Gudeg

Gudeg is the signature dish of Yogyakarta and Solo, two royal cities on the island of Java, and it has earned Yogyakarta the affectionate nickname Kota Gudeg, or City of Gudeg. The stew is made by slow-cooking young, unripe jackfruit for hours until it breaks down into soft, fibrous strands that soak up a sweet, spiced coconut sauce. Legend places its origins in the sixteenth century, tied to the founding of the Mataram Sultanate, when abundant jackfruit trees around the royal court inspired cooks to turn the unripe fruit into a hearty, long-simmered dish fit for palace kitchens. Traditional gudeg is cooked in a large clay pot over a wood fire for many hours, a slow method that many vendors in Yogyakarta still follow today, often starting before dawn to have it ready for breakfast. The dish is distinctly sweet compared to most Indonesian savory food, a character that comes from generous amounts of palm sugar and long reduction, and it is traditionally served with rice, chicken, hard-boiled eggs, and crispy beef-skin crackers called krecek in a fiery chili sauce. Vendors sell gudeg in sealed clay pots called kendil for travelers to carry home, and the dish has become one of Java's most recognizable culinary exports.