This interview is part of WNYC and Gothamist’s “Food Memoir” series in which we invite New Yorkers to share stories behind their cooking experiences and favorite recipes.
Shandra Woworuntu’s journey from Indonesia to New York unfolds as a tale of survival, resilience and the healing power of food.
Woworuntu came to the United States in 2001. She was chasing an employment opportunity in the hotel industry, but not long after she arrived at JFK Airport, she said she realized the offer was a ruse – she had been trafficked. Woworuntu said she was kidnapped, traded and sold within the sex trade industry in New York and neighboring states. She said she wasn't able to escape the ordeal until months later.
Following her escape, Woworuntu faced homelessness and a yearning for the flavors of her home country.
"I missed my Indonesian food," she said, detailing the challenges of sourcing ingredients with limited funds in New York City and struggling to find staples like turmeric, ginger, and shallots. Undeterred, Woworuntu began substituting ingredients based on affordability and gradually discovered stores offering authentic items.
“When I got the ingredients, I felt just...you know, amazing,” she said. “I cannot express how happy I was.” Woworuntu now even grows her own spices and vegetables in her backyard in Astoria, Queens. She tends to things like turmeric, ginger and galangal.
Woworuntu said cooking is a profound expression of love, and she infuses every dish with positive energy — a stark contrast to the violence and adversity she endured in the sex trade.
Today, Woworuntu shares her passion for Indonesian cuisine as an instructor with League of Kitchens, an organization that offers cooking classes offered by immigrant women from around the world. She’s been teaching classes since 2021 and said that in her role, she doesn’t shy away from her personal story, but instead uses it to raise awareness about the indicators of human trafficking.
Woworuntu is a staunch advocate for anti-trafficking laws and trafficking survivors. In 2014, she founded Mentari, a word that means “sun” in Indonesian. This New York-based nonprofit is dedicated to providing sex trafficking survivors with comprehensive support services, such as counseling and skills training. The following year, then-President Barack Obama appointed Woworuntu to the U.S. Advisory Council on Human Trafficking.
We talked with Woworuntu about the transformative power of cooking and asked her to share a couple of her cherished recipes.
Shandra Woworuntu
The conversation has been lightly edited for clarity and content.
How deeply rooted is food in your background?
I come from Indonesia, an exotic country with thousands of islands. It’s just amazing, especially the kindness of the people, and the hospitality. When you visit us, you will have a lot of food on the table, and you still have to take home leftovers. So it's all about the food.
What’s your earliest memory of cooking?
When I was 3 years old, my grandmother bought me a mini kitchen with a small pan, a small pot, and I learned to make scrambled eggs using that small kitchen. From there, I developed a love of cooking. I traded up the small kitchen to the big kitchen maybe when I was 5. I learned from many people in my house. And, of course, from extended family like my mother-in-law, my aunt and cousin – many different people equipped me to be who I am now.
How do you view food and cooking?
Food is love. So cooking food should be with love, without anger. When you’re angry your food will turn too spicy, or too salty, or too sour. So you have to put your energy, your love and your kindness into the food. That’s the food that will turn into something that can nourish your body and create joy and happiness.
How has the act of cooking played a role in your healing journey, particularly in coping with the challenges you may have faced related to trafficking?
It’s about shifting the focus of your trauma, your flashback, your emotion to something else. You have to focus on slicing, because when you miss, you will cut your fingers. This is what we want to avoid. This is healing. When you face reality, you will move on. Take the sauté, for example. When you put the oil in the pan, then you put in the garlic – the process itself is healing because you move one thing into another. It takes away your trauma and moves you away from the flashback because you’re focused on enjoying the process. It’s helped me to build my resilience and show me that I can heal. It helped me a lot. And after the food is done, you can smell it, you can taste it and see the transformation of color.
What is your comfort food?
My comfort food is deneng balado, which is beef jerky with a spicy sauce. My mother-in law taught me how to make a homemade deneng balado. It’s very comforting, deneng balado is Minang food, meaning from the Minangkabau people of Sumatra. I just imagine myself in Indonesia, eating this food and enjoying the beauty of the sky with birds flying around and a nice wind blowing on my face, and of course, with jasmine tea.
