Medan is very interesting because in here, we can find foods that came about as a result of acculturation, such as from India, Malay, China, and BatakMedan, North Sumatera (ANTARA) - The culinary scene that exists in Medan reflects acculturation in the capital city of North Sumatra Province, according to one of the founders of Aku Cinta Makanan Indonesia (ACMI) Santhi Serad.
"Medan is very interesting because in here, we can find foods that came about as a result of acculturation, such as from India, Malay, China, and Batak," Serad told ANTARA here on Sunday.
This is what drove Serad, as the program coordinator for Iftar and Culinary Journey Qatar-Indonesia, to choose Medan as one of the three "Qatar-Indonesia 2023 Year of Culture" culinary journey destinations.
According to Serad, the strong cultural mix in Medan lent a unique taste to the culinary scene in the region.
In Medan, the people can find food ingredients unique to ethnic Acehnese, Minang, Batak, and Chinese.
"Spices, such as andaliman, are typical of Batak. Meanwhile, there is tauco, which is an ingredient from the Chinese," she explained.
The diversity of foods and their ingredients in Medan impressed two renowned chefs from Qatar: Hassan Abdullah Alibrahim and Noof Al Marri.
Alibrahim and Marri then bought several spices to be taken home from Petisah Market, especially those not found in Qatar.
"In there, there are no Minang spices that are sold in the form of a pasta. Hence, they bought that. They also bought andaliman, asam sunti for Aceh food, asam gelugur, asam jawa, and kecombrang," Serad remarked.
"They may be able to innovate their foods using those ingredients," she noted.
In their visit to Petisah, in addition to Serad, Alibrahim and Marri were accompanied by an Indonesian chef Muhammad Arsyan Dwianto, who won the third place during the ninth season of "Masterchef Indonesia" in 2022.
The culinary journey undertaken by Alibrahim and Marri was part of the annual cultural program Qatar-Indonesia 2023 Year of Culture.
This activity is held in three Indonesian regions: Papua on June 19-24, 2023; Medan on June 24-26, 2023; and Bali on June 27-July 2, 2023.
In Medan, several activities undertaken by the chefs started from a visit to the Petisah traditional market, cooking workshop at a vocational school to the Batak traditional snack cooking activity at one of the residents' home.
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Translator: Michael Siahaan, Fadhli Ruhman
Editor: Sri Haryati
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