Holiday Ayo - Se'i Meat or Se'i is a smoked meat dish originating from the Province of East Nusa Tenggara. In the Rote language, se'i means meat that is cut into small pieces lengthwise, then smoked with coals until cooked.

This dish is made from meat that is cooked by heating it using hot smoke that comes from firewood. If it is burned normally, the distinctive smoked taste of the sei will disappear and the meat can no longer be called sei.

Processing by means of this smoke aims to extend the durability of the meat. The goal is none other than so that the meat can be stored longer.

The finished smoked meat can be eaten immediately by slicing it thinly. However, if this meat has been stored for several days, it must be re-fried, or cooked in a stir-fry of papaya flowers and other vegetables.

Se’i meat will be put in a special smoking room and cooked in it. The smoke will cook and shrink the meat by 20-30 percent. It took about 2 hours for the meat to fully cook.

Usually se’i is often served with a typical NTT sauce called sambal luat which consists of sliced garlic, red onions, and chilies.

In addition to the luat sauce, there is also a se’i dish with various Indonesian chili sauces, such as chili rica-rica to chili matah.

Meanwhile, the companion vegetable for sei is rumpu rampe. Stir-fry from papaya flowers, Moringa leaves, young papaya fruit, papaya leaves, cassava leaves, and banana hearts.

Se'i was originally made from wild boar meat. One that is known is the se’I pig from Teunbaun, an area located approximately 40 kilometers from the city of Kupang.

The people of NTT prefer to use wild boar meat because the texture of the meat is dense and does not contain much fat. The indigenous people of NTT used to believe that wild pork tasted better than farmed pigs. The reason is, farmed pigs have a high-fat content and arguably less meat than wild pigs.

The texture of wild pork is also very dense and will not be tough if it is processed properly.
However, there are now alternatives to se'i with beef, chicken, or even fish ingredients.

Se’i has become increasingly popular in the last two years, being sold in big cities in Indonesia such as Jakarta, Semarang, Surabaya, Bandung, and Yogyakarta. Se’i frozen is also easy to find in e-commerce.

The average price of this se'i ranges from IDR 50,000 – IDR 100,000 per portion.