy' dishes such as curry and in some food influenced by the Balinese.

The seasoning materials are pounded and made to wrap the fish or whatever it is that you 'pepes'; then all of them are wrapped inside a piece of banana leaf whose edges are fastened with tiny bamboo sticks or palm leaf's ribs. This sealed package is then roasted on hot charcoals (or put into an oven) until no water is visible anymore, at which point the 'pepes' is considered well-done.

Pepes is always sold and served the way it is, i.e. still wrapped securely inside the banana leaf. This dish can get re-heated several times and it stays edible for a few days.

SÓP BUNTUT

I have windingly told you about what 'soup' is to the Javanese and Indonesian people. 'Buntut' is the Javanese word for 'tail'. The same word and the same meaning is within the Indonesian lexicon, too, but the status is as an informal and colloquial term -- the official Indonesian word for 'tail' is 'ekor'.

In this case, it is the tail of a cow. Soup made of such a material is expensive in Indonesia, comparable in status with the soup of shark's fin to the Chinese; and the Javanese also consider it a rare treat.

The dish might have originated in East Java. The Eastern Javanese always found a way to serve what used to be inedible to Central Javanese -- such as the mouth of goats, served as 'rujak cingur' ('cingur' is actually a very rude Eastern Javanese expression to convey the meaning of 'mouth').

OSÈNG-OSÈNG GÓDHÓNG KATÈS
(Indonesian name: tumis daun pepaya)

The Javanese word 'oseng-oseng' and the Indonesian 'tumis' means 'stir-fried'. The papaya leaves are nearly for free in Java, i.e. they have no financial value as veggies, because their original taste is bitter -- that's why they've been considered as herbal medicine ('jamu').

To prepare such a simple dish such as stir-fried papaya leaves a lot of work needs to be done -- the leaves got to get boiled with other stuff that functions as absorber of the bitterness, such as cassava leaves (see the veggies section). Then it is washed repeatedly and re-boiled alone. Only after that, it can be chopped and stir-fried.

GARANGASEM

This is chicken cooked in coconut gravy. The pic was taken while it was still on the pot, so you still can see the seasoning -- 'salam' leaves, 'serai', 'laos', etc. Plus tomatoes and 'belimbing wuluh' ('oxalidaceae' in Latin), which looks like this:

Although the name 'belimbing' denotes Indonesian fruits, this one has never ever been considered as fruits. Not even as vegetables. They are only seasoning agents, used as subtitutes of tamarind. These 'fruits' has a taste that will instantly remind you of vinegar.

A C A R (Indonesian name: sayur bumbu kunyit)

The word 'acar' in both Javanese and Indonesian lexicons means 'pickles'. So that's why the Indonesian name for this dish doesn't sport 'acar'; this Javanese food has nothing whatsoever to do with pickling, despite the name.

Before the art of pickling came to Java by the descent of vinegar in 20th century, whenever a Javanese said 'acar' he or she meant this dish. It is a ceremonial food, to be served in every sort of significant events in one's life -- birth, engagement, wedding, childbirth, events related to the kid, and so on.

The ingredients are hard-boiled quail eggs, carrots, long beans ('kacang panjang'; see the veggies section). The seasoning consists of red chili, salt, palm sugar, garlic, red garlic, 'kemiri', 'kunir', ginger, and sweet soybean sauce ('kecap'). All of those are to get stir-fried. The pounded 'kunir' ('kunyit' in Indonesian) will lend the color yellow to the entire dish.

A few delis and restaurants sell a variety of this food, but basically it isn't a commoditized Javanese dish.

GÊMAK GORENG
(Indonesian name: burung puyuh goreng)

This is a deep-fried quail, served hot with rice, fresh veggies such as lettuce, white cabbage, 'kemangi' leaves, and cucumbers, plus chili sauce. I never understand why Indonesians love quails. They're too tiny and made of bones and feathers and nothing much else.

IWAK PITIK BACEM
(Indonesian name: bacem ayam)

'Bacem' is the name of a process of Javanese cooking: steaming protein-laden stuff with seasoning agents plus palm sugar, after which it's fried. This happens to the chicken above.

BÓTHÓK MLANDHING
(Indonesian name: botok petai cina)

'Bothok' is a way of cooking regardless of the main ingredient. So you will see 'bothok teri' (mini fishes that I have featured elsewhere at this section), 'bothok urang' (shrimps), 'bothok tahu' (tofu), 'bothok tempe' (soybean cakes), etc.

