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Rice: The stuff of life
No Indonesian kitchen is ever complete without rice
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No Indonesian kitchen is ever complete without rice.Courtesy of Suryatini N. Ganie
It can be tricky to speak of the "Indonesian kitchen". After all, with 33 provinces and a whole lot of water, the nation is home to a diverse range of cooking styles and ingredients. But one thing is common across the islands: Rice.
The contents of a typical normal Indonesian kitchen differ from many Western kitchens. First, there's the rice box. As rice is the staple in most Indonesian regions, the rice box is always full, and, as it is of central importance for most families, meals are planned around it. Other dishes are there to accompany the rice.
In Indonesia and many other Asian countries where rice is the stuff of life, there are at least three main varieties: regular white rice, red rice and black rice. Black rice, or beras ketan hitam, is usually glutinous and is fermented into tapai. White glutinous rice or ketan putih also is mostly used for snacks. Normal white rice and ketan putih are also made into a fine flour.
Many families start their day with rice, made into the porridge-like bubur ayam or bubur ikan, accompanied by various toppings and raw or hard-boiled eggs. Others make another rice dish by adding chicken sausage, or sliced leftover meat.
Rice is a very old plant and many experts believe its cultivation dates back to ancient times.
The plant originated in Central Asia - and most rice-eating people do live in the Asian continent. Over the centuries, the rice plant developed in various cultivars, such as long grain, short grain or with round grains.
Rice with elongated points, round rice, pristine white and also reddish and brownish rice are all now cultivated in Indonesia.
Many people believe that a household's container of rice must never be allowed to become completely empty - it must always have some rice left, to ensure the family is never without rice.
Rice also has important ceremonial purposes; to honor guests, rice must be of the best quality found.
During a Sundanese wedding ceremony, for example, the sawer ceremony is one of the most important parts. Sawer means "sprinkling" and the bride and bridegroom are literally sprinkled with yellow raw turmeric rice mixed with coins.
Everybody near the couple will try to grab a coin or two because of the belief that whoever gets a coin will experience a similar ceremony soon. As you can imagine, most people trying to get the coins are girls or mothers of eligible sons and daughters hoping that their offspring will soon meet "the one" and marry.
The sprinkling of the yellow turmeric rice is a symbol of happiness and good luck; some people also do it when moving into a new house or just to wish somebody luck when they begin a new period in their life, such as at a graduation party.
To make yellow turmeric rice to sprinkle on one of your friends, be sure to prepare the rice in the right way. Take about two cups of clean raw rice (do not wash), then finely grate a peeled fresh turmeric root and mix it into the rice by shaking the container. After a while, the grains will become a pale golden yellow. Take about 21 coins of your choice (which currency you choose), and be sure to wash and dry them before mix them into the rice. Some regions add fresh betel leaves into the raw rice but this is optional and is customary only in the Sundanese highlands.
At a Javanese wedding. the groom is seated to the right of the bride; an elderly relative will ask him to pour rice grains and money onto a large napkin on the bride's lap symbolizing that he is responsible for food and income.
In northern Sumatra, the Tapanuli bride and bridegroom will have some rice grains sprinkled onto their heads at the upa-upa ceremony; then their relatives will sprinkle the rice grains throughout the whole room or place of ceremony.
Solemn occasions are also symbolized by rice grains. When a person dies, a bowl is filled about three-quarters full with rice grains and flowers such as kenanga and melati and covered with a clean, mostly white napkin.
People paying their respects to the deceased lift the napkin, place money in the bowl, and then carefully lower the napkin again. The money from the mourners is used to buy flowers or as a contribution to the costs of the ritual selamatan on the third or seventh day.
There are many more customs requiring raw rice grains; those mentioned are among the most customary.
As for its nutritional value, rice has a vast amount of carbohydrates, located mainly in the center of the rice kernel, but there are only 8 grams of protein in each 100 grams of rice.
Other nutrients are calcium, phosphorus, iron and calcium, and vitamins B, B1, B2, and B6.
As might be expected, centuries of "going" with rice means people have become very creative in finding ways to serve yesterday's rice as something new and glamorous. And you might never even know you're eating leftovers, when you're served, perhaps, a delicate regional nasi kunyit, a pudding, croquettes, cakes and other delectable melt-in-your-mouth rice creations.
Selamat makan!
