Trying to eat durian fruit may not be a strange thing for us, especially if the durian is the type of durian montong. But have you ever tried foods that are based on durian other than dodol, cake, or ice cream? Have you ever heard of a food called tempoyak? Or maybe you’ve tried?
Tempoyak or what has the nickname pekasam is a food whose basic ingredient is durian. This special food comes from the Malay people in Sumatra and Kalimantan. This culinary is one of the foods that are fermented with durian fruit. The fermentation results make the tempoyak aroma stronger and tastier.
Can you imagine how it will taste and smell? For those of you who have never tried it, you will definitely be surprised by its sour taste and soft texture, especially for those of you who don’t like durian fruit. Making tempoyak itself is the same as making tape, the only difference is the fruit and the length of the fermentation time which can take from four to ten days.
The manufacturing process is also quite easy, you only need to separate the meat from the seeds, then mix the durian meat with enough salt, put it in a closed container until the specified time.
Usually, tempoyak is used as a spice in dishes such as tempoyak fish pepes, red chili tempoyak or tempoyak chili sauce. Generally, tempoyak is used as a food spice such as brengkes. Which means pepes, which is one of the processing processes by means of steaming.
For people who are used to eating tempoyak, this food is suitable to be eaten with rice or other side dishes. Tempoyak can also be eaten directly, but few people do it because it cannot stand the acidity and aroma of the tempoyak itself. Therefore, tempoyak is often combined with other foods that are deemed suitable for mixing.
Tempoyak has various benefits such as maintaining the body’s digestive system, facilitating bowel movements and maintaining immunity. But don’t consume too much, because it can make our stomach feel nauseous and our head feels dizzy. Like durian, tempoyak should also not be consumed together with medicine because it can cause poisoning.
So, just consume it in moderation and if it doesn’t match this one food, don’t force it because it can cause stomach acid to rise.
Until now, tempoyak is still unknown to the wider community. Tempoyak, which is the original food of the Dayak tribe, is mostly only in demand by the Dayak people, Sumatra and its surroundings.
For the Dayak ethnic group, tempoyak has an important role, namely as a complement to their diet and as a way of preserving food so that it can last for a long time. The longer the durian is fermented, the better the aroma and tamarind produced.
The taste of tempoyak is very unique with a combination of salty, sweet and salty flavors. Especially in Kalimatan, Tempoyak already has a place in the hearts of the people because its enjoyment has been tested from generation to generation. In Java, this food is almost never known, because of the lack of prestige of this food.
Tempoyak is also usually traded at a price per kilo of IDR 50,000. But not all places sell this food, only certain places that sell it. Given that only a few circles of people want to consume it.
Do you want to try eating fermented durian called tempoyak? Just try visiting the area that sells tempoyak.
