WAKE YOUR MOUTH UP

Early morning epiphany: everything can di-rudjak. Standarly rudjak is a salad of vegetables and fruits cut bite size dressed with a sauce that contains a fish or shrimp paste, tamarind or other sours, and sugar. Fried stuff like peanuts or tofu chunks can be added. Chinese urban versions in Indonesia or Malaysia often also have cuttlefish or shrimp, inland variants might contain cooked meat products. The key thing is that the sour and sweet are balanced with salty and spicy (pedas), and there is a textural variation.
It is refreshing and intense.

[Roedjak, Rujak, Rojak; similar to Petjil, Pecel, and Lotek.]

Yeah man, perfect for bratwurst.


Just add ghost-pepper peanuts for crunch and zip. In which case leave the sambal and chilies out of the dressing, and use only fish sauce, tamarind, and sugar. You won't need any red pepper powder on the side either.


Cucumber, green mango, grilled bratwurst, and rudjak sauce.

A small handful ghost pepper peanuts, crumbled.

Use more palm sugar than normal.

Perhaps add pineapple.


Standardly, the dressing is firstly sweet, then hot, then tangy and savoury in equal measure. It isn't always cooked, necessarily. If you are from the Midwest, you will notice the spicy-salty flavours first, and object.
But chilies and shrimp paste are essential.
As are crumbled peanuts or cashews.




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