Notes about Recipes in this book

• Peanut & lime leaf crackers (Kaki lima)

  • Frenchfoodie on April 19, 2021

    Very crunchy though flavours didn't come through very well. Needed more water to get right consistency.

• Coconut & lime leaf omelette

  • joneshayley on February 26, 2020

    Brilliant, evokes tropical islands and happy times. One to make for guests at brunch, maybe with some other picky bits. Any consternation will disappear upon taste.

• I.F.C. (Indonesian fried chicken)

  • joneshayley on February 23, 2020

    Quite nice but there are better fried chicken options - the best part is the stock leftover.

• Beef & coconut patties

  • joneshayley on February 23, 2020

    Delightful, soft and juicy patties. The coconut makes for an unusual and delicious meatball. Children love this.

• Chicken sate

  • joneshayley on February 19, 2020

    I adored this coupled with the peanut sauce as described in the book - Rick liked it, but wants more spice, or a separate sambal for him.

  • patrick_qrpwvs on May 31, 2026

    This was extremely good with the suggested peanut sauce accompaniment. I cooked the chicken on a gas grill at the highest heat level and it came out great, but would probably be even better cooked over an open fire or with some woodsmoke added. The dish went well with a Thai-style cucumber and shallot salad. 10/10!

• Beef rendang

  • joneshayley on February 10, 2020

    Lovely deep flavours, tender and unctuous meat. Took longer than stated (about 3 hours).

  • Charlotte_vandenberg on February 15, 2020

    Superdelicious! Tastes like it tastes in Indonesia, or the Netherlands. Will definitely make this again.

  • totoro on June 22, 2020

    Delicious - solid recipe.

  • Frenchfoodie on April 18, 2021

    Delicious, didn’t go the usual deep brown when reduced but I put that down to the coconut milk brand. The taste was spot on though.

  • Idril on July 16, 2024

    Mine went dark brown though I didn’t dry the sauce up completely just to keep a little moisture in there. The fat from the coconut milk separates so you can sort of serve as much or little of this as you like. I would judge this depending on the texture of your beef. Mine still had quite a bite even after 3.5 hours cooking with top ups of water so I gave up and served it - probably this is down to the meat (“stewing beef” from butcher). It was still sublimely flavoured with unbelievable depth. I have in the past added tamarind to rendang so toyed with doing this here but I resisted just to judge the recipe as is and it was still lovely without the top note of sourness - had a sweeter darker taste. I did only cook 400g meat but made the full spice paste and would not make it any other way because the flavour was so good. Served with jasmine rice and pineapple pickle from this book - the pineapple completed perfectly and made up for slightly dry meat and gave the needed tanginess.

  • john_hpn9i3 on May 23, 2026

    This is a delicious rendang recipe. Worth the time. Very rich, and very unctuous.

• Coconut milk chicken (Opor ayam)

  • jenburkholder on March 22, 2021

    We thought this was fine, but not good enough to repeat. It was exactly as promised - creamy, mildly aromatic - but it ultimately just wasn't that interesting. Needs something sharp on the side.

• Roasted coconut chicken

  • joneshayley on February 27, 2020

    Fragrant and delicious. Served with roast potatoes and veg. The sauce particularly is amazing

  • Anea25 on May 30, 2024

    really nice and flavour with a bit of kick

  • swiand on November 10, 2025

    Three out of four really like this. The teenage daughter has issues with bananas and coconuts. Since this recipe has coconut she mentally couldn't get over that.

  • mimisingh on April 14, 2026

    Made exactly as specified. The chicken was cooked perfectly at 1 hour. Mine didn't really look burnished like the photo. The paste was still a little wet on the chicken, but I am not sure what caused the difference since my chicken was fully cooked when I cut into it. When I reheat the leftovers I might try broiling the chicken a little to get more char. Maybe my chilis were sweeter, but next time I wouldn't deseed either chili to get more spice contrast. The sauce had an interesting flavor that developed in the oven but it wasn't quite as exciting as I hoped.

• Sumatran lamb korma with golden lace pancakes

  • joneshayley on February 26, 2020

    Absolutely stand out, the best curry I’ve ever made. With the pancakes, dipped in the sauce, it’s a perfect marriage . I used lamb shoulder and cooked for longer, and used the coconut stock from ifc instead of water, personally I think this imparted extra flavour and if you’re meal planning for a week it’s worth poaching some chicken in coconut milk one night to have this another.

• Pork braised in kecap manis

  • metacritic on July 19, 2021

    On my first taste, I was disappointed, as it seemed good but flat compared to what I had been envisioning. A day later, however, this dish has taken on the depth of the star anise, which never quite announces itself, but deepens the flavor of the porcine chicken broth that has a quiet heat at its edges. It is very, very good and worth making again. I served with potato rendang and gado gado salad (both from another cookbook).

