Page 77 - EBOOK_Jamu: The Ancient Indonesian Art of Herbal Healing

dried directly by fire or under the sun.” Rejected leaves are thrown out, not, as in the case of some
factories, recycled with chemical additives.
“I run a traditional business and refuse to have synthetic materials tangled up in the production
process,” he says. Generally, his success rate is high and patients report a marked improvement after
the first month of taking tempuyung. With the assistance of Professor Dr Ismadi (the Head of
Biochemistry at Gadjah Mada University in Yogyakarta), Bapak Partono works hard to ensure
ongoing quality control and is also looking at ways of improving his growing methods.

As a culinary flavouring, galangal appears in many Indonesian dishes such
as rendang and curry, or in fish and chicken recipes. It is a cornerstone in South
Sulawesi’s hearty beef stews for which the province is famous. One advantage of
galangal is its ability to grow almost anywhere, although it thrives in a dry,
sunny spot. For culinary use, the rhizome is dug up two-and-a-half to three
months after planting; left in the ground any longer, it becomes unpleasantly
fibrous. Greater galangal grows to a height of around two metres (six feet) and
its rhizome turns from pale pinkish purple when young, to orangey red when
mature. It has a fresh smell and tastes of ginger and pepper, with a hint of sour
lemon.

Temu lawak (or temu besar; Curcuma xanthorrhiza)
This useful rhizome has no common English name, the nearest translation of its
Javanese name being old rhizome, from temu (rhizome) and lawak (old).

However, the other Indonesian name, temu besar meaning big rhizome, is an
accurate description. Like turmeric and galangal, its prime function is to
stimulate digestion and release bile from the gall bladder. It is also popular for a
range of ailments from diarrhoea and constipation, to fever, muscle spasms and
skin complaints; it increases the flow of milk during breastfeeding and improves
blood circulation.
The deep yellow colour of temu lawak may explain why it is often
prescribed for jaundice and liver complaints, as per the doctrine of signatures
theory mentioned earlier. It is also blessed with a pungent smell and bitter taste.
Like any other jamu remedy, temu lawak ’s properties change depending on what
goes into the mixture. For example, for years Indonesians have cured itchy skin

by mixing desiccated sap from the stem of a mousedeer’s eye plant (mata
pelandok; Ardisia elliptica) with coconut oil and temu lawak.

RED RICE MAKES A COMEBACK

Decades ago, millions of young Indonesians were brought up on beras merah or red rice, as it was a