Shandra Woworuntu’s recipes for Gulai Udang Ala Padang and Nasi Kuning
Woworuntu’s mother-in-law, who lives on the island of Sumatra, also taught her how to make gulai udang ala padang (shrimp curry with potatoes). She pairs that recipe with nasi kuning (yellow coconut rice), a dish she learned from her mother that is often served during special occasions, like weddings, holidays and births. Here are both recipes courtesy of Woworuntu and the League of Kitchens.
Gulai udang ala padang (shrimp curry with potatoes)
Makes 4 servings
Prep: 20 minutes
Cook: 1 hour 30 minutes
Ingredients:
- One 1 ½-inch long by 1-inch wide piece of ginger (about .7 ounces)
- One 3-inch long by ½-inch wide piece of fresh turmeric (about .8 ounces)
- 6 small cloves garlic
- One 6-inch piece of a fresh lemongrass stem
- One 1-inch long by ½-inch wide piece of fresh galangal (about .3 ounces), optional (see Cook’s Notes)
- 4 medium shallots (about 3 large or 5 small)
- 3 medium Yukon gold potatoes (about 1 pound)
- 6 candlenuts or blanched hazelnuts or blanched almonds (see Cook’s Notes)
- 7 tablespoons vegetable or coconut oil
- 3 tablespoons of water
- ½ to 1 long red chili pepper (or to your desired heat level)
- ½ teaspoon coriander powder
- 3 fresh lime leaves or rind of ½ a lime (see Cook’s Notes)
- 2 large Indian bay leaves (see Cook’s Notes)
- ½ teaspoon sugar
- One 14-ounce can of coconut milk (preferably a Thai brand), not shaken
- 1½ teaspoons fine salt
- 1½ pounds large shrimp, shelled with tail left on, deveined
Prepare the aromatics: Scrape off the ginger skin with the back of a small knife. Spear the knife through the center of the turmeric and char over a flame for about 30 seconds; this helps to remove the bitterness. Scrape off the skin from the turmeric with the back of the knife. Peel and smash the garlic; trim the root end. Pound the lemongrass with the heel of a chef’s knife. Slice the galangal, if using, into 3 thick pieces. Peel the shallots. Peel and cut the potatoes into ½-inch cubes.
Put potatoes into a medium bowl and cover with water.
Add the ginger, turmeric, garlic, whole shallots, candlenuts, 3 tablespoons of the oil, and the 3 tablespoons of water to a blender. If using the red chili, snap off the stem end and add to the blender. Blend into a smooth paste. Stir in the coriander powder.
Add four tablespoons of oil to a large skillet over medium-low heat. Stir in the blended paste, lime leaves (or lime rind), bay leaves, lemongrass, and galangal if using. (If you are also making nasi kuning as part of the meal, cook the paste in the leftover shallot frying oil.) Cook paste, stirring to incorporate the oil, until the paste becomes thicker and dries up a little, and the oil starts to separate from the paste, 8 to 10 minutes.
Drain the potatoes and add to the paste, stirring to coat. Add a ½ cup of water and stir. Cook until the potatoes are about halfway done, about 20 minutes. Then add the can of coconut milk and cook, stirring occasionally, until the potatoes are about 80% done, about 25 minutes. The coconut milk should not boil, it should be at a slow bubble. When the potatoes are nearly done, stir in the salt and sugar, and then add the shrimp. Cook, stirring, until the potatoes and shrimp are cooked through. Take care not to overcook the shrimp.
Cook’s Notes:
Galangal is a member of the ginger family but packs more of a punch, giving a spicy, earthy flavor to dishes.
Candlenuts, a common ingredient in the Indonesian islands and Padang cooking, are oil-rich nuts used as a thickening and flavoring agent for sauces and pastes and must be cooked. Hazelnuts are a close substitute for their richness and texture.
Fresh lime leaves have a potent scent and flavor reminiscent of multiple citrus fruits and are widely used in Southeast Asian cuisine.
Indian bay leaves are in the same family as the more common laurel bay leaves but are longer and wider. They impart more of a clove-cinnamon flavor.
