A block of red oncom | |
| Course | Main course |
|---|---|
| Place of origin | Indonesia |
| Region or state | West Java |
| Associatedcuisine | Indonesia |
Oncom (IPA:ɔnˈtʃɔm) is afermented food which is one of the traditionalstaples ofthe Sundanesecuisine ofIndonesia. There are two kinds of oncom:red oncom andblack oncom. The food is closely related totempeh; both are fermented usingmold.[1]
Usually, oncom is made from theby-products of the production of other foods:soy pulp left over from makingtofu,peanutpress cake residue after theoil has beenpressed out,cassava tailings after extracting thestarch (aci sampeu),coconut press cake remaining after the oil has been pressed out or whencoconut milk has been produced. Since oncom production usesby-products to make food, it increases theeconomic efficiency offood production.
Black oncom is made by usingRhizopus oligosporus while red oncom is made by usingNeurospora intermedia var.oncomensis.[2] It is the only traditional human food produced fromNeurospora.
Red oncom has been found to reduce thecholesterol levels of rats.[3]
In the production of oncom, sanitation and hygiene are important to avoid contaminating the culture withbacteria or otherfungi likeAspergillus flavus (which producesaflatoxin).Neurospora intermedia var. oncomensis andRhizopus oligosporus reduce the aflatoxin produced byAspergillus flavus.[4] However, aflatoxin-producing molds (Aspergillus spp.) are often naturally present on peanut press cake. Furthermore, coconut press cake can harbor the very dangerousBurkholderia gladioli, which produces two highly toxic compounds –bongkrek acid andtoxoflavin.William Shurtleff and Akiko Aoyagi address toxicity in theirbook section on oncom.
While it is known thatsoybeans are the best substrate for growingR. oligosporus to producetempeh, oncom has not been as thoroughly studied; the best fermentation substrates for producing oncom are not yet known.[citation needed]
Oncom can be prepared and cooked in various ways. It can be simply deep fried asgorengan fritters, seasoned and cooked in abanana leaf pouch aspepes, or roasted, seasoned, and mixed with steamed rice asnasi tutug oncom.[5] Oncom is also a selected filling forcomro,lontong andarem-arem rice dumplings.Comro in particular is a popularSundanese snack, the name was an abbreviation ofoncom di jero which means "oncom inside".[6]