Thing to know about Lombok Food and Dishes

Thing to know about Lombok Food and Dishes

Pelecing Kangkung (Waterspinach Pelecing)
This culinary which its main ingredient is boiled Kangkung (waterspinach) has become Lombok culinary icon. It is especially because of very different result of boilled kangkung even with the same kind of kangkung from other regions in Indonesia.
The colour of boiled kangkung is as same as when it is still fresh. The most important and make it as an icon of Lombok, the savory flavor and soft texture of the boiled spinach every time you eat it.
This distinctive taste sensation that blends with tomato sauce seasoning makes it as a culinary called

Pelecing Kangkung.
Four districts and one municipality in Lombok Island actually know a few variants of preparations for this menu. The main thing, the main ingredient is boiled kangkung, served with a dash of boiled bean sprouts on top. It is the seasoned with grated coconut, a pinch of fried peanuts covered with tomato sauce.
Most of the tomato sauce is made of chilli and fresh tomatoes mashed together with a little salt and grilled shrimp paste. Variations of other sauce: extra flavoring from brown sugar (very difficult to find in pelecing of East Lombok), or a pinch of raw green beans on top of grated coconut. This variation is already very rare, especially in the Pelecing Kangkung in the restaurants or an ordinary seller.

This menu is usually served with Ayam Bakar Taliwang (Taliwang Grilled Chicken), or become the star or street food stall. Fresh sauce made to order is usually found in the restaurants, on the contrary, ready to eat sauce is more often found in street food stall. So, do not hesitate to ask for a freshly made tomato sauce if you want to enjoy Pelecing Kangkung not in your favorite restaurants in Lombok.

This culinary price range starts from a thousand in street food stall up to tens of thousands for a portion of pelecing included in the package is Ayam Bakar Taliwang and or plus bebalung..

Ares Pisang (Banana Ares)
This is not about hobby of Ares figure from Greek mythology who likes bananas, but it is other typical cuisine of the Lombok Island. Yes, vegetable soupy coconut milk with the main ingredient Ares, a name given by people of Lombok Island to the inside of a banana tree trunk that is relatively young.
Initially this vegetable is a specific marker of an event. It is usually cooked in moments of celebration, such as weddings or prayer events for those who have died. Simply put, not the home menu to be eaten daily.
Young banana stems (Ares) is washed, then cut into pieces as the size of a pinkie. To make it soft fast, Ares is crumpled using coarse salt in the washing process. Next, after the salt water is washed until clean, Ares is boiled until soft together with coconut milk. Spices (half-cooked fried onion, garlic, coriander, pepper, lempuyang chili, ginger, turmeric, galangal, lemongrass and some special seasoning in Lombok) are mashed and fried until fragrant. This spice is then mixed into Ares stew which has been soft.
It is served with sprinkled of fried onion; fried soy beans are served separately or other complementary menus.

For those who like more savory taste, Ares can be mixed with chunks of chicken or beef. However, this is rarely done by Lombok society, because meat food has also already cooked into another menu.
In some places, Ares menu is equipped with Sate Pusut (Pusut Satay). The sate is made from ground beef together with grated young coconut. Satay is usually burned, but sometimes served as fried skewers, either with a skewer or simply just in patties size.
Although considered as a vegetable menu, Ares is also served with Urap. Whether it is the kind of urap vegetable that is commonly found in other areas in Indonesia, or also raw mung bean sprouts urap.

Beberoq Terong (Eggplant Beberoq)
As Pelecing Kangkung, there are two options on Beberoq Terong menu: First, chopped small cubes of small purple eggplant or young rounded eggpant, second, grilled purple eggplant. Both are given a fresh tomato sauce with a rough cut of red onion, a few drops of lemon juice, a little cooking oil, plus basil.
Purple eggplant is relatively easy to find in the traditional market in towns throughout Indonesia. Meanwhile, small round purple eggplant sometimes is only found in supermarkets in major cities other than in Lombok Island.

As the introduction above, the main ingredient is small and thin diced eggplant, or it could be sliced thin. Tomato sauce in this culinary is generally made from raw materials, except its shrimp paste which is sometimes grilled or fried. It is also prepared with rough cut of raw onion separately.

Just before serving, the sliced eggplant, tomato sauce, rough cut onions are thoroughly mixed, and then a few drops of lemon and fresh basil leaves.

Although it is usually served in a bowl or small plate, if it is your favorite, this menu can be made specifically more.