  • jenburkholder on February 05, 2022

    Quite tasty. Made on the weekend then had it for lunches, it had a nice little heat from the chiles and flavor of star anise and ginger. The ginger was a bit more pronounced than I expected - might cut down just a bit for balance.

• Potato tuturuga

  • joneshayley on February 23, 2020

    Another unusual and delicious recipe. The coconut cloaked potato is lightly spiced and very tasty. Yum!

• Roast pork with turmeric, ginger & garlic

  • joneshayley on February 22, 2020

    The paste and resulting sauce is fantastic! The pork very nice, and crackling perfect, but really the sauce was the stand out- could use it to stuff bones chicken thighs, or to top a roasted cauliflower.

• Ayam taliwang

  • joneshayley on February 19, 2020

    The sauce made for this is such a hit! Delivers spice, fragrance, fresh and an umami savour. It’s spicy yes, but alongside coconut rice and greens this is perfect for a family meal.

• Five minute stir-fry beef

  • joneshayley on February 27, 2020

    So fast, easy and delicious

• Spice Islands tuna

  • lkgrover on March 03, 2020

    Good marinated tuna steaks; the flavor is subtle and slightly sweet.

• Java spiced tempeh

  • jenburkholder on August 03, 2020

    One-dimensionally sweet, even significantly reducing the sugar. None of the lovely spices or aromatics came through at all, and the cooking method left the tempeh mealy and unappetizing. An unfortunate disappointment.

• Sweet ginger chicken

  • SuzyP on July 28, 2023

    Delicious. Made as per the recipe (used brown sugar as didn’t have dark palm sugar). Served with Mie Goreng from the same book.

  • mimisingh on September 27, 2025

    I really enjoyed this and it kept well. Mine didn't get as dark as the picture but I took my chicken out while the sauce was boiling down because it had already cooked through while the sauce was still pretty liquid for me.

• Javanese sea bass & spinach curry

  • Frenchfoodie on February 16, 2020

    This was a cinch to make and it was good to be able to get to strained sauce stage and then put aside - would make it easy to do as part of a large number of dishes. There was too much jaggery in the sauce for me though. Mild and creamy is fine, mild creamy and sweet was a step too far. I may well make again with far less jaggery.

• Snake beans with coconut milk

  • jenburkholder on August 03, 2020

    This was good, though it needed more acid than called for. I would also try cutting down the coriander, as I didn’t feel the flavors meshed perfectly. Added a handful of Thai basil in the end, as well.

  • patrick_qrpwvs on May 22, 2026

    When I had the great fortune to stumble upon fresh snake beans at an Indian shop in Eastern Europe, I had to try this recipe. This was really good! It needed additional salt added at the end (quite a bit) and took much longer to cook the beans to a good level of tenderness (maybe 25 mins total cooking time) but the end result was delicious. Definitely pair with rice to get every last bit of the amazing sauce!

• Hot & sour duck

  • joneshayley on February 20, 2020

    A beautiful recipe - don’t be afraid to use all of the chilli, especially if serving with the cooking coconut rice. This has so much going for it - spicy, sour, savoury, served with the semi sweet rice - just perfectly balanced

  • mzgourmand on July 07, 2020

    I think it is definitely a case of you enjoy the pungent hot-and-sour, or you don't: I liked the flavors of this recipe, my wife did not. As per joneshayley comment below, don't be afraid of using all the chiles - I was & I also didn't add any of the chili seeds b/c of said fear - in retrospect I should have added more of the first & some of the latter. The suggested method for the first cooking of the duck was fantastic: beautiful crispy skin and lot of rendered fat. However because you cook the duck a second time in the completed sauce for a few months, I would definitely cook it rarer than suggested - our duck meat was well-done. Finally author suggests, cutting the duck breast into "rags" - a tad precious and what she should have said is super thin slices of duck breast - again the toughness issue. If I make it again, I will cook duck for far less than suggested times & that may result in a more tender dish.

  • stepharama1 on May 08, 2023

    This came together surprisingly quickly for and Indonesian dish with a spice paste. The flavor was wonderfully rich (I subbed galangal for ginger) but the tamarind cut through the richness nicely. Leftover the next day may have been even better. I also echo what other reviewers have said: "Don't be afraid of adding all the chiles." The resulting flavors are very balanced.

• Laksa

  • joneshayley on February 22, 2020

    Made this for lunch, halved the recipe and used a chicken thigh, it was beautiful, rich and tasty, I’d happily be served this is any restaurant

• Vegetable urap with fresh spiced coconut

  • Frenchfoodie on February 15, 2020

    This had real potential, with lovely toastiness, even sweetness from the coconut. Worth drying the veg though as even a little moisture dulled the tastes.

