Gudeg food tour in Yogyakarta, Indonesia

http://www.thetasteoftravel.com<br />Gudeg is a traditional food from Yogyakarta, Indonesia. Made from young Nangka (jack fruit) that is boiled for several hours with palm sugar, and coconut milk.<br />Typically served with white rice, chicken, hard-boiled egg, tofu and/or tempeh, and a stew made of crisp beef skins (sambal goreng krecek). It is a tasty spicy dish that is a must try if visiting Indonesia.<br />While in Yogyakarta I had a behind the scenes tour in the kitchen of the largest Gudeg seller, Gudeg Yu Djum in the city.<br />There were women sitting on the floor ripping leaves to be used as plates, shirtless men walking around with shovels full of hot coals, stoking the hot fires under boiling cauldrons of coconut milk and jack fruit. One man made coconut milk while others sat and squatted in a room filled with buckets of water and over 300 chickens that they were preparing to be cooked. An older lady sat near the ground making their famous sambal sauce, keeping an eye on the boiling eggs while another man ground spices. There was enough smoke in the air to make you cry and the heat was an intensity that I don't want to experience again. It was a bit of a culture shock to me to see the way their kitchen was and how they prepared the food, but it was an experience I am glad that I got to have. One of the craziest things I have ever seen and the finished product tasted damn good too.