Mangan yuk or 'let's eat' is a phrase that commemorates the start of every meal for Indonesian-born chef, Nicole. She's lived in Australia for five years but the journey to feeling at home has been challenging.
After completing a short cookery course at in Jakarta in 2017, Nicole moved to Melbourne to further her studies. Being on a student visa and not having Australian qualifications restricted her ability to find employment, but she was set on securing a role as a chef.
Her dream became reality during her final year studying at ; she secured an industry placement at Italian restaurant, Grossi Florentino, in Melbourne, Victoria.
Nicole with her parents. Source: Supplied
"I started from the bottom, but the experience taught me a lot," she reflects. "As a chef, you're facing another challenge every day and I learnt how to deal with not just cooking but looking after my mental health."
Nicole worked for the owner and head chef for two years before taking on the role as chef de partie at , just north of Melbourne in Victoria. She was simultaneously applying for her postgraduate visa when the COVID-19 hit pandemic. Like many hospitality staff, Nicole was stood down from her job but without any government entitlements.
I started from the bottom, but the experience taught me a lot.
"Being a chef, you are constantly working for long hours so when the lockdown hit, I wasn't doing much and it made me crazy," she says. "I also felt a lot of anxiety and needed to do something to distract my mind."
To fill her time and help pay her bills, Nicole cooked for her family and neighbours. They encouraged her to start exploring her diverse and heritage.
"At first, I didn't really know how to cook Indonesian foods because I'm surrounded by Italian and French cuisines," she says. "I felt like Indonesian cuisines were fairly challenging because there were a lot of herbs and spices that I had to use for one dish."
Nicole turned to her grandmothers, who both run successful food businesses in Indonesia, for guidance. Cooking their traditional recipes rekindled special memories of festivities and family feasts in Jakarta, and inspired Nicole to learn more about the flavours of her Indonesian culture.
Word spread about Nicole's authentic Indonesian meals and people began reaching out on social media. With the support of friends in the hospitality industry and assistance from her mother, Nicole launched
Nicole adjusted her grandmothers' traditional recipes to the ingredients available in Australia and toned down the spice to cater for the Western palate.
"Indonesia has 34 different provinces, and 16,000 islands, so I felt like I needed to expose more about other parts of Indonesia," Nicole explains. "It's been such a pleasure and joy to introduce people, and when I cook certain foods from different provinces, some of my customers tell me that my food brings back all the memories that they had when they went to Indonesia."
Making sop kambing reminds me of my mum and how she puts a lot of effort and love into every dish.
One of the signature dishes on Nicole's rotating menu is sop kambing kuah susu, a milk-based soup with goat meat from Jakarta.
"My mum loves sop kambing [goat soup] so that's why I wanted to learn how to make it," she says.
Her mother made sop kambing kuah susu for every Christmas and Ramadan celebration, and taught Nicole the signature recipe when she visited from Indonesia last year.
"We braise the mutton first and it creates this rich broth from the bones," Nicole explains. "Next, we mix the broth and the milk, so it becomes really creamy and then we cut it through with the lime so it's acidic at the end."
Nicole looks forward to reuniting with her family in Jakarta and showcasing her growth as a chef by cooking them this dish.
"Making sop kambing reminds me of my mum and how she puts a lot of effort and love into every dish," Nicole reflects. "We've been apart for some time, so it brings a lot of emotion for me every time I cook and eat it."
In the meantime, she hopes to continue introducing people to the rich cultures and flavours of her heritage.
"People think Indonesian cuisine is identical to Balinese, very spicy or just nasi goreng," Nicole says. "I want people to open their minds and try new things from Indonesia because it's so much more than that!"
Goat soup with milk broth
Serves 3
Ingredients
- 650 g goat meat (after boiling it will be around 300-400g)
- 750 ml water
- 40 ml lime juice
- 50 ml vegetable oil
- 2 garlic cloves, bruised
- 60 g brunoise shallots
- 40 g ginger, crushed
- 2 grated candlenuts
- 35 g milk powder
- ½ tsp cloves powder
- ½ tsp nutmeg powder
- ½ cinnamon stick
- 30 ml sweet soy sauce
- 80 g thinly sliced spring onion
- 150 g fried potato cubes (optional)
- 150 g cubed tomatoes
- ½ lime, juice only
- Pinch salt and pepper
- A handful of fried shallots
- Bitternut crackers
Method
- Marinate the goat with the 40 ml lime juice for 15 minutes to neutralise any smell. After that, boil the meat in the water in a saucepan until cooked and tender. Strain the broth into a jug and set it aside. Slice the meat into cubes and set it to one side.
- Over medium-high heat, drizzle vegetable oil into a saucepan and add garlic, shallots and ginger. When the garlic, shallots and ginger become translucent, add the grated candlenuts and stir well until browned.
- Deglaze the saucepan with the broth and turn the heat to medium-high until the broth boils. When boiled, turn the heat to low.
- In a separate bowl, mix one ladle of the broth with the milk powder. Add this milk mixture, nutmeg, cinnamon stick, cloves and soy sauce to the broth in the saucepan. Add a pinch of salt and pepper and stir again.
- Once boiling, turn off the heat and add the spring onion. Make sure the heat is not too high, so the milk doesn't split.
- To serve, put the fried potato cubes, tomato cubes and goat in a bowl. Then add as much broth as you desire.
- Garnish with fried shallots and a squeeze of ½ a lime.
Notes
- You can use mutton if goat meat isn't available.
- Try sop kambing with a side of bitternut crackers, which are Indonesian-style crisps, also found in Asian grocery stores.
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