Traditional food whets tourists' appetite<\/p>\n
By R. Agus Bakti<\/p>\n
YOGYAKARTA (JP): Kaliurang, a half-hour drive from the city of
\nYogyakarta, is a tourist area located at the foot of Mount
\nMerapi.<\/p>\n
Its claim to fame is its celebrated dish jadah tempe.<\/p>\n
Jadah is a traditional snack made of glutinous rice and
\nusually eaten with tempe bacem, or tempeh stewed in a syrupy
\nsauce.<\/p>\n
A jadah vendor, Nunuk, said the Kaliurang dish existed for
\nmany years but experienced a growth in popularity in the 1950s.<\/p>\n
The Kaliurang dish is distinguished by its aroma and
\npresentation. It is not cut into pieces like in other areas.<\/p>\n
It is sold in flat chunks the size of a fist. The white jadah
\nis served while it is hot with the sweet tempe bacem. Its
\ntexture should be soft. Skill and accuracy are required to make
\nthe dish and the glutinous rice is flavored with pandan
\n(pandanus).<\/p>\n
In the Kaliurang tourist area, Nunuk and some 120 other
\nvendors sell the food around Telaga Putri Park. Tourists usually
\nstop to enjoy the dish after a walk enjoying the cool mountain
\nair.<\/p>\n
Take-away is popular among visitors for their relatives and
\nfriends. The dish must later be reheated if it is cold. \"The
\ntaste remains good if the jadah is not scorched,\" Nunuk said.<\/p>\n
The biggest jadah tempe was created on Sept. 5 during the
\nKaliurang Festival 1999. The diameter of the rice measured
\nbetween four meters and five meters and the tempe was a length of
\n7.5 meters.<\/p>\n
The coordinator for the program, Sukamto, explained that many
\npeople were required to make the giant jadah. \"Nearly all the
\njadah traders in Kaliurang were involved.\"<\/p>\n
Participation of the inhabitants in the area, mainly the
\ntraders, was projected to popularize the food, both here and
\nabroad.<\/p>\n
The festive occasion was held at Kaliurang Recreation Park.
\nAll the equipment was in place by early morning. There were rice
\ncookers to prepare the glutinous rice, giant tampah (wooden
\ntrays), and the ingredients of glutinous rice, coconuts, brown
\nsugar and tempeh.<\/p>\n
In keeping with the size of the dish, the equipment was
\nconsiderable. For example, the diameter of the tray to lay out
\nthe jadah measured five meters. It was placed in the middle of
\nthe recreation park.<\/p>\n
The experts took turns. Some were engaged in cooking the
\nglutinous rice, while others took charge of making tempe bacem.
\nOthers turned their talents to the garnish.<\/p>\n
Sukamto said that 10 experts were in charge of the work,
\nassisted by 40 people.<\/p>\n
It took from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. before it was completed. When
\nthe product was ready it was measured by an official of the
\nIndonesian Record Museum. The rather round structure measured
\nfour meters by five meters, with a thickness of 10 cms. The tempe
\nbacem was 7.5 meters long and was arranged around the jadah, with
\n3,600 pieces of tempeh required.<\/p>\n
The decoration in the middle was made from tempeh and read \"FK
\n99\" for Festival Kaliurang 1999. A large and long enthong (rice
\nspoon) was needed to make the decoration. The person in charge
\nhad to climb on a chair to write the letters.<\/p>\n
The jadah required 150 kgs of rice, 200 coconuts, 50 kgs of
\nbrown sugar, 10 pieces of firewood and 400 banana leaves.<\/p>\n
Manager of the Indonesian Record Museum Paulus Pangka was
\namong the thousands of attendants. Paulus said that the
\nappreciation given by the museum was fitting because the
\nKaliurang inhabitants were able to break the existing record of
\nthe size of jadah tempe.<\/p>\n
Paulus noted it was important to develop and conserve
\ntraditional food. \"It will eventually lead to tourist promotion
\nin Indonesia, not only in Kaliurang,\" he said. He informed the
\npublic that the biggest jadah tempe was entered as number 421 in
\nthe Indonesian Record Museum.<\/p>\n
After the dish was made, the Indonesian Record Museum issued a
\ncertificate and an auction was held. The auction started with the
\ncutting of the dish by Sutrisno, the Sleman regional secretary.<\/p>\n
Spectators present from the early morning excitedly came for
\nan up-close view of the dish. A card system was used for the
\nauction which took place in two sessions. At the first auction,
\nRp 10,000 tickets were each exchanged for one kilogram of jadah
\nand 10 pieces of tempeh. In the second, Rp 5,000 tickets were
\nsubmitted for exchange of the food. The auction lasted more than
\none hour.<\/p>\n
The success in making the giant dish was due to the endeavor
\nand spirit of the vendors. Last year the record for making the
\nbiggest ampyang was also broken. Ampyang, another specialty of
\nthe region, is made of brown sugar and groundnuts.<\/p>\n
With the success of the biggest jadah tempe, it is hoped that
\nthe food will become more famous and enhance both domestic and
\nforeign tourist visits. Please come to Kaliurang to taste the
\nwarm and tender jadah.<\/p>",
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