The name Papeda may be heard by many people. However, not everyone who hears it knows the origin of this famous food in Indonesia. This food is a traditional food from the island of Papua.
To be precise, traditional food from West Papua. This traditional food is the staple food of the tribes in the West Papua region. In particular, the Asmat, Mappi, and Mamika tribes. When compared to rice, tribes in West Papua consume Papeda more often.
This traditional food has become one of the icons of West Papua and Papua as a whole. In this review, you will get to know and know more about the famous food in Indonesia from West Papua, Papeda.
What Is Papeda?
As previously mentioned, Papeda is a traditional Indonesian food from West Papua. However, what about the shape, ingredients, and taste of this traditional food itself? This traditional food turns out to have a unique shape, taste, and texture.
Papeda is made from sago starch which is processed until it can be eaten. This food has a chewy texture and is easy to digest. This makes this traditional food not only engaging but also beneficial for health.
Sago has indeed become the main source of carbohydrates for most Papuans. This is different from most other regions in Indonesia, which make rice the main source of carbohydrates.
Therefore, Papeda is the staple food of the Papuan people. Every dish is certainly not complete if it is not eaten with this traditional food.
How To Make It?
At first glance, many people think it will be easy to make Papeda recipe. Because of the simple shape and texture, the main ingredient is sago, which tends to be easy to find in Indonesia.
However, making an authentic Papeda was not that easy. The people of West Papua do not arbitrarily choose sago to be processed. Most of them will go into the forest and look for sago trees which are ideal for harvesting.
Then, the tree will be split in half to extract the essence on the inside. To get the essence of this sago tree, it takes 2-3 people who process it. The process of extracting sago essence is called ‘menokok’.
Then, the raw sago starch will be stored in a special container called ‘tumang’. Sago strach needs to be allowed to stand for a few days. Then, it is just processed so that it is fit for consumption.
This sago starch is mixed with water, then stirred without stopping until it reaches the desired texture. Cooking this sago starch must be careful, because the texture may be too hard or too runny.
How To Enjoy Papeda?
How to enjoy papeda is the same as most other foods. As the main carbohydrate, this food is always eaten with vegetables or other types of protein. The way to eat it is a little unique, because of its chewy texture.
You can use chopsticks, also known as ‘gata-gata’. Then, the springy Papeda is wrapped around one of the chopsticks. You can dip it in vegetables or eat it with other types of prepared protein.
What Does It Taste Like?
The taste of papeda may be a little unfamiliar for people who don’t eat it often. Because it is rare in Indonesia, found a carbohydrate source with a texture like Papeda. The taste of this food tends to be bland and savory. The goal is to maximize the taste of the accompanying food.
That’s a complete discussion about the famous food in Indonesia from West Papua, namely Papeda. For those of you who are curious, immediately visit West Papua to feel the uniqueness of this food.
