2019 Bagai Kilat, Apa Saja yang Sudah Ku Perbuat?

Pernyataan bahwa tahun 2019 adalah tahun terberat sepanjang hidup mungkin diamini oleh banyak muda-mudi terutama yang sedang mengalami krisis kuartal hidup aka QUARTER LIFE CRISIS seperti saya. Tahun yang saya mulai dengan merayakannya untuk pertama kali (tidak bersama keluarga inti melainkan bersama keluarga suami) di Thamrin dalam hujan dan dingin yang menusuk namun sedikit menggembirakan.

How Serious is the Magic Behind Indonesian Food?

If you're wondering how maybe millions of people around the world love Asian cuisine the answer is in its valuable culture we put on every dishes.

Not that European Cuisine such as Duck Confit or Tarte Tartin aren't filled with love and respect for the culture... it's just that Asian cuisine are bold enough to throw a sandal to you, just like our Asian moms whenever they get angry.

From east to west, Asian's flavors have been manipulate our mind thru its magic. Playing with our tongues and slurping in every corner. The food are so good, it sparks all the basic senses. Till the last spoon, the brain has been blown away. "I want more!!!!!!!"

Well not that everything is so perfect, no flaws at all. Still sometimes I don't get the idea behind some weird dishes. I mean...why would anyone eat that? That looks disgusting, man! 

Fried fish by my mom-in-law

Even in my country, Indonesia...there are tons of weird food. I'm not talking about the weird (apparently popular) hipster food, I'm talking about the weird traditional food. Ain't gonna say what... it'll cause problems. It's enough we've been bean boozled by ridiculous political stuff. I don't wanna add more gasoline.

Speaking of Indonesia….I can't say much about other's country culinary cultures because am gonna talk about my beloved country instead. A country which represents the best Asian culinary arts. (I'm sorry Japan, you're delicious too but I'm defending my country first)

What's so special with our traditional food? Well Ladies and Gentlemen, it'll take forever to explain it so let me make it fast.

There are a lot of soup dishes in the world. Every country have one, the best one, the worst, -the side dish only-one and so on. In Indonesia, soup is more than anything. I know we're not like Korea, they also have a lot of soup's recipes passed on from generation to generation (kimchi jjigae, and another jjigae) but Indonesian eat soups like crrrrraaaaaayyyyzeeeehhh.

In some part of the world, you eat soups to warm up your body from the cold or chilly weather. Not here baby...from Sabang to Merauke, we eat soups for sweat whether it's during hot weather or thunderstorms. I have never read a scientific research about it but I can say...pretty...sure...that Indonesians are always looking for a hot juicy drip of sweat. I'm sorry if it sounds disgusting. I'm one of them maaaan, I said it...I eat a bowl of hot frickin soup in a day light and add few teaspoons of frickin hot chilly sambal on it. 

Soup is always part of the entree dish in a fancy restaurant. Served in a small bowl with a small portion, idk why. Sometimes it's hot, warm and there are cold soup...I can'even....

Glad I can eat a big bowl of hot soup for my main dish here. As I said before Indonesian taking soup seriously and to the next level.

The variety of soups are incredibly much or maybe uncountable. We have Soto, a traditional dish which consists of stock (cooked separately usually with chicken bones or beef bones but not really thick) and meat (chicken/beef/innards). 

Different city means different kind of soto. In Jakarta we have Soto Betawi. Instead of just a regular stock we also add coconut milk to create umami and to thickens the soup. Beef, tomato slices, fried potatoes and emping (traditional crackers) are the whole point of Soto Betawi.

In Lamongan, East Java, they have the most popular soto in this country which is Soto Lamongan. This is the most savory soto in my opinion. It consists of tasteful yellowish Chicken stock, shredded chicken meat (ayam kampung, this is what makes it gewwwwddd), leek, sometimes boiled egg and koya. Koya is the important ingredient in Soto Lamongan. It's actually a ground shrimp crackers and I had no idea that this heavenly powder could make such a huge impact on a dish. Thank you Lamongan, I love you…

In Sumatra they also have various of soto. Soto Padang, Soto Medan. Soto Banjar from Kalimantan. Coto Makassar from Sulawesi (this is my favorite thanks to my Husband. Damn now I'm craving for a bowl of Coto Makassar. It's too good I can't take it anymore!!).

