The first time I traveled overseas was for a study-abroad semester in Amsterdam. We arrived in January of 1980, and as we walked along narrow cobbled streets, wind from the North Sea blew frigid air in our faces. Thirty-two years later, I can still conjure up memories of the excitement I felt for the big adventures which lay ahead. And I clearly remember what I saw during my first few days: quaint canals, tall brick buildings with gingerbread roof lines, bikes as far as the eye could see, and tiny plastic pastel-colored forks littering the ground.

What were they for? Why were there so many of them? What did it all mean? And then I discovered ‘Patat frites.’

Patat frites are the Dutch version of fries: long thick cuts of deep-fried potato are stuffed into a paper cone or plastic plate and served up with a dollop of the sauce of your choice…and a plastic fork. In Holland, potatoes are serious business and frites are the number one snack food. It would be impossible to visit Amsterdam without catching a whiff of frying potato wafting from a frite stand. When Big Papa and I visited Amsterdam last year, I made sure we stopped at a few frite stands.

There are several choices for toppings:  light lemony “mayonnaise,” garlic sauce and “patat oorlog” which translates to “war chips.” My personal favorite was “pindasaus” or peanut sauce, a riff on the sauce the Dutch discovered when they colonized Indonesia. Versions of this sauce are served on sate (grilled chicken or meat on a stick) and with Indonesian rijstafel (rice table) cuisine, a food-fest with countless little dishes. You could also serve it over noodles or on top of just about any vegetable dish.

I’ve been thinking a lot about my first overseas trip, how it changed me, opened up my world, and the wanderlust it inspired…even if I’ve never been able to wander as far or as often as I might like. And as I walk down Seattle streets this January, with a bitter wind biting my face and smell of salt air from Puget Sound in my nostrils, I dream about patat frites met pindasaus warming my belly, a heel lekker (which means “completely yummy” in Dutch) treat if there ever was one!

Pindasaus (Dutch peanut sauce)

4 T peanut butter
8 T hot water
2 t or 1 T Sambal Oelek or to taste (1/2 t or more crushed red pepper is good substitute)
1 T Ketjap Manis or 1 T soy sauce plus 1 t molasses or brown sugar
1 t to 1 T fresh ginger, grated
1 clove garlic, minced
Juice of half a lemon

Combine all the ingredients in a saucepan; gently simmer for 3 to 5 minutes. Stir occasionally.

Note: Sambal Oelek is an Indonesian chile sauce with no added flavors added like garlic or spices. It adds hot without changing the flavor of a dish. A swirl of Sambal Oelek is lovely in a bowl of hummus. Crushed red pepper can be used as a substitute.

Ketjap Manis is Indonesian sweet soy sauce. It is a forerunner of ketchup. It is the only soy sauce developed outside the Asian continent. For a substitute use equal parts soy sauce and brown sugar or molasses. Simmer the two until blended.

Want more lekker treats? Check out Wanderfood Wednesday!