Rice & Kencur Herbal Drink Ambon

Rice Kencur is a traditional drink that is widely known on the island of Java, especially Central Java and East Java. This traditional drink is a variation of jamu gendong, an ancestral heritage that has been better known in Java for hundreds of years.

Kencur rice has properties to increase appetite. If you don't believe it, please see for yourself. Drink rice kencur when your stomach is empty, guaranteed for a while then you will feel more hungry and if you don't eat food immediately, your body will become weak. This is from personal experience he he. Suitable for those of you who want to gain weight.

For those who are on a diet, don't worry, a glass of herbal rice kencur can also be enjoyed in hot weather as a refreshing drink.

Material:

150 gr rice, soak in cold water for at least 6 hours
200 gr kencur, wash, peel
50 gr ginger
2 limes
50 gr tamarind meat
500 gr coconut sugar or palm sugar (not brown sugar from cane)
250 gr of sugar
1 tsp salt or according to taste
4 liters of water

Important Tips:

Never store kencur in the refrigerator let alone in the freezer. Guaranteed within 1-2 days kencur will be sluggish and damaged.

For those of you who live in LN and want to bring kencur from Indonesia as stock, store kencur in a closed cardboard container, put the cardboard in a dry but dark room so that the kencur does not grow. From my experience, the kencur remains good / does not wilt or become porous until 9 months later.

How to make Rice Kencur :

Soak the rice overnight or at least 6 hours beforehand. Set aside.
Slice or comb the coconut sugar so it dissolves easily.
Put the water in a large saucepan with the coconut sugar and tamarind, then boil until it boils and all the ingredients are dissolved.
After boiling, add sugar and a little salt, stir well. Remove from the heat and let it cool, then filter it.
If necessary, squeeze or press the tamarind dregs in the filter so that all the juice comes out.
Wash kencur with cold water. Peel kencur and ginger skin.
(If you are lazy to peel the kencur, blend it together with the skin, provided that the kencur is washed until it is completely clean and free of sand, it still tastes good).
Wash again with hot water then slice thinly.
Discard the rice soaking water, drain.
Put the rice, sliced kencur, ginger and 300 ml of cold boiled water into the blender.
Blend all the ingredients until they become a smooth mush.
Strain the kencur rice porridge and take the water or juice. Mix with sour sugar solution while stirring.
(Important Tip: Mix the kencur rice solution when the sugar solution is completely cold, otherwise the solution will become mush because the rice flour is hot and cooked ;-)
Add lime juice. Taste, if necessary add sugar solution as needed.
Put it in a bottle or tupperware, close it tightly and store it in the refrigerator. Shake every time to pour into a glass.

Notes

It’s really important to leave the sugar water to completely cool before mixing it with blended kencur and rice. Otherwise the rice will coagulate and become porridge.

Store beras kencur in a clean, dry glass bottle to prevent bacteria. It will stay fresh for around 5 days in the refrigerator.