VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

When the pandemic is over and you can travel to Indonesia, try to visit the city of Medan in North Sumatra. Besides rich in beautiful tourism objects, the city of Medan is also rich in its culinary specialties. One of them is Kentut Rice.The name may sound strange, but this one food is delicious and healthy. This Medan specialty is named Kentut rice or in English means fart rice, because there is a unique spice in it, namely sembukan leaves or known as kentut leaves among the local community. Sembukan leaves or in Latin is called Paederia foetida.It is a wild plant in the open nature like a shrub. It is called kentut leaves because it has unpleasant smell similar to the smell of human’s fart.

In addition to using sembukan leaves, to make kentut rice, rice is also processed with other spices such as turmeric. Then this rice is cooked by being wrapped in banana leaves and then steamed or baked until cooked. After that, the aroma is so appetizing.Kentut rice is very delicious when eaten with a variety of side dishes. There are various choices of side dishes from anchovies, spicy potatoes, pepes oncom which is a steamed or grilled fermented soybean paste wrapped in banana leaves, stir-fried vegetables to fried chicken. And do not miss sambal terasi or shrimp paste sauce or green chili sauce as a complement. To make it more delicious, you can make kentut leaves as lalapan. Lalapan is fresh vegetables which are eaten raw.  

Besides being delicious, kentut rice is also rich in benefit because it uses kentut leaves as one of the main ingredients. This leaf has so many benefits such as treating all problems related to stomach and as a herbal medicine to cure smallpox (Herpes Zoster). It is also proven to relieve symptoms of heartburn such as canker sores, sore throat and chapped lips as well as improve blood circulation.For those of you who are interested in enjoying kentut rice, it is not difficult to find it in the city of Medan, North Sumatra. The price is also quite cheap, only around Rp10,000 to Rp15,000 per serving, depending on the side dish you choose. So, don't hesitate to enjoy kentut rice when you visit Medan in North Sumatra.