Snacking the Archipelago: Indonesia

By Wombat | September 14th, 2006 | 1 Comment »

Tucker in Indonesia is without a doubt some of the most delicious in the world in my opinion. But it’s not just the main meals that are great eating, there are also those in-between snacks which are moorish, and after eating them, leaves you wanting more. Epicurean Suryatini N. Ganie explains more in an article she wrote recently.

Snacking around our archipelago
Suryatini N. Ganie

Returning from a visit to various members of my extended family, I stepped on the bathroom scale. The result was so disastrous that I decided to change to a diet of low-carbohydrate, high-fiber foods, having to forget about the yummy steamed glutinous rice rolls oddly called semar mendem, or drunken joker, with a filling of spiced minced meat and a wrapping of thin savory omelets, and the serabi, round and small, sweet and fluffy pancakes with a sauce of thick pandanus-flavored coconut milk, usually served for breakfast at my cousin’s home in Central Java.

After a week of bowls of lettuce leaves, cucumbers, tomatoes and thinly sliced zucchini and honey-sweetened agar-agar, I lost a rather satisfying number of kilograms and was able again to say yes to an invitation for a fabulous high tea of Indonesian multiregional jajanan and luscious cheese cakes at a friend’s house.

Jajanan, or snacks, are common in Indonesia and there exist hundreds of regional sweets, as well as savory temptations made from local products such as rice flour, glutinous rice flour, cassava, sweet potatoes and taro. Mixing the flours is also common and margarine and oil seem to be the chosen fatty agents.

Jakarta, though a growing metropolitan city, still has its traditional jajanan served at special events or sold daily at traditional markets and supermarkets. One of the most interesting things about jajanan Jakarta, or called jajanan Betawi by some older people, is that they are still made by the younger generations and recipes are handed down from mother to daughter.

The most popular of these jajanan include kue pancong, made from rice flour, kue pukis, a rather soft, thick pancake made in special forms, and for breakfast ketan urap, or steamed glutinous rice with a topping of grated green coconut, popular in Jakarta’s suburbs.

In South Kalimantan, people sell pais waluh, a melt-in-the mouth steamed delicacy made from pumpkin and rice flour resulting in a soft pudding-like texture. Pais waluh is only one of the jajanan sold at the pasar kaget in Banjarmasin, which is a market formed by vendors during the fasting month of Ramadhan, mostly selling food for the breaking of the fast. South Kalimantan’s bingka kentang is also one of the most popular snacks. Have a taste should you happen to be there.

Coconut is used for lots of jajanan the Manadonese are famous for their snacks. Their klappertaart, soft and sweet and rich with tender green coconut flesh slices, is a midmorning snack or dessert, and though it has a Dutch name this is truly Manado in its delicious taste. After all, with abundant coconut trees the Manadonese are famous for their creativity in using the nuts for their daily fare.

While the Manadonese prefer the coconut palm and its nuts, the people in Lampung depend on their excellent rice crops be it normal white rice in many varieties or glutinous rice. Lampung’s beras ketan hitam,or black glutinous rice, for example, is one of the main ingredients for their bubur ketan hitam, black glutinous rice porridge with thick sweet coconut milk over the steaming porridge, or babai maring, steamed softly over medium heat.

For those interested in fusion snacks go to Riau and have risoles sagu. The one-time French delicacy brought here by the Dutch has an Malay and East Indonesian wrapping made from sago flour. Eaten with one of their fiery sambals, you will feel as brave as a pirate crossing the wild waters of the surrounding archipelago! Not enough? Then go more eastward, to Timor. Have karamel kulit jeruk. Portuguese of birth, it became Timorese. Ate logo (see you soon) and watch your weight!