Forget cheesecake, reach for 'gorengan'

JAKARTA (JP): Let there be cheese cakes, muffins, biscuits or donuts, but when it comes to favorite snacks, nothing compares to traditional fried food or gorengan.

It is tasty and cheap and you can find the vendors virtually on every street in the city, in housing complexes, in front of offices, in alleyways and at bus terminals.

There are various kind of gorengan including tempeh, tofu, banana, cassava, and bakwan (shredded carrot, cabbage, bean sprouts and shallots mixed in batter).

Sometimes the variety extends to fried sukun (breadfruit), pineapple or jackfruit.

The food is first dipped into batter, before being deep fried and displayed on the vendor's cart, with prices ranging from Rp 250 to Rp 300 a piece.

Herti, 27, said that she buys the snack almost every day from the vendor in front of her office, a hotel in Central Jakarta.

"Usually for afternoon snacks, during break time with my friends," she said, adding that she spends some Rp 10,000 for the snacks, which she shares with her colleagues.

"I know it's not good for my health or figure as it's greasy, but it's so addictive," she added, laughing.

Like Herti, other people are probably fully aware that the snacks are far from hygienic as they are displayed in the carts, without any "protection" from the street pollution. Yet, they keep on buying the food.

If the snack is so popular, then the vendors must earn quite a lot.

"Not really. I mean, business is not bad. But considering the ongoing crisis and the rising prices, it gives me a headache too," said Jani, 27, a vendor in front of Diner's Club at Jl. Jend. Sudirman, South Jakarta.

Due to the recent fuel price hike and subsequent increase in the prices of basic goods, he has also increased the snack price from Rp 250 to Rp 300.

Most of his buyers are office employees who often buy the snacks to serve during meetings.

Jani has been selling gorengan since 1990, when he migrated from his hometown in Cirebon, West Java, to the capital to look for a job.

First he helped his relatives sell gorengan, before going on his own several months later.

"At first I went around Pejompongan area. But then I got tired," he said.

In 1995, Jani then got a place in Gang Buaya in Kalimati, Central Jakarta, where he also rented a house with his wife and daughter.

"But the housing complex where I sold food was demolished and replaced by an industrial complex. I then moved to Kebayoran Lama," he said.

Two years ago, he teamed up with one of his fellow vendors to sell gorengan on Jl. Sudirman and in the Kebayoran Lama area.

"We take it in turns every month. This month, I work here, next month, I'll be in Kebayoran Lama," he asserted.

Even though he claimed that business was not that good, he admitted that his daily sales could reach an average of Rp 200,000 (US$20), while it costs him Rp 120,000 to purchase the raw materials.

Another vendor, Seno, said that everyday he needs some 16 kilograms of cooking oil, 20 kilograms of flour, vegetables, tofu, tempeh and other raw material for the snacks worth some Rp 200,000.

He earns up to Rp 300,000 a day.

"So far though, I haven't increased the price of the snacks," he said.

And Seno is still willing to give away his culinary secrets.

"The number one thing is garlic. Drop in lots of garlic, it will taste good," he said.

The snack may be tasty and addictive, but experts warned that it has a bad effect on health.

Nutritionist Kartini Sukardji from the University of Indonesia said that consuming too much fried food can cause several health problems, such as high cholesterol.

"Especially because vendors use the same cooking oil over and over again," she told The Jakarta Post.

Kartini also revealed research which shows that the gorengan sold contained lead from vehicles' exhaust because the vendors sold it in areas where traffic density was high.

"Eating it once in a while is OK, but the problem is, most of us eat it every day," she said.

The vendors seem to be ignorant of health issues. When asked about the overused oil, Jani only smiled, saying that it would cost him a lot of money if he changed the oil often.

"Here, it's healthy," he laughed, while handing over a bag of gorengan.(hdn)