Gorontalese cuisine

Gorontalese cuisine

Gorontalo cuisine served for mongaruwa, a remembrance banquet for the deceased
Alternative names	Gorontalo cuisine or Hulontalo cuisine
Course	Main
Place of origin	Indonesia
Region or state	Gorontalo, Gorontalo Peninsula, Sulawesi, Indonesia
Serving temperature	Hot
Main ingredients	seafood, beef, chicken, hot local chilies, and iconic spices

Gorontalese cuisine or Gorontalo cuisine is the traditional cuisine of the Gorontalese People of the Gorontalo Peninsula, North Sulawesi island, Indonesia. ^[1] It is also known as Hulontalo cuisine by perantauan (migrating) Gorontalo people, after "Hulontalo", the name for Gorontalo in the Gorontalo language.

Gorontalese cuisine is known for its fresh seafood, and liberal use of spices and herbs. ^[2]

The strategic location of Gorontalo, with the Celebes Sea and Pacific Ocean to the north and the Gulf of Tomini to the south, made the Gorontalo region a strategic shipping route in the past. This history has formed the roots of a unique and distinctive culture in Gorontalo, including its unique dishes.

Along with the division of Gorontalo into a province and its separation from North Sulawesi, Gorontalo's cuisine has become an increasingly popular and well-recognized as part of Indonesia's national culinary heritage. ^[3]

Traditions and characteristics of Gorontalo cuisine

Gorontalo cuisine is famous for its varied menu of seafood, hot local chilies, and spices. ^[4]

Due to its use of spices, Gorontalo cuisine is often characterized as a simple cuisine with notes of fresh aroma and sweetness, often employing basil and pandan. ^[5]

Gorontalo cuisine has been influenced by other communities who migrated to Gorontalo, such as immigrants from the Arab world, China, and Ternate-Tidore. ^[6] Gorontalo's pastries are also influenced by European culture which brought by the Dutch.

International awards

A Gorontalo recipe book published and popularized by Amanda Katili Niode from the Omar Niode Foundation, which is called "Trailing the Taste of Gorontalo", has received appreciation from national and international culinary activists, including Chef William Wongso and Elena Aniere from Slow Food International. ^[7]

Yantai, China and Frankfurt, Germany

The Gorontalo recipe book "Trailing the Taste of Gorontalo" won the "Best in the World" award at the Gourmand World Cookbook Award in Yantai, China in 2016 for the Asian Cuisine from Asian Books category. ^[8] In addition, this Gorontalese recipe book has the opportunity to appear to represent one of Indonesia's culinary treasures at the Gourmet Gallery in the Frankfurt Book Fair 2016 series, Germany. ^[9]

Cooking techniques and typical spice mixture

Cooking techniques

Traditional cuisines in Gorontalo are often named after cooking techniques. ^[10]

Boiling (ilahe and bilanggahe)

In Gorontalo culinary, the technique of boiling fish or other proteins has a different name from that of boiling carbohydrate foods. The technique of boiling fish, prawn, and meat is named "ilahe", while boiling banana, corn, or taro is named "bilanggahe".

Grilling (ilalango and tilenehu)

As with the process of boiling, protein and carbohydrate dishes have two different names. The technique of grilling protein dishes, such as meat and fish, is called "ilalango", while that of grilling banana, corn, or taro is called "tilenehu".

Frying (tilinanga)

All fried dishes are called "tilinanga". For example, a fried banana is called lambi tilinanga, and a fried fish is called tola tilinanga. One exception is for fried flour-coated bananas, which are called sanggala.

Wrapping (ilepa'o)

The technique of grilling or steaming dishes wrapped in a banana leaf is called "ilepa’o".

Special type of spice mixture

Gorontalo cuisine also has spice mixtures such as pilitode and iloni. ^[11]

Pilitode is a type of Gorontalese gulai sauce and iloni is a type of Gorontalese grilling sauce. Both are made using candlenut, ginger, turmeric and coconut milk. Dishes made with these mixes are often made with fish, chicken, beef, and seafood, as well as banana, cassava, and pumpkin.

List of dishes

Local Name	Image	English name	Notes
Ayam iloni
Binte biluhuta		Sweet-Corn Soup
Sate tuna		Tuna Satay
Sate balanga		Wok Satay
Bilentango		Chili Split-Fish
Sagela		Sagela
Tabu moitomo		Gorontalese Black Beef Soup
Ilahe		Gorontalese Sour Fish Soup
Nasi kuning gorontalo		Gorontalese Turmeric Rice
Ilabulo		Ilabulo
Ikan bakar gorontalo		Gorontalese Fish Grill
Sambal goreng sapi
Pilitode

References

1. Noho, Y., Husain, D. and Kadir, R., 2020, December. Gastronomic Tourism Development in Gorontalo Province. In Proceedings of International Interdisciplinary Conference on Sustainable Development Goals (IICSDGs) (Vol. 3, No. 1, pp. 41-47).
2. Albala, K. ed., 2016. At the Table: Food and Family around the World: Food and Family around the World. ABC-CLIO.
3. "Exploring the Land of Spices, Discovering the Taste of Gorontalo". www.worldfoodtravel.org. 2018-04-10. Retrieved 2023-07-07.
4. "Gorontalo and its Traditional Culinary". www.indonesia-tourism.com. Retrieved 2023-07-09.
5. Darmawati, D. and Wahyuni, D., 2022, September. Language Shift: Gorontalo Culinary Names and Spices in the Construction of Identity. In International Forum on Spice Route 2022.
6. "Ebook Memilih Makanan Ramah Iklim". Omar Niode Foundation. Retrieved 2023-07-08.
7. "New Book: Trailing the Taste of Gorontalo". Omar Niode Foundation. Retrieved 2023-07-07.
8. "Trailing the Taste of Gorontalo wins Gourmand World Cookbook Award 2016". Omar Niode Foundation. Retrieved 2023-07-07.
9. "GOURMAND INTERNATIONAL". www.cookbookfair.com. Retrieved 2023-07-08.
10. Darmawati, D. and Wahyuni, D., 2022, September. LANGUAGE SHIFT: GORONTALO CULINARY NAMES AND SPICES IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF IDENTITY. In International Forum on Spice Route 2022.
11. Niode, Amanda Katili, and Zahra Khan. Memilih Makan Ramah Iklim +39 Resep Gorontalo. Omar Niode Foundation, Gorontalo (2021).