Various foods

6 Staple Foods in Indonesia Besides Rice

By aireni - March 26, 2018

Maybe most of Indonesian ever heard this contention, “not eat if you don’t eat rice yet.” Actually it’s not surprised because rice is staple food in Indonesia. But, do you know if there are some regions in Indonesia that consume other food as substitute for rice? No, not because they’re on a diet, feeling sick, or something like that. But that’s their staple food.

What are kinds of substitute food for rice and how to process it?

Sago
The people of Maluku and Papua make sago as their staple food because there are indeed rich in sago trees. Sago stems take 3-5 years to be ready to be harvested and processed. In the process of harvesting, sago plants are felled and the humps will be squeezed to get quintessence that produces sago flour.
sago, sago porridge
Sago porridge

Sago flour is processed into a pulp called papeda that looks like glue. The papeda is staple food for people of Maluku and Papua. Usually, this papeda porridge is combined with vegetable ganemo which are slices of leaved of young gnetum gnemun (a.k.a melinjo in Indonesian) and red pepper. It is said that the tradition of eating ganemo to prevent malaria.

Cassava
cassava, singkong
cassava
The people of Cireundeu village, Banten Province, make cassava as their staple food. Cassava is processed to be used as cassava rice. First processing, cassava is shredded and then squeezed, taken the quintessence, then the dregs is dried under sun, further grinded into flour. After that, the flour is given water and steamed.

Corn
corn, rice corn, jagung, nasi jagung
corn
The people of Sigedong village, Central Java, make corn rice or “sakelan” as their staple food like usual rice in other societies. If there’s a term ‘not eat if you don’t eat rice yet’ so is the case with citizens of Sigedong. They feel have not eaten if they don’t eat corn rice yet. Even according to them corn rice give more energy than usual rice, in addition more durable.

The processing method, corn dried in advance under the sun. Because the area is located in mountains have high rainfall, Sigedong residents have its own way in drying corn. They store the corn on traditional stove in a special place they make themselves. So every time they cook, the smoke from the stove will bloat and drain the corn.

Dry corn is taken seeds and then pounded. Corn kernels are soaked for three days. Then pounded again into a smooth and soft corn flour by Sigedong residents called sekelan. To consume it, they brewed sakelan with warm water and then steamed.

Gembili
gembili
Suku Kanum in Merauke who populate Taman Nasional Wasur consume gembili as staple food for generations. Gembili cultivation system has been united with society of Suku Kanum because it has high cultural value, namely as a dowry, as well as a complement to traditional ceremonies. Suku Kanum eat gembili in a simple way, just boiled or burned.

Jawawut
Jawawut is a kind of cereal plant. In Biak Numfor regency, Papua Province, this plant is very fertile with local name ‘pokem’. Usually, local people processed pokem into porridge which is widely consumed by pregnant mother and baby.

Sweet Potato
sweet potato, ubi jalar
sweet potato
Ipere is a name from Suku Dani, Papua Province, for food we used to know by the name of Ubi jalar. Typically, Suku Dani only process sweet potato by steaming or burning.

So those are 6 staple foods in Indonesia besides rice. Are you belonging to the one who consume one of the foods?

Source:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ko7C50M4zMM (Wonderfood NET)

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