I think the only area that has no soto is East Indonesia. They do have some sort of soups dishes but soto? I never heard of that. East Indonesia's dish are usually seafood because the regions are the wealthiest maritime. But I might have to visit East Indonesia to find out. 

Woow 700+ words and I only talk about Soto? Of course our food isn't only a bowl of soto. This is actually proof of how rich our traditional food are that I can't even stop talking about soto. Oh and if we’re still on board with talking about soup, Indonesia also have bakso (meatball), how can you ever compete with that? Oh...you don’t wanna talk about soup again? Okay then, moving on!!!

Indonesians eat rice as the main source of nourishment. Tho too much nasi/rice isn't good for you, most of Indonesian are still believe that "You're not eating unless it's rice". No wonder our number one killer is diabetes...maybe..we should consider to think twice before we eat rice #rhymingbaby.

Nevertheless, rice is actually a common main dish in Asia. Japanese, Chinese, Malaysian, Koreans and so on. They too eat rice. That's why the variations of rice dish are uncanny. 

We're not the inventor of Nasi Goreng (fried rice) but people from around the world knows the best kind is from Indonesia (THANK YOU CHINESE-INDONESIA ANCESTERS!!). Don’t be lazy, google it yourself about our nasi goreng. Even the youtubers tryna imitate our recipes.

Just like all the other food, nasi goreng recipes aren’t the same to each other. Almost any families here have their own recipe. Mine for example, I can’t make nasi goreng as good as my mother’s. She usually put only a tiny splash of sweet soy sauce whilst the nasi goreng seller in my block uses lots of it. Sometimes it can be too sweet because of the soy sauce. Sometimes it has no color, like a simple cooked white rice but the flavour is richer than the darker one. 

The technique to make a good nasi goreng is not a joke. You need to stir it well otherwise you’ll received no flavor at all and you will definitely bite a tiny block of salt because of your lack of stirring. Please don’t be such a lazy donkey when it comes to making nasi goreng. 

Some people are not taking nasi goreng seriously they treat this special dish as if it’s not the most delicious food in the world. The result is as you can guess, so bland even my sweat tastes better. (Just realized how disgusting it is to compare nasi goreng and sweat but please understand I’M WORRY SICK ABOUT THE FUTURE OF DELICIOUS NASI GORENG!!!!!)

The list didn’t stop there because our culture grows everyday. I see some shitty f&b business owners trying to create some weird stuff with our traditional food. Sometimes it works, sometimes it’s such a huge failure, I mean..c’mon….Ceker Cokelat Keju? WHY?

Sambal

As a forever fan of Indonesian normal food, I hope we take a step back and educate ourselves on how the culture inside our traditional food has been formed in the first place. It’s important to prevent a case like where rendang actually came from in the future. We can also stop some of the rare dishes like Sayur Babanci (Batavian traditional Food) from disappearing completely.

Write the memoirs, read the legends. We need our traditional cuisine to shine forever because it's seriously MAGICAL.

Love,

ALLYSA

What Went Wrong With the Culinary Field in Indonesia?

One time I went for an interview and the job was exciting because it's my dream job. The interviewer was asking me lots of questions but I'm not a good talker (might need to fix that) and she might get the idea that I wasn't smart in the field.

She asked me whether I can cook or not and what kind of food I love the most. I told her immediately "ITALIAN FOOD".

Then...I wasn't sure if it was a mockery or what but she asked me "By Italian food you mean pasta? Cause that's not cooking" and I believe she was refering to amateur kind of pasta but I was confused. I'm smart in this field, and I know lots of Italian cuisine but somehow she wasn't impressed by it. Maybe she was really great she didn't see my potential. But that's okay ain't gonna talk about it, instead I'm going to talk how in this country, to understand a good food you need to be in an exclusive circle.

There's a phenomenon when becoming a food instagrammer is really important in Indonesia. In just one year, tons of food reviewers account are dominating the Instagram world. I see the phenomenon is also happening in Thailand.

