Padangs Food

Indonesian Foods Are the Spice of Life
By Chuck R Stewart


When you want Indonesian food, and there is not an Asian market nearby or if there is not an Asian market around at all, you have two choices. You can accept that you will never be able to walk around a grocery that has the kinds of foods you love, or you can do what so many other people are doing these days - shopping for Indonesian food online. There are many places where convenience meets technology, and online Indonesian food businesses were made for just such a situation as this by their owners with the same frustrations. No gas, no driving for miles just to satisfy your craving for food from your homeland or just for a more exotic taste during your week. These stores also offer some of the lowest prices in North America as well as some of the most recognized Indonesian food brands.


Like most large countries, there is no one kind of Indonesian cuisine, but Indonesian food has some generalities that make its many kinds of Indonesian foods unique, whether the Indonesian food is a play off other countries' foods or whether the dishes are native to various Indonesian regions. Some Indonesian dishes are influenced by Chinese cuisine (and vice versa), but others, such as the Padang food in Sumatra, show some Middle Eastern and Indian influence. Indonesian food is commonly eaten with a spoon in the right hand and a fork in the left, although in parts of the country, Indonesian food is just eaten with one's hands, as utensils are not easily procured.


Like many Asian cultures, rice is the foundation of every meal. It can be eaten in a soup or with vegetables and meat. Rice can also be steamed in coconut fronds, which is called ketaput, or made into crackers, desserts, or even wines. Fried rice, called nasi goring, is one of the most popular Indonesian food dishes, although meat on a skewer served with peanut sauce (sate or satay), bean sprouts and vegetables with peanut sauce, and various kinds of seafood are also quite popular Indonesian foods. Indonesia has a gold mine of native tropical fruits that are enjoyed for their richness all over the world, including custard apples, guavas, rambutan, mangoes, starfruits, and papayas. In the Sumatra regions, they often provide curried meats and vegetables like gulai, which is an Indonesian curry with a characteristic yellow color from the spice turmeric and coconut milk. The Chinese influence on Indonesian food is seen in the prevalence of rice, noodles, and meatballs. Some Indonesian foods, however, are unique to the region, like tempe, which has become popular worldwide. Tempe comes from Java; its origin was a result of deforestation as protein became harder to come by, and the tempe provided an adequate alternative.


Vendors are a regular sight in Indonesia, and they often sell Chinese-inspired Indonesian foods like buns and noodles. Pork used to be sold, too, but with the rise of Islam in Indonesia, it is not used as often in traditional dishes.

Padangs Food

How to Make Indonesian Spicy Food - "Rendang" From Padang West Sumatra
By Darso Rhadika




Indonesia have thousands of Island, the second biggest Island is Sumatera. Sumatera is divided into six Provinces, and one of them is West Sumatera. There is a famous city at this province named Padang City.

Besides richness of customs and many good destinations, Padang has hundreds of food recipes. If you visiting Padang City one time, don't forget to taste The Padang Cuisine. Padang Cuisine one of the famous Indonesian culinary.


Padang was famous with the spicy foods that is Rendang, base material rendang from egg or meat and red pepper.

I am sure after having a meal Rendang your sight will be more bright, and you can refresh your mind.....of course after that you can do your activity with fresh, fresh.... hah!

Here is complete recipe:

For 4 portions serving:

- ¼ kg. Meat
- 4 cloves red onion
- red pepper (as your desire)
- chili (as your desire)
- 3 cloves garlic
- 4 - 5 cloves candlenut
-1 stick lemongrass
- 3 pcs lemon leaf
- 1 clove ginger plant
- salt
- sugar palm
- Flavoring
- vegetable oil
- coconut milk

Cooking instructions:

Slice meat as your desire and then clean it.
Boiling water then put meat inside and let it boil for 15 minutes
Raises meat (in order it more tender)
Pound all of ingredients or spices except lemongrass, lemon leaf and ginger plant.

Fry all of ingredients, put inside lemongrass, lemon leaf and ginger plant let it up to good smell, then put meat inside pour coconut milk sufficiently.

