I was getting kinda tired of sriracha and decided to try some other
Asian hot sauces/condiments. I started buying Indonesian sambals,
and wanted to express my surprise and praise for the "Kokita" line
of various sambals.

So far I've tried the Sambal Balado, Sambal Oelek, Sambal Terasi,
and Sambal Bajak. The last two contain fermented shrimp
paste/powder (even though the ingredients statement on the Bajak
doesn't say so), so be warned. Those are best used in stir frys and
hot noodle concoctions to get the, uhh, full effect of the shrimp
paste and other aromatics. The Balado is nice and chunky, and like
the Oelek, is just fine used at room temp as a table condiment or
with simple cooked rice.

I also use the Nasi Goreng sauce for quick noodle and rice
flavorings. It's a little too sweet for me, but it's OK when I'm in
that mood.

Granted, none of these will replace my trusty Hoy Fong sriracha in
my virgin Bloody Cesars. But these sambals are better for most
other dishes. These have saved my life this last week since I've
had a nasty cold and can't taste anything. Except these.

They have a bunch of other sauces/seasonings which I don't see in my
usual stores. Looks like they ran out of names they just started
calling them Essential Seasonings Flavors A, B, C,
and D.

(Lousy website)
http://newkokita.ikafood.com/English...t/product.html

The brand seems to be the Lee Kum Kee of Indonesia, but these are
even better to Indo food than what LKK is to Chinese food.

Highly recommended.

[Maybe I oughta start writing a Bruce Cost-like book on preferred
Asian brands...]

(Note to Nick and Koko: "Kokita" is Indonesian for "The Cook", or
something like that).

-sw