Which is a very great thing. It's a fortunate opportunity for the people who's in the business. Online food sellers are on fire with their sales, natuurlijk. New restaurants are racing to introduce their menu via Food Instagrammers. Isn't life getting gewd?

Then comes a time where it's getting unbearable. Somehow people understand the real essence of true cuisine. I saw one video on Instagram where the reviewer said that the matcha dessert had a umami taste. I've tasted that dessert, it's an insult in my face because I love the dessert and that's not a proper word to describe how magnificent the taste of the food really was. I'm devastated.

I enjoy foodstagrammer's videos, but we as the people in the culinary field need to learn the correct way of describing the flavours thru our senses. We need to learn how to cook. We should...unquestionably do some research, starting with all of the ingredients that later we'll put in our mouth.

But...another sad facts...to learn about it we need to get into the exclusive circles. I don't know why learning about food isn't really a thing in my country. People would just eat stuff and never bother to know where it comes from. There are only a few little peer groups and Idk...I see it as those people in fashion, exclusive people only.

Just like that interviewer asked me case. She understood well that a large group of people know PASTA as the only ITALIAN FOOD. She might be surprise if she finds out that some of us know le mozzarella fritte e le polpettine. 

Maybe that's the reason why culinary school is expensive. Like really expensive, even for a short course. If you want to learn a bit deeper about culinary, then you can choose the hospitality school. But again, no spesific majors like Culinary arts or Pastry arts or Bread baking. All of them are available in the form of short courses which is...again...massively expensive.

I'm really sad about this industry in my country. If those who have the privileges would like to give it back to the community, it would be great. Maybe this is also the reason why the Chefs are usually men rather than women. Women usually learn how to cook for the sake of their husbands or to create a catering, it's good but I want them to understand about food a bit deeper than they have.

My lovely moment was during UNI I was the leader of my UNI's cooking club and that was the time when I see men and women both had the interests in culinary world. Me and my teams weren't only teach them how to cook, we taught them about the ingredients, about the knives, about all kind of pasta shapes, names and so. It was the best time of my life, because we learned together and cooking isn't only cooking. It's always more than that, it's a revelation in life. Genderless, the poor the rich are the same, they have the same opportunity only the good one will raise.

Source : CNN Indonesia

I adore lots of people in culinary especially in my country. There are some of the food writer, food enthusiast and my favorite is always Bondan Winarno (Rest in Peace). He broke the national TV with his knowledges of traditional food and people were enjoying it. Most of them learned something everytime after the episode of his show. He's like...Anthony Bourdain of Indonesia.

The show was in Bahasa, so of course everyone would understand what he said. He visited the locals, so everyone would not be confused when in the future they come to the city. He told you how to enjoy the plate and the proper way to have it into your belly. It was the most beautiful Indonesian tv show in my opinion. And I miss him so dearly.

In the writing world, I adore Ms. Rima Sjoekri so bad. She wrote a book about knowing the local ingredients (SENI RASA : Teman Resep Masakan Indonesia)  and I must say if you want to become a local chef, you need the book as your pocket emergency book. IT'S ONCE AGAIN I SAY IT...A REVELATION.

She didn't only listed the ingredients, she told us what flavor that those ingredients have. Is it sour? Sweet? Bitter? On what kind of dishes that these ingredients are perfect for. I LOVE IT SO MUCH! It's what I mean by giving the knowledges to the community.

Culinary should be for everyone who wants to learn about it. Not only for me who understand a bit in English, but for those who don't speak one. It should be found in every corner, so we finally figure it out what we put in our mouth and how it will affect our body.

I believe, one of the reason why Diabetic, Heart attack, and obesity are common, it's because we fo sho...don't undestand what we eat. Damn....

I hope I can be one of those people who contribute more in the culinary field for the community without the needs to make it exclusive. So later, that instagrammer will learn the proper way to use the word UMAMI to describe her food ;D

Let's change the way we represent this field!

CIAO,

Allysa

The chronic illness I thought I knew

It was 3 am and I didn't feel tired at all. I could hear the rats on the rooftop, they were either doing intercourse or creating a cult. Which one it was I had no intention to dig a lil deeper.

