Beans in Javanese coconut sauce
Plan
West Indo Caribbean curry paste
For quick and easy Indo Caribbean meals with vegetables, poultry, meat and fish
The Surinamese Javanese cuisine is a true Asian cuisine with sweet, delicately flavored and spicy tastes.
The Javanese people in Surinam are truly unique in the Caribbean: where you will find Creole and Indian people all over the Caribbean, you will only find the Javanese culture in Surinam. Because Indonesian used to be an colony of the Netherlands the Dutch got laborers from Java to work on the plantations at the end of slavery after 1863. They took their culture and cuisine with them.
You will find some of the recipes you may know from Indonesia in Surinam, but under different names. The Javanese steamed vegetables dish ‘Gado Gado’ is known as ‘Petjil’ there, and the famous chicken soup ‘Soto Ajam’ is called ‘Saoto Soup’.
The Indo Caribbean Curry Paste contains fresh galangal, lemon grass, ginger and kencur.
In addition, many recipes also use coconut, peanuts and tamarind, products you can find in Western shops more and more easily.
Base Preparation Indo Caribbean Curry Paste
Recipe for 4 persons, not spicy.
This base preparation only takes 15 minutes. For more inspiration, have a look at our recipes below and make them with vegetables, poultry, meat, fish or shrimp.
with some chopped onion. Optionally add some garlic. Fry until the onions are translucent.
Add the curry paste. Let it fry at high heat for a short moment. That way you release all the flavors.
Add your produce. This could be meat, vegetables, poultry or fish. The finer it is chopped, the faster it will cook.
If you like sauce, add some coconut milk. Leave to simmer for about 10 minutes until reduced to a nice sauce.
Nutritional Information
Recipes
Indo Caribbean chicken in soy sauce
This Indo Caribbean Chicken only takes 10 minutes to make. It is delicious by it self, but also a very versatile starting point for dishes like fried rice or Indo Caribbean noodles. If you want to cut down the amount of chicken to use, replace it by firm mushrooms. I only use biological chicken, but to offset the higher price (which is worth it) I add mushrooms to the mix.
Cod with Javanese coconut sauce
If you want to eat less meat and cook quickly and easily, I recommend always having frozen cod in the freezer and coconut milk in the pantry. Together with the Javanese spice paste you can put this delicious healthy meal on the table in max 15 minutes. Want to bet that even the kids will suddenly start liking fish?
West - Indo Noodles
West-Indo noodles are one of our favorite super-fast dishes at home. It can be made with chicken or shrimp, or vegetarian with just mushrooms. I personally use a combination of organic chicken breast and mushrooms. This makes the dish healthier and we eat less meat.