(Jakarta Culinary) Mouthwatering Sate Taichan!

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Awal 2017 ini saya berkesempatan mencicipi makanan yang lagi ngehits dan foto-fotonya sedang banyak menghiasi media sosial, yup Sate Taichan. Sate Taichan yang saya sambangi kali ini adalah Sate Taichan Senayan. Di malam hari kawasan senayan ramai oleh banyak sekali penjual Sate Taichan, jadi sangat banyak pilihan untuk makan Sate Taichan, namun meskipun sudah banyak juga penjual Sate Taichan di kota-kota lain, termasuk Jogja, rasanya tetap kurang pas jika tidak mencoba langsung di tempat lahirnya, yaitu Jakarta. Konon katanya Sate Taichan dipelopori oleh Bang Amir, salah satu penjual Sate Taichan di kawasan senayan, katanya beliau terinspirasi oleh turis Jepang yang datang ke Jakarta kemudian ingin memasak sate sendiri, kemudian saat ditanya oleh Bang Amir “sate apa itu?” kemudian turis Jepang itu menjawab “taichan!”. Bumbu-bumbu Sate Taichan juga tergolong sangat sederhana, yaitu hanya menggunakan garam, perasan jeruk nipis, taburan bawang goreng, dan menggunakan sambal bawang. Namun dengan bumbu-bumbu yang sangat sederhana tadi justru mampu menggoyang lidah saya, sangat enak di lidah dan diluar dugaan saya. Tekstur daging ayam putih yang sangat empuk dan juicy beserta aroma sambal bawang yang sangat khas sungguh sangat menggugah selera, tanpa dicocol sambal bawang pun rasa daging ayam nya memang sudah gurih dan asin berkat garam yang ditaburkan pada daging ayam. Sate Taichan akan semakin nikmat jika ditambahkan perasaan jeruk nipis, memberikan sensasi segar dan asam bersamaan dengan rasa asin dari daging ayamnnya, dan rasa pedas dari bumbu sambal bawangnya, perpaduan yang sangat pas. Satu porsi Sate Taichan berisi sepuluh tusuk sate daging ayam beserta lontong. Untuk urusan harga masih cukup terjangkau kok, cukup Rp 25.000 saja seporsinya.

In this February 2017 I had the opportunity to taste the food which is recently very popular and its picture always appears in social media, yup Sate Taichan. Sate Taichan that I visited at that time is Sate Taichan Senayan. In the evening, senayan always crowded by many Sate Taichan sellers, so there are so many choices to eat Sate Taichan, but despite many sellers of Sate Taichan in other cities, including Yogyakarta, it still feels less fit, if not taste the food directly on its birthplace, which is Jakarta. It was said that Sate Taichan pioneered by Bang Amir, one of the Sate Taichan sellers in ​​Senayan area, he said he was inspired by Japanese tourists who come to Jakarta and then want to cook his own satay, then when he asked by Bang Amir "what kind of satay?" Then the Japanese tourists answered "Taichan!". The spices of Sate Taichan are also very simple, only use salt, lime juice, deep fried shallot, and onion hot sauce. But with its very simple spices it can shake my tongue. Actually, my mouth is buzzing, and my tongue is just tingling and it’s really beyond my expectations. The texture of white chicken meat was very tender and juicy, and the aroma of onion hot sauce is really mouthwatering, and the chicken itself without dipped in the onion hot sauce had been savory and salty thanks to the salt sprinkled on chicken meat. Sate Taichan will be more delicious when added to lime juice, gives a fresh and sour sensation along with the saltiness of the chicken meat and spicy flavor of the onion hot sauce, very marvelous mixture. One serving of Sate Taichan contains ten skewers chicken satay along with rice cake. The price is still quite affordable anyway, only Rp 25,000 per portion.