  • lkgrover on March 04, 2020

    Delicious side dish with a unusual variety of flavors. I substituted bok choy for fern tips, and didn't use beansprouts (because I couldn't find them).

• Sweet coconut & basil salad (Trancam)

  • joneshayley on February 22, 2020

    This is amazing! Sweet, spicy, salty and savoury- an absolute stand out show stopper of a salad! Beautiful

• Shredded chicken salad with lemongrass & lime

  • patrick_qrpwvs on April 25, 2026

    This was delicious and very refreshing! I used Thai shrimp paste instead of terasi, which worked out fine (make sure to toast the paste!). Next time I would double the dressing amount, as it was not enough for the entire amount of salad. 8.5/10, would definitely make again!

• Pickled salad with sour peanut dressing

  • jenburkholder on July 01, 2022

    Good, though we edited a fair bit. Most importantly - used WAY less sugar. About 1 tbsp. Also omitted bean sprouts (bumped up cucumber) and prawn crackers. A bit different, but friendly and tasty.

• Stir-fried greens with garlic & chilli

  • joneshayley on February 19, 2020

    Great accompaniment for any meal.

  • mimisingh on April 14, 2026

    Forgot to log but I had made this with the sweet ginger chicken, it was just okay, would not repeat, unlike the chicken.

• Perfect steamed rice

  • joneshayley on February 19, 2020

    Perfectly cooked rice as promised.

• Solo coconut rice

  • joneshayley on February 19, 2020

    Such fragrant and lovely rice, I'll repeat this again and again.

  • Avocet on September 15, 2020

    Delicious and super easy. Made this in rice cooker, came out great. Used unsalted chicken stock, next time will add a pinch of salt to the rice.

• Nasi goreng

  • joneshayley on February 12, 2020

    Brilliant recipe for leftover rice. The flavours are complex and come together so fast. I’ll make this again.

  • Charlotte_vandenberg on February 15, 2020

    Not bad, not too spicy. A nice different nasi goreng.

• Rubber noodles with chicken (Mie ayam)

  • joneshayley on February 19, 2020

    Made with leftover chicken - this is delicious, an easy midweek meal that delivers on flavour and complexity.

  • Etrnalhope on February 08, 2021

    Delicious!! Didn’t have shallots, so I subbed a large onion and topped with Chinese fried onions. Didn’t have kecap manis, so I made it following this recipe: https://www.daringgourmet.com/homemade-kecap-manis-indonesian-sweet-soy-sauce/

  • Frenchfoodie on August 20, 2023

    Delicious, lots of ingredients add up to a harmonious whole. Really easy to prep in advance and then pull together in 10 minutes too. Winner.

• Mie goreng

  • SuzyP on July 28, 2023

    Delicious. Didn’t use any protein as I served it with the Chicken Ginger Chicken.

• Sambal oelek

  • swiand on May 10, 2026

    This was easy to make and although I am not a sambal oelek expert was very tasty in our main recipe. I didn't know what kind of large red pepper to use but my neighborhood Latin store has a reliable supply of red jalapenos and they worked out just fine. Easy and glad to have a sambal oelek with all the additives of store bought jars.

• Red chilli sambal

  • joneshayley on February 10, 2020

    Brilliant sambal, The author is right - the flavour of the chilli is highlighted as well as the heat. I’ll make this again.

• Peanut sauce

  • joneshayley on February 19, 2020

    Beautiful sauce - I love it but it’s not spicy like more commercial satay peanut style sauces.

  • patrick_qrpwvs on May 31, 2026

    This satay sauce was delicious and quite easy to make, as long as you have a decent food processor to make the nut butter. Was perfect with the chicken sate recipe from the book. 10/10, will do again.

• Tempeh with red chilli & palm sugar

  • Charlotte_vandenberg on September 25, 2022

    Very nice, we will definitely make this again!

• Marbled eggs

  • joneshayley on February 20, 2020

    Nice to look at but no real taste is imparted and the long cook means green ringed yolk.

• Chocolate & lemongrass ice cream

  • Busylady on August 30, 2020

    Absolutely delicious. I made it, then half an hour in icecream maker then in freezer overnight. Was with fresh lemongrass and amazing.

• Green coconut pancakes

  • Anea25 on September 03, 2024

    These were a bit fidly to make. The filling is necessary because there is no sugar in the pancakes. Having them together balances the flavours.

• Spice & butter cake

  • joneshayley on February 22, 2020

    One of the best cakes I’ve ever made. Soft and delicately spiced , brilliant with tea

  • Charlotte_vandenberg on August 03, 2020

    Super delicious, tastes exactly like spekkoek. Probably I didn’t leave the cake in the oven long enough or overbeat the egg whites, there were parts of the cake that ‘collapsed’ and weren’t as airy as the rest. Will definitely try again soon.