Shaved ice desserts are a familiar treat across Southeast Asia, a pleasant way for people to cool down while living close to the equator. Malaysia has their cendol, Vietnam their chè, Thailand their namkhaeng sai, and Philippines their halo halo. Indonesia is no exception. In fact, with its vast land area and large population, it boasts one of the most diverse ranges of shaved ice desserts in Southeast Asia.
Es campur takes on countless local variations throughout Indonesia, featuring regional ingredients and catering to the residents’ taste preferences. Even the name ‘es campur’ cannot be used synonymously from city to city, as each type of shaved ice dessert bears its own name.
SBS Food speaks to three Indonesian Australians who share their connections to three distinct shaved ice desserts. Each one captures a distinct element of Indonesian food traditions.
Es Campur, Jakarta
Rena Melati, from Sydney, grew up eating Jakarta’s es campur. This is her favourite Indonesian shaved ice treat, because the star ingredient is tape, or fermented cassava, which she is a self-professed lover of.
“My son will tell me it is disgraceful because I will always bring my own container of tape to add to the es campur they serve at the restaurants in Jakarta,” she says. “But I don’t care, I’m not stealing, I’m adding to my taste!”
Melati is used to being able to customise her es campur order. Since she was 12 years old, she would bolt down the stairs of her childhood home whenever she heard that the es campur street seller had arrived. He used to always set up his stall in front of her parents’ house, which was situated in a busy street lined with other street food peddlers. At least once a week, her mother would allow her to buy es campur. It was an after-school treat to combat the blistering midday heat. The seller, a kindly man, started to recognise her and remembered that she really liked fermented cassava. So he would always give her more of the cassava, free of charge.
Of course, es campur in Jakarta tastes different to the one Melati can make in her Sydney home kitchen, since Sydney does not sell the fresh ingredients but only has canned varieties. Still, she makes it when she craves it. To a bowl, she adds young coconut, sugar palm seed, jackfruit, black grass jelly and fermented cassava. She covers this with shaved ice, finally drizzling the ice with condensed milk and pink syrup that is either rose or coco-pandan flavoured.
Es Kacang, Manado
A 3.5 hour flight from Jakarta lands you on the island of Sulawesi. In the north of the island lies the coastal city of Manado, where the beloved shaved ice dessert is called es kacang or es brenebon. Instead of fruit and jellies, the shaved ice is accompanied by red kidney beans that are slow-cooked in a sweet chocolate sauce, says Marina Hamadian from Melbourne, who grew up in Manado.
To make the chocolatey beans for es kacang, Hamadian says that the kidney beans are boiled first in an instant pot until they are softened. Then, they are boiled again in chocolate powder and sugar. “We use the Van Houten chocolate powder in Manado, probably because this was the chocolate powder people saw the Dutch use during the days when the Dutch colonised Indonesia and lived in Manado for a long time,” she says.
Depending on their preference, some people choose to have their es kacang with fresh avocado or durian, or both, says Hamadian. These fruits are abundant in Manado, she explains. The bowl is then finished with a swirl of condensed milk.
Drop into any cafe in Manado and there’s a high chance that they serve es kacang, Hamadian says. “Since I was a young child, my parents would take me to eat es kacang at these cafes in the afternoon. Then when I was in school, I would go with my friends after school to chat while eating es kacang,” she says. This practice of going to cafes in the afternoon for es kacang extends into adulthood among Manadonese people, Hamadian shares. “I miss that kind of thing,” she muses.
“In Manado, people have es kacang usually between 2 to 5 o’clock. They will go to a cafe and order a few items to share with their friends,” she says. Es kacang is almost always part of this afternoon tea spread, alongside gohu (a papaya pickle), pisang goreng (fried banana) and sometimes bubur Manado, a savoury vegetable congee, explains Hamadian. “You might have a spoonful of es kacang, then a bite of the gohu,” she says. “Manado people enjoy that sweet and sour combination.”
Es Pisang Ijo, Makassar
Move down toward the south of Sulawesi island, and the popular shaved ice dessert changes again. Here, in the city of Makassar, the choice dessert is es pisang ijo, directly translated to ‘green banana ice’, says Hanna Muljana from Sydney, whose husband grew up in Makassar.
Ripe bananas, either Raja, Ambon or Kepok bananas, are steamed with the skin on. Then, they are coated in a dough made from rice flour, coconut milk, and pandan leaf juice and steamed again to cook the dough. The result is a soft, chewy coating with a bright green color and distinct pandan aroma, explains Muljana.
The steamed ‘green bananas’ are left at room temperature to cool down before being arranged on a bed of cooled coconut rice porridge, which has a very smooth and cloud-like consistency. Rose or coco-pandan flavoured red syrup and condensed milk is added, followed by shaved ice.
According to Muljana’s husband, the dessert has a local folktale attached to it. It is said to have been invented by a Bugis-Makassar king’s cook named Ijo, who managed to escape the death penalty by serving bananas coated in green dough, which the king loved. “The green colour of the banana symbolises peace and elegance in Bugis-Makassar culture,” he explains.
He recounts that es pisang ijo always hit the spot when he was craving something cold to quench his thirst on a hot and dry day in Makassar, but was also hankering after a satisfying snack. “I remember my school days, when I came home from school on a hot day, I craved something fresh and cold. I stopped at a restaurant that sold various iced drinks, one of which was es pisang ijo. The aroma of pandan was so strong when I smelled the banana, and when I ate it, I could taste the pandan in my mouth, really fresh, sweet, a bit savory, and chewy,” he recalls. “Es pisang ijo was truly delicious.”