Language and Culture Notes
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Otak-otak is a traditional dish from Indonesia made from fish, coconut milk, shallots, and spices. Otak-otak is eaten as a side dish or snack, never as a main dish with rice. It is sold in restaurants and by street vendors in front of schools, universities, and office buildings.
Man grilling otak-otak in front of a restaurant. - The word hingga is used in the recipe to explain the action of a verb. For example, the instructions are to aduk hingga rata (stir until smooth) and dibalik hingga matang (turn over until done). Hingga means until; thus, the action of the verb continues until the stated result is achieved.
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In the recipe, a mortar and pestle are used to grind the ingredients of the sambal. The mortar and pestle are still widely used in Indonesian kitchens and, in some families, are family heirlooms passed down from generation to generation. This practice is less common in big cities where people increasingly use the food processor.
In this recipe the sambal kacang which is put on top of the otak-otak is spicy. Since Indonesians generally like their food spicy, a sambal is an essential item for most meals. A common joke among Indonesians is that a true Indonesian will bring a bottle of Sambal ABC (see the picture below) wherever s/he goes to make sure that the food is tasty.
The main ingredients in a sambal are chili peppers, terasi/belacan, garlic or shallots, and salt. There are many kinds of sambal; the names of the different types of sambal often reflect one of the main ingredients. Some popular sambal are sambal kacang, sambal kecap, sambal terasi, sambal bajak, sambal ulek, and sambal bawang.
Sambal ABC