Batak berry

Berries from the Batak Kingdom !

Batak berries are harvested in the wild in North Sumatra in Indonesia by the Batak or Toba people. They grow on a thorny bush: the zanthoxylum acanthopodium, related to the Szechuan berrries. The Batak people are renowned in Indonesia for being great musicians and orators, but also for their architecture and for constantly challenging Indonesian authorities. They live together in communities in regions bordering lake Toba.

The berries are also called "Andaliman pepper" or "Bataks pepper". They grow at altitudes of 1,500m north of Tapanuli and Samosir, near lake Toba. This region is known as the "Batak Kingdom".

The traditional Batak dish is "Ikan mas arsik" or "Goldfish with Arsik sauce" which is made from carps fished from lake Toba. The carps are cooked in a wok and served with a sauce seasoned with torch ginger, shallots, garlic, galanga, lemon grass, turmeric, and chilli.