Next week, Muslims worldwide will welcome one of the most awaited moments of the year, the holy month of Ramadan. For Indonesian culinary legend Sisca Soewitomo, it is her favorite time of the year.

“Ramadan is a moment for family togetherness,” Sisca said when interviewed by The Jakarta Post after a talk show held by the recipe-sharing platform Cookpad at JS Luwansa Hotel in Jakarta, on Feb. 23. 

“In other months of the year, family members are rarely together,” she said. “They do their business the whole day and only return home in the evening. But during Ramadan, everyone [in the family] usually takes time to sit and dine together at least for sahur [pre-dawn meals].” 

The mother of three lives with her daughter, Novia Soewitomo, and her husband, as well as their house assistants in their leafy residence in South Jakarta. 

“I cook one or two dishes for everyone [in the house] every day, even during Ramadan,” the 73-year-old said. 

“For me, cooking is love,” she added, with a smile. 

A labor of love

It was in the kitchen of the chef’s childhood house in Surabaya that she fell in love with cooking. As a kid, Sisca loved watching her mother and grandmother working together in the kitchen to prepare raw ingredients into delectable dishes for the whole family. 

“The kitchen is where the magic happens,” she said, with a sparkle in her eyes. “Until now, I can still recall the mouth-watering aromas that wafted from our kitchen when my mom and grandmother had finished cooking.” 

Since she was a toddler, Sisca has learned to make cookies and pastries from her mother and grandmother. 

In her teens, she became so good at making cakes and cookies that she began selling them to her classmates. 

“[My classmates] loved [my cookies],” she said. “They kept ordering for more.” 

After graduating high school, Sisca moved to Jakarta and studied to become a doctor. But she dropped out in the second semester after getting married. 

After having two children, Sisca decided to continue her studies. In 1973, she honed her skills in making bread, cakes and cookies at Trisakti Tourism Academy. 

Sisca was working as a lecturer at her alma mater when she won a scholarship at a culinary school in Taipei in 1981. 

“It’s indeed one of the most interesting experiences in my life,” the chef said with a chuckle. “I didn’t understand any Chinese at that time. So, the phrase that I kept repeating during my first few months [in Taipei)] was ‘Wo pu ce tau’ [I don’t know].” 

A couple of years later, Sisca won another scholarship at the prestigious American Institute of Baking (AIB), now AIB International, in Manhattan, the United States. 

“[The studying] was hard,” she said. “Besides learning and cooking at school, we also had a string of assignments to do at home. Many of my classmates dropped out because of the pressure.” 

In her free time while studying in the US, Sisca often invited her classmates to her apartment and cooked Indonesian dishes for them. 

 “I once cooked the simple dessert pisang goreng [fried bananas] for my friends in my apartment,” she recalled. “They really loved it. All of [the pisang goreng] were gone even before I finished cooking.” 

Sisca graduated from the institute with flying colors. After returning to Indonesia in 1991, the culinary expert landed several prestigious jobs in Jakarta, including hosting her own weekend TV culinary show, titled Aroma, on Indosiar. 

The legendary show aired on Saturday mornings and ran for almost 11 years, from 1996 - 2007. 

“I still remember my excitement as a child when hearing the theme song for [Sisca’s] TV show on Saturday morning,” Amy Zein, master of ceremony and semifinalist of MasterChef Indonesia season six, said. “She made cooking look so easy and fun. She’s inspired me to cook.” 

Cooking with love

Sisca has inspired many people, including her daughter, Novia, to cook. 

“Any cooking becomes easy with my mom,” Novia Soewitomo said. 

Novia shared that her mom loved visiting new restaurants to sample their dishes.

“She would then note the ingredients [used in the meals] and replicate them at home in a few simple steps,” Novia said. “And the taste would be very similar.” 

Today, Sisca has written over 150 cookbooks. Many of them are best-sellers as they make cooking much easier and more practicable for laypeople. 

“But cooking is always easy if you do it with a light and happy heart,” Sisca reiterated. 

During the interview, Sisca also shared her favorite go-to recipe for Ramadan. 

“The dish can be ready in under 15 minutes,” she said. 

Sisca’s tumisan (Sauté) consists of chopped garlic and onions, which are stir-fried with oil or margarine. After a few seconds, add some chicken or meat to the pan and sprinkle them with salt and pepper. You can then stir-fry the cooking for a few more minutes until it is ready. 

For Lebaran, Sisca’s and her family’s favorite dish is Opor Ayam [chicken cooked in spices and coconut milk]. 

“You can actually prepare the dish about three or four days before Idul Fitri, as long as you leave out the coconut milk,” she said. “Just keep it in the refrigerator. After Sholat Eid [Eid prayer], you can take it out [of the refrigerator] and add coconut milk.” 

“I promise the taste will be spectacular,” Sisca said. 

Currently, Sisca manages her online catering business Tigabumbu with her daughter Novia. She also teaches cooking at Universitas Pelita Harapan (UPH) and has become an inspiration for many aspiring young chefs. 

“Everyone can cook,” Sisca concluded. “And any dish will taste special if you cook it with love.”