If it's like in the movie, I surely will heard a ticking clock but who has a clock nowadays? We're going digital and thank God it's digital. Otherwise my head would explode from the sound of the tick tock tick tock.

I was thinking about life. Not this life but waaaayyy more of the past life. Really really past. I might remembered the day I was born if I tried harder.

I saw the first day of elementary school. I woke up at 6 am, run to my mom outside the house, specifically she was at my neighbor's house shopping for today's food. I told my mom, "let's go to school". I was a dumbass, my school is in front of my house (still that's why I use IS) and it was only 6am the school started at 7am. Dumbo!

It was sixth grade. My classmates were gathering around me. Someone slapped me. Bullying day, I will never forget that day. 

Indeed I jumped into the first day of junior high school's orientation. I was so embarrassed because I was the only one who wore lots of huge furry hairbands. The seniors told us to wear hairbands on both hands but the store was running out of normal hairbands so I had to buy what's left. It was embarrassing...I wish I'd die right on spot. I tried so hard to hide it, I could hear my seniors talk about how stupid I am. It's probably not tho, it's only in my head. But thus began my lack of self confidence.

I can hear the voices. They spoke to my brain never had the intention to calm me down, haunted my soul. Dragged me into the deepest well, left me broken-hearted.

It was 3:15am and I couldn't shut my eyes. Something's wrong. The rats have stopped doing whatever they were doing 15 minutes ago. I was left alone. Should I?

Irreplaceable they said. Nope... I'm pretty sure no one loves me. The biggest lie is when they told me they will be sad when I'm gone. Don't think that's true. I'm replaceable darlings.

What it feels like to have suicidal thoughts?

I was alone. There were sweats even the room was cold. The heart was racing to the point of it almost explode. Thin air, stabbed my whole body like thousands of needle. I scrolled down my contacts. Who should I call?

No one…

I'm alone. Even when I wanted to kill myself, I still thinking about what people would thought of me. I don't need an extra pressure. To stabilized my breath was what I needed.

I cried so hard. So hard my throat hurts. The voices kept talking. "Kill yourself. Please. It's the only way. It'll be fun... it'll be gone...you will not get hurt again."

It's a sin!!! I'm afraid that God will be angry. I don't want to be put in the mighty hell. My life is a hell.

"But you are worthless. You do know that right? You are lost. Does your friends even checking up on you? Even your husband is falling asleep right now never have the idea how hard it is for you. Look at your family...they have nothing to lose, honey."

It was a huge fight. I cried again. I will lose.

"That's my girl...You ready?"

I saw my reflection on the mirror. They were there, on top of my head. Black shadows. Huge teeth. Red eyes. Scary laughs. Hands shaped of scissors as if they're going to cut the string of my life. They almost did.

What did I do?

They didn't cut my string that night. I slept on the floor. I gave myself more time to think about it. "Pull yourself together, let's see how tomorrow will be."

I didn't do it. I'm here now. But I'm so afraid that someday I will lose the battle. It's suffocating. A tiring journey that I have to embrace for the rest of my life whether I want it or not. It stays.

I thought I knew my illness so well. It keeps giving me surprises (not in a fun way). It has a plan to destroy me, that's why I'm building a barrier right now. It's not strong enough to hold the monsters. Luckily... I'm gaining more material. I will fight.

"You are loved. You have a long journey ahead. You can do anything. Give yourself a time to be good at it."

Sure lad...sure.

Memori Berbalut Gula Merah

Suatu hari pada minggu pagi lima belas tahun yang lalu, Ibu membuka pagar rumah lalu pergi entah kemana dan kembali tak lama kemudian dengan kresek berwarna putih di tangan kanan dan belanjaan sayur di tangan kiri.

