Tuk Tuk prepares Sayur Lodeh
"Sayur" means vegetables; "lodeh" is the sauce - something which, in this favorite dish from Indonesia, means coconut milk. At his restaurant Tuk Tuk, Christian Adelius cooks authentic Indonesian cuisine.
Berlin's Indonesian institution
The name Tuk Tuk refers to a village in the Indonesian province of North Sumatra. The traditional décor in the restaurant is supposed to reflect the typical life in a village there. Many of the bamboo, hand-carved art and accessories were brought by Christian Adelius from his home there.
Engineer, IT consultant, restaurant cook
"I like to cook, not only because I enjoy eating. During my student days, my girfriend who has since become my wife, would always ask me to cook for her. Men cooking is not a common thing in Indonesia; it's always the moms who cook. But I made cooking or testing out a new dish a hobby." - Christian Adelius
Multi-faceted authenticity
"Indonesia is a country with thousands of islands. From west to east, each group of inhabitants has their own specialty. This diversity is one of the strengths of Indonesian cuisine." - Christian Adelius
There's more to Indonesian food than Bami Goreng
Most Europeans know Indonesian food: the fried noodle dish or Nasi Goreng, fried rice. There's also sambal oelek, spicy chili paste. Yet Indonesian cuisine is rich in diversity, with culinary elements taken from Europeans, Arabs and Asians. The vegetable dish Sayur lodeh is a central part of the rice buffet, which offers several small dishes.
Indonesian specialties
"In Indonesia, dishes are served lukewarm at the most, maybe because the weather is hot and humid; people don't want to eat hot food in that weather. But in Germany, the opposite is true and people are used to eating piping hot food. For me, it's important that we bring the authenticity of the Indonesian cuisine together with the wishes of the Europeans." - Christian Adelius