My Food Has A Story: Sate Kere

So, I had this chat about foods on WhatsApp with other MyEC members from other cities in my country, Indonesia.  Since they never visit my city, they didn't know some traditional foods in my city. One of those foods that I mentioned was sate kere.

They were surprised when they heard the name. Sate in English is Satay, while kere means very poor. The word “kere” was the one that made them surprised. The word actually can be considered a rude word, and it will make people here be offended if you call them with the word. Can you imagine delicious satay that is very poor?
Sate Kere (FoodSpotting.com)

Welll actually this food has history background. This food contains  gembus satay (gembus is byproduct of tofu) and some satay made from internal organs of cow like lungs, intestine, etc. Those satay will be soaked in liquid spices and then grilled. After that, they will be mixed  with special condiment made from peanut, chili, onions and chili. When they are grilled, you can start to smell fragrance aroma, the same smell when you grill beef.

A historian in my city told a local newspaper that there was a story why it was called as sate kere. Satay was exclusive for rich people. Poor people couldn't afford for satay and prefer to save their money to buy some cheap foods. But, they also wanted to taste satay and meat. That's why they created this food. Gembus and internal organs are much cheaper than meat. One gembus satay is sold less than a cent here, while one internal organ satay is sold for a cent.  But, I believe it was a lot of cheaper decades ago. It was a symbol of  resistance against rich people.

 Indeed, this satay tastes differently than beef or chicken satay, but still it tastes delicious.  The combination of sweet and spicy is perfect. One portion of sate kere is sold for $ 1.2. But, today this food is no longer for very poor people. Everyone enjoys this food and it becomes one traditional food in my city, Solo.

 

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Comments

  • I eat sate often but never try sate kere, I just heard the background of this story, how do you find the story Ario? Amazing!!.. 

  • @Tria

    It is delicious. You can find one seller in Manahan. And other in front of SMP 1.

  • Even though I often go to Solo due to my Job but I never tasted sate Kere. From the pictures I could imagine how delicious .....nyem..nyem...

  • @Afroza

    You definitely should try satay if you can find any Indonesian/Malaysian restaurants in Bangladesh. You will not regret it.

  • satay is a  new word for me....should I try it?

  • @noa

    Yes, it is yummy.

    @Stephen

    You should try this, Stephen if you visit Solo. Don't worry about the coals :)

    @Ohnie

    The entrails are soft and easy to eat and yes, they are yummy, Ohnie. You should try to make some. I think you can try to make the satay since the recipe seems quite easy.

  • Ooohh, that looks really good.  I have always loved satay.  But never tried one made out of entrails.  I'm sure they are also delicious.  Entrails are delicacies back home and so I'm not surprised at all that you make satay with them.

    Thanks for sharing, Ranu!

  • Yum!! Definetely will seek for it when I reach Solo. A bit afraid with the coals.
  • What ever it is called, I always love satay. Yummmmmm!!!!

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