LANGUAGE TRAINING CENTRE

UNIVERSITASMUHAMMADIYAHYOGYAKARTA
UJIAN TENGAH SEMESTER
GENAP 2018/2019

ESSAY WRITING

Name : Ludhiana Maula Arifhani Date of Test : April 6th, 2019

Student Number : 20170510406 Lecturer : Bunga Ikasari, S.Pd
Faculty : FISIPOL Signature :
Department : International Relations

The Famous Food in Indonesia

Indonesia has so many traditional foods like Gudeg from Jogjakarta, Ketoprak from Jakarta,
Pempek from South Sumatera, Bika Ambon from North Sumatera, Serabi from West Java, and Ayam
Betutu from Bali. West Sumatra has famous food too, the name is Rendang. Do you know if Rendang
is the top 10 food in the world? it's because Rendang is a unique traditional food that has a unique
smell and taste, and also has a philosophy from the ingredients contained.
Rendang is made of various ingredients cooked in a special way, like chili, garlic, pepper,
pala, coconut, lemongrass, ginger, turmeric, garlic, shallots, meat, and other ingredients. The way to
cooked Rendang is to blend all the spices and mix them together with coconut milk and meat. It’s a
little bit tiring and spends a very long time, about three hours continuant stirring to make the coconut
milk mixture into Rendang. Most people use firewood to get the best quality of Rendang. Thus, it
makes Rendang is different and unique from other traditional foods in Indonesia. Rendang has a
philosophy, and this philosophy is seen from the ingredients. There are four philosophies contained in
rendang in Minangkabau society, namely:
1. Dagiang (meat)
In Minangkabau customs, meat is a symbol of "Niniak Mamak". Niniak Mamak is an
indigenous tribal leader consisting of tribal chiefs. Niniak Mamak is the place to ask and
the main decision-makers in Minangkabau customs. It is the same as meat which is the
main and most important element in rendang.
2. Carambia (coconut)
Coconut is a symbol of "Clever Cadiak" or intellectuals in the Minangkabau. They have
intelligence, emotional intelligence, and spiritual intelligence. So that they are able to
examine and determine the standards of eligibility for each policy regarding inheritance,
implementation, and resolution of the Sara and adat problems that have been carried out
by indigenous peoples.

1
 3. Lado (chili)
Chili in the Minang society is a symbol of the cleric who is very strict in teaching religious
rules. Alim ulama has a role and is very much needed in the religious survival of the
Minang society to foster and guide the community in increasing knowledge and piety to
Allah SWT.
4. Pemasak (spices)
Pemasak is a symbol of all Minangkabau people. Therefore, the community functions to
run and practice customary rules that have been made and agreed upon by traditional
leaders.
Rendang has a unique smell and taste. Rendang has a unique smell because of the spices used
like chili, garlic, pepper, pala, coconut, lemongrass, ginger, turmeric, garlic, shallots, etc. These spices
give strong and spicy aroma to the meat. The coconut milk itself makes the aroma appetizing. We can
smell it far away, even the neighbor can. So, this food has a really good smell. Then, the taste of
Rendang itself is very strange. The unique mixture of spices makes the whole meat spicy, but the
coconut milk adds sweet taste into it. A piece of Rendang is best served with fresh rice. This lovely
taste is unforgettable for every people who have tasted it. That’s why Rendang is nominated as the
most favorite traditional food in Indonesia because Rendang has a delicious taste.
For the last, as mentioned above, Rendang is a traditional food from West Sumatra which is
rich in spices and the coconut milk give the perfect smell and taste to the meat. Finally, because of
this uniqueness, everybody will love this food and always remember the taste after tasting it.

Scoring*: Totalscore: Plagiarism:

Introductory paragraph 5 4 3 2
Body paragraphs 5 4 3 2
Concluding paragraph 5 4 3 2
Organization 5 4 3 2
Style 5 4 3 2
Mechanics 5 4 3 2
*Circle the appropriate score based on the rubric