TAPE, PAKET DARI SURGA

(serial Mari Cintai Pasar)

Kapan terakhir bertemu tape singkong yang sempurna? Aku beruntung memperolehnya di pasar Pantai Indah Kapuk. Di pintu masuk, bungkus daun pisang berisi tape hampir tertimbun penganan lain yang lebih atraktif. Untung aku sempat tanya, kukira jongkong. Ternyata harta terpendam.

Betul, bungkus daun memendam harta singkong diragi yang mungil-mungil, berair, putih menuk-menuk, manis, cukup matang dengan alkohol fermentasi yang hanya terasa samar, gembus berpori udara sehingga lembut lumer di lidah. Dan tak ada satu bagianpun yang keras.

Dan untung hanya beli dua bungkus. Habis seketika.

♥♥♥

Aku ingat di masa kecilku, bibi yang membantu kami di rumah akan menyusun potongan2 singkong yg sudah dikukus dalam panci besar blirik yang dialasi daun pisang. Setiap lapis ditaburi ragi kualitas prima. Ditutup dan disimpan di lemari tempat menyampan loyang dan cetakan (karena paling jarang dibuka). Beberapa hari kemudian... voila.... tape singkong yang mulai berair manis terfermentasi menggiurkan segera dipindahkan ke wadah-wadah dan disimpan di kulkas. Lebih sering proses ini menuai sukses. Tapi adakalanya tape tidak jadi seperti yang diinginkan. Konon karena yang membuat sedang datang bulan

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(From the serial "I Love Traditional Markets")

When was the last time you happen to come across a perfect fermented cassava or tapai? I was lucky to find it at Pantai Indah Kapuk Market, North Jakarta. Located at the entrance, these delicacies were almost buried underneath other obviously more attractive items such as traditional small cakes and savories. I - fortunately asked the seller what's inside those banana leaves wrappers. I thought it was a popular kue called Jongkong (in most part of Indonesia). Turned out that I found myself a treasure.

I call these treasure, since heaps of delicately cut chunks of fermented cassava, were hidden inside these banana leaves packets. They were moist, juicy, white in color, tinted with golden-ish yellow, not too sweet, and the alcohol is juuuust enough to tempt your appetite, porous-ly soft that it melts in your mouth. Not one part of them was flawed in any way.

It's good that I only bought two parcels, they disappeared into my stomach in no time.

♥♥♥

I remember the times in my childhood when the bibi ( the woman who helped around the house) would arrange small pieces of steamed cassava inside a big granite-ware enamel basin with lid. But not before lining the base and it's wall with banana leaves, first. Every layer would be sprinkled with top grade yeast. Then she closed the lid and hid it inside my mother's cupboard that contain cake pans - this part of the cupboard was seldom opened. You waited for a few days and .... voila..... you would see lines of deliciously looking moist, juicy, sweet, slightly alcoholic scented fermented cassava. They were then divided into several containers and stored inside the fridge. Most of the time this process I described ended in success. But there were few times that the end product did not turn out the way we wanted. It was believed that such failure stemmed from the fact that whoever made the fermented cassava was having period.