What makes 'bothok' is this.

Originally, the Javanese abhorred wasting the residue of making coconut milk, so they thought hard to make use of the grated coconut that isn't used in other food. They added chopped chili, salt, garlic, red garlic, 'laos' ('lengkuas' in Indonesian), and 'salam' leaves to it, then put it into small pieces of banana leaves, fastened it with a piece of palm leaf's rib, and steam it. That's all.

In the course of several hundred years, the simple folk's 'bothok' that was made with 'mlandhing' ('petai cina' or 'lamtoro' in Indonesian), some beans that can be gotten for free even today, evolved into some more expensive materials. The most popular today is 'bothok teri'.

Bothok is always to be eaten with rice and some deep-fried stuff.

BUBUR AYAM

This food came from the Betawinese, natives of Jakarta. That's why the Central Javanese let the Indonesian name stays. It is another most favorite 'national food' -- so you can get it anywhere.

It is made of rice (a porridge), fried chicken, 'serai', lime leaves, 'ketumbar', 'kemiri', garlic, 'kunyit', salt, sweet soybean sauce, fried 'cakwe' (beef fritters), fried crackers ('kerupuk'), fried 'emping', and well-done red garlic.

The chicken must be boiled with salt and finely chopped garlic first before you fry it. Then use your fingers to cut the chicken into small thin shreds ('suwir' in Javanese; there is no Indonesian word for it).

Then cook the porridge -- just the rice, in the water that you have used to boil the chicken (save a little of this for the next step).

Stir-fry pounded garlic, red garlic, etc., plus lime leaves and serai. Add a little of the chicken broth.

Pound the chili, add a drop of chicken broth.

Put everything together in a bowl, except soybean sauce and the chili. Liberally sprinkle the fried red garlic on top. You're done.

Sate is one of the favourite street foods in Bali and Java. Sold from smokey street-side carts, this snack of bbq meat on bamboo sticks needs no advertising, you can smell it a block away. In Bali and Java sate can include many ingredients including ayam (chicken), kambing (goat), sapi (beef), kelinci (rabbit) and others. The Balinese love sate penyu (turtle), which officially can only be sold at ceremonies, but in practice is sold at other times as well.

Sauces:
Some familiar sauces are used, particulary kecap manis (sweet soy sauce), or peanut sauce. For sate ayam peanut sauce is used. Sate kambing uses soya sauce, garlic and chili. Sate sapi uses soy or peanut sauce and kelinci peanut sauce. In general the sauces used are very similar to those in Bali.

Sate vendors:
Tukang sate (sate vendors) are easy to spot, because of the billowing smoke emanating from their carts. They often use an electric fan to feed the glowing coconut husks with air. A more traditional method is to fan the glowing embers with a kipas (hand held bamboo fan).

Where to buy sate:
In the morning you can find a tukang sate at the pasar pagi (morning market) in Kuta. Balinese love sate lilit (mashed up fish and coconut), which is then pressed onto a lemongrass stick with spices, roasted and served with salt and chili. The pasar pagi closes at around 8.30am. During daylight hours you might look for warungs that are frequented by locals, such as some of the ones in Tuban, if there is an abundance of smoke, sate can’t be far away.

In Seminyak there is a sate vendor across from Bintang supermarket, who works from around 5.30pm and finishes around 11pm. All these guys keep their own hours so there’s no exact time on when they are around. When ordering sate from a vendor be sure to ask what kind of sate they serve, as its usually only 1 kind of meat. Ask the price and then tell him how many sticks you want. Sate is usually served with longtong (rolled and compacted rice). The local pasar malam (night market) will usually hve a sate vendor.

How much does sate cost?
A ballpark figure on sate prices is a as follows. Ten pieces of sate ayam (chicken) without longtong 4,000rp. You should add 1,000-2,000rp more for sapi (beef), kelinci (rabbit), kambing (goat) and penyu (turtle).

Sate sapi is roughly the same price as kambing and turtle, 5,000rp for 10 pieces. Turtle sate has a deliciously complex sauce that is not padas (spicy hot). It takes about 10 ingredients to make including corriander (cilantro) seeds.

History of sate
Satay (also written saté) is a dish that may have originated in Sumatra or Java, Indonesia, but also popular in many other Southeast Asian countries such as Malaysia, Singapore, Philippines, and Thailand, as well as in The Netherlands which was influenced through its former colonies. In Malaysia, satay is a very popular dish especially during celebrations and it can be found throughout the country. A close analog in Japan is yakitori. Additionally, shish kebab from Turkey and sosaties from South Africa are also very similar to satay.

