Hello everyone!
I never post any stories in The Weekend community. I usually just read some interesting stories by The Weekend community's members. But when I read the prompt ideas for this week's challenge, some old experiences comes up to my mind. So I will tell you about my story of cooking outside on fire.
Back in the middle of 2018. It was a busy year. From Jakarta I went to Bangka Belitung, Indonesia; then return to Jakarta; after that fly to Thailand; then return to Jakarta; two days later went on a company vacation to Bali; then return to Jakarta; a week later flew to East Nusa Tenggara for work. Sounds busy yet interesting, right?
East Nusa Tenggara is a small archipelago island near Bali (well, it's not that near tho). I went to that place to report on a famous drinking water company's CRS program. The land on this island contains lime and because of that, drinking water is very hard to come by. In addition, the warm climate in this area also makes the availability of water very low. In one year, they only have a rainy season for two months, and the rest is a dry season.
Actually, there are lots of famous tourist attractions here, such as Komodo Island and Labuan Bajo. But remember, I went to this island under the CSR program. That's why from Kupang (the capital city of East Nusa Tenggara Province) I need to fly with a small propeller plane then ride an off-road car to a village called Bea Muring.
To be honest, I got a little bit of culture shock. This place is freaking hot as hell. I rarely find mineral water (or just simply drinking water). We can't use the water from the land because it contains lime. They only use that water to make tea or coffee. The other problem (for me) is: I CAN'T FIND INTERNET SIGNAL!
I need the internet to send my report to the company. On the first peaceful morning, I woke up and start to walk around the village to hunt for internet signals. I met a bunch of women on the way.
"We will cook for breakfast," they said, pointing to the backyard of the house where I stay.
"You cook there?"
"Yes. But we also have an indoor kitchen in case you want to make a cup of tea or coffee to start your day."
Okay, guys, I don't want to sound like a spoiled kid. But you need to know that I'm very lucky to born and growing up in a "city". I never had the experience to cook outside using real fire and wood except for camping. So it was very new for me.
So I stopped by and offer my help. I'm not good at cooking. But at least I know that I can help when they said, they want to make egg balado. What's so difficult about cooking with only garlic, shallots, red chilies, and candlenuts? I can do it.
Keeping the fire is very hard. I need to know when is the best time to add the wood or twigs, and when is the right time to blow the fire. Yes. Blow. I never knew cooking could be this tiring.
While I string a bowl of egg balado on the wok, I saw two men walk in (or walked out since we are on the outside). They walked over to a lamb that was standing just three meters away from me. The next sight took me by surprise. They swiftly slaughtered the lamb and started cutting it.
"WHAT THE!!!!!" I can't help but scream.
"Oh, that's for our lunch. Do you eat lamb?"
OH-MY-GOD! He was alive minutes ago. He was standing near me, eating a bunch of fresh grass. I'm not vegetarian, I love meat, but...
After I finished my proudly balado, I asked them for the best place to find internet access. And they said I need to go to the church on the hill. Usually, the internet signal can be found right under Jesus's statue (I'm not kidding because it works!). But I'm not in the right mood to climb the hill.
"Sometimes you can also find it near the pigsty."
"Where is it?"
"There." They pointed to a simple wooden building that was (again) not far from us. The distance is only about five meters. This place is a kind of one-stop shopping. All cooking ingredients are still fresh and can be taken just by sliding your butt a little.
Anyway, they usually eat pork. That's why they have a pigsty "next to" the kitchen. Since 90% of my team member are Muslim, these pigs are safe.
I finally found an internet connection INSIDE PIGSTY. After I send all of my work to my company, I come back to the kitchen. They have already finished some of the other dishes on the menu. After that, I brought the dishes into the house. There were already several members of my team and local residents who had come for breakfast.
Sorry for the bad-quality picture. The funny thing is I didn't touch the balado. I don't believe in my cooking skills lol.
Overall, that was a fun and interesting experience. I'm lucky to have tried it. Can't wait for the next opportunity to come back to this place.
All these photos were taken by Samsung Galaxy A6
I think the need for cooking outsite was calmness cause sometimes the wind make the fire turn off and you have forced several times. 😁
What a great experiences..
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