Symbolic delicacy returns for Chinese New Year

By Ida Indawati Khouw

JAKARTA (JP): Chinese New Year is coming again. Look forward to the typical delicacy kue keranjang ("basket cake") -- that sweet, dark-red, round cake wrapped in plastic or banana leaf.

For some Chinese, the New Year celebration is incomplete without the cake, which is known by various names, the most popular being dodol cina (Chinese taffy), and kue keranjang or kue cina (Chinese cake).

Its Chinese name is nien kaw or nien pan (new year cake), or thien kaw (sweet cake).

It is actually possible to eat the cake, which is about 10cm in diameter, without recooking it, but people usually prefer to fry it after adding some flour and egg. Or, it can also be steamed and served with shredded coconut.

As the New Year draws closer, the Chinese will give the cake away to colleagues, neighbors and relatives. At present various institutions, such as hotels, have revived the tradition.

The cake is intended as an offering for God during new year prayers when stacks of kue keranjang can be seen at the ancestral altar (meja abu) in Chinese peoples' homes. The stacks are always odd in number.

"The Chinese believe that the odd number is the 'sky number', symbolizing repentance," said Haksu (Confucian clergyman) Masari Saputra.

On this auspicious occasion, the Chinese will say a special prayer.

The Indonesian version of the prayer goes like this: "As the new year is approaching, we offer the new year cake as a token of our gratitude for any blessings we have been endowed ... We hope that from now on we will still enjoy the blessings ... "

Usually, the cakes intended as offerings are not consumed until 15 days after the new year celebration. The celebration is called Cap Go Meh, which greets the coming spring season in the Chinese tradition.

That's why the cake is made to last a long time. Some say that it is still edible after as long as two years.

"The only problem is that it will be moldy, but it is not a big problem really. You can just wash it or cut the moldy part out and eat the rest," said a trader from Petak Sembilan market in downtown Kota.

Like all other new year's ritual supplies, dodol cina also has its own symbolic meaning.

The round shape symbolizes the universe and its sweet taste symbolizes the love that powers human relations. It is this underlying philosophy that explains why the cake is made to last months or even years.

"It means that the love and care should last for a long time," Masari said.

Maybe not many Chinese in Indonesia understand the symbolism but sales of the cake are a big business ahead of the new lunar year.

One successful kue keranjang maker is housewife Ayung, 50, from the Jembatan Dua area in North Jakarta. She inherits the skill from her late grandmother-in-law Tjoeng Po Lin, who participated in the seasonal business for over 40 years.

"None of my husband's relatives are interested in continuing the business," Ayung said.

The business is profitable for Ayung. She claimed she could make more than 10 tons of dodol cina every year. In a period of two weeks, she can make more than Rp 80 million. Each kilogram of cake costs Rp 8,000.

Besides selling cake by the kilogram, Ayung also sells it in stacks ready for offering.

In the past people took the trouble to make the cake by themselves. It takes more than a day to make it.

"The most time consuming is the steaming, which can last for 16 hours," Ayung said.

Like most cake makers, Ayung undertakes the cooking with no stranger allowed to learn the secret recipe.

"It's simple. The cake is made from a mixture of glutinous rice and sugar, that's all," she said.

Her daughter, Lauw Kim Lian, said that in the past cake makers were subject to strict regulations.

"For instance, a woman was forbidden from making the cake when she had her period. The kitchen was completely restricted to outsiders. Even the buckets containing the dough were covered with knives as protection," she said.