Rendang: the Indonesian staple bringing comfort to survivors of the tsunami
- Rendang – a traditional dish from the Southeast Asian archipelago – has been called upon by relief agencies and pilgrims alike for its long shelf life
In the early hours of Friday morning, a truck left the city of Padang in West Sumatra carrying hundreds of packets of beef rendang – a traditional dish from the Indonesian province slow-cooked in coconut milk and spices.
By Saturday, 1.3 tonnes of the staple should reach the neighbouring province of Lampung, which last weekend was smashed by a killer tsunami that also hit the west coast of Java. Altogether, 426 people died in the disaster and more than 40,000 were displaced – many now living in evacuation shelters.
The rendang donation drive was organised by the West Sumatra Disaster Mitigation Agency because, as its head Erman Rahman puts it, displaced people need food but are not necessarily able to cook it.
“Maybe only Indomie,” he said, referring to a popular brand of instant noodles. “So we have chosen to send them rendang. It can be eaten for the next three weeks to a month without having to be reheated.”