Typical archipelago cuisine known for its variety of flavors, starting from spicy, asin, tasteful, and sweet in harmony, plus aromas that are so appetizing.
But apparently this kind of spice-rich cuisine is not commonly found in culinary culture in East Nusa Tenggara (NTT), you know!
Nah, according to Ade Putri's experience, a culinary storyteller, concluded that the culinary arts of NTT have distinctive characteristics, namely the use of very minimal spices.
If viewed in terms of taste, According to him, the people of NTT are used to the taste of the food they use. Like the character of cuisine from other regions of Eastern Indonesia, NTT culinary highlights original ingredients, does not give much added seasoning as a taste.
Renata Praises Sumedi Hangarawati, Agroecosystem Program Manager from the Indonesian Biodiversity Foundation (HEART), add, after catching various kinds of fish from the sea, NTT people don't give all kinds of spices.
“Just burn it, for example. So that, The sweet taste of sea fish meat can be enjoyed. It's because the fish is fresh from the sea. Or, his favorite menu is sour sauce fish. Only with ginger, galangal, tomatoes, salt, and sliced lime leaves, The taste is amazing,"He said.
Praise also tells, Food sources in eastern Indonesia are abundant. In the tradition of the Lamaholot Tribe in East Flores, the legend of Tonu Wujo is also known, female character who is willing to die and her body disintegrates into various sources of food, such as a variety of seeds and vegetables.
The pattern of local food consumption has become a hereditary tradition. From carbohydrate sources, protein nabati, to land and marine animal protein.
Local food is available in nature and managed wisely and remains nutritious. However, with the development of technology and modernization, good habits fade, including changes to instant consumption patterns.
Talk about local food, #IndonesiaMake Proud because there are so many types. Each region has its own special and unique food. In NTT you will be able to find 5 following ingredients:
SOURCES OF CARB
Sorrows
In recent years sorghum is on the rise. Reason, This food is gluten free, so that it can be a solution for children with special needs.
Ade himself has been eating sorghum for approx 3 year. Because it's not a hobby baking, so he uses sorghum instead of rice.
Ade also said that the texture and taste are not much different from rice from rice. The method and time of cooking are the same, can also with rice cooker.
Only the amount of water is slightly different, but the recommended amount of water is usually listed on the packaging.
“I once made Manado porridge creations from sorghum. Very delicious! Not too long ago I also just tried to make pancake from sorghum flour,Said Ade, while mentioning that sorghum products are now commonly found in health food stores.
Ade also likes to mix ingredients. Inspired by international cuisine that loves to add grains, as barley, he sometimes mixes rice and sorghum.
And, people think what he ate was barley, even though sorghum. That's good again, Sorghum is also a high-protein food source. People who must consume plant base food can get protein and carbohydrates at the same time from sorghum.
Praise the story, In NTT there are many variants of sorghum which is rich in fiber and thrives on dry land. Judging from the color is very diverse, there is white, chocolate, yellow, red, Maroon, to black. Like rice, there is sorghum that tastes good, pulen, and there is something like sticky rice.
"The existence of this food source cannot be separated from culture". If food sources are lost, then the culture will change or disappear. For example, Ende has an Ngoa Lolo ceremony for sorghum. If the sorghum disappears, the ceremony certainly doesn't exist anymore,He said.
Sorghum has been proven to be good for health. According to Puji, Even in the hospital, patients are given food gluten free, including sorghum, because it can lower blood sugar levels.
Not only consumed in the form of rice, local people have made it as cereal. They also process sorghum flour as a cake ingredient.
There's also flower sorghum that can be made popgum, that is kind of popcorn. "It's not just the grain taken, Sorghum stalks can be used as sorghum sugar, or fermented into soy sauce,said Puji.
Jewawut
Different from sorghum, the people of NTT jewawut do not consume it as a substitute for rice, but more as snack.
The taste of the barley itself is actually tasteless, so the taste ultimately depends on the way we season it. Similar to making green bean porridge and black sticky rice. It's sweet because it's added with sugar, and it's delicious because it's given coconut milk.
"If you get access to get barley", I can try making it instead of rice too. He is in the form of grains, so it can be mixed with rice. So that, there is a different texture in the rice,Said Ade.
