Welcome to this month's edition of Six Degrees of Separation, which is a monthly meme hosted by Kate from Books Are My Favourite and Best. The idea is to start with a specific book and make a series of links from one book to the next using whatever link you can find and see where you end up after six links. I am also linking this post up with The Sunday Salon, hosted by Deb at Readerbuzz and A Good Book and a Cup of Tea hosted at Boondock Ramblings.
A Dutch author I have read is Simone Van Der Blugt. Her book was called Midnight Blue and was about the distinctive Delft pottery, in particular the time when the art on the pottery changed from being of Asian scenes to being of Dutch scenes which we associate with it now.
Another art inspired book was The Naturalist of Amsterdam by Melissa Ashley which featured a mother and daughter naturalists who drew flowers and produced amazing books. Part of this book was set in Suriname which was a Dutch colony. (My review)
When I first visited Amsterdam back in the 1990s I was a little surprised that we went to an Indonesian restaurant for dinner. The reason for this was that what we now call Indonesia was another Dutch colony known as the Dutch East Indies. Sunbirds by Mirandi Riwoe tells the story of fighting for Indonesian independence from the Dutch against the backdrop of WII. (My review)
The capital of independent Indonesia is now called Jakarta but it used to be known as Batavia. My brother in law and his family live in a town where there is a replica of the boat of the same name (and a shopping centre called Batavialand!). A new release that I am interested in reading is Daughters of Batavia by Stefanie Koens
The Dutch played an important part in the history of European discovery of Australia. landing here long before the British arrived. I have long been interested in the story of the Batavia, which was shipwrecked off the coast of Western Australia in 1629. A book that tells the story of the Batavia is The Night Ship by Jess Kidd.
Finally, I am going to finish with a contemporary novel by an Australian author which is partially set in Amsterdam and features a tall Dutch man as the main male character. My husband is 100% Dutch blood even though he was born in South Africa, as both of his parents are Dutch. The book is I Knew You Were Trouble by Sandy Barker but Robert is no trouble whatsoever! (My review)
So there's my Six Degrees of Separation with a Dutch flavour. Both the first and last covers feature the distinctive houses of Amsterdam so that is almost a full circle right?
I picked up this book from the library a few weeks ago on a whim, which was probably a bit silly given that I knew that I was going to struggle to read it before we went away on holidays. However, I started reading the prologue, which is about the bombing of seaplanes in Roebuck Bay near Broome during WWII, and was really moved by it. I even gave it to my husband and said read this. When I went to school I don't recall really being taught that places like Broome and Darwin were bombed during the war. I think most people would know about Darwin now, but I don't think the other bombings would be as well known. We visited Broome a couple of years ago so are familiar with the history and it is one that intrigues me. At low tide you can still walk out to the wrecks of the seaplanes, although they are disintegrating with time.
This was a fascinating story set against the backdrop of agitation for Indonesian independence from the Dutch, with a novelette woven through which is the story of a murdered girl, and all the while the Japanese get closer and closer and so the tension builds and builds. Of course, much like the British in Singapore and Hong Kong, they believe that there is no way that the Japanese will possibly take their country. Some of the Asian characters initially believed that the Japanese will assist with their desire for self rule, although looking back we know that this didn't really happen anywhere.
Our main character is Anna van Hoorn. She is the daughter of a Dutch plantation owner and a desperately unhappy Indo woman named Hermine. Anna's family is wealthy, and maintains many Dutch traditions but Anna is fascinated by many of the local customs. She grew up with many of the villagers and often slips away to learn out to do the traditional dances and eat the traditional foods. In many ways she doesn't necessarily fit into either culture. She is respected in the Dutch community only because of her father's money and must always be seen to be morally upright, and yet she is not really accepted into the village because of her father's money.
One of her family's guests is Mattijs, a Dutch pilot who is hoping to make a new life in the Dutch East Indies. Anna's father believes that this will be a good match and so the machinations begin. But Anna is also fascinated with Sigit, brother of the van Hoorn's housekeeper Diah. Sigit is a separatist, agitating for self rule. Diah has dreams of her own. Her brother looks down on her because she works looking after the family, but she knows that in doing so she can work towards the future that she wants.
I always appreciate the opportunity to read a WWII story that is just that bit different. There are WWII books out there set in the Asian theatre of war but nowhere near as many as there are set in Europe. I can't think of many set in what is now Indonesia. This is, however, much more than just a WWII story. It is a story about identity and belonging, about the path to self rule and more.
