Cuisine Of Indonesia

Jamu (formerly Djamu) is traditional medicine in Indonesia. It is predominantly herbal medicine made from natural materials, such as parts of plants such as roots, leaves and bark, and fruit. There is also material from the bodies of animals, such as bile of goat or alligator used.

In many large cities jamu herbal medicine is sold on the street by hawkers carry a refreshing drink, usually bitter but sweetened with honey. Herbal medicine is also produced in factories by large companies such as Fountain, Nyonya Meneer or Djamu Djago, and sold at various drug stores in sachet packaging. Packaged dried jamu should be dissolved in hot water first before drinking. Nowadays herbal medicine is also sold in the form of tablets, caplets and capsules.

History

It is claimed to have originated in the Mataram Kingdom some 1300 years ago.^[1] Though heavily influenced by Ayurveda from India, Indonesia is a vast archipelago with numerous indigenous plants not found in India, and include plants similar to Australia beyond the Wallace Line. Jamu may vary from region to region, and often not written down, especially in remote areas of the country.^[2]

Jamu was (and is) practiced by indigenous physicians (dukuns). However, it is generally prepared and prescribed by women, who sell it on the streets. Generally, the different jamu prescriptions are not written down but handed down between the generations. Some early handbooks, however, have survived.^[3] A jamu handbook that was used in households throughout the Indies was published in 1911 by Mrs. Kloppenburg-Versteegh ^[4].

One of the first European physicians to study jamu was Jacobus Bontius (Jacob de Bondt), who was a physician in Batavia (today's Jakarta) in the early seventeenth century. His writings contain information about indigenous medicine.^[5]. A comprehensive book on indigenous herbal medicine in the Indies was published by Rumphius, who worked on Ambon during the early eighteenth century. He published a book called Herbaria Amboinesis (The Ambonese Spice Book).^[6] During the nineteenth century, European physicians had a keen interest in jamu, as they often did not know how to treat the diseases they encountered in their patients in the Indies. The German physician Carl Waitz published on jamu in 1829.^[7] In the 1880s and 1890s, A.G. Vorderman published extensive accounts on jamu as well. Pharmacological research on herbal medicine was undertaken by M. Greshoff and W.G. Boorsma at the pharmacological laboratory at the Bogor Botanical Garden^[8]

Popularity among physicians

Indonesian physicians were initially not very interested in jamu. During the second conference of the Indonesian Association of Physicians, held in Solo in March 1940, two presentations on the topic were given. During the Japanese occupation, Indonesia's Jamu Committee was formed in 1944. During the following decades, the popularity of jamu increased, although physicians had rather ambivalent opinions about it^[9].

Form

Jamu is often distributed in the form of powder, pills, capsules, and drinking liquid. Jamu shops, which sell only ingredients or prepare the jamu on spot as required by buyers, as well as women roaming the street to sell jamu, is a commonly seen way to distribute jamu in Indonesia. Nowadays, Jamu is also mass manufactured and exported. There are often concerns as to quality, consistency, and cleanliness in not only the locally distributed but also manufactured forms.

Non-health

There are a few non-health related uses for jamu, which give it a bad reputation, among others, those which are used to enhance sexual pleasure rather than specifically cure illness. There are kinds of Jamu to increase stamina for men, tighten the vagina for women (with names like Sari Rapat (“Essence of Tightness”), Rapat Wangi (“Tight and Fragrant”), and even Empot Ayam (“Tight as a Chicken’s Anus”).^[10] Of course in a Muslim country these products are considered by some to be sinful, though for many women who consume it for such reasons it is to ward off promiscuity.^[10]

Types

• Jamu Gendong (usually sold by carrying a basket of bottled handmade jamus)
• Jamu beras kencur (galingal rice) for elimination of physical sores
• Jamu Kunir Asam (tumeric acid) for to cool the body (sakit panas) or facilitate menstruation
• Jamu Sinom
• Jamu Cabe Puyang (chili) for elimination of stiffness or fever
• Jamu Pahitan for itching and diabetes, lack of appetite, eliminate body odor, lower cholesterol , abdominal bloating, acne, and dizziness.
• Jamu Kunci Suruh for candidasis, tighten the female sex (vagina), eliminates body odor, shrink the uterus and stomach, and is said to strengthen the teeth.
• Jamu Kudu Laos for lowering blood pressure, improving blood circulation, warming the body, increasing appetite.
• Jamu Uyup-uyup/Gepyokan for increasing breast milk production and to cool the body.

A salad of boiled vegetables, dressed in a peanut-based spicy sauce. It is usually served as an accompaniment to rice. A peanut or dried fish/shrimp cracker (rempeyek) is served on the side. Not to be confused with pecel lele, which is deep-fried local catfish served with sambal.

Indonesian cuisine reflects the vast variety of people that live on the 6,000 populated islands that make up Indonesia. Indonesian cuisine is as diverse as Indonesian culture, and has taken on culinary influence from many sources. Throughout its history, Indonesia has been involved in trade due to its location and natural resources. Indonesia's indigenous techniques and ingredients, at least in the Malay World parts, are influenced by India, the Middle East, China and finally Europe. The Spanish and Portuguese traders brought New World produce even before the Dutch came to colonize most of Indonesia.

