Introducing Papeda, the Gelatinous Delish from East

Indonesia

Indonesia does have lots of ‘common’ food that is available in most part of the country, but
many places also have unique culinary dishes. One of them is Papeda.

What is Papeda?

To oversimplify it, Papeda is sago porridge or congee. The main ingredient is, of course, sago
starch. The starch is extracted from a palm tree indigenous to mainly Southeast Asia.
Cooking Papeda is as easy as it comes. You just have to cook the starch with water and then
stirring it until it coagulates. Sometimes people also add salt or sugar based on their
preference. When done, it will have a glue-like texture.
Where is it from

Papeda is the staple food in eastern Indonesia. Western and Central Indonesia favor rice as
their staple food but their eastern counterpart prefers sago and papeda. This dish is the main
source of carbohydrate for them. Traditionally, it can be found from Morotai in the north of
Maluku to Papua.

Variants of Papeda

On its own, Papeda is bland and a bit savory. However, just like steamed rice, papeda is not
supposed to be eaten unaccompanied. The most popular complement for papeda is ikan
bumbu kuning (yellow fish soup). It is basically a soup made from fish (usually tuna,
mackerel, or mubara) with turmeric and lime as the main ingredients.

Papeda is also great served with several papaya flower bud vegetables and water spinach. In
some places, papeda is eaten with deep-fried fish. Some communities use fish that are
common in their location to accompany papeda.

On its own, papeda is not much, just like rice. However, papeda can be a great delish when
being served with seafood dishes. If you have never tasted papeda, try the safest route and eat
it with yellow fish soup. You will not regret it.