For grilled eggplant, currently several Lesehan (traditional restaurant) in Lombok Island also include in the meal package. Even the presentation has been likened to the container of Pelecing Kangkung. Although these two menus are served spicy enough, the majority of Lombok people even make them as breakfast menu. So, it is ok for you to ask for this menu in your breakfast time.

Beberok Terong is rarely found in the street food stalls because the material is completely fresh which practically makes this culinary perishable and should be immediately eaten. It is generally served in a package along with grilled fish or Ayam taliwang. The price range starts from three to five thousands of small plate portions.

Nasi Balap Puyung
For the last ten years, the social media accounts introduce, try or just tell this delicious culinary virally. In effect, this menu becomes increasingly easy to find in any region in tourist locations throughout Lombok Island. The menu is initially only available in one of the stalls in Puyung village, Central Lombok. The location is close to the center of weaving in the village of Sukarara.
This menu, which is like nasi rames, highlights a very spicy taste sensation. Which makes it distinctive, complementary side dishes are required in every serving.

A plate of warm rice is accompanied with a side dish of fried chicken pieces, beans stir fried; a dash of soy beans fried, dried tempeh and all spicy flavour both from spicy long beans stir fried or dried tempeh. The all spicy side dishes are also added with spicy fried chilli given separately.
Menu selection of dishes is sometimes given with some sort of jerked beef. In Lombok it is better known as rarit. But due to the high cost of beef at this time, usually Nasi Balap Puyung is not always offered with rarit.

For foodies who are less comfortable with a spicy taste, may request the serving with separate sauce.
This culinary is generally subject to price tens to tens of thousands per serving (one plate or one pack). The price can be more expensive if the side dish is rarit (jerked beef) or if you request to add bebalung.
In four districts of Lombok Island, it is quite easiy to find food stalls that provide this culinary. So, if you’ve addicted to the spiciness of Nasi Balap Puyung, you no longer need to worry. You do not need to go to Puyung village in Central Lombok to get a serving of this menu.

Poteng Jaje Tujak
Just like Ares which is made of chopped young banana tree trunk, originally this culinary is also only available in moments of special celebration. Along with a combination of mandatory refined glutinous cake and Wajik (Food: Similar to smooth sticky dodol).

Poteng Jaje Tujak is also a cake prepared from glutinous rice as the main ingredient. The variations are only distinguished from the use of black or white glutinous rice. However, Jaje Tujak must always use white glutinous rice.

Poteng is made from half-cooked of white or black glutinous rice, mixed with yeast, allowed to stand a few nights until the glutinous rice cooked.

Jaje tujak itself is also made of white glutinous rice steamed until cooked along with grated young coconut. The coconut skin should be discarded, so the served Jaje Tujak still appears white.

These two types of cuisine that are made from the same but have different presentation must be served together. Pieces of Jaje Tujek are dipped into small pinch of Poteng and chewed together.

It is so perfect to be enjoyed with Lombok black coffee or hot-sweet tea for you who do not like coffee.
Today, it is quite easy to find a combination of Poteng and Jaje Tujek in traditional markets in major cities in Lombok Island. Poteng in one-sized plastic cups of ice that is common in street counter is tens of thousands of rupiah. The Jaje tujeknya itself, the price starts from a thousand per piece, there is a package containing five jaje tujak, or ten thousand for a few pieces. You can also find packages of this cake in the mica boxes. It is generally sold at prices ranging from five thousand.

For those who simply want to taste, you can also purchase it at cake seller in the market. You just need two thousand rupiah, you can taste a few mouthfuls of Poteng Jaje Tujek.

Sate Tanjung (Tanjung Satay)
Indonesia has been known to the world of one of the culinary trademarks, namely satay. Culinary made from chunks of chicken, goat, rabbit or cow is also common in other areas in Lombok Island. However, there are some typical types of satay and became an icon of Lombok culinary, including Sate Tanjung.
Made from marine fish (usually from the meat of merlin fish, the name of the fish given by villagers of Tanjung, North Lombok) that is given a special seasoning. The combination taste of fresh fish with turmeric – one of its seasoning-, then grilled using charcoal gives a sense of a typical satay.

