TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - As many as 200 women in Banyuwangi Regency, East Java, took part in Sego Tempong Festival which was held in Blambangan open field on Saturday, March 28. The women competed to make the most delicious and attractive Sego Tempong (Banyuwangi traditional rice dish).
Participants were coming from various background including food vendors, hotel or restaurant cooks, and institutions. Indonesian famous female chef Marinka was present to demonstrate the dish-making and to give out tips on dish presentation.
“This is the first time I make a sambal so hot that it tasted like a ‘slap on the face’,” said Marinka to one of the participants on Saturday.
The name Sego Tempong is derived from Using--the language of Banyuwangi indigenous, which means ‘to slap’. The name is given because the dish is served with extraordinarily hot sambal (chili sauce).
A portion of tempong rice consists of tofu, tempe, salted fish, dadar jagung (corn fritters), vegetables and sambal. The sambal is made of chili pepper, tomatoes, shrimp paste, hariloom tomatoes and a little bit of lime water.
Banyuwangi regent Abdullah Azwar Anas said the festival is to boost popularity of sego tempong.
“More popular, more people buy Sego Tempong,” said the regent.
The festival was started at 09:00 local time and was packed with thousands of people from Banyuwangi who enjoyed the food on the road side.
“The sambal is very distinct because it has hariloom tomatoes. Regular tomatoes won’t be as good,” said Eryalfan, a Banyuwangi student who is studying at Jember University.
Hairloom tomatoes are also known as rose tomatoes and are more sour than other tomatoes.
Sego tempong is usually sold at an affordable price of Rp8,000 to Rp10,000.
IKA NINGTYAS