Riwoe also did a great job portraying the various different lives from food and languages to culture. You could feel the tropical heat rising off the page, smell the spices in the food and hear the birds. It's very evocative. I have only previously read her novella, The Fish Girl, which I reviewed here. I enjoyed this book immensely, so will definitely be tracking down her previous book and looking forward to whatever comes next.
I am sharing this review with Historical Fiction Reading Challenge which I host .
One of the meals that regularly makes it into our meal rotation is nasi goreng. Nasi goreng is a dish that is South East Asian in origin, served in countries such as Indonesia, Singapore and Brunei and the name nasi goreng literally means fried rice. It has been named as one of the five national dishes of Indonesia, along with soto, rendang, sate, and gado-gado.
Indonesia had colonial ties to the Netherlands. I first tried nasi goreng at a restaurant in Amsterdam when I was there years ago. My husband has Dutch ancestry and so learnt to make nasi goreng whilst growing up in South Africa. When we make it, it is generally made with minced beef and then topped with fried banana and fried egg, usually made by mixing the eggs and then frying so it is almost like a flat scrambled egg, similar to how it is done in Chinese cookery.
This time four years ago I was in South Africa meeting my in-laws for the first time. We spent some time with my brother and sister-in-law doing a safari and on the way back we stopped at a Dutch shop. I was surprised to see my sister-in-law buy huge quantities of nasi goreng spice mix. We were happy not to as we could still easily get the premade mix from the supermarket. Of course, the wisdom of her ways was shown when not long after that we could no longer buy it here. It is possible to buy our preferred brand off of Amazon or the like, but it isn't cheap by the time that you buy the small packet and pay for postage. We have tried a couple of other brands but we weren't that impressed. Maybe we will have to pick up a stock when we visit The Netherlands later in the year.
A while ago we therefore thought that we would try and make our own spice mix which we now have saved in the cupboard for when we make nasi goreng. There aren't a lot of recipes for the spice mix around but the ones that I can find pretty much have this list of ingredients as the base, but the quantities vary depending on the recipe.
Nasi Goreng spice mix
garlic powder laos/galangal powder
ginger chili powder (or ground chilis)
coriander / ketumbar
sereh / lemongrass
turmeric cumin / djintan onion powder
fine salt
The version that we have made is very tasty, although it is quite spicy so we will need to play with the quantities next time we make it.
I mentioned last week that my son was in America. He was supposed to be back earlier this week but unfortunately his flight was cancelled so he only arrived home this morning. What this meant is that we could have another seafood meal without worrying about the fact that he won't eat it, something we were happy to take advantage of.
We therefore found the following recipe for a baked prawn nasi goreng tray bake and thought we would give it ago. We actually really enjoyed this recipe as we made it (we couldn't get a couple of the ingredients) but we will be doing it a bit differently next time we make it.
Baked Prawn Nasi Goreng
60ml (1/4 cup) vegetable oil 500g peeled green prawns, deveined, tails intact 1 brown onion, finely chopped 1 long fresh red chilli, thinly sliced 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped 300g green beans, thinly sliced 1 tsp shrimp paste 450g packet microwave jasmine rice 250g packet microwave jasmine rice 2 1/2 tbsp kecap manis, plus extra, to serve
2 1/2 tbsp tamari 1 tsp chicken stock powder 4 eggs Green shallots, thinly sliced diagonally, to serve Sambal oelek, to drizzle
Preheat oven to 200C/180C fan forced. Heat 1 tbsp oil in a 5cm-deep, 25 x 35cm flameproof roasting pan over medium-high heat. Add the prawns and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes or until golden. Transfer to a bowl.
Reduce heat to medium. Add the onion, chilli and remaining oil to the pan. Cook, stirring, for 5 minutes or until the onion softens. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute or until aromatic. Add the green beans and cook, stirring, for about 3 minutes or until tender crisp. Add the shrimp paste and cook, breaking up the paste with a wooden spoon, for 1 minute or until well combined and aromatic. Remove from heat.
Add the rice to the pan and stir, breaking up the rice with a wooden spoon, until well combined. Add the kecap manis and tamari. Stir until the rice is coated. Sprinkle with the stock powder. Pour in 250ml (1 cup) water and stir until combined. Transfer to the oven and bake for 10 minutes.
Add the prawns to the rice mixture and stir until combined. Make 4 indents in the rice mixture. Crack an egg into each indent. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until the eggs are cooked and the edges of the rice are crisp.
Top the rice bake with shallot, sambal oelek and extra kecap manis to serve.
