Pekojan porridge, a free meal during Ramadhan month

It’s been a while for me to search a kind of traditional food in Semarang, Pekojan porridge. For about two years I’ve been searching, I finally found out where and how to find it. I had been mistaken after watching a show on TV about the food. I thought this porridge is available in the Great Mosque or Kauman mosque. But after experiencing having a fasting break for several times there, what I got were just a package of rice, date and mineral water. I was deeply disappointed.

 

There were hundreds of bowls and glasses. I saw some people pouring milk into the glasses. I could hardly wait for tasting the porridge. The porridge consists of Indian porridge with sliced chayote as topping, ‘krecek’, and tofu. I also got complimentary food such as for pieces of dates, a glass of milk and a slice of watermelon. It’s a fantastic menu for breaking my fasting, especially after two years searching for it. 

As I tasted the porridge, it was a bit cold since it was prepared hours before the fasting break came. It really tasted rich with some spices. Once a in while, I found small slices of ginger. It really completed the taste. The recipe itself came from some people who were originally from Arab and India. Some people call them Koja. Maybe, that’s why the porridge’s name is Pekojan porridge since the Koja is where the people came from. The people there provide the porridge for free only during Ramadhan month. If you want to drop by and feel the yummy porridge, just visit Petolongan street no 1, Kampung Pekojan, Semarang.

Es Conglik, the legend will last forever

Es Conglik or Conglik Ice is a legendary Semarang traditional beverage. Conglik Ice can be a kind of representative of lower class beverage in the past since its name is taken from KaCong CiLik or a little lad. According to a history, in 1944, there was a little lad who used to work for a wealthy businessman and when he quit his job, he established his own business and it’s called as Conglik Ice. The business has developed until today and becomes a legend.

How does Conglik Ice look like? Actually, the performance and the taste are not far different from Thung2 Ice (I wrote about it earlier). The process on how to make Conglik Ice is mostly similar to it. And so is the place where Conglik Ice is placed. The difference is in the various topping of the beverage, such as grated young coconut, jelly, bread, chocolate,etc. It has some varieties of flavor, too, such as chocolate, strawberry, vanilla, durian, longen, young coconut or mostly called as kopyor, lychee, avocado, etc.

Conglik Ice has typical way of production similar to Thung2 Ice. The main ingredients are Coconut milk, sugar and some flavor are mixed together and put in a drum made of metal then the drum is soaked in a ice cubes and salt. The drum is spinned till the dough inside the drum turns to solid dough. It is mostly served in a small bowl or plate with its topping.  

There are msotly only two places offer this legendery beverage, they are Semawes Fair (held only on Friday, Saturday and Sunday every week) located in Chinatown in Semarang and a food stall in front of Tlogorejo hospital, close to Simpanglima, the heart of Semarang. Well, if one day something brings you to Semarang, please drop by in one of those places and have a great taste of Conglik Ice. Fresh and yummy....

Mi Kopyok, warming you up

It seems that Semarang people have got a lot of influence from Chinese food. Mie or noodles is Chinese-everyday-menu. Kopyok or scrambled is the way to serve the food. I can find some street vendors selling from one kampong to another from morning to afternoon. This kind of food can replace breakfast menu or lunch. Last time, I found one when I was about to buy my lunch. Actually, I felt reluctant to go out since there was a heavy cloud. Thanks God, the seller looked to find a shelter and we-my workmate and I were starving. God always sets the right situation at the right time.

