Celebrating Acculturation at the Dining Table

Celebrating Chinese New Year in Indonesia is like celebrating acculturation. Dining tables remind us that Chinese New Year is about celebrating not only the New Year but also Indonesia’s diversity.

KOMPAS/TOTOK WIJAYANTO

Visitors take selfies at a spot adorned with Chinese New Year decorations in the Sudirman Central Business District (SCBD), South Jakarta, on Thursday (23/1/2020). The Lunar New Year, or Imlek 2571, falls on Saturday (25/1/2020).

Celebrating Chinese New Year in Indonesia is like celebrating acculturation. Various Chinese dishes with uniquely Indonesian tastes are served. Dining tables remind us that Chinese New Year is about celebrating not only the New Year but also Indonesia’s diversity.

Joy is pretty much everywhere in every town in West Kalimantan. Thousands of lanterns are put up and various shows are being prepared. Furthermore, various wonderful culinary fusions are served for the Chinese New Year.

Suvirna Liu, 40, a Chinese-Indonesian of Kubu Raya regency, West Kalimantan, was preparing a Chinese New Year meal to be enjoyed with her entire family on Wednesday (22/1/2020). That day, she was preparing hekeng (prawn cake) batter.

“The batter will be steamed. When we want to eat them, we’ll just fry them,” she said.

These are pineapple tarts. The pineapple inside is uniquely Pontianak, which has plenty of the fruit.

Other than hekeng, she was also preparing several other dishes. However, they will only be cooked on Friday (24/1) morning. Other than serving traditional Chinese New Year dishes, such as soup, curry and noodles, she also prepared dishes with acculturated flavors.

For instance, she will cook rendang, a famous Indonesian dish of slow-cooked meat in coconut milk and spices. Various meats can be used in rendang, depending on one’s liking.

Culinary acculturation can also be found in the home of XF Asali, a Chinese cultural observer in Pontianak, West Kalimantan.

“These are pineapple tarts. The pineapple inside is uniquely Pontianak, which has plenty of the fruit. It uses local potential,” Asali said.

KOMPAS/RONY ARIYANTO NUGROHO

Yusup, 37, cleans a bejana (metal container) at Phan Ko Bio temple in Pulo Geulis, Bogor, West Java, on Thursday (23/1/2020) in preparations for Chinese New Year celebrations. The densely populated Pulo Geulis neighborhood is inhabited by people of various ethnicities and faiths who live peacefully. The neighborhood is adorned with lanterns and accessories.

Fusion

In Makassar, South Sulawesi, a majority of unique local dishes reflect the fusion between Chinese and local cultures. Chinese New Year dishes also reflect such a fusion.

Coto Makassar (Makassar-style beef soup), pallubasa (offal soup), nyuk nyang (meatballs) and various local cakes are born of fusion between Chinese and Bugis/Makassar cultures.

On every Chinese New Year day, nian gao (sweet sticky rice cake), various noodle meals and milkfish are mandatory in the house of Hendra Salimin, 40. However, other than those meals, he also prepared pallubasa, buras (rice cake cooked in coconut milk), ketupat (rice cake) and nona-nona satay – all of which are common meals for the Islamic Idul Fitri holiday.

“We open our doors for relatives of various religious and cultural backgrounds during the Chinese New Year. We will serve various dishes,” he said.

Pallubasa, a popular Makassar dish, is a perfect example of fusion between Chinese and Makassar cultures.

Chinese Indonesian cultural observer and artist Muhammad David Arianto, 58, or Chen Quo Hwa, said that many dishes brought by Chinese people to Makassar hundreds of years ago had undergone changes.

KOMPAS/FERGANATA INDRA RIATMOKO

People attend an end-of-year ritual at Tjen Ling Kiong temple, Jetis district, Yogyakarta, on Thursday (23/1/2020). The ritual was held ahead of Lunar New Year as a show of gratitude and to pray for a better life.

“Originally, the Chinese called the dish pallubasa baluta. It is made with the frozen blood of cows or buffalos mixed with soup. However, as local Muslims could not eat frozen blood, it was substituted with meat and offal. The name then changed to pallubasa, which means soup in the Makassar tongue,” he said.

Chinese-Indonesians also have a dish similar to coto Makassar, another popular Makassar dish. Chinese people use tauco (fermented soybeans) for the dish while Makassar people use beans.

According to David, who also serves as spokesperson of the Indonesian Chinese Islam Union’s South Sulawesi branch, various unique Chinese dishes had undergone acculturation in line with marriages between Chinese people and locals. These mixed marriages enrich Makassar’s culinary wealth.

Cakes such as cucur bayao, biji nangka and bipang, which are commonly served in Chinese wedding ceremonies, are now also commonly served in Bugis/Makassar wedding ceremonies. Nian gao, a unique part of Chinese New Year celebration, is today seen as part of the Bugis/Makassar culture.

KOMPAS/FERGANATA INDRA RIATMOKO

People share food during an end-of-year ritual at Tjen Ling Kiong temple, Jetis district, Yogyakarta, on Thursday (23/1/2020). The ritual was held ahead of Lunar New Year as a show of gratitude and to pray for a better life.

Assimilation

Various other meals have unclear origins, whether they are from Chinese or Bugis/Makassar culture. Nyuk nyang, a popular dish in Makassar, was originally made from pork but is today made from beef.

“Chinese people are well assimilated in Makassar. When we celebrate the Chinese New Year, locals always bring fruit and lotus flowers and fruit, which can be used as offering,” David said.

“Meanwhile, during Maulid [Prophet Muhammad’s birthday celebration], we bring red-colored eggs to symbolize our joy. The red eggs are still part of the Maulid celebration nowadays,” he explained.

In Bogor, West Java, the uniquely Chinese dish ngohiang has been adjusted to local taste. Ngohiang is made of pork cut into small pieces, seasoned and mixed with flour. The resulting batter is then rolled and steamed for around 30 minutes.

Firman, 60, a second-generation ngohiang seller in Bogor, West Java, said his parents’ ngohiang recipe had not changed for five decades. The only change is replacing pork with chicken. Chicken ngohiang is available on certain days and has expanded the dish’s popularity to a wider audience.