insidesumatera.com | tourism & lifestyle magazine

Haji Danarto, an artist born in Seragen (Central Java) ever called from Jakarta asking for kacang sihobuk, the peanut which becomes well-known snack from Tarutung. Some say that the former Presiden Gus Dur admitted that kacang sihobuk tastes different from other peanuts he knows. Though still unofficially marketed and limited in number, kacang sihobuk can be “found” in some places in Medan. However, some buyers from abroad such as Malaysia, prefer ordering them via agents who have direct contact with the genuine producers from Tarutung town. Taste will not lie. Different place, different culture. Different peanut will have different taste also. Kacang sihobuk do not born out of brand, but it has special taste. Without tasting it, there is no way that we could tell the difference from other peanuts. A tourist from Holland ever visited the making place and amazed by the taste of these peanuts. The tourist described that the peanuts made us addicted to them. The more we eat, the greater our desire would be on eating more and more of them as if our tongue reluctant to stop its activity. Kacang sihobuk taste different from other peanuts, which taste mainly on its saltiness or sweetness. The combination of both tastes seems to be reduced through some process of making them. Despites the reduction process, the taste of kacang sihobuk remains a mystery. There is an indescribable taste which beyond words. Why that good? People often wonder. In plastic package the price vary started from Rp 3,000 up to Rp 20,000. Some are sold in tin container, which reach the price of Rp 100,000. The price does not need to be questioned due to the taste they give. Now, we will have a glimpse on the making process. The kinds of peanuts used for sihobuk is the best in quality. The peanuts must have thick skin. This is meant to avoid the peanuts from getting burn while processed. It is said that the thin skin will get burn easily while the seed still raw. The thick skin peanuts were place in the bucket of water for one night, the bucket is covered with cloth or sack. Some producers add some salt in the water but some do not do this since they are afraid the salty water might damage the cooking pot. Later, the peanuts are fried without oil along with sand in it depends on the amount of peanuts fried. Three cans of peanuts require three scales of sand. The cooking process could take two hours. Before cooked we should drain the soaked peanuts first. In Frying the peanuts and sand, the makers use iron frying pan heated using firewood. The frying pan is the special one. The weight of the pan could 10 kg with 1 cm thick with diameters of only half meters. The pan is specially ordered from blacksmith. The cook should not stop mixing the peanuts and sand during the frying process and should keep the speed of hands and frying spoon stabile. This should be done until half minutes to transfer the heat of the sand onto the peanuts. Therefore, the peanuts absorb the heat from two sources, the pan and the sand. The cook quite sweated cooking that way. Lately, they have another trick. Some of the cooks are using tin container that could be spin using gas stove. However, this efficiency cannot guarantee the crunchy taste of the sihobuk peanuts. After considered done, the peanuts are separated from the sand. Before packing process, there is another selecting process. All of these are meant to ensure the quality. An economic wisdom, which appear traditionally. If you are interested on seeing the process directly, you may go to Tarutung, the capital city of North Tapanuli regency. The producing places scattered in some location such as Silangkitang, Peanajagar, Pardangguran, Hutabarat, Ugan, and of course in its original village, Sihobuk. Long before, every time we pass the Sihobuk village, we would hear the “ “frying pan concert” since dawn. However, after the landslide disaster, the name kacang sihobuk becomes well-known everywhere.