Nasi kuning (yellow coconut rice)
Makes 4 servings
Prep: 10 minutes
Cook: 45 minutes
Ingredients:
- 6 small or 3 large pandan leaves, optional (see Cook’s Notes)
- One 6-inch piece of a fresh lemongrass stem
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon fine salt, plus more for sprinkling
- 2 cups jasmine rice
- 1 medium shallot
- One 14 ounce can of coconut milk (preferably a Thai brand), not shaken (see Cook’s Notes)
- 1 cup water (possibly more)
- 2 to 3 large Indian bay leaves (see Cook’s Notes)
- 2 fresh lime leaves or rind of ½ a lime (see Cook’s Notes)
- 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
- 1 teaspoon coconut oil or neutral oil
- Half a fresh lime, squeezed
- 4 tablespoons of coconut oil or neutral oil
- 2 Persian cucumbers, sliced
- Banana leaves, optional, for serving (in the frozen section of some Asian markets)
- 1 teaspoon vegetable or coconut oil
Prepare ingredients: Tie the pandan leaves in a knot (if your pandan leaves are dried, soak them in water first for 20 minutes). Pound the lemongrass with the heel of a chef’s knife. Whisk the eggs and a sprinkle of salt in a small bowl with a fork.
Put the rice in a colander (one with small holes or a fine mesh) and rinse under running water, brushing through it with open fingers. Rinse 2 to 3 more times. Then put the colander in a large bowl and fill with water just to cover the rice. Set aside.
Peel the shallot. Thinly slice, put into a small bowl with a pinch of salt, and cover with water.
Put the thick coconut cream from the can and 1 cup of water in a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan. Add the pandan, lemongrass, bay leaves, lime leaves (or lime rind), 1 teaspoon salt, and turmeric. Turn the heat to medium and bring to a light boil. It will take about 6 minutes.
Meanwhile, heat the 1 teaspoon of oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the eggs and gently tilt and rotate the pan to distribute the egg around the edges until there’s no more liquid left to swirl, about 2 minutes. Flip the omelet over and cook until the other side, 1 to 2 more minutes. Fold the omelet onto itself to form a roll and remove to a cutting board.
Drain the rice and add to the coconut and aromatics mixture in the pot. Return the liquid to a low boil, and then turn the heat to low. Add the remaining coconut milk from the can and lime juice and cook, stirring, for 5 minutes. The liquid will be steaming and there should be some gentle bubbles. Put the lid on and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until the liquid is absorbed, and the rice is tender, about 30 minutes. Remove from the heat but keep covered for 10 minutes.
While the rice is cooking, heat 4 tablespoons of oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-low heat. When hot, drain the sliced shallots and add to the skillet. Cook, stirring, until softened and lightly browned, 10 to 12 minutes. Take care not to over-brown the shallots. Remove the shallots to a bowl lined with a paper towel.
When the rice is done, discard the lemongrass and leaves. Overturn the rice into a serving bowl. (Scrape off any crispy rice bits and save to eat with shredded coconut and sugar.) Thinly slice the omelet.
Line dinner plates with a square of banana leaf if using. Fill a ramekin or other small mold with rice and overturn it in the center. Sprinkle rice with omelet threads and fried shallots. Arrange a few cucumber slices alongside. If serving, ladle gulai udang ala padang on the other side.
Cook’s Notes:
Pandan leaves, also called bai toey, are found in the frozen section of some Asian markets. Thaw before using. With a grassy aroma and slightly sweet, nutty flavor, the leaves are widely used in Southeast Asian cooking to flavor rice, wrap meats for grilling, and in desserts and drinks. If using dried pandan leaves, make sure to soak them in water for 20 minutes before using.
Often a can of coconut milk gets shaken to combine the coconut cream and milk. In this recipe, Woworuntu doesn’t shake the can because she wants to use the cream and milk in separate places. After opening the can, tip out the cream into a measuring cup (it might be slightly more than a cup) and you’ll see the milk left behind.
Indian bay leaves are in the same family as the more common laurel bay leaves but are longer and wider. They impart more of a clove-cinnamon flavor.
Fresh lime leaves have a potent scent and flavor reminiscent of multiple citrus fruits and are widely used in Southeast Asian cuisine.
