Tasting the Gunungkidul's Dishes

Sego Abang (red rice) was served inside an aluminum container. The rice grain looked oily but it was not mushy. A plateful of urap trancam (vegetables fresh salad) accompanied the savory rice. 

The dish was also served with a bowl of hot Lombok Ijo  soup. The soup was made of green chili slices with tempeh and delectable coconut milk broth. Other vegetable soup called Bacem Daun Kates made consisted of papaya leaves. 

Unlike typical papaya leaves dishes, Bacem Daun Kates in Lesehan Pari Gogo food stall did not have bitter taste.

The food stall is located in west off Jirak Bridge, Gunungkidul Regency, Yogyakarta. The stall constructed of bamboo webbing and sego abang becomes its main menu. 

In the stall, guests were given the options of sitting on the chair or on the floor – which is called lesehan in Javanese language. The rice grains used in the dish was of the gogo type which grows well in low-rainfall regions.

"We order [the rice grain] directly from the farmers," said Suparmi, the manager of the stall.

Suparmi is the third-generation owner of the stall who inherited the stall from her father Purwanto. According to Suparmi, cooking the dish has to be done patiently. 

The rice grains were hand-milled and cooked in clay pots using firewood. The rice was then steamed in a cone made of bamboo webbings. The rice cooking process alone needed one hour or more.

The staffs in the food stall start to work since the dawn breaks and they cook 10 kilograms of rice and five kilograms beef per day in average. The stall open seven days in a week in response to the high demand. The stall was first opened in 1979.

Source : Tempo