Chinese–Indonesian Culinary Acculturation

Bandeng (milkfish), which has countless bones (Fujian dialect, Ban Deng “thousands of bones”) served whole, is accorded some significance by all family members in welcoming the New Year, notwithstanding their thorny life

LASTI KURNIA

Wearing Chinese costumes, staff at The Petals restaurant prepare to serve traditional Chinese New Year dishes on Thursday (8/2/2019) at the Senayan City shopping mall in Jakarta. Among the dishes served was Yu Sheng, the famous tossed salad that is staple fare on the holiday.

The seasonal sale of Imlek (Chinese New Year) milkfish again enlivened Jl. Sulaiman in Rawa Belong, Jakarta, on Wednesday (22/1/2020). This pond milkfish is only harvested once a year, especially prepared for Imlek and sold at Rp65,000-Rp80,000 per kilogram depending on its quality. Traders in Rawa Belong said this year’s supply was decreasing because a number of milkfish ponds had been flooded. Milkfish prices have risen by around Rp10,000-Rp15,000 per kilogram over the 2019 rates. The milkfish most in demand was that weighing 2 kg. But some people also bought jumbo milkfish weighing up to 10 kg.

Stalls in West Jakarta were selling big milkfish of more than 1 kg to residents to mark Chinese New Year, which fell on Saturday (25/1/2020).

The presence of pindang bandeng (spiced and cooked milkfish) at Betawi food stalls near Rawa Belong is proof of an amalgamation of Chinese and Indonesian culinary culture. Prepared milkfish, including pindang bandeng available in the northern coastal cities of Java, manifests an acculturation of tastes and dishes.

It has become a tradition to buy milkfish as a token of respect for seniors.

“This is a special sale ahead of Imlek, with buyers comprising both Chinese and Betawi people. It has become a tradition to buy milkfish as a token of respect for seniors,” said Ali, a Betawi resident of Rawa Belong.

People usually shop for milkfish in Rawa Belong within six days before Imlek. On the eve of Imlek, big milkfish stocks are mostly bought up by those seeking to meet their needs to celebrate Chinese New Year in Chinese families or those delivering the fish to parents or parents-in-law in Betawi families.

Various pindang and semur (spicy soy sauce) dishes, like semur tahu (tofu) and semur jengkol (nuts) using generous amounts of kecap (soy sauce), reflect a form of acculturation widely accepted in the daily life of Indonesia.

KOMPAS/SOELASTRI SOEKIRNO

Pindang Bandeng (milkfish stewed in soy sauce) is a staple dish for Chinese New Year (Imlek), and is named Nian Nian You Yu after a typical greeting on the holiday. The dish symbolizes a wish for an overabundance of fortune that will spill over into work, business and money in the year ahead.

The culinary fusion is promoted by cultural activists. Aji Chen Bromokusumo, a South Tangerang councilor and author of Peranakan Tionghoa Dalam Kuliner Nusantara (The Ethnic Chinese in Indonesian Culinary Delights) this week also prepared ingredients for pindang bandeng and ca rebung (bamboo shoots stir-fried in sauce) as a typical dish for ethnic Chinese to welcome Imlek.

Aji Chen said pindang bandeng had become a characteristic specialty of ethnic Chinese culture in the Indonesian archipelago. Its local presence was not widely known in China, let alone in its northern region.

“This is coupled with the use of sweet soy sauce in preparing pindang bandeng. The thick, sweet soy sauce is typical of Java Island. Chinese- Javanese acculturation has produced the sweet and tasty kecap. It’s part of Indonesia’s heritage for the world’s culinary tradition,” he said.

On Wednesday morning (22/1/2020), Aji Chen demonstrated how to cook ca rebung, which he would serve with pindang bandeng to celebrate Imlek with his family of Semarang, Central Java, origin.