According to Puji, This porridge from barley is often used by the people of NTT to restore the health of people who have just given birth. "It's like a tradition that has been applied for generations. Every time someone just gave birth, they will make jewawut porridge, which are shaped like jali-jali.”
SOURCE OF VEGETABLE PROTEIN
Nuts
Who would have thought that NTT is peanut heaven. NTT people sometimes mix beans into vegetables, ours, corn, or it can be made as a snack, such as fried peanuts and boiled peanuts.
There are peanuts from Sumba, green beans from East Flores, all kinds of red beans. There are Ende red beans, Paleo, and East Flores, with plain appearance or like batik.
Even though they're both red beans, The texture of the soil where it is planted will greatly affect the taste. If you go to Flores and visit a traditional market, You will find many kinds of nuts.
Ade has also tasted a food called bose corn. Even though there's corn, looks like peanut porridge.
It's just corn and some beans with very little salt added. What is highlighted is the original taste of peanuts. The shape of the bean is still visible, but the texture is not hard, because it was cooked long enough.
“I had asked, Is this food a source of carbohydrates and can be eaten together? may be (NTT typical smoked meat), for example. Evidently, no. He was eaten alone,Said Ade.
He has also tried fried batik beans. Like fried peanuts, but different color and taste. If the peanuts are plain light brown, Batik beans show red spots. The taste of this batik bean, according to Ade, sweeter than peanuts. But, not because of the seasoning, but the original taste of the batik bean itself.
Moringa Leaves
The leaves of this one are happening once in a big city, because it has good nutritional value.
In addition to very high antioxidants, vitamin C content in it 7 times higher than oranges, while the potassium 15 many times more than bananas. No surprise, if the benefits for health are also very large.
Praise the story, It's been a long time since the people of NTT have consumed Moringa, because there are so many Moringa trees. Interestingly, Moringa is used to improve malnutrition in children.
Number stunting in East Flores is quite high. One day, a puskesmas innovated by providing additional food in the form of sorghum and moringa and other vegetables to children with poor nutrition. Program duration 3 that month succeeded in increasing the child's weight so that they were no longer in the category of poor nutrition.
"The program was then tested in several other health centers", until then a solo campaign was made, namely Moringa sorghum. This is clear evidence that local food is able to overcome stunting and malnutrition,said Puji.
Ade himself often consumes Moringa leaves. “My mother used to often cook Moringa leaf bobor. The leaves themselves barely have a particular taste. He will follow the taste we create. It can actually be stir-fried, although not uncommon. The most often is made clear vegetables. It is also possible to use it as one of the ingredients for urap and pecel.”
But, why, of, new Moringa leaves booming now? According to Ade, Moringa leaves are popularized by people abroad. When entering a healthy grocery store abroad, Moringa leaves have just been highlighted, until we are then new ngeh.
FOOD MATERIALS FOR DRINK
Flores Manggarai Arabica and Robusta Coffee
For plant source drinks, coffee is a specialty in NTT. Many coffee producing areas in NTT, one of them is Manggarai Flores.
Drinking coffee at home for Manggarai Raya residents, Flores, has become a tradition. In recent years, the habit of drinking coffee has become an arena for socializing outside the home, included in NTT.
The habit of coffee at home shifts to culture hang out. According to Puji, they no longer just drink coffee at home, but also in cafes or stalls that are starting to grow there. The good news, local governments set policies for restaurants and hotels to provide local coffee as a local potential.
The Manggarai area itself is the largest coffee producer in NTT. “Because the potential for coffee there is great, we used to have activities coffeepreneur. Now many young people want to be a barista,” Praise said.
Through that program we embrace 17 youngsters, who is equipped with the knowledge to become a coffee barista, also how to make business plan to open a coffee business. They also learn many things about coffee products, For example, where is it planted?, what variety, What's the cultivation like?.
As a coffee drinker, Ade feels that the taste of Flores Manggarai coffee and Bajawa coffee is not very distinguishable. The character of the coffee is very complex.
"But, when we talk coffee, the taste depends on the brewing method too. For example, so it's brewed coffee or coffee filter. I tried Manggarai coffee by making it brewed and french press. Both are delicious.”
He said, Manggarai coffee can be marketed through coffee shop which specializes in providing local coffee, to show consumers that besides Bajawa coffee there are other types of coffee from Flores.
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