Holiday Ayo - Gudeg is the most popular dish in Yogyakarta. The main ingredient is young jackfruit and also uses a lot of coconut milk.

In the process, grated young jackfruit is boiled with palm sugar and coconut milk over low heat for several hours. It tastes best when cooked in an earthen pot over a wood or charcoal fire.

Garlic, shallots, candlenut, coriander seeds, galangal, bay leaf, then teak leaves are added to the mixture which gives the dish a reddish-brown color. Because it is dominated by the sweet taste, Gudeg is often described as "sweet young jackfruit soup".

The process of making this traditional jackfruit stew is tiring and tedious.

Almost every part of the process is time-consuming and must be done with precision. Therefore, making the perfect Gudeg can take almost a whole day. On the one hand, it is a perfect reflection of the Javanese philosophy of calm, patience, and thoroughness, as opposed to rushing and recklessly.

Just like most Indonesian food, Gudeg is served with rice. Other mandatory side dishes that are usually served with Gudeg include sambel Goreng krecek (crisp beef skins fried with chili and peanuts), opor ayam (a sort of chicken curry drenched in coconut milk), telur pindang (seasoned boiled egg), and tahu or tempe bacem (sweet steamed tofu or soybean cake).

In general, there are two types of Gudeg: Wet Gudeg and Dry Gudeg. Wet gudeg has more coconut milk, which resembles gravy.

On the other hand, the dry Gudeg has a deep brownish color and caramelized young jackfruit which gives it a sweeter taste. The dry Gudeg, also takes longer to cook since it needs to drain the coconut milk, so that it will also last longer (24 hours when stored in a fridge).

There is also another variant of Gudeg which is called Gudeg Manggar. Instead of young unripe jackfruit, Gudeg Manggar uses coconut flour which is locally known as Manggar.

Gudeg can be found in almost every part of Yogyakarta. Visitors or tourists can get food either at local restaurants or restaurants. Many local residents also sell Gudeg on the roadside and in other strategic places. For information, it's best to get food in the morning where many local vendors operate.