Ingredients
Rice
- 500 glong-grain rice, washed
- 1 tspsalt
Wrapping
- banana leaves, softened over a flame
- cocktail sticks or string
To serve
- saté with peanut sauce
- soto soup
- gado-gado
- sambal
Directions
- Wash the rice thoroughly and drain it well. Soften the banana leaves by passing them over a flame or through hot water until they turn glossy and pliable.
- Cut the leaves into rectangles roughly 20 by 25 cm.
- Roll each into a tube around a cylindrical object, overlapping generously, and pin one end closed with cocktail sticks. A single thickness leaks, and the parcel has to survive three hours of boiling.
- Fill each tube about half full with rice. Keep them submerged throughout, weighting them with a plate if they float, because any part above the water cooks unevenly.
- Boil for 3 to 4 hours, topping up with boiling water as it evaporates. Top up with boiling rather than cold water, which would stop the cooking and leave a raw seam.
- Lift them out and hang them up to drain and cool completely, for several hours. Hang them rather than stacking them. Air must reach every side or the outside stays wet and they sour within a day.
- Serve with saté and peanut sauce, in soto, or as the base of gado-gado and ketoprak.
Technique
- Ordinary long-grain rice, not glutinous, which is what separates it from lemang and kelupis.
- It keeps two or three days at room temperature in its wrapping.
- Plastic lontong moulds are sold and work, at the cost of the banana leaf aroma.
Substitutions
- Plastic lontong moulds or a muslin bag tied tightly.
- Foil, which cooks it and contributes nothing.
Variations
- Ketupat, woven in palm leaf.
- Lontong sayur, served in a coconut vegetable curry for breakfast.
- Cut and fried until crisp at the edges.
History
Javanese-Surinamese festive food, cut up for celebrations and sold at Javanese warungs.
Frequently asked questions
What is Lontong?
Lontong is a main from Suriname: rice steamed in banana leaf into firm cakes, sliced for saté and soups. Javanese-Surinamese festive food, cut up for celebrations and sold at Javanese warungs.
How long does Lontong take to make?
Lontong takes 30 min of preparation and 3 hr of cooking. The recipe makes 6 rolls. It is rated medium to make.
What can I substitute in Lontong?
Yes, within limits. Plastic lontong moulds or a muslin bag tied tightly. Foil, which cooks it and contributes nothing.
What is the most important thing to get right in Lontong?
Boil for 3 to 4 hours, topping up with boiling water as it evaporates. Top up with boiling rather than cold water, which would stop the cooking and leave a raw seam.