We didn't have shrimp paste or sambal oelek, so we had to improvise a bit, but it was a delicious dinner. When we make it again we will do it a little differently. Firstly, we will use our spice mix as part of the process, or maybe throw some Old Bay Seasoning in seeing as we now have a gigantic bottle of that. We will,however, definitely use prawns without tails on. The tails do look pretty but make it a bit tricky to eat so we will use prawn meat instead next time. Normally we would cook our own rice, but this was a convenient way to do the rice, and we loved cooking the eggs this way so we will do them again this way too. It was so delicious that I didn't even remember to take a picture!
And now I want to find a good beef rendang recipe.
Oh, and if you are in Australia and happen to see the brand of spice mix above let me know!
Weekly meals
Saturday - Weekend away
Sunday - Weekend away
Monday - Chicken and broccoli pasta bake
Tuesday - Green Curry Chicken Pie
Wednesday - Baked Prawn Nasi Goreng
Thursday - Bacon, mushroom, bacon pasta
Friday -
Weekend Cooking is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book reviews (novel, nonfiction), cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, quotations, photographs, restaurant reviews, travel information, or fun food facts. If your post is even vaguely foodie, feel free to grab the button and link up anytime over the weekend. You do not have to post on the weekend. Please link to your specific post, not your blog's home page
Recently I listened to Historical Novel Society Australasia's podcast interview with Mirandi Riwoe which is part of it's Imagining the Past series. Whilst I had heard of the author before, I wasn't that familiar with the books that she has written so it was interesting to listen to her talk. I was especially interested in reaading her work given that her books have unusual historical settings. I love a World War II historical fiction book as much as the next person, but it is nice to venture further afield both in location and timing.
The Fish Girl is set in Dutch colonial Indonesia and features Mina, a young village girl, who is unwillingly sent away by her father to work in the house of a wealthy Dutch merchant. Whilst she is a simple village girl who loves the sea, she soon catches the eye of the master and begins to serve his meals, including when he is entertaining. One evening, he has four Dutchmen come to dinner and one of them quickly becomes besotted with Mina and so begins to visit her, ostensibly for lessons on how to speak Malay. It is, however, clear that he is interested in her, bestowing her with gifts. However, Mina's interest is with Ajat, the son of the head man from her village. He is handsome, and a link with home. In the village, she would be too lowly for him, but here, they are drawn together.
This story is inspired by another short story, W Somerset Maugham's The Four Dutchmen. In that story he tells the tale of four Dutch sailors who travel the seas together and have a pact about retiring together at the end of their lives. One of those has a penchant for Malay girls, and this is where Riwoe has taken inspiration. Whilst in Somerset's story, the young girl is only referred to as a "Malay trollop", Riwoe has given her a name, a backstory, hopes and dreams. What she cannot and does not do is give her a different future than the one in the original story.
The first two thirds of this novella are packed with food descriptions, from the simpler food of the village to the richer food served in the Dutch merchant's house. Mina works in the kitchen with the always grumpy cook, Ibu Tana, who really doesn't like her, especially as she is shown favour by the master and his guests.
Ibu Tana tries to teach her to cook other dishes besides fried fish with sambal. The cook grumbles that nobody can live on fried fish alone. Of course, Mina knows this to be untrue. She is aghast at the variety of food the master and his guests insist upon, that even the servants enjoy. Only on very special occasions is a chicken or goat slaughtered in her village. And only the men eat their fill; women and children busily clear the cooking pots, douse the fire, sweep the hearth while waiting for what rice or meat might remain. But in the Dutch house Mina eats well, tastes sauces and sweets she never knew existed. She wishes her mother could try these wonderments, and vows to take her some food wrapped in banana leaves when she returns to the village for a visit, even if she has to steal morsels from behind Ibu Tana’s back.
One of the first things she learns to cook is pisang epe. Ibu Tana teaches her to fry the banana with palm sugar until it is brittle and sweet, how to recognise when to take it from the pan. Mina learns to knead dough for Dutch desserts and Chinese dumplings, how to slice the shallots and garlic so finely that, when fried, they become as wispy as wood shavings.
Once the day’s cooking has been done and all the dishes washed and sorted, Mina stands on the kitchen balcony and breathes in the traces of spice left on her fingertips — the peppery coriander, the tang of the lime leaves. She smells the night air, searching for the salt of the sea on the evening breeze. She closes her eyes and strains to hear the ocean’s whisper, which is occasionally disrupted by a dog barking or the night call of an owl. It’s in these closing moments of each night, when she feels the ocean’s presence, Mina remembers who she is. But the memory has weight, sinks in her chest like a pebble in the sea. She misses her mother. She misses the silence of plaiting the netting with her, she misses their rhythm of scaling the fish. She misses falling asleep besides her mother’s soft breathing, while the ocean whispers to her through the gap in the wall.