Saya sudah menerka kalau yang enak-enak ada di tangan kanan. Lirik madu di tangan kanan mu, racun di tangan kiri mu (you sing you lose) sangat tepat untuk menggambarkan situasi kala itu. Sebagai anak ingusan yang kurus kerontang pada umumnya, saya benci sekali jika Ibu belanja karena sudah pasti Beliau akan memasak sayur dan memaksa saya menghabiskannya. Siapa anak kecil yang suka sayur? Saya heran kalau ada…

Minggu pagi adalah waktu yang menyenangkan bagi orang rumah. Ibu (walau tak setiap saat) punya ritual yaitu membelikan kami jajan pasar untuk sarapan. Biasanya Beliau membeli kue lupis dengan saus gula merah kental dan taburan kelapa parut gurih kesukaan (alm) Bapak. Kadang saya meminta khusus dibelikan getuk tanpa parutan kelapa. Abang-abang saya lebih gemar bersusah payah membuka tali rafia mini yang mengikat bungkus arem-arem dari pada jajan pasar berbalut gula merah.

Sumber : Instagram globalgastronaut

Walau punya preferensi masing-masing, Ibu lebih sering membelikan kami kue lupis dengan alasan “Tinggal itu yang masih ada”. Dengan hati sedikit kecewa, kami pun manut berebut kue lupis sisa dua potong yang dibeli di tukang lontong medan.

Sepotong lupis nampaknya tidak akan mengenyangkan, herannya kami sekeluarga jarang sekali bisa menyantap lebih dari dua potong karena ternyata lupis sanggup membuat perut kami penuh.

Lupis terbuat dari beras ketan yang direndam semalaman agar sedikit melunak dan mudah matang ketika direbus. Tak heran sebenarnya kalau betul membuat kenyang. Jangan lihat dari potongan kecilnya saja dong, gengs!

Kami sekeluarga sering berpindah daerah karena pekerjaan Bapak, namun ritual menyantap jajan pasar apalagi berburu lupis kesukaan Bapak tetap berjalan di manapun kami berada. Beliau gemar menaruh lupisnya di pitsin (piring kecil) lalu memakannya setelah selesai beraktivitas pagi. Jangan harap mendapat bagian karena hanya itu camilan pagi yang disukainya.

“What keeps me motivated is not the food itself but all the bonds and memories the food represents” -Michael Chiarello-

Sumber : Netflix

Saya tersadar dari lamunan kue lupis gurih-manis dan menatap ke arah layar ponsel yang sedang menampilkan acara Street Food-Netflix episode Jajan Pasar di Yogyakarta. Sampai lupa jika sedang menonton saking rindunya saya dengan masa kecil ketika melihat Mbah Satinem menuangkan saus gula Jawa kental ke atas lopis buatannya.

Tentu saja barangkali kue lupis yang saya makan dulu tidak seenak buatan Mbah Satinem atau sebaliknya, lagi pula saya belum mencobanya jadi tidak bisa membandingkan. Namun satu yang pasti kalimat “Food is Memories” betul adanya dan acara Street Food by Netflix adalah representasinya.

Kevindra Soemantri, seorang penulis kuliner dari website Top Tables menjadi narator di episode Yogyakarta dan Mbah Satinem is the star of the show.

Sumber : Instagram Kevindra Soemantri

Mbah Satinem is fearless. Beliau seorang pebisnis, peggiat kuliner with her own uniqueness Cristina Tossi might have Milkbar in towns, The Harvest might be the most popular bakery in Indonesia, but Mbah Satinem been making and selling our beloved traditional dessert for 50 years on the street! Her face was on NYC Times Square, For God Sake!!!!!

Narasi Kevindra dalam Street Food Yogyakarta ini sedari awal sudah menggandeng saya untuk kembali ke paragraf pertama.

Lupis. Ketan berbentuk segitiga. Camilan sederhana yang mengenyangkan. Sarapan favorit di masa lalu dan akan tetap memiliki tempat di hati. Parutan kelapa di atasnya tak hanya sekadar taburan, mereka memberi rasa gurih dan menebarkan aroma khas kelapa yang membuat lapar. Kuah gula merah....saus yang jauh lebih “membumi” dari butterscotch atau salted caramel sauce, menyebar di seluruh penjuru mulut lalu manisnya menenangkan sang kelapa agar tak terlalu gurih.

Lupis. Ia memori dalam balutan gula merah. Setiap lapisan rasanya adalah representasi masa kecil, semangat mata pencaharian dan dalam Street Food by Netflix episode Yogyakarta...kegigihan Mbah Satinem untuk mengenang cinta Ibunya. And I eat lupis to remember my family's tradition and of course my beloved late father

Ah...esok saya harus mencari kue lupis di pasar. Lupakan sejenak tumpukan lemak yang bersarang di perut setelah lebaran.