According to Aji Chen, milkfish, which is known for its many bones (its name is believed to have originated in the Fujian dialect and translate to “thousands of bones”) and is served whole, is accorded some significance by all family members with the expectation of prosperity.

Kompas/Yuniadhi Agung

Pindang Bandeng

Cultural observer and founder of the Benteng Heritage Museum Udaya Halim believes the countless bones of milkfish symbolize new year fortune. Called Yu in Mandarin – the name of the fish has the same pronunciation as “abundant” in the phrase Nian-nian You Yu (Fortune abounds in the year ahead).

Milkfish is also part of the three offerings in Chinese ritual prayers called Sam Seng (three fresh animals), representing animals of the air, the land and the sea. Those of the air are represented by a chicken or duck, those of the land by a pig and those of the sea by – you guessed it – milkfish.

Milkfish is sourced from ponds in Java’s coastal areas, such as the coast of Tangerang at Tanjung Kait or the coasts of Bekasi, Semarang and Juwana in Central Java as well as around Sidoarjo in East Java.

Besides pindang bandeng, dishes like pressurized milkfish and steamed milkfish have also appeared as culinary delights of such regions as Semarang and Juwana in Central Java and Sidoarjo in East Java.

KOMPAS/TOTOK WIJAYANTO

A motorcyclist carries his passenger past a row of milkfish for sale on Sunday (19/1/2020) in Petak Sembilan of Taman Sari, West Jakarta. Milkfish, which is typical fare on Chinese New Year (Imlek), saw a spike in price to Rp 100,000 per kg ahead of the holiday.

Culinary acculturation

Udaya Halim, who was born in Tangerang, is skilled in Chinese-Indonesian fusion cuisine. For the weekly Imlek program, he prepared the food himself in the kitchen of the Benteng Heritage Museum. The Chinese-Indonesian dishes were to be offered to and enjoyed by the public around the museum in a celebration of local culinary culture.

Udaya highlighted laksa (soup-like dish) as an example of fusion cuisine. The Tangerang laksa uses bihun (rice noodles), reflecting Chinese influence.

“Now Tangerang laksa sellers are predominantly Betawi people who peddle the food around Pasar Lama and on the banks of the Cisadane River,” said Udaya.

Laksa is cooked and heated on anglo (earthen stove) with charcoal as fuel, anglo being the Fujian word for “stove”.

Udaya noted that, with the arrival of his fleet in the 1400s, Zheng He or Cheng Ho also brought culinary influence in seven missions to Indonesia. Different leguminous plants and vegetables are now called cai like caisim (Chinese cabbage), ku cai (leek), pek cai (kale).

Udaya also explained the art of cooking ikan tauco (fish with fermented soy paste), which is another example of Chinese-Indonesian culinary acculturation.

Cultural amalgamation through culinary art is one of the ways for nations.

Ikan tauco is an adaptation of ikan ceng coan (fish with ginger soy sauce) combined with caramelized flavorings and tauco. Ceng coan is served with sam ge, or fish with three teeth.

In daily practice, the Betawi people of and around Tangerang, as indicated by Udaya, use belanak (gray mullet) for their ceng coan, cooked with palm sugar and tauco and also known as ikan tauco.

Another Imlek food that has merged into Indonesian tradition, according to him, is kue keranjang (sticky rice flour cake). It takes shapes, like dodol (soft fudge) of Betawi and other kinds found in Garut (West Java), Central Java and East Java.

“Kue keranjang (or Nian Gao in Mandarin) only blends palm sugar and sticky rice flour, with its aroma derived from the wrapping leaves. Dodol has been created with grated coconuts, sticky rice and sugar,” added Udaya.

Cultural amalgamation through culinary art is one of the ways for nations, including the Indonesian nation, to build its nationhood in the spirit of Unity in Diversity, the state motto.

In addition to soccer and music, culinary art is capable of unifying cultures and bringing people to the dining table to savor food together amicably. Chinese-Indonesian culinary acculturation is a case in point.