B is for....Bakso

By Sue Potter

Bakso – A type of meatball, usually beef You find bakso whole in savoury soups, sliced into fried noodles or served on the side with fiery-hot sambal. Their rubbery texture is odd, and most people are perplexed the first time they eat bakso – what ingredients could possibly be combined to make something so smooth and yet chewy? The answer is – well, if they’re off the street, you probably don’t want to know. Few foods rival street-side bakso in accusations of impropriety, but bakpao - steamed bun - fillings come close (cat, rat, dog, or wild Sumatran boar).

The following bakso recipe is from Keith Ruskin Miller’s book, ‘Indonesian Street Food Secrets’: “Grind 2 cloves garlic, and mix with ½ lb. very finely ground fish, beef or pork. Sift in 2 tbsp tapioca flour, add salt and pepper to taste. Boil 4 cups of water. Using clean hands, squish the meat mixture vigorously; make a fist, then squeeze the mixture out between thumb and index finger. Scoop out spoonfuls of the meat mixture and place in boiling water; boil for 15 minutes.”

Many years ago I learned to make bakso from our small community’s premier baksomaker. Hers were light, even-textured, soft but firm, not too rubbery. Everyone wanted to know the secret, which was - add borax. Her husband worked in a metallurgical laboratory, and brought a little borax home once in a while. Was it toxic? They swore the quantities they used were absolutely safe. Indeed, borax is among the least toxic of prohibited food additives – but it’s still toxic and prohibited in many places.*

Recently a famed bakso maker, accused of using earthworms as a key ingredient, fought the scandalous accusations by holding a big bakso feast. He invited notables from his sales area, especially respected men from the neighbourhood mosque. His bakso got a clean bill of health (and taste); and a competitor was later accused of maliciously spreading false rumours.

A small restaurant opened, not too long ago, near us off Jl. Fatmawati; it’s cleanliterally thrashed, or beaten, bakso. Intrigued, we stopped to taste and inquire. ‘Gebug’ is their method of blending the meat and spices; the meat isn’t ground, but beaten into paste. The meatballs are fine textured and light, the soup savoury.

One type of bakso I haven’t tried is ‘bakso tennis’ – as large and resilient as a tennis ball. I mentioned these to a friend, who said her son was off eating bakso with his cousins as we spoke - ‘bakso tikus’. I thought she meant that they were quite small, the opposite of the tennis ones, but she swore that they were truly made with rat meat – clean, edible rats. Another friend disagreed, saying the name derives from the story of a customer who, visiting a warung’s simple toilet, found a pile of rodent heads. Assuming the cook was serving up the rest of the rodent, and ignoring the well-fed hunting cat basking in the premises, he started yelling, “Bakso ini buatan dari tikus!” (“These bakso are made with rats!”) Whatever the truth, the boys swore the bakso tasted delicious. (Now you know why I always smile and give my husband all the bakso from my soup or mie goreng. He thinks I’m just being generous. )

Notes:
Peggy Ball found a fascinating article from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s ‘FDA Consumer Magazine’, Nov-Dec. 2002 issue. Among other things, it discusses borax, its toxic potential and its use in food, and does it all in a very amusing way. Look for it on your next visit to the Indonesian Heritage Society Library.

Published in The Indonesian Heritage Society Newsletter, September 2004

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