E

ither you love it or hate it, there is no in-between for jengkol (dog fruit).

Notorious for its pungent smell that has the after-effect of making breath and urine smell bad, jengkol has long been considered lower-class food.

However, some people who believe that jengkol is part of their heritage and should be preserved have tried to change the bad perceptions by finding ways to reduce the smell and the side effects of the fruit.

One such person is Fatoni, who never thought he would become the “president” of the Republik Jengkol (Dogfruit Republic). Republik Jengkol, founded in 2012, is the name of a food stall located on Jl. Kerja Bakti in Kramatjati, East Jakarta — just a stone’s thrown away from Kramat Jati wholesale market. He sells all-jengkol-based dishes.

“I myself don’t like jengkol, to be honest,” he told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.

“It was my wife. She knew I hated jengkol, so she often ate it outside and brought home the smell. I couldn’t help but find a way to create odorless jengkol cuisine for her, thanks to my cooking skills,” he added.

The secret is in the pre-cooking process. It starts with choosing a kind of jengkol that has the right thickness and size, which according to Fatoni comes from Jepara in Central Java. Fatoni said jengkol from Jepara was not as smelly and was chewier than jengkol from other places.  

The second step is to soak the jengkol in water overnight. After peeling the fruit, toss it into a presto pot with galangal, lemongrass, bay leaves and lime leaves, herbs that can eliminate the pungent smell and bitterness.

“I’m not afraid to share my secret recipe, since dominating the jengkol business is not what I aim for,” he said.

Today, Republik Jengkol offers 10 dishes to spoil jengkol lovers, popular choices like jengkol rendang (slow-cooked in coconut milk and spices), jengkol balado (cooked in chili sauce) and jengkol fried rice.

Fatoni got creative and made blackpepper jengkol, tongseng jengkol (curry-like soup with coconut milk and sweet soy sauce) and jengkol pasta. A dish at Republik Jengkol only costs between Rp 20,000 (US$1.40) and Rp 25,000.

On his best days, Fatoni could use up to 50 kilograms of jengkol a day. The amount of jengkol dishes sold always depends on the weather, which affects the price of the fruit and the customer’s willingness to go outside and eat at his food stall.

The price of 1 kg of jengkol, based on Fatoni’s experience, has always fluctuated. It could be as cheap as Rp 25,000, but it also could rise to Rp 100,000.

“But I never increase food prices in the Republik Jengkol. I only reduce the portions. Some buyers might protest, but that’s the only way I could keep earning a profit from the business,” he said.

Jengkol enthusiast Reza, who was eating black pepper jengkol for lunch that afternoon, said that he had visited the place a few times.

“This is my third visit. I order different dishes every time I’m here. They’re all delicious because they’re all my favorite food: jengkol,” he said with a laugh.

Despite its pros and cons, jengkol is believed to have medicinal properties because of its high vitamin C content.

The smell itself comes from a toxic substance called djenkolic acid that can irritate the urinary system and cause several other troubling ailments if consumed excessively, hence eliminating it is highly suggested before cooking and consuming the fruit.

Jengkol has been grown and consumed in Southeast Asia for hundreds of years. According to an online history magazine, Historia.id, in 1817, Dutch East India governor Thomas Stamford Raffles mentioned jengkol as a food that the Javanese ate.

Aside from the Republik Jengkol, there are other restaurants and food stalls in Jakarta that offer varieties of jengkol dishes, such as Warung Jengkol on Jl. Balai Pustaka in Rawamangun, East Jakarta.

Also in Rawamangun, there is Warung Mak Dower that offers jengkol cooked in spicy chili sauce, a dish called jengkol nampol. However, the restaurant also sells non-jengkol dishes.

Some regular restaurants are also known to have great tasting jengkol cuisine like the Pagi Sore Padang restaurant and Nasi Uduk Kebon Kacang — both chain restaurants that have a number of outlets across the city.