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'It tastes meatier': Indonesia’s long tradition of unconventional foods
When it comes to unique dishes, the country has a trove of indigenous ideas.
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Rare delight: Ungkrung (teak caterpillars) are harder the find than grasshoppers. (Rohmad Aji Mukharom) (Personal collection/Courtesy of Rohmad Aji Mukharom)
I
ndonesians have long enjoyed dishes like the ones they serve in Mad Max. A case in point is the regional delicacy ampo. It is essentially roasted clay, and it ordinarily comes in the form of long, thin rolls.
Some say it tastes like hardened, bland flour, but for Oki Shofia, a 31-year-old nurse from Kulonprogo, it tastes like nostalgia and petrichor.
"The first time I ate ampo was around 1994 or 1995, when I was in kindergarten in Semin, Gunungkidul. I ate some [because my mother had bought it] because she was craving it while she was pregnant with my little sister," said Oki.
"[The flavor is like] dry soil that hasn't been rained on for a long time and then receives rain for the first time. That is exactly the smell and taste of ampo. It reminds me of my childhood."
Geophagy, the intentional consumption of soil, might be too extreme for Rohmad Aji Mukharom. Still, the 25-year-old operations leader of a restaurant in Surakarta has tried numerous unique delicacies throughout the country, including insect-based ones, although his family doesn't share the same fondness.
"They don't show [that they think] it's offensive whatsoever, but they don't eat it," he said.
Rohmad's food choices have driven several family members to avoid some of his social media posts. His sister told him that she had to block one of his posts, which featured fried grasshoppers, because it made her uncomfortable.
