Tambak specialty: Duck sate and curry

Tambak specialty: Duck sate and curry

Agus Maryono, Banyumas, Jawa Tengah

If you travel along Jl. Raya Tambak in the Central Java regency,
Banyumas, on the southern road route from Jakarta to Yogyakarta
-- between Purwokerto and Kebumen to be precise -- you will
surely notice dozens of street kiosks offering the same things to
eat: duck satay and curry.

Tambak, a subdistrict within Banyumas regency, has long been
known as the center for vendors of these dishes. According to the
vendors, at least 35 of them do business along the road, selling
food that is associated with Tambak, and nowhere else.

Siyam, 40, a duck sate and curry vendor told The Jakarta Post
recently that she used 10 to 15 ducks per day to make either duck
sate or curry; a duck could produce up to 75 skewers of sate
while the leftover pieces and bones were cooked to make delicious
duck curry.

"Our kiosk is usually open from 8 a.m. until 9 p.m. on
weekdays. On weekends, however, we are open until midnight, due
mainly to the presence of numerous long-distance travelers who
drop by just to taste our specialty on their way home," Siyam
said.

A portion generally comprises 10 skewers of satay and is sold
at Rp 7,000. With ducks mostly costing about Rp 20,000 each,
Siyam said her raw material costs were about 50 percent of the
selling price of the cooked items.

"We can save some Rp 100,000 a day -- not bad, as it can meet
the cost of our children's school fees," said Siyam, adding that
her income would rise significantly during long weekends,
especially Idul Fitri celebrations, which mark the end of the
fasting month of Ramadhan.

Also worth waiting for, according to Siyam, were feasting
occasions when many locals would place enormous orders for duck
satay or curry to serve to their guests.

On these occasions, she said, a family could place an order
for either satay or curry, or both, of up to 150 ducks. It was
because duck sate and curry had become favorite dishes, not just
for travelers but local people, too.

Many who have tasted the food agree that it's special. "It
tastes different from any other kind of meat. I never miss
dropping by just to taste the satay every time I pass this way,"
Andi, 34, from neighboring Cilacap told The Post.

Riza Utami, 20, from Purwokerto, agreed, saying that duck sate
had long been one of her favorites. "It has a unique taste that's
delicious. I often come to Tambak with friends just to enjoy the
satay and the curry. They love it," Riza said.

According to Salinah, 40, another duck satay and curry seller
on Jl. Tambak, the special taste of the food comes from the duck
meat, which has a unique flavor. "Therefore, when it is mixed
with the right spices and enjoyed with special peanut sausage,soy
ketchup and pepper, it certainly tastes
delicious. We say here that it's gurih (tasty)," Salinah said.

Tambak duck satay originated in the 1960s, when a local, Atmo,
Siyam's grandfather, started to sell it from one village to
another, and then from one traditional market to another. As time
went by, however, Atmo settled down on Jl. Raya Tambak in the
1970s, as old age made it more difficult for him to carry his
merchandise from one place to another.

It turned out that the dishes Atmo offered became increasingly
popular and eventually other people also started businesses by
opening their own kiosks offering the same food on the same
street, till it took on its current appearance.

The success of the businesses is also supported by the
region's traditional duck farming, thanks to regular flooding
during the rainy season that has made the region a favored
location for duck breeders.