Love,

Allysa

Belajar tentang Kerapuhan dari Pavlova yang Ambyar

Tahun 2010 menjadi waktu bersejarah bagi saya dan keluarga karena kami akhirnya memasang tv kabel hingga menumpang nonton TLC/AFC tak lagi harus berjubel di rumah saudara yang lebih kaya. Dengan paket tv murah, saya dan Ibu mulai ketagihan menonton acara-acara masak baru yang isinya tak lagi Ibu Siska atau Mas Rudy.

“Ganteng banget itu chefnya!” Ujar saya dalam hati saat mata terpaku di hadapan tv 30inch yang dibeli dari hasil uang pernikahan kakak.

Sumber : https://www.independent.ie/life/home-garden/homes/house-where-jamie-filmed-the-first-two-series-of-the-naked-chef-on-the-market-for-3-7m-30488576.html

Jamie Oliver the Naked Chef  dan saat itu pula daftar koki favorit saya bertambah. Di luar koki Indonesia saya tentu saja hanya mengenal Gordon Ramsay, well who doesn't? Saya ingat betul kala pertama menonton acara Jamie Oliver, Ia sedang menunjukkan bagaimana caranya memanggang daging kambing. “Orang Indonesia mah jago nih mengolah kambing! Gampang pasti!” Pikir saya.

Malu benar saya dibuatnya ketika Jamie Oliver menunjukkan cara yang luar biasa asing hingga meneror pikiran saya. Daging kambing harus dilumuri berbagai minyak zaitun, rempah, garam dan lada hitam, didiamkan lalu dipanggang sebentar di atas pan panas bersama mentega dan bawang putih lalu dipanggang dalam oven selama beberapa waktu. WOW!!!!!! Selama ini saya hanya tahu kambing disate atau direbus hingga menjadi sop, kesukaan (alm) Bapak. Jadi kambing bisa dibuat kayak steak gitu yah? Norak betul!!!Sudahlah baru punya tv kabel, baru tahu pula cara memanggang kambing. Namun tak apalah, lebih baik belajar sedikit demi sedikit, toh itu niat saya belajar tentang dunia boga.

List koki favorit saya bertambah dan suatu hari tv menayangkan program masak Donna Hay, seorang chef dan pengusaha asal Australia. Donna Hay menyihir saya dengan resep-resep mudahnya. Saya pernah mencoba Frozen Yogurt yang ternyata hanya berupa campuran plain yogurt, frozen mango and banana lalu diblender dan didiamkan semalaman. That bastard was so delicious I made a declaration to eat it till the day I die but that for sure won't happen. Unless I wanna die with diabetes.

Sumber : https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/theatre/dance/9093012/The-Swan-who-danced-herself-to-death.html

Yang kembali membuat mata saya mengerling bak baju barbie palsu adalah resep Pavlova. What the hell was that? Dengan laptop super besar dan koneksi internet seadanya, saya mulai mencari arti Pavlova. Wikipedia menuliskan bahwa Pavlova adalah hidangan penutup yang namanya diambil dari nama seorang Ballerina asal Russia “Anna Pavlova”. Pavlova merupakan hidangan berbasis telur putih yang dikocok kaku bersama gula, zat asam lalu dipanggang dan dihiasi dengan krim kental/buah.

“Menarik” pikir saya. Ibu yang kebetulan juga tertarik dengan dessert bak marshmallow ini pun mengajak saya untuk berbelanja telur dan mencobanya.

Jika bisa berlebihan, maka saya akan bilang sudah ratusan telur kami pecahkan, kuning dan putih dipisahkan, memanggang namun setelahnya tak sudi memakan. Yeap siapa sudi memakan putih telur setengah gosong yang merata dengan loyang? Ibu dan saya akhirnya menyerah. Ntah apa yang salah karena langkah demi langkah sudah dilakukan.

