Cycle 16 – Item 287
Post 5,766
19 (Sun) October 2025
BBQ Squid with “My” Sambal
3.5
on MSY Mola Mola 1
-Banda Sea, Indonesia-
with fellow divers
Living Aboard the Mola Mola: Day 7 of 7
-
- Day -4 (16.277 Nasi Goreng Kampoeng)
- Day -3 (16.278 Ikan Bakar)
- Day -2 (16.279 Chicken & Beef Platter)
- Day -1 (16.280 Buntut Goreng)
- Day 1 (16.281 Beef Semur)
- Day 2 (16.282 Egg Fuyunghai)
- Day 3 (16.283 Egg Balado)
- Day 4 (16.284 Ayam Goreng Lengkuas)
- Day 5 (16.285 Hotpot)
- Day 6 (16.286 Beef Rendang)
- Day 7 (16.287 BBQ Squid with “My” Sambal)
- Day +1 (16.288 Fried Chicken Nusantara (Quarter Chicken Package))
In Indonesia. Here for a 7-day liveaboard scuba diving trip: sailing across the Banda Sea on board the MSY Mola Mola, while diving, eating, drinking, sleeping (i.e., “living aboard”) the boat. The Banda Sea is one of four seas surrounding the archipelago of Maluku Islands aka the Spice Islands (where European powers fought wars during the 16th-17th centuries to gain control of the islands’ abundant spices, such as nutmeg, cloves, and mace). Primary objective: sighting schools of hammerhead sharks. (Two prior liveaboard trips were both to the Maldives aboard the MV Adora (see previously 14.062 Sautéed Sword Lettuce (Three Times) (2023) (9.191 Grilled Beef Tenderloin (2018).) My first time ever in Indonesia – who knows if I’ll ever return? – I arrived a few days early to maximize the visit and hang out in Jakarta.
DIVE 20
– Amreth Reef –
Nothing to report.
BREAKFAST
Though billed as “Western Breakfast,” it was more specifically an Anglo-American thing.
DIVE 20
– Amreth Wall –
Mini-tunnel penetration – yay.
And that was that.
Diving complete, the boat weighed anchor and set sail back to Ambon – another 8-hr voyage.
LUNCH
COOKING
Thrilled that the kitchen staff granted my request to receive a lesson on preparing sambal.
Recalling with great fondness the cooking lesson in making roti on the Adora (see generally 14.058 Roti with Smoked Tuna & Dal Curry), though I have yet to put the lesson to use.
INGREDIENTS
-
- 3 cups chopped tomatoes
- 2 cups chopped chilies
- 1/2 cup sliced shallots
- 1/4 cup sliced garlic
- 2+1 TB oil
- 1 shrimp bouillon cube
- 1 TB sugar
- 1 tsp MSG
STEPS
While sambal comes in countless varieties – as seen at the Hotel Indonesia Kempinki’s breakfast buffet (see 16.278 Ikan Bakar) – this is a simple goreng (fried) type made daily at home, in the morning and eaten throughout the day.
As a small token of appreciation, I donated all the cup noodles that I’d brought on board, but never ate because the soups have been so great.
Amused to find that the kitchen stores a lot of their ingredients in containers previously containing Korean food products.
I will make this at home, no question.
SAILING BACK
DINNER
For the final dinner on board, they set up a barbecue spread on the rooftop.
Similar in vibe to the beachside barbecue on the Adora (see for comparison 14.057 Beach BBQ).
Anyway, it was a fantastic farewell dinner.
(See RESTAURANTS IN INDONESIA)
(See GLOBAL FOOD GLOSSARY)