Banana Stem Vegetable Cook, Ares. A specialty dish from Lombok

Banana Stem Vegetables

Lombok Island has a wealth of delicious culinary dishes, including banana stem vegetables. In addition to Lombok’s taliwang grilled chicken, the vegetable dishes here are no less delicious. You might be surprised because banana stems are usually used as food for livestock such as cows. But here, banana stems are processed into delicious vegetable dishes. This vegetable dish is known as Ares. This banana stem vegetable originated from a Lombok resident who observed cows eating banana stem fronds. At this time the island of Lombok was hit by a drought, so the idea arose to make pieces of banana stems into a dish. Eventually, the dish became famous and became a special food from the island of Lombok. In addition, this banana stem vegetable contains antioxidants that are good for health. Although made from coconut milk, it’s contains low cholesterol levels.

Taste of Banana Stem Vegetable

Banana stem vegetable in yellow sauce (photo:cookpad)

Ares cuisine has a strong flavor and a powerful aroma. For anyone who eats this dish, it will cause a sense of addiction. The yellow sauce that comes from turmeric is appetizing. For the taste of ares vegetable, there is a similarity with lodeh sauce, a fresh sour taste. Using Indonesian spices makes the vegetable curry taste very savory and flavorful. Plus, the taste of vegetable curry has a spicy and savory taste. For those of you who love spicy dishes, this banana stem vegetable curry dish is very appetizing.

Start Cooking Banana Stem Vegetable

This banana stem vegetable is served when there is an event after the wedding. The name of the event is often called begawe. The tradition of eating at the house that has a celebration. Begawe comes from the language of Lombok’s native tribe, the Sasak tribe which means party. For information, the Sasak tribe is the original tribe of the people of the island of Lombok. However, to eat this dish we don’t need to wait for a celebration. we can eat this delicious banana stem vegetable by making the dish ourselves at home. to serve this dish is not so difficult, we should try it at home. what should we do? Provide the main ingredients and make the broth from ingredients made from Indonesian spices.

Prepare the main ingredients

To cook ares, we need the main ingredient which is young banana stem fronds. On the island of Lombok, it is not difficult to find banana trees. Choosing this banana stem cannot be arbitrary, choose a young banana stem by taking the white part of the stem only. the type of banana tree that will be used as a banana stem vegetable such as a plantain tree or kepok banana. Another main ingredient you want to add is chicken pieces. If you only cook banana stem vegetables then there is no need to add chicken meat.

Making Subtle Ingredients

This thick banana stem vegetable broth uses a variety of Indonesian spices such as:

• shallots as many as 10 cloves,
• 4 cloves of garlic
• 3 red chili peppers to give a spicy flavor
• turmeric as much as 1 piece to give a yellow color to banana stem vegetables
• 2 cm of ginger to reduce the fishy odor in curry
• coriander as much as 1 teaspoon, almost the same function as ginger and flavoring
• candlenut as many as 3 pieces to give thickness to the dish
• lemongrass as much as 1 stem to give a pleasant aroma to the dish
• cumin powder as much as ½ teaspoon to give a fragrant flavor
• ground pepper as much as ½ teaspoon to give a savory and spicy taste
• galangal 1 piece to add aroma to vegetable dishes banana stem
• ground cayenne pepper to give a special spicy flavor
• coconut milk to give thickness to the vegetable soup with as much as one coconut
• Don’t forget the lime leaves and bay leaves to give a savory and fresh taste.

The cooking process of vegetable dishes

Puree all the banana stem vegetable seasoning ingredients with a blender, except galangal, lemongrass, lime leaves, bay leaves, and cayenne pepper. That ingredient is just pounded, not pureed. To mash the five ingredients, you can use a grinding stone.

The first step is to sauté the garlic and shallots that have been cut into small pieces. Sautéing garlic and shallots requires heated cooking oil of course. Sauté the onions until they release a fragrant onion aroma. Shallots can be processed into fried onions to add a savory taste to the dish.

The second step is to put the ground spices into the sauteed garlic and shallots. Also add galangal and lemongrass, bay leaves, lime leaves, and coarsely ground cayenne pepper.

The third step is to stir all the ingredients and add salt, sugar, and additional flavoring. Once it changes color slightly, you can add the coconut milk. Let everything come to a boil.

The fourth step is to add the banana stem pieces cut into fine pieces. Stir to boil until the vegetable sauce thickens. The process of cooking banana stem vegetables is complete and ready for us to serve.

Serving vegetable dishes

The banana stem vegetable has been cooked. It’s time to serve it with rice, grilled chicken, fried catfish, and sambal pete. It’s even more complete when served with young coconut ice. Banana stem vegetable dishes taste better when served and eaten while still warm.

The Best time to eat vegetable dishes

The best time to eat banana stem vegetable dishes according to tradition is during celebrations such as begawe or parties. However, we can eat it by making the dish ourselves. Feel free to add other spices according to your taste. Other best times are during lunch and on holidays with family.

Conclusion

Thus our review from Parman Trekker, your best partner and friend in traveling to Lombok Island. There are many extraordinary beauties that you can find on the island of Lombok. This savory banana stem vegetable dish adds its own experience. Vegetables are delicious and also healthy for consumption. There are many other special dishes originating from the island of Lombok. Stay tuned for our review about the island of Lombok and Sumbawa in the next article, of course with Parman Trekker, Rinjani Trekking Specialist.

Read also: Tours on the island of Lombok and prices