The most popular dishes that originated in Indonesia are common across most of Asia, with beef and sambals favored in Malaysia and Singapore. Soy-based dishes such as variations of tofu (tahu) and tempeh are also very popular. In fact, tempeh is an adaptation of tofu to the tropical climates of Indonesia. Indonesian meals are commonly eaten with combination of spoon in the right hand & fork in the left hand, although in many parts such as West Java it is also common to eat with your hands.

Rice is a staple for all classes in contemporary Indonesia,^[1] and it holds a central part in Indonesian culture: it shapes the landscape; is sold at markets; and is served in most meals as a savoury and sweet food. Rice is most often eaten as plain rice (nasi putih) with just a few protein and vegetable dishes as side dishes. It is also served, however, as ketupat (rice steamed in woven packets of coconut fronds), lontong (rice steamed in banana leaves), intip (rice crackers), desserts, noodles, brem (rice wine), and nasi goreng.^[2]

It was only incorporated, however, into diets as either the technology to grow it or the ability to buy it from elsewhere was gained. Evidence of wild rice on the island of Sulawesi dates from 3000 BCE. Evidence for the earliest cultivation, however, comes from eighth century stone inscriptions from the central island of Java, which show kings levied taxes in rice. Divisions of labour between men, women, and animals that are still in place in Indonesian rice cultivation, can be seen carved into the ninth-century Prambanan temples in Central Java: a buffalo attached to a plough; women planting seedlings and pounding grain; and a man carries sheaves of rice on each end of a pole across his shoulders. In the sixteenth century, Europeans visiting the Indonesian islands saw rice as a new prestige food served to the aristocracy during ceremonies and feasts.^[1]

Rice production requires exposure to the sun. Rice production in Indonesian history is linked to the development of iron tools and the domestication of water buffalo for cultivation of fields and manure for fertilizer. Once covered in dense forest, much of the Indonesian landscape has been gradually cleared for permanent fields and settlements as rice cultivation developed over the last fifteen hundred years.

In most cities it is common to see Chinese dishes such as buns and noodles sold by street vendors and restaurants alike, often adapted to become Indonesian Chinese cuisine. One common adaptation is that pork is no longer used since the majority of Indonesians are Muslims. Street and street-side vendors are common, in addition to hawkers peddling their goods on bicycles or carts. These carts are known as pedagang kaki lima - (named after the 5-foot wide footpaths in Indonesia, however some people say they are named 'five feet' after the three feet of the cart and two feet of the vendor!), and many of these have their own distinctive call or songs to announce their wares. For example, the bakso seller will hit the side of a soup bowl, whereas mie ayam is announced by hitting a wood block.

Gado-gado is a traditional dish in Indonesian cuisine, and comprises a vegetable salad served with a peanut sauce dressing. It is widely served in hotels and restaurants in Indonesia, and in Indonesian restaurants in other countries, although some opine that the mass-production nature of commercial catering, where food is cooked in bulk at the beginning of the day, has ruined the quality of the dish.

Vegetable salad

The exact composition of the vegetable salad varies, but usually comprises some mixture of

• shredded or chopped green vegetables such as cabbage, cauliflower, green beans, watercress, and bean sprouts;
• other sliced vegetables such as carrots and cucumber;
• long bean;
• tomatoes;
• tofu;
• sliced boiled potatoes; and
• peeled and sliced boiled eggs.

With the exceptions of the eggs and the potatoes, the salad may be served raw, although optionally one may blanch some of the vegetables such as the cabbage and the cauliflower. Some cooks prefer to steam the vegetables. In some areas of Indonesia, they also mix in small amounts of cooked noodles.

[edit] Peanut sauce dressing

What distinguishes gado-gado from a plain vegetable salad is the peanut sauce dressing, which is poured on top of the vegetable salad before serving. The composition of this peanut sauce varies as well. One may use a commercial Indonesian peanut sauce or satay sauce, or make the sauce oneself. For making the sauce, the common primary ingredients are:

• ground fried peanuts with most of the oil drained off (for which some substitute peanut butter and peanut oil)
• garlic
• coconut sugar/palm sugar (can be substituted for brown sugar)
• red chili sauce, cayenne pepper, or red curry powder
• lemon or lime juice

to which some add:

• terasi (dried shrmp/fish paste)
• Indonesian sweet soy sauce

Rendang is a dish which originated from the Minangkabau people of Indonesia.^[1] It is one of the characteristic foods of Minangkabau culture, and is served at ceremonial occasions and to honor guests.^[2] Also popular in Malaysia and Singapore, rendang is traditionally prepared by the Malay community during festive occasions. Though rendang is sometimes described as being like a curry, and the name is sometimes applied to curried meat dishes in Malaysia, authentic rendang is nothing like a curry.^[1]

Rendang is made from beef (or occasionally chicken, mutton, water buffalo meat, duck or vegetables like jackfruit or cassava) slowly cooked in coconut milk and spices for several hours until almost all the liquid is gone, leaving the meat coated in the spicy condiments. The cooking process changes from boiling to frying as the liquid evaporates. The spices may include ginger, galangal, turmeric leaf, lemon grass and chillies. The slow cooking process allows the meat to absorb all the spices and to become tender.

There are two kinds of rendang: dried and wet. Dried rendang can be kept for 3–4 months, and it is for ceremonial occasions or to honor guests. Wet rendang, also known as kalio, can be found in Minangkabau restaurants and without refrigeration it should be consumed within a month.

Rendang is often served with rice in Indonesia but in Malaysia it is served with ketupat (a compressed rice cake) and lemang (glutinous rice barbecued in bamboo tubes).