INDONESIAN CUISINE in the Netherlands
On 2 April 1595, history was written. Seven merchants from Amsterdam had collected an at the time incredible sum of 80,000 guilders for a mission aimed at establishing a spice trade. Four ships took off from Texel heading towards the East Indies. The spice trade was very lucrative at the time.
Bali
Badhuisweg 1 | P (+31) 70-338 77 88
| The Raffles
Javastraat 63 | P (+31) 70-345 85 87
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Jimbaran
Prinsestraat 106 | (+31) 70-361 71 85 | Sarinah
oudenregenplein 4 | P (+31) 70-360 15 85 |
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Land’s Advocate of Holland Johan van Oldenbarnevelt founded the Dutch East India Company (VOC) in 1602 with the support of Prince Maurits. The VOC books show that between 1602 and 1795, 973,000 men had travelled to India with the intention of staying there for a period of time. The Dutch colonial rule in East India would last three centuries.
The long, harsh sea voyage to the East Indies stopped many women from travelling to the East Indies. Due to the shortage of Dutch women in Indonesia, many Dutch men there married native Indonesian women. Soon the number of mixed children increased. These Eurasians were later called ‘Indonesian Dutch’, ‘Indo-Europeans’ or ‘Indos’. That last term had a negative connotation in their mind. Indonesians at the time were regarded as inferior people who were only good for taking care of Dutch households and doing dirty jobs. Now, in 2008, no one
minds being called an Indo. On the contrary: the current generation of Indonesians are proud of their roots.
After Indonesia became independent in 1949, President Soekarno demanded that all the Dutch, more than 300,000 people, leave the country. One of the results of that massive exodus was that the Indonesian gastronomic culture made its way to the Netherlands.
By 1960, most of the Indonesian Dutch people had arrived in their new mother country. At the time, shops only offered very few exotic products.
The Indonesian cuisine soon became popular due to its variety of herbs and dishes. That variety can be explained by the fact that Indonesia is made up of more than 1200 islands, each with their own recipes.
What’s more, Dutch cooking was not very spectacular at the time. It usually consisted of potatoes, overcooked vegetables and a piece of meat in a thick gravy.
The Netherlands now counts more than fifty Indonesian restaurants. The quality and taste of the Indonesian cuisine is better in the Netherlands than in Indonesia itself, because the quality standards in Europe are higher than in Indonesia. Furthermore, the best Indonesian products are imported by the Netherlands and the quality of Dutch meat, fi sh and vegetables is better than in Indonesia.
In short: the Indonesian cuisine is fully integrated in Dutch society. One can now find sambal and satay sauce in every supermarket. |
