Fifty-two year ago I went on a high school “educational” tour to Europe. In Amsterdam, we stayed on a government training ship for their naval recruits -- this was no luxury cruise ship, believe me. But the food was delicious. The Dutch colonized Indonesia in the late fifteen hundreds -- spices were among goods Europeans wanted, nutmeg and cloves came from this colony.
For our final celebratory meal, the ship’s cooks prepared a dish of spicy chicken on rice with peanut gravy and a soft fried egg on top that I’ve dreamed about all these years. Now I’m finding tips on peanut gravy as a healthier and more interesting way of seasoning broccoli, cauliflower and more than a fattening cheese sauce or just lots of butter. If you’re cooking new things, look up Indonesian peanut gravy and give it a try.