GOURMETS IN INDONESIA
1. TEKWAN
The
food of this one was just as yummy with pempek. The shape is round like fish Meatball, even some are
oval, smothered in Gravy eaten with shrimp. The meaning of the name tekwan is
also quite interesting, namely tekwan, “bekotek
samo kawan”,
the meaning is chatting with your friends, where normally people eat tekwan
while chatting with friends. In addition there are also stories that the actual
meaning of the name tekwan is a one-take one, because the sound of the word tekwan
is similar to the sound of the word “take
one”
in English. Whether coincidence or not, because it is how to eat tekwan is
eaten the individual commandments themselves.
2. PEMPEK KAPAL SELAM
The
giving of names pempek submarine was because the manufacturing process. Pempek is cooked by drown it in
many waters, and
when it is fully matured then pempek will float and rises to the surface automatically. Because the
manufacturing process as how it works submarines, then it called pempek submarine (Pempek Kapal Selam). It is called pempek submarine due to
its shape similar to a submarine.
3. NASI KUCING
Nasi Kucing (also called Sego Kucing), is an indonesian
rice dish. It comes from Yogyakarta, Semarang, and Surakarta. It can now be
found in many places. It is a small serving of rice with different toppings. Sometimes
the toppings can be egg, chicken, and cucumber. Often the toppings include
chili sauce, dried fish, and tempeh. It wrapped in banana leaves. It is able to
be eaten immediately after it is bought. It is served wrapped in a banana leaf and paper.
The name Nasi Kucing, which means “cat rice” or “cat’s
rice”, comes from the size of the rice served. There is very little rice,
almost like what a Javanese Person would give to a cat.
4. SATE KERE
Kere simply means poor. Javanese commonly
used this word for addressing to people who are inferior in finance. So why can
it become the name of satay? In the past, many people could not afford to buy
chicken satay due to the economic condition. Since they want to enjoy the
pleasure of eating it, they have creativity to cook the food with cheap budget
having similar style like delivering satay plus it uses sauce which is just the
same with sauce in chicken satay. That’s why people began to call it as sate kere; the kere satay, the satay which could be
afforded by the poor.
The main composition of it is gembus: soybean dreags as the
remain from tofu (tahu) making process. That’s why the
cost of it can be very low and make the price to sell become very cheap. Since there
is no meat, vegetarians can also enjoy it even they can have similar experience
like eating meat – it can be solution of menu variations for vegetarians.
Gembus is grilled in fired wooden
charcoal which is commonly called by Indonesians as arang. Just in several minutes, the
dish is ready. Then, sate
kere is poured with
peanut sauce which has strong sweet taste from palm sugar. To make it more
exotic in taste, you can ask the seller to put slices of chillies and onions.
When you come or stay in kampongs along
Solo, you probably can meet the ladies who sell sate kere door
to door with traditional modest Javanese cloth. You can also find them by
sudden on the main street, when they walk passing it. Most of them are still
very traditional in making, performing, and delivering sate kere. In fact, that makes sate kere more interesting for tourists.
Now, people can also find sate kere in street stall which has better style
in performance; it is similar to restaurant. Even most of them now add satays
from beef offals including lever and intestine which are off course more
expensive sate
kere from gembus.
With only IDR 3,000 (from traditional
seller) – 7,500 (from street seller similar to restaurant), you can enjoy this
sate. You can add ketupat or lontong (rice which is covered by young coconut
leave before boiled) to make you more full. Since it is cheap and not fatty,
you can eat it a lot and don’t worry, you will not be kere because of it
5. GUDEG
Indonesia have so
many traditional dish that have unique form and complexity, most of them are so
popular around us. One of the most popular one is Gudeg. Gudeg or we can say it
in English as green jackfruit stew is
a very sweet traditional dish made of young jackfruit, cooked with palm sugar
and seasoning until it turns dark. Gudeg is a traditional dish from Yogyakarta,
but any source also tell that Gudeg is from Central Java. Nowadays Gudeg become
very popoular in Indonesia, we can find it almost in every place in Indonesia,
not only in Yogyakarta. There are many special and unique things that we can
find in a Gudeg dish.
Gudeg has unique and special not only in the taste of
dish, but Gudeg has unique history also. The name ‘Gudeg’ has a story behind
it. The story is that long time ago there is a couple lived in Yogyakarta. The
husband is from England, and the wife is a Javanese girl. The husband called
the wife with ‘dek’. One day the wife was confused what must she cook for the
husband, then the wife found an old recipe with made from young jackfruit.
Finally, the wife cooked it, and when the husband come, he try the dish, he
like it and say “Good dek ..”. Becuse the wife was very happy to hear that, she
talk to their neighbors, and than for a long time, the spell ‘good dek’
transform to Gudeg and become the name of that dish which made from young jackfruit.
Gudeg is a unique, special, and complex traditional dish from Yogyakarta, which
now become very popular in Indonesia. Now, we as an Indonesian must save gudeg
and develope it more with our creativity.
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