True Cirebon fare to egg on the tastebuds

Maria Endah Hulupi, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Indonesia boasts a rich culinary diversity with each province, and even small cities, having their own special dishes that reflect unique local flavors.

One of the cities whose traditional dishes enrich the country's culinary scene is Cirebon in West Java.

The name of the city consists of words ci, a Sundanese word that literally means "water") and rebon ("shrimp"), so named because, so the story goes, shrimp has always been an important local commodity.

And just like Padang (West Sumatra), Manado (North Sulawesi), Bali and many other regions in Indonesia, Cirebon also has some nationally famous dishes such as empal gentong, nasi jamblang, tahu gejrot and sate kalong, all of which are usually sold on pushcarts by street vendors.

Even though locals use the same spices, herbs and other ingredients, in terms of taste typical Cirebon dishes are more tasty and savory compared to the mostly sweet dishes from neighboring cities in Central Java.

"We also have a totally meaning for the well-known term, empal. In Central Java, empal is sliced beef, seasoned with spices, which is deep fried until cooked. Ours is nothing like that," said Arifin, a cook in a restaurant in Gading Batavia food promenade, North Jakarta, that specializes in Cirebon cuisine.

He was referring to a dish called empal gentong, which is a bowl of tasty coconut milk soup served with slices of boiled, seasoned beef and jeroan (various animal internal organs, such as the intestines, lungs and stomach.)

"The traditional way of preparing empal gentong is by cooking the meat and the soup in a gentong (or a large terracotta pot). Usually, the dish is slowly cooked over a traditional charcoal stove for around two hours to ensure the meat is tender," Arifin explained, adding that the one-dish meal is eaten with hot rice or lontong (rice cake wrapped in banana leaf).

"The use of the clay pot and charcoal stove give the dish a distinctive flavor which is highly appreciated by the locals. But in restaurants, charcoal stoves are rarely used because of the thick smoke they creates," he said laughing.

Cirebon is also famous for a traditional dish with a funny name, sate kalong. This name, which means skewered bat is rather misleading. In fact, this traditional food, which is served with peanut sauce, is so named because most sate kalong vendors usually start operating late in the evening -- just like bats, in fact.

"There is nothing funny about the food or its flavor. For the sate, locals use slices of beef marinated in mildly sweet sauce and grill them until cooked," Arifin explained.

The people from Jamblang have created the well-known nasi jamblang, a rice dish served together with several side dishes -- including fried cow lung, fried egg, tofu, tempeh, potato patties and blekutak (squid cooked in its ink) -- all served together on one plate. What is interesting about this dish is that the rice is wrapped in teakwood leaf, giving it a delicate fragrance.

Another popular rice dish is nasi lengko, or rice topped with various vegetables, served with spicy peanut sauce and sweet soy sauce. The dish is famous because apart from its flavor, it is also light and satisfying.

Vegetables are also important items in Cirebon cuisine. They are used fresh or boiled, and are usually served together with different sauces as a highlight to accompany rice or noodles. Such vegetable dishes include mie kocok (noodle topped with chicken, shredded cabbage, bean sprouts and topped with thickened coconut soup), rujak janganan and sambal asam. The latter two consist of a wide variety of vegetables but rujak janganan is served with peanut sauce, spiced with shrimp paste, while sambal asam is eaten with tamarind sauce.

Even though most spices are easily available, Arifin said that several items in his restaurant, like teakwood leaves, dried chili, salty fish and the mildly sweet soy sauce, had to be brought in from Cirebon.

"Fresh ingredients are obtained here as they easily spoil. We need to find substitutes, including substituting Cirebon tempeh for what is locally available here. Some diners complain, though, as the tempeh produced in Cirebon is made with bigger soy beans and is tastier than the local stuff."

As for drinks, Arifin said that refreshing syrups of various flavors, like banana, lemon, and coffee mocha, are available to complete the meal.

"In Cirebon, these syrups are a popular home industry product."