Traditional Madurese Beef: Madura Island

It may not have spectacular panoramas or beaches like Bali but Madura, an islet off the coast of East Java, is just interesting, thanks to its rich culinary tradition.

Soto ayam Madura — a rich and spicy chicken soup — became a popular dish at the turn of last century, especially with the Dutch, who were at the time coming to appreciate local fare.

The soup, made in two variations of chicken and beef, quickly changed old perceptions about not eating spicy foods in a hot and humid tropical climate, and became one of the most popular local soups. Some sources say the soups were not actually created in Madura but made by Madurese who lived in Surabaya and generated more income by selling their new culinary creations.

Another dish to catch on was sate Madura, which is made from beef or chicken. Sate Madura was the pioneer of the famous barbecued fare, establishing the name and leading to the creation of many other varieties of skewered meat since then. Of course, Soto ayam and sate (satay) Madura are now ubiquitous on the menus of restaurants serving Indonesian food abroad.

Speaking of beef, Madura’s beef dishes were inspired by the custom of the kerapan sapi or bull races, which are organized once a year in normally quiet villages like Ambunten. But when the races starts, these small villages become a hive of bovine activity.

Bulls are everywhere; they come from other villages accompanied by their owners or led by experienced jockey-cum-farm hands.
However, watching a kerapan sapi is more dangerous than one may expect because the angry bulls often charge at spectators, creating a lot of excitement and more than a little bit of fear.

I experienced some of this bullish wrath when on one extremely hot kerapan sapi day we saw an animal, the heat steaming from his nostrils, run straight off the race track into a crowd of spectators just meters away from us.

Luckily, people were able to dodge the bull’s swinging head and he was later calmed down by a guide who brought him back to the racing area. A bull that wins these races is considered a special creature and the win gives honor not only to the bull’s owner but to its whole village.

Before the races, the bulls are treated like kings and have a daily diet of eggs and honey. As far as humans go, it is believed that by eating ox-tail from their not-so-fortunate brethren, one will develop the strength of these race champions. Osik daging sapi is one of those special meat dishes you eat for those extra powers.

Then there are Madura’s vegetable treats — an array of dishes made from corn that grow well in the barren climate. Corn is an important staple food in the area, second after rice, and one popular mixture nasi jagung is exactly what the name says: Rice and corn steamed together, which gives the dish a special aroma and an interesting texture.

Nasi jagung was formerly made by mixing remaining dried corn and rice but today, freshly scraped sweet corn kernels are used.

Last but not least, Madura is also known for its salt. White sea salt is made in large ponds containing in-flowing seawater. After the evaporation process, it is cleaned into blocks. Madura is therefore named Pulau Garam, the island of salt.

Suryatini N. Ganie