Translations:Lontong/7/en

Preparation

Wrapped lontongs with satay selling in Java, Indonesia

Uncooked and cooked lontong made in perforated plastic pouches

Lontong is traditionally made by boiling the rice until it is partially cooked and then packing it tightly into a rolled-up banana leaf. The leaf is secured with lidi semat, a wooden needle made from the central rib of a coconut leaf, and cooked in boiling water for about 90 minutes. Once the compacted rice has cooled, it can be cut up into bite-sized pieces. Outer parts of lontong usually have a greenish color because of the chlorophyll left by the banana leaf rubbing off on the rice cake surface.

Unwrapped lontong. Different colors depend on the banana leaf which is used as the wrapper is a typically Indonesian lontong.

Alternative ways of cooking lontong include placing uncooked rice into a muslin bag and then letting the water seep in and cause the rice to form a solid mass. Another popular and easier method is by using commercially available plastic pouches; rice-filled and punctured with a needle to create small holes to allow the water to seep into the package, which are then boiled until the rice becomes cooked and has filled up the pouch. This method was meant to imitate the banana leaf's liquid permeability. Nevertheless, the use of organic banana leaves is highly recommended for better health and ecological reasons.