On the trail of the treasure of Betawi's culinary secrets

JAKARTA (JP): Betawi food, the native cuisine of Jakarta, has traditionally been put on the back burner when praise over Indonesia's culinary riches is handed out.

Its counterparts from Padang (West Sumatra, laid out before you as soon as you take your place at the table), West Java (Sunda) and exotic North Sulawesi (Manado) have grabbed the biggest share of plaudits for their delicious fare.

Name one Betawi dish? Most of us would have no problem coming up with Soto Betawi, the rich beef and vegetable broth which differs from its Central Javanese cousin by using coconut milk as its base.

We might have more difficulty in identifying a second, but could still muster up gado-gado Jakarta, with boiled vegetables, egg and chopped tempeh bathed in a spicy peanut sauce, and garnished with crackers. Not far behind would be nasi uduk, the late night soul satisfier of rice steamed with coconut milk and served with an array of fried chicken, tempeh and other side dishes.

Yet most of us would be stumped if requested to name one or two others. Betawi food lives on among the Golden Arches crisscrossing the city, but it keeps a low-profile.

This is a shame. Jakarta's dishes represent a culinary melting pot of the peoples from within the archipelago and from distant lands. They attest to centuries of experimentation and borrowing from other cuisines to create the unique Betawi dishes of today.

Satay falls haphazardly under Betawi food although its popularity has rendered it one of the few truly national dishes, to be found in all pockets of the country. The definitions are blurry, but generally identified as Jakartan satays are sate kikil (grilled goat's feet) and sate kambing (grilled goat meat).

Apart from nasi uduk, Jakarta boasts nasi kebuli. As the name suggests, this is a hybrid version of the Middle Eastern dish, adapted by waves of Arab traders as they set up home in the bustling market areas of Tanah Abang and Petamburan in Central Jakarta.

The capital also has its own sizzling curries and stews to match any from West Sumatra. Gulai kambing, another nod to Jakarta's Arab community, is a rich, savory stew of chunks of goat meat in a highly spiced sauce.

Jakarta is no exception when its comes to the Indonesian love affair with fried chicken. There is fried chicken in the sour- sweet soy sauce usually daubed on fruit salad (ayam bumbu rujak), and broiled chicken flavored according to taste with paprika, lemongrass or soy sauce.

Innovative Jakartans also used the thick semur sauce usually combined with beef or tofu and egg stews. Not as spicy as the rendang sauce of West Sumatra, semur is both tart and sweet.

Higher on the spice quotient is sambal udang kapri (shrimp and snow peas sauteed in chili) and sambal goreng kentang. The latter, cubed potatoes fried in chili, is a delectable delight for the taste buds, which expatriates with a taste for chili will enjoy.

Jajanan, the cheap snacks ubiquitous in Indonesian towns and cities, have their place in Jakarta. Three stand out from the cakes, cookies and savories. The achingly sweet glutinous rice cake called dodol is a Betawi favorite, and a must during the Lebaran celebration at the end of the Ramadhan fasting month.

There is also kerak telur, a mixture of glutinous rice, egg, flour, onion, shavings of fish, and topped with shredded dried coconut. Among traditional fried snacks, vegetables and shrimp soaked in batter and fried (bakwan) is often wolfed down as a late afternoon snack.

The above is but an abridged sampling of the diverse variety of Betawi dishes, but interested diners would still be hard pressed to find them on Jakarta's central streets. Unlike Padang and Sundanese food, Betawi cuisine has not entered the franchise age of spick-and-span eateries targeted at locals and foreigners alike.

There is Si Doel in Kemang, a restaurant opened by actor Rano Karno and named after his character in the popular TV series about a Betawi family. Betawi and other Indonesian dishes feature on the menu, the waiters' traditional dress is a stab at authenticity, and the food is palatable. Yet one has the nagging feeling that this is not the genuine McCoy, but a prettified version for consumption in this expatriate haven.

Betawi food does survive among food vendors plying the city's streets and roadside stalls. A recommended place to buy kerak telur, which is now hard to find in the capital, is the food stall at the Gelael supermarket in Pancoran, South Jakarta. For the squeamish, those accustomed to scrubbing their vegetables in Aqua and fits of hand-wringing over whether those ice cubes were actually made from boiled water, a better bet would be the Betawi food served in supermarket food courts, especially in the Sarinah basement on Jl. Thamrin, Central Jakarta.

In the week or so preceding the celebration of Jakarta's founding anniversary today, the city's hotels trot out sumptuous buffets in honor of Betawi food. The interested may be able to catch them in the next couple of days. Better hurry, though, as Betawi cuisine's annual 15 minutes in the gourmet spotlight is nearly up.