Meatballs? Really??

restaurant version - middle, right

One of the first foods visitors to Indonesia get exposed to is the Indonesian version of meatball soup called bakso (or baso). It is a very traditional food and is often sold for around $1 by roadside vendors, along with many other typical Indonesian dishes. An article in the Jakarta Post reported that US president and former Jakarta resident Barack Obama even loves it. Another article stated that it was President Barack Obama’s favorite food when he lived in Indonesia and that when he visited, he took time to eat it “which is proof that bakso is really delicious.”

thanks, google!

roadside - assembly line bakso

long day with no refrigeration

The sight of bakso has never appealed to me, for one thing because I am not tempted to eat off a roadside cart but also because of its strange (light gray) color and rubbery consistency. However, I have been in 2 settings where I felt I either had to taste bakso or appear rude. Indonesians do love their traditional dishes and they want visitors to love them too. Sometimes they are a bit too insistent that you taste their foods, then eagerly await your response (“this is delicious!” is what they really want to hear).

traditional food cart - baso for sale

baso/tofu vendor set up at bird singing contest

Basko meatballs are usually served in a bowl like soup, along with some watery broth, noodles, bean sprouts and sometimes chopped green vegetable or tofu. Since most Indonesians are Muslim, bakso is generally made from fish, shrimp, beef and/or chicken. I use these terms loosely. There has been much debate about what is really in these popular little meatballs. If beef, it is often the hearts, tongue, lips, spleen (or worse) that are used. Apparently there was some type of expose last year that revealed that some suppliers were using rat meat. I do not kid you.

I have also wondered where bakso's strange color comes from, and why meat doesn’t spoil when kept in an unrefrigerated cart all day long. And what gives with the rubbery texture? As with most things I'm curious about, I googled to learn more. Come to find out, the strange color/texture can be caused by a variety of added ingredients - ranging from tapioca to borax to formaldehyde. Yes, you read that correctly. As a result, bakso is often listed by the Indonesian FDA as an “unhealthy foodstuff.” Still, these little meatballs (ranging in size from marble to tennis ball but usually more like a ping pong ball) are extremely popular, not only on the street but in restaurants as well. Bakso is also sold by vendors balancing the containers across their shoulder while tapping a steady rhythm of spoon against bowl to announce their presence in the neighborhood.

According to the Association of Indonesian Bakso Sellers, bakso is sold by 4,000,000 hawkers! Now THAT'S a lotta meatballs!!

uh, i think i'll pass this time...