Where this novella shines is in the descriptions of the places and the food, bringing to life the smell, taste of food, the smell of the ocean and more. Mina's connection to the sea has an almost mythical feel to it which adds another layer to the story.
The novella is broken into three parts. I loved the first two parts, which concentrated on Mina and her new life but the third felt a little rushed, and very sad, but as I mentioned previously Mina's fate was already determined in the original story.
I do find the Dutch colonisation of Indonesia to be an interesting period of history, I think because I never really made the connection in my mind between the two countries until much later than school. We learned about early Dutch exploration of Western Australia, and that they were in the vicinity because of the Dutch East Indies Company and spices. I also have distinct memories of being in primary school and seeing the wreck of the Dutch ship Batavia. Years later I was reading a book which was set in Batavia and I had an aha moment about the fact that the Dutch were in Indonesia and they I remember when I was on my European tour, we were in Amsterdam and the included dinner was at an Indonesian restuarant, which I remember being puzzled by. It is a subject that I have been intending to read more of. I am also mindful that there are very few, if any, colonisation stories that end well for the local people.
It is of greater interest to me now because my husband is of Dutch descent. His parents were both born in the Netherlands so he is really 100% Dutch, despite being born in South Africa. We do eat some Indonesian food on occasion, in particular Nasi Goreng served with fried banana and egg, and we recently made a nasi spice mix, which needs some refinement, because right now it is a bit hot!
I really liked this novella and it was nominated for a number of prizes, including winning the Seizure’s Viva la Novella prize. I am definitely going to be seeking out Mirani Riwoe's latest book which is called Stone Gold Sky Mountain and is setting on the gold mining fields of Queensland, which will be a new setting. I know about goldrushes in Victoria and Western Australia, but I don't know much about the history of gold mining in Queensland at all.
Rating 4/5
About the book
Winner of the 2017 Seizure Viva La Novella Prize
Sparked by the description of a ‘Malay trollope’ in W. Somerset Maugham’s story, ‘The Four Dutchmen’, Mirandi Riwoe’s novella, The Fish Girl, tells of an Indonesian girl whose life is changed irrevocably when she moves from a small fishing village to work in the house of a Dutch merchant. There she finds both hardship and tenderness as her traditional past and colonial present collide.
Told with an exquisitely restrained voice and coloured with lush description, this moving book will stay with you long after the last page.
Weekend Cooking is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book reviews (novel, nonfiction), cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, quotations, photographs, restaurant reviews, travel information, or fun food facts. If your post is even vaguely foodie, feel free to grab the button and link up anytime over the weekend. You do not have to post on the weekend. Please link to your specific post, not your blog's home page
A couple of months ago I shared our experience of Atlas Masterclasses. We have continued to do masterclasses everyy second week and the plan is to continue to do that for a while yet.
I am not going to go through the details of how the masterclass works because I already did that here. I would say though that one of the things that I enjoy is that although the recipes are not necessarily normal, they are very accessible. Every week, we ask my son to cook at least one meal a week, even in the weeks that we are doing these boxes, and he seems to enjoy being the cook on these nights.
This week, I am sharing the last three countries that we visited.
Indonesia
Satay Chicken Skewers with Rice and Pineapple Sambal
Beef Rendang, Roti and Cucumber Salad - enjoyed this one a lot!
Mei Goreng, Tofu, Crispy Egg - not our favourite I am afraid
Singapore
Grilled pork chops, black bean sauce and singapore noodles -This was our favourite from Singapore week
Hainanese chicken rice, chinese broccoli, ginger and spring onion sauce
Forgot to take a picture of Cauliflower, potato biryani, almond, mint, tomato
Germany
Chicken schnitzel, mustard mash, zucchini, asparagus and dill salad
Cheese kransky, warm cabbage and apple salad with pretzel and curry wurst sauce - I really enjoyed the warm cabbage and apple salad and the pretzel
Smoked pork hock, rosti and apple slaw
Next week we are doing France, and I can't wait!
This week
Saturday: Rib eye steak, baked potato and green salad
Sunday: Lasagne
Monday: Singapore noodles with chicken
Tuesday: Pork chops, mash potato, sweetcorn and green beans
Wednesday: Chicken Tikka Masala with Rice
Thursday: Chicken Schnitzel Burgers
Friday: Pizza (takeaway)
Weekend Cooking is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book reviews (novel, nonfiction), cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, quotations, photographs, restaurant reviews, travel information, or fun food facts. If your post is even vaguely foodie, feel free to grab the button and link up anytime over the weekend. You do not have to post on the weekend. Please link to your specific post, not your blog's home page.
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