In the past, Bandung people use cassava commonly grow around the area to make this unique dish. They believe that this fermented cassava is a great way to warm their body against the cold weather of Bandung West Java.

When you walk around Bandung or other cities in West Java, you will easily found peuyeum sellers around. It is usually hanged without cutting the cassava first, so you will see long hanged cassava around the stall.

It is not really difficult to make and requires only little ingredients. First, you will need cassava, banana leaves covered with yeast for fermentation, and clean water. First thing you need to do is to peel the cassava skin. Next, you can cut it into smaller pieces, or let it be in long pieces as it is.

Then, put the cassava into boiling water and wait until it is soft. When it is getting soft, take the cassava, put it in a big bowl and let it to completely cool. Once the boiled cassava has been cooled, pour the fermentation yeast on top of it and spread it around the cassava evenly. Once it is covered with yeast, you can put it on the banana leaves covered with yeast and covered the top part with another banana leaves.

Close the bowl tightly and set aside for around three days. After three days, you can open the cover and check whether the cassava has completely soft and become sweet. If it does, then your peuyeum is ready to serve.

SEVERAL WAYS TO ENJOY THIS TRADITIONAL WEST JAVA DELICACY

This food is not only to be enjoyed as it is, in fact, there are now several ways to serve this dish. Here are some of the ideas you might like.

1. Cake

Usually, the cake is made of flour, eggs, butter, and other things. But in this recipe, softened fermented cassava is added as the base dough. This addition will give you a sweet and a little bit sour taste, giving you a new and unusual taste of the cake.

2. Muffin

You can also incorporate this dish into another modern cuisine like a muffin. Just like the cake version, the addition of fermented cassava will give a sweet and a little bit sour and rich taste to the muffin.

3. Katsu

Not only made as a sweet snack, but this food is also perfect for a more savory type of food. Make into katsu dishes is one of the ideas you can try. It is also really easy to make. The recipe and method of cooking are really similar to chicken katsu, but you only need to replace the chicken with this fermented cassava. The resulting dishes are crunchy, crispy, and savory dishes.

4. Schotel

Schotel is Danish snack usually made of macaroni pasta filled with cheese and cream. However, in this recipe, you can either substitute the macaroni or simply add the fermented cassava into the mix. But don’t forget to soften the fermented cassava first.  This will result in the savory, creamy and rich taste of snacks different from the usual schotel.

HEALTH BENERFITS OF TRADITIONAL WEST JAVA DISHES

As we already know, fermented food has several health benefits, and so does with this unique dish. These are some of the health benefits you can get by consuming this West Javanese cuisine.

1. Treat Acne

If you have problematic acne, you might want to try this sweet and sour menu. This fermented cassava will help to neutralize the poison in your body and cleaning the pores. Pores that clean and free from poison will reduce the possibility of acne formation. Therefore, if you want a clear face, you might want to start snacking on this dish.

2. Improve the Digestive System

The fermentation process in this food making will increase the production of probiotic and lactate acid. These compounds help to kill harmful bacteria in your digestive system and help the good bacteria to thrive and work better. Therefore consuming this fermented cassava regularly will improve your overall digestive system.

3. Warm the Body

It has a low level of alcohol and therefore can warm up the body. In fact, Bandung people used to make this traditional dish for this purpose, considering that Bandung has relatively colder weather. This food will warm up the blood and stimulate the skin to get warm. Therefore, if you are feeling a little bit weak and feverish, you might want to eat this snack.

Peuyeum is one of many types of fermented food in Indonesia. While other types of fermented food are usually eaten as a side dish, this one is usually enjoyed as a snack. Have you tried this traditional delicacy?