Regional cuisine marks Idul Fitri celebrations

Regional cuisine marks Idul Fitri celebrations

By Wirasti Wiryono

JAKARTA (JP): For Idul Fitri this year, food expert Rudy
Choiruddin offers his own perspective of the country's cuisine,
with its astounding variety of rich flavors and textures from the
various regions.

Rudy, host of the Selera Nusantara (Archipelagic Taste)
television show on RCTI, proves there is more than the ubiquitous
ketupat (compressed rice cakes wrapped in palm leaves) served
throughout the country and the nationally known dishes of opor
ayam (chicken in coconut gravy and spices), sambal goreng
(chicken livers simmered in red chilies), telur pindang (marbled
egg), stir-fried green beans and baby corn, shrimp wafers, emping
(crisps) and powdered beans as condiments.

Spicy curried beef or goat (Kare Daging, kambing) with roti
jala (lacy pancakes) is served on North Sumatran tables during
Lebaran, along with Ayam Pangupa (spicy chicken) served with
ketupat.

The sour, spicy beef dish Pangek Daging Asam Pedas graces the
tables of Padang, West Sumatra, as well as rendang (curried
beef), grilled chicken and sayur nangka (stewed young jackfruit).

In Palembang, South Sumatra, Kare Sayur (curried vegetables),
Kare Kambing (curried goat) and Kue Lapanjam, a very sweet cake
steamed for eight hours, are featured while Lampung serves Malbi
Daging, similar to rendang and Gulai Taboh, curried vegetables.

Although Rudy was unable to provide Jakartan dishes for
Lebaran, there is onde-onde (round cakes as large as golf balls
studded with sesame seeds and filled with sweet mung bean paste)
as well the very sweet custard and meringue Kue Ruwok dessert,
which is guaranteed to sate anyone's sweet tooth.

Java presents dishes from its various cities, including Ayam
Bacem of Yogyakarta and sweet Kue Cucur pancakes, alongside
chicken satay, sambal godok cabe hijau (stew of beans, tempeh,
beef and quail eggs), marbled eggs and shrimp wafers.

Kare Kepiting (Curried Crabs) of East Java and Surabaya's
sweet cakes Perut Ayam as well as Soto Kediri are among the
dishes on offer.

Rudy says traditional Lebaran dishes from Maluku and Sulawesi
islands are not available as their inhabitants are mostly non-
Moslem.

But that is not the case in Banjarmasin, South Kalimantan,
where ketupat gandungan (cooked in coconut milk), curried
vegetables, beef, Ayam Cincane and Ayam Masak Blabang (chicken
marinated with a combination of fresh and dried red chilies) are
found.

Rudy told The Jakarta Post recently that he plans to serve his
own version of a Lebaran menu, with a cornucopia of dishes from
around the country including Opor Betawi from Jakarta, Sambal
Goreng from Cirebon, West Java, Malbi from Palembang, Telur Petis
Lading from East Java, chicken satay from Banjarmasin, and Gulai
Taboh of Lampung, with finely ground dried shrimp, beans and
coconut as the condiments.

Meanwhile, bakery owner and food expert William Wongso voiced
alarm about the decline in popularity of Indonesian food.

William, saddened by Indonesian food being underpromoted and
disgusted by it being compared to Malaysian food abroad, stressed
the importance of concerted efforts to set clear, consistent food
standards, strong management, formal training of foreign and
local chefs and accurate information campaigns.

He voiced concern about the lack of awareness of Indonesian
food among the younger generation who found Western food more
appealing and also, perhaps due to being exposed to Western food
during overseas study, found dishes like rawon (black nut soup)
dirty and unappealing.

The psychological affects brought on by foreign franchises'
marketing campaigns, especially with the impact of television,
can sideline Indonesian food right down to the rural areas, he
said.

In addition, William said that unlike fashion and cars, the
culinary arts in Indonesia are not glamorous.

"Aside from religious differences where Moslems cannot eat
pork and Hindus cannot eat beef, it's very difficult to prompt a
Sumatran to eat the Central Java dish gudeg (stewed young
jackfruit) and vice versa because they are not used to the
taste," William said.

He said measures involving the government and the public must
be taken together with a long-term strategy, lasting as long as
35 years, to preserve Indonesia's culinary heritage.

He cited the case of France as the preeminent land of
gastronomy, where an awareness campaign was launched in 1989 to
counteract the onslaught of fast-food. The campaign was mainly
aimed at the younger generation and involved a revised curriculum
in culinary schools to maintain traditional French cuisine.

William called for strong and coordinated public relations
efforts to instill a sense of pride and strong awareness among
Indonesians about their culinary heritage on aspects to generate
cross-tasting, cross-appreciation.

Indonesian food, dwarfed by the proliferation of Chinese,
Indian, Thai and Vietnamese food abroad, requires promotional
cooperation with Australia to access the United States, Japan and
Europe, he said.