I’d like to share with you my favourite Torajanese food.  

In the morning, after my morning coffee meditation, which I usually do while listening to the roosters crowing and more and more now…dogs barking; I will then savour ‘soko’ or sticky rice (picture on the left). I eat it slowly, accompanied with grated coconut, chilli and tomato sauce and boiled egg or fried chicken. Yummy!

In the afternoon, depending on where we are, we will eat a big meal.  One of my favourite warung or food stalls is at Kilometer 2 Makale, about half an hour from Rantepao.  It’s a small place, looking into the river and rice field below. They serve the biggest and longest pork sate (barbecue pork on a stick) this side of the world.  It’s tender, juicy and chilly hot. At the persuasion of my Bear, my Torajanese husband, I will then cool my throat down with a glass of fresh balo’ or palm wine. Bliss!  This warung also serves grilled chicken and barbecued fish. Everything is chilly hot, but you cannot stop and just pile more rice. The fragrant rice of Toraja.

We also love the pa’piong bayi or pork cooked in its blood, mixed with mayana leaves, chilly peppers and herbs, stuffed into green bamboo tubes then cooked to boil in bamboo juice on open fire.  We go to Pong Buri’s warung in Rantepao for this yucky sounding but yummy tasting food.

Kapurung is a kind of fish based soup full of sago balls, which Ama, my sister in law cooks wonderfully.  It takes a certain expertise to twist the sago into a perfect ball, a good size to swallow. Not too big, that you can choke on it!  Ama puts kangkung or water spinach (?) and of course chilly. A squeeze of lemon before you slurp it. A perfect breakfast, especially in the cold months.

Dangkot, a chicken or duck dish in grated coconut and tumeric is another favourite of mine. Chicken pallawa, chicken cooked in roasted peanut and grated coconut is out of this world, eventhough a bit complicated to cook.

I will post the recipees of these foods sometime soon.