Hi everyone,
I've been home for just over a month and have now used all the different peanut / sate sauce blocks we purchased. It was one tip everyone recommended to bring home and they certainly are!
I bought them from a store in Sanur (Finna brand) and at one of the stores at the airport ont he way home (the other 2 brands). They were all very cheap (maybe 15,000 each but I can't remember for sure). I thought I''d give some info for those interested.
'Finna' brand - thin box, flatter and longer than the others with a red band on one end of the box and peanuts on the rest. I tried the
gado gado version of the sauce. I made it up with just the block and boiling water to start with, but ended up adding coconut milk to give it a bit more taste (which stated on the box) . It had good spice but took a lot to dissolve in the water and wasn't as peanutty as the others. The thing I liked was that the box had 4 cubes and was easier to use, and not as sweet as the others. The box said to add kecap manis so you could make it sweeter by adding it.
'Enak Eco' brand - square, thick, orange/brown box with picture of chilles, and instructions in Indonesian on the back. I made up the whole block with a bit over a cup of boiling water in a mixing jug. Really delicious and sweet - good peanut taste, but no spice and very mild. I added chillie as I like it hot. Dissolved well just by stiring. Probabley the richest and sweetest.
'Karangsari' - clear plastic package - no box. The block I used was labelled 'Sambel Pecel'. This looks and is a bit spicer than the others, but still not what I call hot. The peanuts are not ground as fine so it's not as smooth, which I preferred. Really peanutty and sweet and great deep flavour. Dissolved the whole block in one and half cups boiling water no problem.
In summary, Finna spicier but not as tasty, Enak Eco really yum but sweet and very mild, Karangsari, bit of spice and great flavour. They were all good, but may suit different tastes.
Highly recommend buying a few blocks to bring home for sure.
Enjoy!
- K