"I'm happy you're vaccinated, but you still have to follow the rules!".
In the rugged but placid mountains near the northeastern tip of Sulawesi, I tasted a sambal cakalang of chiles, shallots, garlic, tomatoes, and smoked skipjack tuna, all deep-fried together, ground, and then refried to absorb the oil.It was so full of flavor—heat, sweetness, meaty depth—that I would've been happy just to eat it on plain rice (with krupuk, of course)..
In North Sumatra, I sampled a sambal that upended everything I thought I'd learned.It was just green chiles, salt, and andaliman, the juicy green local relative of numbing Szechuan peppercorns, pounded together.This sambal was powerful and almost overwhelmingly refreshing—an ideal complement to a fatty marinated pork dish beloved by North Sumatra's Batak tribes.
The 8.5 million indigenous Batak people are a mix of Christians and Muslims, but many retain traditional religious beliefs, with a special emphasis on the power of the number three: three primary gods, three primary colors (red, white, and black), and three flavors—spicy, salty, and sour."These three flavors are fundamental to our society," said Rahung Nasution, a Batak chef and adventurer who led me through the region.
I ate this sambal over and over again, nowhere more satisfyingly than with breakfast at a market stall on the shores of Lake Toba, where a man grilled slabs of pork belly, basting them with butter from a can.
Genius.. After two weeks, I formed a theory: that in a nation as vast and varied as Indonesia, sambal functioned as a uniting principle, perhaps the only thing some groups had in common.Arrange pork on a serving platter, and sprinkle with flaky sea salt.
Garnish with thyme sprigs, if desired.Serve with blueberry sauce.. Make Ahead.
Blueberry sauce may be stored in an airtight container in refrigerator up to 3 days.Let come to room temperature before serving..
(Editor: Modern Trackers)