Although recipes and ingredients vary from country to country, satay generally consists of chunks or slices of meat on bamboo or coconut leaf spine skewers, which are grilled over a wood or charcoal fire. Turmeric is often used to marinate satay and gives it a characteristic yellow color. Meats used include beef, mutton, pork, venison, fish, shrimp, chicken and even the cow stomach. Some have also used more exotic meats, such as crocodile and snake meat. It may be served with a spicy peanut sauce dip, or peanut gravy, slivers of onions and cucumbers, and ketupat. Pork satay can be served in a pineapple based satay sauce or cucumber relish. An Indonesian version uses a soy-based dip.

Origins of sate (satay):
Some allege that satay was invented by Chinese immigrants who sold the skewered barbecue meat on the street. Their argument is that the word satay means “triple stacked” (三疊) in Amoy dialect, and indeed, satay is often made with three flat lozenges of meat.

On the other hand, it is also possible that it was invented by Malay or Javanese street vendors influenced by the Arabian kebab. The explanation draws on the fact that satay only became popular after the early 19th Century, also the time of the arrival of a major influx Arab immigrants in the region. The satay meats popularly used by Indonesians and Malaysians and , mutton and beef, are also traditionally favoured by Arabs and are not as popular in China as are pork and chicken.

Indonesia:
Known as sate in Indonesian (and pronounced similar to the English), satay is a widely renowned dish in almost all regions of Indonesia. As a result, many variations have been developed.

•Sate Tegal, sate of goat meat, the goat is usually a yearling kid or even a 5 month old kid which spawn an acronym common in Tegal - balibul (literally acronym of just 5 month). The skewer has 4 chunks, being two pieces of meat on the top then one piece of fat and closed with another piece of meat. Grilled over a long metal griller fired with wood charcoal. The grill is between medium and well done, however it is possible to ask for medium rare. Sometimes the fat piece can be replaced with liver or heart or kidney piece. The unit sold is a kodi, twenty skewers. Half a kodi is only for children, adults may consume more than 1 and half kodies. Prior to grilling, there is no marinate as some people believed to be necessary. On serving, it is accompanied by touch deeped in sweet soya sauce (medium sweetness, slightly thinned with boiled water), sliced fresh chilli, sliced raw shallots (eschalot), quartered green red tomatoes. Steamed rice sometimes garnished with fried shallots.
•Satay Madura, originating in the island of Madura, near Java, is certainly the most famous variant known among Indonesians. Most often made from mutton or chicken, the distinctive characteristic of the recipe is the black sauce made from soy sauce mixed with palm sugar, garlic, shallots, peanut paste, fermented shrimp paste (petis), pecans, and salt. It is mainly eaten with rice and venison curry.
•Satay Lilit is a satay variant from Bali, a famous tourist destination. Unlike most varieties of satay, it is made from minced beef, chicken, fish, pork, or even turtle meat, which is then mixed with grated coconut, thick coconut milk, lemon juice, shallots, and pepper. Wound around bamboo, sugar cane or lemon grass sticks, it is then grilled on charcoal.
•Satay Padang, a dish from Padang city and surrounding area in West Sumatra, made from cow or goat offal boiled in spicy broth, which is then grilled. Its main characteristic is yellow sauce made from rice flour mixed with spicy offal broth, turmeric, ginger, garlic, coriander, galanga root, cumin, curry powder and salt. It is further separated into two sub-variants, the Pariaman and the Padang Panjang, which differ according to taste and the composition of their yellow sauces.
•Saté Susu, or Milky Satay, a tasty dish commonly found in Java and Bali, grilled spicy cow breast with distinctive ‘milky’ taste, served with hot chili sauce.
•Satay Makassar, from a region in Southern Sulawesi, is made from beef and cow offal marinated in sour carambola sauce. It has a unique sour and spicy taste. Unlike most satays, it is served without sauce.
•Satay Meranggi, commonly found in Purwakarta and Bandung, two towns in Java, is made from beef marinated in a special paste. The two most important elements of the paste are kecombrang (Nicolaia speciosa) flower buds and ketan (sweet rice) flour. Nicola buds brings a unique smell and liquorice-like taste. It is served with ketan cake (juadah).
•Satay Kulit found in Sumatra is a crisp satay made from marinated chicken skin.