Although Indonesians rarely use ginger in their cuisine, they swear by the healing powers of the root which brought life to the gingerbread man and bam to the salmon filet. It’s frequently added to medications and medicinal beverages such as jamu- the Indonesian drink which allegedly solves all health problems, including lack of virility (so long as your beverage includes a crocodile penis). And for good reason- ginger is great for alleviating colds and nausea, and to boot, its wonderful on the pallet.
The testicle-free jamu is fine, but my beverage of choice is the humble ginger tea. I have made ginger tea in America before, but always with underwhelming results- bland with only the slightest hint of spice that I craved. Then one day, after throwing up seaweed pudding and breakfast into my Indonesian neighbor’s toilet, I was introduced to ginger tea as it should be. My neighbor, a former-scout leader and herb-connoisseur, fixed me the perfect cup of spicy, golden ginger tea that dissipated all nausea and made me realize for the first time, that no two gingers are equal.
I later learned that there are over 1,000 varieties of ginger, but in Indonesia, there are three main kinds to look for. There’s the fat one, appropriately named jahe gajah (elephant ginger) and also known as jahe raja (king). There’s jahe mera (red), used for jamu and other herbal drinks. Surprise! It’s got a reddish tint. And finally, there’s jahe kuning (yellow)- the slim, spicy root that tastes so perfect when boiled as tea. The tricky thing about this little guy is that it’s not very yellow looking. The best way to pick out a good jahe kuning, is to peal a bit of the skin off with your finger and smell. If it smells bland, your tea will taste accordingly, but if it smells spicy, you know you’ve hit the jackpot. Here’s the simplest recipe for a sip of heaven.
Perfect ginger tea (one serving):
Bring one cup of water to rapid boil
Peal one slice of jahe kuning about the size of your thumb
Slice down the middle then crush. To do this, I usually just put the flat end of the knife on the ginger, then pound it with my fist a few times.
Add ginger to water and lower heat
Let simmer for 10 minutes or until tea turns golden
Your tea is ready to drink!
You can add a tea bag for extra flavor (black tea is fine, but I like vanilla tea), raw sugar, or honey
Selamat Minum!
