True Cirebon fare to egg on the tastebuds

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."