President Soekarno And His Passion For Cassava Leaf Vegetables

President Soekarno and Vice President Mohammad Hatta at a banquet at the Lingarjati Agreement (Wikimedia Commons)

JAKARTA - President Soekarno never bothered about food. The taste is simple. He likes all kinds of Indonesian specialties. Especially cassava leaf vegetables. Every day the first President of Indonesia, who is familiarly called Bung Karno, likes to eat cassava leaf vegetables.

The menu should at least be on the dining table. He also often promotes cassava leaf vegetables to state guests. All because Bung Karno believed that cassava leaves contain high nutrition. Bung Karno even encouraged the Indonesian people to plant cassava. Cheap too.

Soekarno liked the momentum of being on the dining table. He was happy to see the food placed one by one on the table. Moreover, the food is arranged in an interesting way. He immediately admired the beauty in every regularity of the food served.

This order will be even more complete when the food served is Indonesian specialties. His appetite can immediately increase. After that, an interesting discussion was presented.

It's a different thing if Bung Karno saw the food from the west that was served. The owner of the food will be scolded by him. For him, serving foreign food is the same as dwarfing the passionate taste that inspires local food.

President Soekarno and Mrs. Fatmawati. (Wikimedia Commons)

This attitude of anti-Western food is in accordance with Bung Karno's daily behavior. He often asks to cook simple food. The vegetables are also adapted to the plants in the yard. He repeatedly stressed that he did not eat expensive food.

His wife, Fatmawati, agreed with this statement. Megawati's mother was never bothered by her husband's appetite. The woman who is familiarly called Ibu Fat sometimes cooks her own food for Big Brother. He also memorized the foods that often filled the dining table.

“Before the presidential household staff was formed, I cooked myself for the family. Bung Karno always asked me to cook his favorite foods myself, such as bamboo shoot lodeh, rendang, fish balado, pecel, fried tempeh, catfish sauce, gado-gado, fried anchovies, yellow fish, cassava leaf paste, and others. ”

“Six months after I lived in the Presidential Building (Yogyakarta), then the household staff was formed, with the equipment. Public kitchen for employees and special kitchen for receptions. The interior is used for receptions and cabinet offices. At the back of the reception room there is a dinner room (big banquet)," said Fat Mother in a small notebook with Bung Karno (2016).

Cassava Leaf Vegetable

Maybe President Soekarno liked a lot of Indonesian specialties. However, there is no food that makes Bung Karno fall in love like enjoying cassava leaf vegetables. The menu must be there every time Bung Karno eats.

His passion for young cassava leaves is trying to be passed on to his relatives. Slowly, Soekarno's desire to promote young cassava leaves began to expand. All Indonesian people are asked to plant cassava. For the sake of nutritional adequacy, he thought.

Bung Karno always asked for young cassava leaf vegetables to be served every time there were state guests. Those who tasted it also admitted that they liked it and were proud. Because Bung Karno is said to be the first president to introduce young cassava leaf vegetables to them.

However, President Soekarno's request to serve young cassava leaves once made the palace cook dizzy. They were confused when they couldn't find any more young cassava leaves. Instead of not cooking, the cook then gave President Soekarno some old cassava leaves.

President Soekarno's favorite vegetable curry with cassava leaves. (Asian Food Network)

Big Brother could not contain his anger. Because, what he asked for was quite simple food. Moreover, Jakarta is a large area. Which, it is impossible for all places to have cassava trees with old leaves.

"Indeed, yes, a bit of pride. Is it true that in all of Jakarta there are no young cassava leaves? Why did Bung Karno like cassava leaf vegetables? Bung Karno said, cassava leaves, like fern leaves, have excellent nutrition, number one in the world. All vegetables are nutritionally inferior to cassava leaves. This is according to an investigation from an overseas laboratory. Incidentally, the taste is also delicious according to Indonesian tastes.”

"Looking at Bung Karno's choice of food, whether it be cassava leaves, tempeh, tofu, or even honey, it is clear that these foods contain a lot of nutrients. Moreover, for people like Bung Karno who work hard, use their brains, he really need additional calories," wrote Agus Dermawan T. in the book Fairy Tales from Dullah (2020).