Sate Rembiga (Rembiga Satay)
Called as Sate Rembiga (read: Rembige) because once this sate was sold in Rembiga village, which was also the one and only airport in Lombok island.
This sate is made of beef that has been minced. Mixed with spices and grated young coconut mashed together with meat and marinade, this mix then is wrapped into the skewers and then grilled or fried. Thin slices of lime leaf give distinctive fragrance in this sate.
Sate Rembiga is often also called Sate Pusut, when in fact for some other areas in Lombok Island, original recipes of Sate Rembiga dan Sate Pusut are quite different.

Sate Bulayak (Bulayak Satay)
Sate bulayak is named after the complementary dish of this sate. Bulayak is made of steamed or boiled rice wrapped in coconut leaves. The standard size of bulayak is relatively smaller than the size of Ketupat (rice wrapped in palm leaves) whether the Ketupat is wrapped in palm leaves – generally-, or the ketupat is wrapped in banana leaves (in Lombok called pesor).

This culinary always served in a package, which is a few skewers of chicken, beef or intestine together several pieces of bulayak. To be more practical, always ask the seller to cut the bulayak to your satay dish. Sometimes gravy sauce served separately with satay and its bulayak. Extra sauce can even be asked if you still have enough bulayak. Each type of this satay is mostly sold in the price of tens of thousands per serving. In the tourist area of Senggigi, per serving even starts from twenty thousand rupiah.

Bebalung
This culinary has been become an icon of Lombok. Processed cow’s ribs which are seasoned with fresh herbs create different flavors. But generally bebalung also consists of a mixture of cartilage parts of cattle, meat and parts of bone marrow boiled together. It is served warm, and you have to use special skills to inhale marrow that served in your bowl.

Generally this menu is presented in a package with pelecing Kangkung, Beberoq Terong and Ayam Bakar Taliwang. Of course you can still order it separately from those menus.

In some diner a la Lombok, besides presented separately in the bowl, sometimes Bebalung directly poured over a plate of rice, with a dash of soy beans fried, long beans stir fried and a pinch of raw bean sprouts that have been mixed with grated coconut. Raw bean sprout as the complementary is now quite rare. But, it will be available in special celebration moments, such as the celebration of birth of the prophet Muhammad in Dasan Agung village in the municipality of Mataram.

Beef ribs which have previously been cut into pieces, are boiled until tender enough. Spices that are as complex as in sayur Ares, are fried until fragrant, and then cooked together until ready to serve.
The price per serving fro this cuisine can be up to hundreds of thousands, because in one package there are several small dishes of Pelecing Kangkung, Beberoq Terong, grilled fish and Ayam Taliwang. But do not worry; this package can be enjoyed for up to five adults.

For separate portions, a bowl of bebalung starts from tens of thousands of rupiah. Considering the high price of beef at this time, you’d better make sure the price per serving before ordering a bowl of hot bebalung. The menu is also quite easy to find in the whole area in Lombok Island.

Ayam Taliwang (Taliwang Chicken)
Actually there are two places named Taliwang: one in the area of Cakranegara, Mataram; one more in the region of Sumbawa, a separate island from Lombok but still in the province of West Nusa Tenggara. This culinary despite having two different regional names, but ultimately it has its own characteristics. The one that becomes the Lombok Culinary is of course Ayam Taliwang menu with typical recipes that handed down from generations to generations from Taliwang Cakranegara.

One of the big families owning this recipe also consistently continues the family business by opening Ayam Taliwang restaurants in big cities in Java.

The main ingredient is young chicken. The chicken is then grilled with roasted spices that have been grinded. During the combustion process, the seasoning is applied repeatedly so that the seasoning is pervasive perfectly. When it is ready to serve, grilled chicken comes with two choices of dip sauce: small plate of red chili sauce and other small plate containing a yellow sauce.

Although the yellow sauce is said not to be spicy, basically it still tastes quite spicy, especially for you who do not like spicy food. So, try a little first, because when the chicken is grilled it also has quite spicy taste.
Ayam Taliwang is almost always served with Pelecing Kangkung and Beberoq Terong. But you also can find the serving of this culinary along with a bowl of vegetable soup a la Lombok. Generally, the vegetable soup is spinach or green beans with a few slices of round eggplant. The vegetable soup is simply seasoned with salt, flavouring and basil leaves. It can be regarded as a counterweight and antidote of spiciness from Ayam Taliwang, Pelecing Kangkung and Beberoq Terong.

Like bebalung, the price of this cuisine is usually calculated per package. The price ranges from tens of thousands with an extra of Pelecing Kangkung and or Beberoq terong, up to tens or hundreds of thousands for a complete package that can be enjoyed by more than one person.

# Share this information to your friends