Let's see if I can make this at home.

When I was in Indonesia, I took 2 cooking classes. I used some spices I had never seen before. When I asked what they were, I didn't understand the answer. And I wasn't sure if my teachers just didn't know the English name.. or if it isn't possible to buy the spices in the U.S. I know I will have a hard time finding banana leaves at home... Look what I helped to cook. Doesn't the food look delicious?





Ahhhh I miss Indonesian food. No, I just miss non-Japanese food. On the scale on good cuisine, Japanese food has to be pretty darn low. Of all the places I have visited, the food in Japan has been the worst. Or maybe Costa Rican food was the worst.. No, I'll go with Japanese. I'm worried my stomach might be shrinking because Japanese food doesn't make me want to eat very much. (By the way, I think there was pig intestine in my school lunch again.)

Japanese people often ask me if I like Japanese food. At first I lied and told everyone it was delicious because that was the only way I knew how to answer in Japanese. Now I often tell people so-so. I just don't have the language skills to tell them that their food is boring and bland and often quite disgusting. And that I have to go to Korea or other countries to get decent tasting food. Even Japanese-style "Western" food is quite bad. But I imagine even if I could say that in Japanese, it would be rude.

So for now, I will just stare at these pictures from Indonesia. I will remember the flavors. I will look forward to my next international trip. Because I am hungry.

The food pictured above includes: spicy chicken ball soup, vegetables cooked with lemongrass, chicken grilled inside banana leaves, chicken satay, saffron rice, thin pancakes with caramelized coconut inside, caramelized tofu, and fried fish in a coconut sauce.