Delapan tahun kemudian saya memberanikan diri untuk kembali mencoba membuat pavlova setelah puluhan resep saya baca dan pelajari. Pilihan jatuh pada resep Zoebakes, seorang pastry chef dan food instagramer asal Amerika yang gemar memberi resep berikut step by stepnya melalui Instagram Story. What a great way to help amateurs.

Mangkuk stainless steel telah dibersihkan, mixer mengilap tak bercela, bahan-bahan berjajar bak prajurit hendak berperang. It's time!

Pavlova dipanggang dengan api besar selama setengah jam lalu api perlahan dikecilkan dan biarkan sang putih telur membentuk cangkang baru bertekstur renyah selama 45 menit berikutnya.

Proses membuat Pavlova tak hanya menyita waktu (apalagi kita harus mendiamkannya di oven panas yang sudah dimatikan apinya selama satu jam setelah selesai dipanggang) tapi juga tenaga. Untunglah matahari belum sempat tenggelam setelah Pavlova selesai. Foto yang bagus masih mungkin masih bisa saya dapatkan walau jam terus bergeser.

Pavlova pun terlihat cantik dengan ukuran yang sedikit lebih besar dari seharusnya. Kesalahannya adalah, saya terlalu besar membentuk lingkaran di atas kertas panggang. Karena putih telur akan melebar dan lebih cepat mengering saat dipanggang. Lesson learned!!!

Krim kental sudah dikocok kaku dengan gula bubuk, dadih lemon berwarna kuning mengilap sudah jadi, buah-buahan segar pun sudah kering setelah dibersihkan. Inilah saatnya menghias!! Tentu saya tak terlalu menyukai kegiatan mempercantik ini, tapi apa bagusnya pavlova raksasa tanpa hiasan?

 

Saya mulai dengan meratakan krim kental di tengah kawah meringue, lalu dadih lemon barulah buah-buahan berupa berries!

Air mata jatuh dari ujung mata. Akhirnya saya bisa membuat hidangan penutup gila ini! Membutuhkan waktu bertahun-tahun untuk mempelajari kesalahan dan mengemas tekniknya. Belum lagi alat serta bahan yang tak kalah krusialnya dalam pembuatan Pavlova.

“Krak!”

Belum selesai saya berpuas diri, kawah krispi meringue di tengah itu jebol, bak plafon kamar saya yang menyedihkan. Bedanya Pavlova ini masih tetap terlihat menggiurkan dan kamar saya tentu saja tidak secantik ini.

Benar kata Donna Hay, jangan terlalu banyak menghiasi Pavlova mu dengan bahan yang memberatkan. Krim kental kocok plus dadih lemon memang perpaduan roller coaster di lidah dan kilap bintang di mata. Namun jika menumpuknya dengan takaran yang tidak proposional seperti yang saya lakukan, you'll face a disaster.

Ah well, saya masih bertekad untuk mencicipinya.

TBH, saya tahu tekstur meringue tapi tidak pernah betul-betul mencoba Pavlova. Ekspektasi tekstur renyah yang siap membanjiri rongga mulut dengan saliva dari dinding kanan kiri ketika Pavlova menyentuh gigi harus saya telan bulat-bulat begitu merasakan “marshmallowy-texture” instead of crunchiness.

Pavlova bukanlah hidangan yang tepat untuk pasien penderita diabetes karena rasanya betul-betul manis! Krim kental, dadih lemon dan buah-buahan berhasil sedikit memudarkan rasa manis yang membludak.

Ternyata Pavlova mirip dengan torched meringue di atas lemon pie. Awalnya saya sempat berjengit karena merasa seperti sedang memakan telur putih mentah yang tentu saja tidak betul!

Sempat mencari tahu di internet apakah kita bisa mengurangi kadar gula dalam Pavlova dan sayangnya tidak bisa. Mengurangi pemakaian gula dalam Pavlova justru merusak tekstur dan tidak akan menghasilkan meringue yang mengilap.

Yah paling tidak saya sudah mencoba. Saya senang dengan hasilnya walau harus sabar. Saya juga memahami kerapuhan. Tidak ada yang sanggup menahan beban berat sendiri walau nampaknya terasa ringan. Tak menyangka saya akan mempelajarinya dari sepiring Pavlova.

Ps : Untuk resep, silakan klik di sini!

Love,

Allysa