TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - People who have visited coastal regions throughout Indonesia such as Flores, Sulawesi, Maluku, up to Papua, might notice that local restaurants offer sautéed papaya flowers as a common side dish to accompany seafood dishes.
Even though many regions share the same tradition of serving this dish, the names can vary from place to place, such as in Maluku where sautéed papaya flowers are called Sir-sir.
You can find Sir-sir at beachside restaurants at Langgur City named Forganza Restaurant. The owner of that restaurant, Petronika Meyske Toliaso, combined the stir-fried papaya flower with embal leaf or cassava leaf that is native to the region.
Despite the knowledge of cassava leaf being bitter, the sautéed sir-sir tasted quite the opposite and did not leave any bitter taste to the palate. The natural bitterness was eliminated through several processes before it is cooked and added by the exotic spices that are used in the dish that is priced around Rp15,000.
To find the similar dish in Jakarta, you should visit the Sulawesi@Menteng restaurant that is located at Sumenep Street in Central Jakarta. This food joint offers a genuine Makassar sautéed papaya flower in its menu. To differentiate their papaya flower to others is the addition of dried Medan anchovies.
The restaurant managed to replicate the sautéed papaya flower dish that is similar to the ones found at Maluku. However, the price of a single plate of sautéed papaya flower at Sulawesi@Menteng would cost you Rp53,000.
FRANCISCA CHRISTY ROSANA