TRADISIONAL SNACKS
Steamed Snacks, from Wajik to Jadah Manten
The culinary creation by Yogyakarta society in the forms of these steamed snacks can be enjoyed in many traditional markets all over the city. Some of the steamed snacks are still used for sacred rituals held by spiritual communities and Yogyakarta kingdom. The others are purely intended for sale.
Reflecting the richness of Yogyakarta natural resources, most of the steamed snacks are made from sticky rice, rice flour and cassava or cassava flour. The flavors enrichment is done by using the available natural resources such as palm sugar as sweetener, pandanus leaf as coloring agent and grated coconut or meshed soybean as the fillers. The combination of rich and sweet flavors reflects the taste of Yogyakarta society.
One of the steamed snacks that is popular is wajik, which is made from sticky rice steamed with palm sugar. Originally, the utilized sugar was palm sugar to produce brown color. Later, there are other variations using sugar from sugarcane and pandanus leaf to create green wajik. Until now, wajik is still used in the ceremony of Tumplak Wajik that is held some days after the ceremony of Muhammad's birthday.
Other snack that still decorates some ceremonies is apem, which usually is used in Ruwah month of Javanese calendar. Apem combined with steamed sticky rice and kolak is shared to relatives, used as offering and to send prayer to the ancestors. This snack is made from rice flour, palm sugar and eggs added with yeast or tape that is fermented cassava.
If you are not satisfied yet with the steamed snacks of different rituals, you can still try other snacks. Mata kebo, for example, is a round cake resembling the buffalo eyes in green or red color. It is made from rice flour and sticky-rice flour with the outer part is added with white pasta from rice flour added with coconut milk to taste rich, while the inner part is filled with grated coconut cooked with sugar.
Kue Ku is also worth trying. Made from the same materials as mata kebo, ku snack is filled with sweet, smoothly meshed soybean. Initially, ku snack was flat and round in red color with banana leaf as the base, but now it is in the form of fruits in different colors and is packed in interesting container. Because of more composition of the sticky rice flour, it tastes a bit tough.
If you walk around the market, you will also find a funny steamed cake, namely jadah manten that means the sticky-rice cake for bride and bridegroom. The cake is made from sticky rice that is lumped to make a round shape filled with chicken or mince of beef. The outer part is wrapped with mixture of flour and eggs then it is clamped with two pieces of thin bamboo stick to make it beautiful. Different from other snacks that taste sweet, jadah manten is dominant with rich flavor.
Other kind of jadah or the sticky-rice cake is sold in the markets in the shape of flat and round or square. Usually, it comes with sweetened soybean tempe. The tempe is boiled with laurellike leaf, palm sugar, onion and garlic then it is fried in medium oil to get brown color.
If you go the market in at around 06:00a.m. - 08:00a.m., you will find other special snacks of Yogyakarta such as thiwul, and gatot as the original snacks from Gunung Kidul Regency, cenil, gethuk and lopis. To serve thiwul, it is usually mixed with palm sugar to taste sweet. Gatot that is made from cassava, the colorful cenil from starch and gethuk from meshed cassava are usually served with raw grated coconut. Meanwhile, lopis is served on banana-leaf plate (called pincuk) and added with grated coconut with palm sugar sauce.
All of the steamed cakes are sold at cheap prices. One piece of steamed snack is sold at around IDR 600 to IDR 2,000. For gethuk, lapis, and cenil they are sold at around IDR 1,500 to IDR 3,000. Several markets such as Beringharjo, Kranggan, Kotagede, Giwangan and Demangan sell complete choice of the snacks.
The culinary creation by Yogyakarta society in the forms of these steamed snacks can be enjoyed in many traditional markets all over the city. Some of the steamed snacks are still used for sacred rituals held by spiritual communities and Yogyakarta kingdom. The others are purely intended for sale.
Reflecting the richness of Yogyakarta natural resources, most of the steamed snacks are made from sticky rice, rice flour and cassava or cassava flour. The flavors enrichment is done by using the available natural resources such as palm sugar as sweetener, pandanus leaf as coloring agent and grated coconut or meshed soybean as the fillers. The combination of rich and sweet flavors reflects the taste of Yogyakarta society.
One of the steamed snacks that is popular is wajik, which is made from sticky rice steamed with palm sugar. Originally, the utilized sugar was palm sugar to produce brown color. Later, there are other variations using sugar from sugarcane and pandanus leaf to create green wajik. Until now, wajik is still used in the ceremony of Tumplak Wajik that is held some days after the ceremony of Muhammad's birthday.
Other snack that still decorates some ceremonies is apem, which usually is used in Ruwah month of Javanese calendar. Apem combined with steamed sticky rice and kolak is shared to relatives, used as offering and to send prayer to the ancestors. This snack is made from rice flour, palm sugar and eggs added with yeast or tape that is fermented cassava.
If you are not satisfied yet with the steamed snacks of different rituals, you can still try other snacks. Mata kebo, for example, is a round cake resembling the buffalo eyes in green or red color. It is made from rice flour and sticky-rice flour with the outer part is added with white pasta from rice flour added with coconut milk to taste rich, while the inner part is filled with grated coconut cooked with sugar.
Kue Ku is also worth trying. Made from the same materials as mata kebo, ku snack is filled with sweet, smoothly meshed soybean. Initially, ku snack was flat and round in red color with banana leaf as the base, but now it is in the form of fruits in different colors and is packed in interesting container. Because of more composition of the sticky rice flour, it tastes a bit tough.
If you walk around the market, you will also find a funny steamed cake, namely jadah manten that means the sticky-rice cake for bride and bridegroom. The cake is made from sticky rice that is lumped to make a round shape filled with chicken or mince of beef. The outer part is wrapped with mixture of flour and eggs then it is clamped with two pieces of thin bamboo stick to make it beautiful. Different from other snacks that taste sweet, jadah manten is dominant with rich flavor.
Other kind of jadah or the sticky-rice cake is sold in the markets in the shape of flat and round or square. Usually, it comes with sweetened soybean tempe. The tempe is boiled with laurellike leaf, palm sugar, onion and garlic then it is fried in medium oil to get brown color.
If you go the market in at around 06:00a.m. - 08:00a.m., you will find other special snacks of Yogyakarta such as thiwul, and gatot as the original snacks from Gunung Kidul Regency, cenil, gethuk and lopis. To serve thiwul, it is usually mixed with palm sugar to taste sweet. Gatot that is made from cassava, the colorful cenil from starch and gethuk from meshed cassava are usually served with raw grated coconut. Meanwhile, lopis is served on banana-leaf plate (called pincuk) and added with grated coconut with palm sugar sauce.
All of the steamed cakes are sold at cheap prices. One piece of steamed snack is sold at around IDR 600 to IDR 2,000. For gethuk, lapis, and cenil they are sold at around IDR 1,500 to IDR 3,000. Several markets such as Beringharjo, Kranggan, Kotagede, Giwangan and Demangan sell complete choice of the snacks.
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