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2008.11.20

Comments

Annie

How does this sate compare to Kajang satay? I miss satay--I rarely order it here at the restaurants cuz it's just never as good and it's so humbug to make my own that I seldom do it. Oh, to be in the region again and be able to order the many varieties of satay...

Christopher Harshawardhana Mitchell

Gule is the closest approximation we Indonesians have of an Indian-style curry. Its spices often include things like cinnamon and cumin, as well as typical Indonesian ingredients such as galangal and lemon grass. I believe it is originally a dish from Sumatra, where the Indian influence on food is stronger.

Love the blog!

C.S.

"'What are you doing in Jakarta?' I asked him, half-jokingly. 'There are no forests here.'"

Robyn, you'll never make it in government, I'm afraid...

Robyn

Hi Annie - the difference, to my taste, is in the sauce: peanuty but not quite as sweet as Malaysian satay sauce.

Thanks Christopher - I wonder then if gule is equivalent to Malaysian gulai which is, essentially curry (of many types).

CS - I've never been known for my subtlety.

Andrew

Gule is actually pronounced Gulai in Sumatra. However, Gule in Jakarta is usually much lighter in coconut milk and less spicy than the Gulai in the Western and the Northern part of Sumatra such as Padang and Medan.

Andrew

Gule is actually pronounced Gulai in Sumatra. However, Gule in Jakarta is usually much lighter in coconut milk and less spicy than the Gulai in the Western and the Northern part of Sumatra such as Padang and Medan.

Robyn

Thanks Andrew. We've had gulai in Padang and yes, it is coconuty rich.

Christopher Harshawardhana Mitchell

The letters "-e" and "-ai" are more or less interchangeable in Indonesian, so gulai and gule are obviously the same thing.
As another example, the word for lemon grass is generally spelled "serai", but often pronounced "sere".
Malaysia and Sumatra are very close in terms of culture and cuisine - lots of flow back and forth between the two.

Ed

Was this lamb - or was this actually "goat"? They're both covered by the same word "kambing".

Bayu Amus

Nice blog!

The place mentioned is about 15 minutes walk from where I used to work.

But I myself doesn't favor that place a lot, since the meat is sometimes not tender enough / cooked through.

Another historical kambing-based food near the location is the "Nasi Goreng Kambing Kebon Sirih". Open at night time only, it's about 100m east of Jaya Agung. But then again, quality has been decreasing more and more each time I visited up to the point of pointless to visit.

But both places are still crowded with visitors, so I think it's me that's strange =D

Anyway, "kambing" is more refered to "goat" while "domba" is lamb. Though the scent is significantly stronger, Jakarta people loves kambing more than domba.

vicong

There a lot of sate version in Jakarta but I think in the street vendor you can find more common is Madura, Padang, Tegal and maybe Bogor/Betawi (not sure, they not identified it. Usually sell with soto and soup Bogor/Betawi) .

Jaya Agung I think the Madura style, Jakarta people will refer the area with the name Sarinah or Sabang.

In Madura, Tegal and Bogor sate style besides peanut sauces with kecap you can choose another sauces that called kecap sauces (kecap with cabe rawit, no peanut) must try it :)

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