About Southeast Sulawesi

Typical Southeast Sulawesi Food

Every region in Indonesia has different traditional food. Each traditional food which is served displays the personality and the culture of the owner. Likewise the other regions, Southeast Sulawesi has its own traditional food.

The types of the staple food in Southeast Sulawesi are divided into three types based on the region in this province. They are Kendari and the range around it, Muna Island and Buton Island, and Wakatobi.

The society in Kendari and the range around it, known as Tolakinese, have the smoothest texture of staple food than the other area in Southeast Sulawesi. Their staple food is made from the essence of the sago palm that is called sinonggi. To make this kind of food is very simple; we just pour the boiled water over the sago essence, while we stir it quickly. The output of this food looks like the white glue.

The staple food of the society in Muna and Buton islands is coarser than Kendari one. The source of their staple food comes from the corn because these two islands are producing corn. In general, they only cook it and then it is ready to consume, but sometimes they create it in some ways to get the delicious taste based on their taste. Some of them cook it by adding a little bit lime to get the peel off, and then they can add some kidney beans, while the other one take the other way to peel of it by adding lime into it that is put in the mortar, then it is pound. To make it tastier, we can also cook it with milk squeezed from coconut.

The more southeast the area, the coarser the staple food is. This proverb is really proved in the southeast Sulawesi. The most southeast region in this province is Wakatobi Islands and absolutely the coarsest staple food takes place here. Their staple food is called kasoami which is made from the dregs of cassava that is steam in the special pan and it is overlaid by plaited of coconut leaves. Its shape looks like the small mountain.

To consume this kind of food, we need more than a glass of water because we should eat it while we drink the water, especially for someone who does not familiar with this unique food. It will be more delicious if it is eaten with the hot scalloping vegetable and seafood in the hot day.

The position of the Southeast Sulawesi which is taken round by the sea, makes the people in this region, especially the people from Wakatobi really like fresh fish, and the other sea animals like squid, octopus, and shellfish. According to the people who leave the area to move to the other province or country which is difficult to find them, the thing that they are really miss is the taste of fresh fish.

The seafood can be cooks in many ways depend of the creation and the taste of the consumer. It can be cooked with scallop or dry, roasted, or fried in the ember of wood. Moreover, for some kinds of fish and shellfish, it can be eaten uncooked; it is known as perangi. This custom is used to do in Buton and Wakatobi Islands, particularly in the fishermen village. To serve it, we only need to clean it and then pour it into the lime essence and salt. It will be better if we eat it with colo-colo, the mixture of tomatoes, chili, onion, lime essence, and salt.

Even though they are creative in cooking the seafood, they are cannot realize it in cooking vegetable; they cook it in the simple way. Generally, it cooked without spicy and oil, or only poured with the milk squeezed. There is a special vegetable that only found in Buton Island. It comes from the young rattan which is cooked with spices and milk squeezed. It is called holombe which has delicious and unique taste.

There are also some kinds of traditional cake such as cucur, baruasa, kalo-kalo, obaku, and bagea. These cakes made from rice flavor, except bagea and obaku that made from sago flavor. In general, the cake’s taste is sweet because there is sugar (palm sugar or sugar cane) in it.