An Eglish version of "Jagung Titi", Emping Flores yang Renyah dan Gurih di Lida hhttps://www.kompasiana.com/muhammad68947/5c553aea12ae9420474dbed2/jagung-titi-emping-flores-yang-renyah- dangurih-di-lidah oleh Pion Ratulolly Translated by SuksinLavigne,( January 31st,2023)
Every place, surely has their unique and special characteristic of food. Palembang has Empek-empek, Bengkulu has Pendap. Jakkarta has kerak Telor, Jogja has Gudeg.Makasssar has Konro. Palu has Kaledo. Manado has Bubur Manado,Papua has Sagu and Papeda. Well, for Flores Timur, Lembata, Alor, they have traditional culinary that it called Jagung Titii (wata bit'ing or wata knaeng).
Jagung Titi is kind of chips that made of corn. It is consumed as a snack although it is a main food for local people. Its texture is dry and could be saved for months so it is always brought in the way of trip. It is also given as a gift/handcrift for the sight-seer who come to those places.
Wata Bit'ing said as a traditional culinary because not only the process is traditionally but also the tool. It does not need many tools or workers. It only needs one person as a worker (generally married woman), corn as a main ingredient, a kewik/tembikar (a small pan that made of coarse baked clay) ,a hearth or small fireplace for cooking the corn and two stones (one stone is big,flat and wide. The other one is round and small as we can hold it).
Here is the steps: First, select the corn . the corn should be a ripe corn. All type of corn could be used but people always use a waxy corn as a great type of corn. Its texture just like a glutinous rice that smooth and delicious. For a small basin of watabit'ing needs about 7 cobs of corn. Then, the corns taken out from its cob. Put it in one basin. Do not wash it because it will ruin the quality. Remember that the corn should be dry to make it crispy. Secondly, turn on the fire on the fireplace with the small woods.They use a fireplace because the capasity of fire is better and easier to be controlled than do with the stove, more than that it affects the taste of Wata Bit'ing. Thirdly, when the fireplace is burning well, put the kewik on the fireplace. Wait for couple minutes then put some grains of corns (a handful of corns) into the kewik (it is frying without oil) then stir it well by a bald of cob (do not use a spoon or other stainless tools). Do not stop stirring until the corns ripe well. if it stop for a while the corns could be burnt or unevenly riped. When the corn make a small sound of an exposion means it riped well. Lastly, take out some grains of that riped corn by left bare hand and put them on the flat big stone and forge them harder by small stones in the right hand.Plak!!! sound is made. This last process is done fastly so the rest of riped corn would not be burnt. Slightly those grains of corn changed to small,flat crispy. When that crispy is full on the big flat stone those crispy then move to the small tray (made of palmyra palm leaves). Do it continuously until the that corns are run out.
This Wata bit'ing can be consumed directly as a main menu. It will be more delicious if there are eaten with fish,vegetable such as cabbage, tomato, and eggplant (usually cooked as a salad or in local language they called it lawar) as a side dish. Some people prefer consume it as a snack or cake plus coffee or tee in their coffee break time.
Jagung Titi can be kept for long time and to make it more crunchy you could dry them under the sun, bake them in the oven with margarine, fry them with coconut oil. You can also recooked and add some spices to make it spicy,salty, or any other taste based on your appetite.
In the traditional market, this Wata Bit'ing is quite expensive for the local people. One medium plastic bag (1 kg) is Rp100.000. Now days, many people buy them and repackaged into small package then resell them by Rp10.000 to Rp20.000 for each.