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Food

We Asked People About What The Way They Eat Food Says About Their Personality

Do all lazy people mix bubur with toppings? Has a fight ever started over chicken skin?

Indonesians tend to get more heated over food than they do about the most recent corruption scandal. The conversations around the distinct methods of eating food—whether to mix all the toppings with bubur (a porridge dish served with many sides) or to mix soto (a thick stew-like dish) with rice, or to save the chicken skins for last—are more heated that presidential debates.

I can only hope there's a bright future for Indonesia where people no longer care if the bubur is mixed with all the toppings or if soto is served in the same bowl with rice or the raging debate whether chicken skins should be saved for last.

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To help shed light on the debate, VICE Indonesia got in touch with three people to weigh in on how food should be eaten and what it says about their personalities.

Arman Dhani - Writer

How do you eat bubur and soto?
I don't stir my bubur toppings, and I mix the rice and soto. People in Jakarta tend to put their rice and soto on separate plates, but in East Java people mix them together. First the cook puts rice in the bowl, then the toppings, and finally they pour the stew over everything. I'm also the type of person who would save the skin for last when eating fried chicken.

Why do you think you do that?
If I stirred all my toppings together, it would look gross, it would look like baby vomit. Everything—the shredded chicken, onion crackers, and nuts—would be soggy, and it's just so ugly. It might not taste bad, but if it looks like baby vomit, then I wouldn't want to eat it.

What about the way you eat the soto?
It's different with soto, I like it mixed with the rice. I think it's okay because soto mixed with the rice in one bowl doesn't look ugly. But I guess it's also because that's the way the serve it in East Java, we eat the rice and stew together.

Only after I moved to Jakarta did Iearn there was another way to eat soto. In Jakarta cooks ask, "Would you like your soto and rice in one same bowl or separated?" For me it that mean double effort to eat soto and the rice from separate bowls. I mean, the point is to taste both the stew and the rice, right? So why not mix both? I think this is a popular opinion. Some soto purists wouldn't even add soy sauce to their bowl, just a squeeze of lime, and you're set.

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Are there any other ways of eating chicken stew, besides the two ways we have mentioned?
There's also the Lamongan way. That's where you add lots of koya (crushed prawn chips) to make the stew thicker. In Surabaya, people add chicken guts instead of koya. There's so many ways of eating soto.

But what about Chinese bubur and yellow broth bubur?
Right. Chinese bubur isn't served with broth because it's trying to highlight the buru. But soto is a more complicated matter than bubur. Some people would say, "You add soy sauce to your soto? We can't be friends!"

Wow. Why would people say that?
Some people think the way someone eats bubur tells a lot about his or her personality. For example, there's a belief that if you mix all the toppings in the bubur, that means you want an easy life, it's nonsense.

What's your take on crispy chicken skin?
I was raised in a house where we ate three times a day, without snacks in between.  Usually, we could only eat chicken for dinner; it's a special menu. It's a very personal experience for me. We always ate free-range poultries, not because we're rich, but because we raised them. Free-range chickens have less skin when compared to a broiler chicken. I was really saving it for last, I would separate the crispy skin from the meat. When I finally ate the skin at the end, it tasted like victory.

Chicken skin isn't half as complex as soto or bubur. People would only debate on whether to eat it first or last, right? In my personal assumption, those who save chicken skin for last have a pretty rough life. I imagine they would appreciate the best part of a dish, to truly save the best for last.

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Say you were saving it for last and then somebody just took it from your plate. What would you do?
I'd totally fight that person!

Budiman Sujatmiko - Politician/Activist

Do you mix all the toppings when eating bubur?
I mix everything along with the chili sauce—that's how I've done it since I was a kid. But I wouldn't mix it for too long, otherwise the garlic chips will get soggy. That's the way I have my bubur because I want everything to blend together. I'd like to taste the chili sauce, the soy sauce, the onion crackers, and the melinjo crackers in every spoon. I really just want everything to blend well.

And why is that?
Because everything is related.

What can you tell about someone's personality from his/her way of eating such dishes?
I think the way somebody eats is related with his or her culture. For example, Japanese people slurp their soup. I personally think people who eat expressively are more fun and open to talk with, but it may not be accurate.

Do you eat your soto mixed with the rice?
I eat the soto and the rice from different bowls. It's just that I really love soto, so I like to be able to taste it without rice. Sometimes the soto is so good that if it's mixed with rice it's going to ruin everything.

How do you eat your chicken skin?
I'm not crazy about chicken skin, I'd just eat it with the meat. If it were duck skin, I would save it for last.

Why?
Ducks have very savory, crispy skin. Chicken skin is not special to me, I think it's better eaten with the meat. Duck skin, however, is special. So crispy.

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Hannah Al Rashid - Actor/Activist

Are you the type of person who mixes all your toppings with bubur?
It depends on where I buy it. Sometimes it gets too salty or too sweet [when mixed] and it would taste off balance. I rather try to balance it myself, taking a little bit of plain bubur, a little bit of this, a little bit of that, instead of mixing everything up. So if I want to add anything it's not too late.

Is there an philosophy behind your choice?
For example, If I see someone eating bakso (meatball soup) and they put so much sweet soy sauce, chili, and everything, it looks a little gross.

How do you like your soto?
I like my soto separated from the rice because, really, I'm a fussy eater. Otherwise, it's difficult to get the right consistency between the stew and the rice. I tend to pour too much stew and the rice gets soggy—so I'd rather not. I don't eat that much rice anyway, so if I mix it with the soto, it's a waste, I'd rather take it slow.

Do you think the way someone eats tell a lot about their personality?
I think so. That being said, I am a fussy eater and a control freak. I want to be in control of everything. I think people who mix everything are more carefree and chill.

Do you save your chicken skin for last?
Usually I would save the best for last. Especially if it's KFC, I definitely save the skin for last. If they were just selling chicken skins, I would buy it because it tastes so good. If anyone took my chicken skin I'd get so furious!

Why would you get so furious?
I feel like, "Don't touch that, I'm really leaving it for the last, I'm saving the best for the last".

What does that say about your personality?
I think people who do that have taste. And they want to give themselves a treat at the end of a meal, chicken skins are like the pièce de résistance of a meal.

Do you do that with other dishes?
I do that with any dish, I even save the fat from a lamb chop for last. I save all the best for last, like if it was dessert.