A hot chili pepper paste festival, North Sumatra style

A hot chili pepper paste festival, North Sumatra style

Apriadi Gunawan, The Jakarta Post, Medan

At least 106 unique sorts of sambal (hot chili paste) were
featured in a contest in North Sumatra's festival of traditional
condiments in Medan earlier this month, with Sambal Jando
Mangamuk capturing the attention of visitors, including
provincial Governor Rizal Nurdin.

The governor had a big smile as he noticed the name of this
paste, literally meaning "the sambal of a furious divorcee", at
the pavilion of Rukiah, a participant from Asahan regency.

"Well, it's unique. But I guess the flavor is familiar to me.
Perhaps I had it once...," said Rizal Nurdin while tasting it.
"It's a special paste, Pak. It's exceptional, with a story of its
own," Rukiah told the governor.

Rukiah related how a housewife was frequently left alone by
her husband a long time ago, until she heard about the return of
her spouse one day. Desirous of taking revenge for being
abandoned, she concocted her own sambal with fury.

The typical relish was produced by blending garlic, onions,
red, green and small chili peppers, fermented soybeans, shrimp
paste, shrimps, white and brown sugar, tomatoes and other
ingredients. "She mixed them into a sambal in the way an enraged
divorcee does," added Rukiah.

The first sambal festival of North Sumatra was part of the
59th National Independence Day commemoration, enjoyed the
regional community's warm reception and listed over 100
participants under two categories: restaurants, hotels and
catering services, and individuals.

Most of the tasty sauces presented in the event were
originally named after the components mixed with chili peppers.
For instance, South Tapanuli's sambal tuik is made from tuik fish
commonly found in the regency, which is ground along with chili
to become a condiment.

Some of them got their names from their blending methods, such
as sambal Tuk-Tuk, also from South Tapanuli. Though one of the
regency's tourist spots in Parapat, Lake Toba, is called Tuk-Tuk,
this sauce is made by pounding that produces the sound "tuk, tuk,
tuk..."

Megahati Hasibuan, preparing the Tuk-Tuk on display, said the
paste was made up of aso-aso fish, red chilies, red onions, limes
and salt, all being crushed into a paste by pounding.

The other sambal exhibits were North Tapanuli's Tombur,
Tapanuli's Andaliman and Deli Serdang's Pelam. Also displayed
along with the pastes were rice, fish, salads and other side
dishes.

Governor Rizal Nurdin said the festival was meant to explore
the diverse varieties of sambal and traditional delicacies of
North Sumatra. The idea struck him as he toured different
regencies with delicious foods not yet widely known.

"Through this program, all sorts of chili paste and
traditional dishes in the region can hopefully come to the fore,"
the governor pointed out.

Chairperson of the Indonesian Catering Service Association,
North Sumatra, Murniwati Bayu Fadhlan, said this event was very
positive for the further introduction of Indonesia's chili sauces
to the global community.

According to Murni, traditional cooking from regions has not
yet been very popular abroad. "The only constraint is the lack of
publicity. If this program were carried on in future years, our
sambal would be consumed worldwide," said Murni.

Concluding, Murni noted the great potential of Indonesian
traditional foods, particularly those typical of North Sumatra,
and their less inferior flavors to imported ones.

The champion emerging from the festival contest in the hotel,
restaurant and catering category was Hotel Grand Angkasa,
followed by Hotel Sahid and Hotel Dharma Deli as first and second
runners-up.

In the individual category, Novina won the top place with Ria
and Sahrul as runners-up, while the best three in the mixed
favorite class were Azhar, Hamzah and Hotel Tiara Medan,
respectively.