Broomstick 101: make it yourself or buy it ready-made?

Anyone who has ever stood in an Indonesian kitchen while cooking knows that smell: shallots, garlic and kemiri sizzling in hot oil, with galangal, lemongrass and a hint of shrimp paste in the background. That mixture is called boemboe (bumbu), and it is the start of almost every Indonesian stew, from rendang to opor ayam. With a good boemboe, a pan of rice and meat suddenly becomes a meal that the whole house gathers around. In our toko in Amsterdam, there is a long row of bags and jars of boemboe, and here you can read how to choose the right one, how to make one yourself and how to use it. You can find the bigger story about this cuisine in Indonesian Cuisine 101.

What is a boemboe?

Bamboe Bumbu Rendang is a ready-made boemboe, and it immediately shows what the word means: a spice paste or spice mix that gives an Indonesian dish its flavour. Boemboe is the Dutch spelling of the Indonesian bumbu, which means spices or seasonings. In the kitchen, it almost always refers to a finely ground mixture of shallots and garlic with roots such as galangal and turmeric, supplemented with kemiri, spices and often chili or shrimp paste. You first fry that mixture in oil, and only then do the rest go into the pan.

What is bumbu dasar, the red, white and yellow basic boemboe?

Bumbu dasar means basic boemboe: a few basic mixtures on which Indonesian cooks build a whole range of dishes. Usually you hear three mentioned, and they are named after their colour.

• Bumbu dasar merah (red): shallots, garlic and red chili pepper. The base for spicy stir-fries, sambal goreng and balado.
• Bumbu dasar putih (white): shallots, garlic and kemiri, without chili. For mild dishes with coconut milk, such as opor, and for vegetables.
• Bumbu dasar kuning (yellow): the white base with turmeric added, which gives it its colour. For soto, nasi kuning and yellow stews.

Every family and every region does it just a little differently, so see these three as a guideline and not a fixed rule. Our own basic boemboe is a yellow variant with kemiri, shrimp paste, galangal, turmeric, coriander and djinten, and with that you can already make a lot of dishes.

Make boemboe yourself or buy it ready-made?

Making it yourself gives you the freshest flavour and complete control over heat and salt; ready-made saves you half an hour of cutting and pounding, and tastes the same every time. Many people do both: a bag for weekdays and pounding it yourself at the weekend, when there is time to let the kitchen smell.

How to make a boemboe yourself

You make basic boemboe in a mortar or food processor. You first roast the kemiri in a dry pan, pound them finely and then add shallots, garlic and shrimp paste until you have a coarse paste, after which galangal, turmeric, coriander, djinten, lemongrass, chili powder and salt are added. Then you fry the paste for about ten minutes in oil, until it gets darker and the oil separates from the edges. We do not sell fresh galangal, lemongrass and turmeric online, but you can find them dried and ground further down in the spices.

Paste or dry mix?

Bamboe Bumbu Opor is a wet spice paste in a bag, just like the other boemboes from Bamboe and those from Asian Home Gourmet. You fry such a paste directly in the oil, exactly like a homemade boemboe. The boemboes from Koningsvogel are usually dry spice mixes in a 100-gram bag, and you use them as stated on the packaging. Check the back of every brand, because the amount of meat, coconut milk and water varies per bag. The bags from Dua Kuali are the same ones you see in supermarkets in Indonesia, and Koningsvogel is a brand that Dutch families have been cooking with for generations.

Bamboe spice pasteSmall bag of paste for one pan, with its own flavour for almost every dishIndonesia 100 g jarBoemboe in a jar, with its own flavour for each dishKoningsvogel dry mix · 100 gWide choice of flavours, from rendang to babi ketjapAsian Home Gourmet spice pasteAlso for nasi goreng, mee goreng, satay and nasi lemakDua Kuali 50 g bagBoemboes from Indonesia, including for rendang, opor and soto

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How do you use a boemboe?

Indonesia Boemboe Semoor Djawa is used just like almost every boemboe: you fry it first in a layer of oil over medium heat until it smells and the oil separates, and only then do you add the meat and liquid. This frying is called tumis in Indonesian, and it is the step that makes the most difference.

Take your time with it, because raw shallots and garlic taste sharp and a little bitter, and only after a few minutes in the oil do they become sweet and mellow. You can see that the boemboe is ready when it turns a shade darker, your kitchen smells of fried shallots and spices and there is a rim of oil around the paste. Then you add the meat, for example chunks of beef short ribs for rendang or pieces of chicken thigh fillet for opor, until everything is covered, and only then do you add the coconut milk, water or ketjap. Bay leaves, lemongrass and djeroek poeroet are usually added to the pan at the same time as the liquid, so they can gently infuse the whole time.

For dishes with coconut milk, such as opor and sayur lodeh, you bring everything to a boil while stirring and then let it simmer gently, so the coconut milk does not curdle. Which coconut milk to choose for that, you can read in Coconut Milk 101.

Which boemboe do you use for which dish?

Bamboe Soto Ayam shows it already: for almost every well-known Indonesian dish, there is a separate boemboe, and the name on the bag tells you exactly what it is intended for. Below, one boemboe to start with for each dish.

