Do you have a plan to visit Indonesia?. maybe for vacation or work. Please try to eat Jengkol. Can be raw if you have enough braveness. Jengkol is very easy to found in Padang or Sundanese restaurants. Jengkol is famous as Bad smell but delicious food
Some facts about Jengkol
Jengkol (Archidendron pauciflorum) which in English is called dog fruit or Blackbead. It is a perennial plant originally from Southeast Asia. Very popular in several countries. Such as Indonesia, Thailand, Bangladesh, and Burma. Botanically included in the group of Fabaceae family. The height can reach 25 meters. Fruit skin is black and the pods are bright green.
Jengkol is an edible plant and delicious to eat. Can grow from lowland to medium land. Usually, the rainy season is the peak of the Jengkol season in the entire plantation area (partly in Sumatra and Java).
Below is some facts about Jengkol:
Rendang Jengkol Is The Most Popular
Jengkol is very popular in Indonesia. Especially for 2 big ethnics groups. Padang (West Sumatra peoples) and Sunda (West Java peoples) do have delicious recipes of Jengkol. At Padang restaurant, you can find Jengkol in the form of rendang (a kind of curry). And in Sundanese restaurant, you can order it in fried and eaten with sambal and other vegetables.
Only these two ethnic have a culture to consume Jengkol more often than other ethnic groups in Indonesia. Sundanese people even have a habit of consuming Jengkol which is a bit extreme. That is by germinating it first and then consuming it raw. Sundanese people call it by the name “Seupan”.
The Price sometimes equal or more expensive with meat
Sometimes, when supply is decreasing, the price of Jengkol is very expensive. a kilogram of Jengkolequal to the price of beef meat in the same weight. It shows that the demand for Jengkol is always high. And Jengkol-based menu always interesting and become choice for many peoples.
For Indonesians themselves, not everyone likes Jengkol. This is due to the impact after eating Jengkol. causing the breath to become an unpleasant odor all day and urine that also bad smells can last for a long time in the toilet. Jengkol is not recommended for people who have gout. In addition, there are other health risks, namely “jengkolan“, a condition where a person has difficulty and pain when taking a pee.
Why Eating Jengkol is Causing bad smell
Why does Jengkol cause a bad smell while breathing and also from urine?. Inside Jengkol there is a compound Djengkolic acid that contains high sulfur. This acid is the one that causing the aroma of urine so it very bad smells.
Behind its bad image, Jengkol also actually has several health benefits. Because it contains high protein and several antioxidants such as polyphenols, flavonoids, terpenoids, and alkaloids which have the ability to protect the body from the dangers of heart disease and other metabolic disorders.
References:
- NUR HIDAYAH et. Al. 2019. Phenotypic identification, nutrients content, bioactive compounds of two jengkol (Archidendron jiringa) varieties from Bengkulu, Indonesia, and their potentials as ruminant feed. Biodiversitas, vol. 20, No. 6
- https://steemit.com/health/@fajrilgooner/14-jengkol-archidendron-pauciflorum-for-body-health-benefits
always love to learn from nature. Passionate on studying plants in some aspects: the DNA, Identification, propagation, and their uses
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