TIMES SURABAYA, JAKARTA – Traditional food has a strong emotional power to evoke memories and nostalgia of the past. In Banyuwangi Regency, there are several traditional cuisines that can evoke such feelings. Here are five traditional cuisines from Banyuwangi that can bring back a sense of this legitimate childhood memories.

List of Traditional Foods of Banyuwangi

1. Sego Tempong

Sego Tempong or Nasi Tempong is a rustic dish rich in natural resources. It consists of warm rice served with boiled vegetable side dishes such as mustard greens, genjer (water mimosa), spinach, and eggplant. 

Simple condiments like salted fish, corn fritters, tofu, and tempeh enhance the flavor. It is incomplete without the raw sambal made from shrimp paste, sugar, salt, kaffir lime, and ranti tomatoes, giving it a distinct and spicy taste.

2. Sayur Bening Daun Kelor

Sayur Bening Daun Kelor or moringa soup is a simple dish suitable for breakfast. It consists of moringa leaves cooked with basic seasonings like lemongrass, shallots, salt, sugar, and flavor enhancers. 

It is usually served with salted fish, tofu, tempeh, warm rice, and Banyuwangi's signature raw sambal. Despite its simplicity, this dish has a delicious and nutritious taste.

3. Pelasan Tawon

Pelasan Tawon or Beehive Pepes is an extreme dish famous in Banyuwangi. It is made from beehives combined with bilimbi or tomatoes, large red chili peppers, sugar, salt, and other kitchen spices. 

Pelasan Tawon has a rich taste with a combination of savory, sour, spicy, and sweet flavors. Although somewhat extreme, this dish is believed to increase stamina.

4. Pecel Pitik

Pecel Pitik is a dish that is almost always been served in the traditional ceremonies of the Osing ethnic group in Banyuwangi. It is made from evenly grilled free-range chicken, then torn into small pieces and served with peanut sauce or commonly known as pecel. 

The pecel sauce consists of spices such as candlenuts, bird's eye chili, kaffir lime leaves, shrimp paste, salt, and sugar. Pecel Pitik is served with warm rice and has a distinctive and authentic flavor.

5. Sego Cawuk

Sego Cawuk is a popular breakfast dish in Banyuwangi. It consists of rice with terancam soup (coconut milk soup with sliced cucumber, grilled corn, and grated raw coconut), cocoh tofu, tuna fish pepes, boiled eggs, pindang broth, gecok teri (grated coconut mixed with salted anchovies), and crackers. 

Despite having various side dishes, the combination of the sweet flavor from the pindang broth, the salty taste of the anchovies and cocoh tofu, the savory terancam coconut soup, and the spiciness of the lemongrass sambal creates a complex flavor that tantalizes the taste buds.

These traditional foods from Banyuwangi have an authentic taste and simplicity that can evoke nostalgia for those who enjoy them. (*)