Rendang SumatraBeef ribs simmered for hours in santen, until the sauce has completely reducedSemur JavaBeef ribs stewed in ketjap manis with nutmeg and clovesRawon East JavaBlack soup made from beef shank, with kluwak for colourOpor white boemboeChicken thigh fillet in a mild, white santen sauceSoto ayam yellow boemboeYellow chicken soup with glass noodles, bean sprouts and eggSayur lodeh vegetables in santenCabbage, green beans and eggplant in a creamy brothBali spicy and sweetFor ayam bali: chicken thigh fillet in tomato, ketjap and sambalNasi goreng fried riceMade with leftover rice, ketjap and eggSatay marinadeFor marinating meat for satay skewersGado gado Indonesian variantPeanut sauce block for Indonesian gado gado

For gado gado, the Indonesian variant with blanched vegetables, tofu and egg, the boemboe is actually the peanut sauce itself, which you buy as a block or ready-made. We also have our own boemboes for curry and goelee, sambal goreng, ritja (rica-rica from Manado), besengeh and nasi kuning.

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Which spices go into a boemboe?

Trassi, kemiri, laos, koenjit, ketoembar and djinten are in most boemboes, with shallot, garlic and often chili as a base. Kemiri makes the paste creamy and binds the sauce, trassi adds depth, and the roots provide the fresh, spicy element. Salam, sereh and djeroek poeroet are usually not ground with the paste, but added whole to the pan.

Kemiri kemirinotenRoast them briefly before finely grinding them; you don't eat them rawLaos galangal · driedSlices that you let simmer in soup and stewsSereh lemongrass · groundA teaspoon in the boemboe or in the panKoenjit (turmeric) kunyit · groundMakes a boemboe yellow, for soto and nasi kuningKetoembar coriander · groundWarm and slightly citrusy, in almost every boemboeDjinten cuminToast briefly and grind finely, for rendang and satayTrassi terasi · roastedA small piece of shrimp paste for depth and saltEbi dried shrimpSoak briefly and finely chop, for sambal and boemboePetis petis udang · shrimp pasteDark, syrupy paste for roedjak, petjel and tahu petisSalam daun salamDried leaves that simmer in opor, rendang and sotoDjeroek poeroet kaffirlimoenbladFresh and citrusy, add whole to the panKluwak peeledThe black nut that gives rawon its colour and earthy flavour

Kentjoer (kencur), a ginger-like root with its own camphor-like flavour, is used in small quantities, including in peanut sauce; we have it as Kentjoer Gemalen. If you have fresh laos, sereh or koenjit from the greengrocer, feel free to use that, and for ground spices, allow about a teaspoon per dish.

Boemboe bumbuReady-made boemboe for any dishShop nowSpices and cooking ingredients rempahKemiri, galangal, salam leaves, shrimp paste and moreShop nowKetjap kecapFor semur, babi ketjap and nasi gorengShop nowSambal sambal oelekAs a side dish, or a spoonful in the panShop nowPeanut sauce bumbu kacangFor satay and gado gadoShop now

How do you store boemboe?

Store ready-made boemboe as the label says, which will also tell you whether an opened packet or jar needs to be kept in the refrigerator and how long it will last. After cooking, store homemade boemboe in a clean jar in the refrigerator. If you make a large batch, you can also freeze it in small portions, for example in an ice cube tray, so you only need to take out a few cubes for a weekday pan of opor or sayur lodeh.

Recipes with boemboe

In most of these recipes, you choose whether to grind the boemboe fresh or use a packet.

Basic boemboeThe yellow spice paste with kemiri and shrimp paste to pound yourself.RendangBeef ribs slow-cooked in santen until they brown in their own fat.Opor ayamChicken thigh fillet in a mild white coconut sauce with salam leaves and sereh.Soto ayamYellow chicken soup with glass noodles, bean sprouts and half an egg.RawonBlack soup made from beef shank and kluwak, from East Java.Sayur lodehVegetables and tofu in santen, on the table in half an hour.SemurBeef ribs in ketjap manis with nutmeg and cloves.Ayam baliChicken thigh fillet in a spicy, syrupy sauce of tomato and ketjap.

Also sambal goreng telur starts with a red boemboe, and for sate ayam you marinate the chicken thigh fillet in ketjap with ketoembar and djinten. You can easily make the Indonesian gado gado and nasi goreng with a packet or block from the row above, and for a festive table you combine them in a rijsttafel at home.

Read more about Indonesian cuisine

Indonesian cuisine 101Boemboe, santen, ketjap and sambal: how this cuisine works.Sambal 101From oelek to badjak: which sambal to use for what.Ketjap explainedKetjap manis, sedang and asin, and which bottle to choose.Rijsttafel at homePutting together your own rijsttafel, with an example menu.

Frequently asked questions

The best way to learn boemboe is simply to start, with a packet for your favorite dish and a block of santen, and after a few tries you will naturally recognize the aroma of frying shallots and kemiri and know when the oil separates and it is time to add the meat. After that, it is only a small step to your own mortar and pestle and your own proportions, because even in Indonesia everyone makes it just a little differently. If you are standing in the toko in Amsterdam in front of the long row of packets and do not know which one to get, feel free to ask us, and if you want to know how boemboe, santen, ketjap and sambal together form Indonesian cuisine, read on in Indonesian cuisine 101.