London, (Antara) - The Indonesian embassy in Mexico promoted a culinary form of "tempe mendoan" and "bakwan" during the Semana de ASEAN (ASEAN Week) which was organized in the Mexican Senate House from October 27 to 30, 2015.
Tempe mendoan is a kind of soybean cake cooking that is made from thin tempeh, fried with flour so as to taste deliciously piquant, while bakwan is an Indonesian fried meal consisting of vegetables and batter.
"Bakwan and tempe mendoan are being introduced to the Mexican community by the Indonesian embassy, as the cooking method is very easy and the raw materials are easily available in the local market," embassy spokesperson Febby Fahrani told Antara in London Saturday.
Tempe mendoan and bakwan, produced by the Darmasiswa Indonesian alumni of scholarship recipients in Mexico, were promoted in order to be more widely known in Mexican society, she noted.
During the event, the scholarship recipients also held a cooking demonstration in a particular gastronomic diversity to introduce their country to the Mexican community, Indonesian Ambassador to Mexico Yusra Khan, who opened the ASEAN Week, remarked.
The video of some 30 icons of Indonesian culinary arts and gastronomy, the history of food, various spices, types of food, and eating habits in Indonesia were aired for 60 participants from the office of parliament and academics, Khan noted.
He also explained the similarity of Indonesian and Mexican cuisine such as chili and salsa, and the difference in taste such as avocado for sweet drinks in Indonesia while in Mexico the avocado can be used for food sauces.
Indonesia is a food lover¿s paradise, but it remains a relatively undiscovered region which forever lives under the gourmet shadow of its rivals, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam, Wayne Johnson, a culinary adventurer said.
Most people, if they have any notion of Indonesian cuisine at all, may associate it with "nasi goreng" (fried rice) or satay (meat cooked and presented on skewers with peanut sauce).
But despite the fact that both of these dishes can be delicious, it does a great disservice to an archipelago containing hundreds of different cultures and a wide range of flora and fauna.
There has also been a long history of immigration and integration, so Chinese cooking and influences are very strong, as to a lesser extent are Indian and Arabic flavors.
However, these influences and styles vary greatly across a country which stretches more than 2800 miles from the westernmost tip of Sabang in Sumatra to the easternmost tip of Merauke in Papua.
For those who truly want a gastronomic tour with a difference, there can be few things more adventurous and intriguing than traveling through Indonesia's regions and sampling the different local culinary specialties.(*)