Mie kopyok is one of local food in Semarang. The ingredients are easily found both and traditional or supermarket. They are:

Bahan:
4 rice cakes, slice

150 gram noodles (mostly the color is yellow), boil a couple of minutes,
100 gram sliced-smooth cabbage,
100 gram bean sprouts
1 stem of sliced celery
1 teaspoonful fried onion
2 spoonful of sweet soy sauce
Gendar (chip made of hard-boiled rice)

Broth:
3 cloves of garlic, chopped
200 gram of bones with a bit of adhering meat, slice
700 ml water
2 spoonfuls of frying oil (to sauté)
1 teaspoonful of pepper
1/4 nutmegs
1 teaspoonful of salt

Direction:

1. How to make broth: sauté the chopped garlic with frying oil, put sliced bones with a bit of adhering meat, cook for some minutes. Pour some water, pepper, nutmeg and salt, boil together. Turn off the stove.
2. Boil some water, put noodles, cabbage and bean sprouts on a ladle, dip into the boiled water, boil for a while.
3. On the plate, arrange rice cake, boiled noodles, cabbage and bean sprouts, pour the broth, sprinkle cracked gendar, sliced celery, fried onion and sweet soy sauce. Serve it hot.
4. the recipe is for 4 portions

Wanna try the recipe? For those who live far away from Semarang can use the recipe to get the sensation of Semarang.

Sentiling, a distinguished munch

Sentiling sounds unique even in Javanese. Sentiling is kinds of traditional munch in Semarang. However, this kind of snack might be found in different region with different names. In the past, this delicacy could be found easily in traditional market or even in food stalls. Due to the variety of munchies these days, sentiling is hardly found everywhere. Some more modern snack replace sentiling, such as black forest, chiffon, pie, burger, etc. It needs effort to find one place which sells this snack.

Sentiling is made from grated cassava, sugar and little artificial color for food (mostly red and yellow). The batter is steamed for about half hour. Before being served, sentiling is sliced into pieces and rolled in grated young coconut. It tastes not too sweet and rich.

Sentiling is quite rare these days, but it doesn’t mean we can’t find one. Some food shops in traditional market sell it, but not in a big amount. I found some places that provide the snack in Bulu traditional market; I can’t name some other places since I don’t experience buying in other places. Well, the harder the effort to find sentiling, the tastier it is.

Es Thung2 (Thung2 Ice, The Memory Remains)

When I was a child, this kind of beverage was very popular among kids in elementary school. Who would think that after so many years, the sellers of es thung2 still survive till the recent generation? I found some of them the other day. Some reasons might them stay survive as follows.

Despite of thousand of brands in beverage, es thung2 has its uniqueness. Why it is called as thung2, it is due the sound of the sellers produce when they move around kampongs, offering their commerce. They hit a kind of brass with a piece of wood (the brass can be used to play traditional music in Indonesia, called “kethuk”). By doing so, the sellers don’t have to say anything, to promote their commerce.

The more ingredient of a certain thing, the more expensive the product is. The ingredients of es thung2 are simple: young coconut milk, salt, water and flavor: young coconut (called ‘degan’), vanilla, strawberry, chocolate, or durian when it is in its season. The way to make it as simple as the ingredients. Unfortunately I don’t have any experience in watching the process. But as far as I know, es thung2 is a homemade with simple tools.

Well, there’s no reason why younger generation don’t love this homemade everlasting beverage. It might survive in the years to come.

Leker, the taste that you can trust!

This is an everlasting snack that exists in Semarang. I’ve known this kind of snack since I was a kid. Te name sounds Dutch, Lecker, and I don’t know how people could get that name. One possible reason why is the taste of the snack is yummy and crispy. Dutchmen say ‘lekker’ as yummy in English. Young and old, from generation to generation love it.

The materials to make Leker is quite simple. What you have to prepare is flour, eggs, and water. You can choose any flavors depending on your interest: chocolate peanut, bananas (the sellers use same kind of bananas called “Raja” bananas), cheese. The price depends on the flavor you choose.

The leker sellers are easy to identify. They mostly ride old bicycles with cooking equipment at the back of their bicycles. They sell from one kampong to another kampong, from schools to schools (mostly elementary school students love to buy it). On Sunday morning, Semarang has a center of public crowd in Simpanglima. They can be easily found there, too. To prove that everyone is fond of the snack, buyers have to stand in line to buy, no matter how many sellers available there!!!