Cooking its up to water shrink, then rendang spicy ready for serving.

Padangs Food

When Relief Operations Get Overwhelmed
By M E Reza


The principal challenge in any emergency following a natural disaster comprises providing immediate relief support to the worst affected populations. In practically all of the cases, the vulnerable groups disproportionately affected by natural disasters are the women and children. Lest we forget, the elderly were not spared and suffered equally in these situations. Humanitarian assistance hence has to focus on attending to the greatest needs including food, water, sanitation, and public health. Inordinate delays will exacerbate the crisis, propelling such situations into another full grown disaster. A fresh review of the experiential lessons learned in recent natural calamities will put this subject in a better disaster management perspective.


The series of disasters in Asia over the past six months underscored the need for greater preparedness. In many instances, when nature vents its fury, it cuts a disastrous path across borders, leaving catastrophic devastation in countries affected. 26th September 2009 saw tropical storm Ketsana tore through Philippines, killing at least 292 people and affecting another three million. Ketsana barreled through Philippines to Vietnam, Cambodia, and also Laos, leaving in its wake damage and destruction including the death toll. In Vietnam more than 170,000 homes were flooded while in the Quang Nam province 6,300 houses were destroyed. The impact on the world's second largest rice exporter can best be illustrated through scenes of thousands of farm animals dead and almost 50,000 hectares damaged.


Then on 29th September the Pacific islands of Samoa, American Samoa and Tonga were battered by a tsunami. Earthquakes struck the city of Padang, Western Sumatra with at least 1,100 people killed. Philippines again received another blow with the arrival of typhoon Parma in October. Relief efforts were thus stretched with field operations spread out at different areas/countries requiring almost simultaneous emergency humanitarian assistance.

At the peak of the Ketsana emergency response in the Philippines, the UN World Food Programme had to rapidly expand its relief operations to provide one million people with food and other vital supplies. In the Philippines' experience, Ketsana caught rescuers and emergency response team off-guard. With the typhoon rushing in on a weekend, emergency response grounded to a slow pace, and coordination being stuck since government offices were closed. To top it all, emergency and relief workers were trapped in their own homes.


With much of the suburban areas remained waterlogged logistical problems delayed relief efforts. Access for delivery of assistance was impeded with much of eastern manila immersed in knee-deep mud and out of reach. Faced with the logistical problems, relief items dwindled fast within just three days of the floods. Food and water supplies were inadequate. As such many people have to endure hunger and pain waiting for humanitarian assistance. At the evacuation centres there were scenes of long lines of hungry and tired flood survivors. Manila's health infrastructure were substantially destroyed, the full magnitude of the disaster simply overwhelmed emergency response capabilities. A general appeal went out to the private medical and health services to assist survivors especially the children cope with post traumatic stress. Beleaguered by the enormity of the calamity the situation forced Philippines President Gloria Arroyo to appeal for international assistance on 28th September.


The challenges were enormous. After Ketsana's onslaught, the resulting floods, the worst in decades shattered many infrastructural facilities. Toilets at emergency centres overflowed, water supply and power still knocked out, and piles of rotting rubbish abound. The capital Manila and the suburbs were under threat from disease outbreaks. In one of the worst hit areas, only three battered portable toilets were installed for more than 3,000 flood survivors. Administrators of some schools turned into emergency centres had to padlock bathrooms since the toilets had clogged posing hazards to occupants sleeping on the grounds with only cardboard matting. (i)

Just two days after Ketsana pummeled the northern island of Luzon and Metro Manila, rescuers and relief workers were pushed to the limit. Maintaining basic standard of sanitation remains challenging. As flood waters recede, piles of rubbish and debris appeared everywhere.

By then almost half a million were affected and 116,000 already moved to 200 evacuation centres. The ensuing floods wiped out entire villages, particularly the poor communities in the low-lying areas along river banks and tributaries. In all, more than 2.5 million people were affected. The numbers alone were mind boggling. As the days went by, those evacuated increased to 700,000 people and the number of evacuation centres went up to 700 scattered around Manila.