Makanan Khas Indonesia

Traditional Food in Indonesia

1.        Pempek

Pempek, mpek-mpek or empek-empek is a savoury fishcake delicacy from Palembang, Indonesia, made of fish and tapioca. Pempek is served with yellow noodles and a dark, rich sweet and sour sauce called kuah cuka or kuah cuko (lit. vinegar sauce).

Pempek is the best-known of Palembang's dishes. Its origin is undoubtly Palembang, however the history behind the creation of this savoury dish is unclear. According to local tradition, around the 16th century there was an old Chinese immigrant who lived near the Musi river. He noticed an abundance of fish caught by the local fishermen. In the Sumatran tropical climate, before the invention of refrigeration technology, most of these unsold leftover fish decayed and were wasted. The indigenous people, however had limited knowledge and techniques for processing fish. During that period, most of the indigenous people simply grilled, fried or boiled their fish instead of adding other ingredients to make new dishes. The old Chinese man mixed in some tapioca and other spices, which he then sold around the village on his cart. The people referred to this old man as 'pek-apek, where apek is a Chinese slang word to call an old man. The food is known today as empek-empek or pempek.

Another theory suggests that pempek was a Palembang adaptation of Southern Chinese ngo hiang or kekkian (fish slice) as a surimi (魚漿, yújiāng) based food. But instead of being served in soup or plainly fried, pempek is notable for its spicy palm sugar-vinegar based sauce.

Source :  http://culinary-id.blogspot.com/2013/05/pempek-indonesian-delicious-food.html

2.        Bika Ambon

Bika Ambon is a dessert from Indonesia. Made from ingredients such as tapioca flour, eggs, sugar, yeast and coconut milk, Bika Ambon generally sold in pandan flavour, although now available also other flavors like banana, durian, cheese, chocolate.

The yeast creates bubbles, which gives it a unique spongy texture when it is baked.

Although the name contains the word "Ambon", the name of an island and its largest city, Bika Ambon is widely known as the specialty cake of Medan in North Sumatra and often brought as a gift by those whom visited the city. The origins of Bika Ambon are not known, however there is some speculation that they came to Medan through Ambonese traders, where the locals took a liking to it. Mojopahit Street, Medan Petisah is a most famous sales region of Bika Ambon in Medan, North Sumatra. There are at least 40 stores that sell this kind of cake.

Bika Ambon is also made popular recently around the central Java. Thanks to few retail shops such as Larizo who sells various Indonesian traditional cakes.

Source : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bika_Ambon

3.        Nagasari

Nagasari is a traditional steamed cake made from rice flour, coconut milk and sugar, filled with slices of banana. It is usually wrapped in banana leaves before being steamed, or prepared with pandan that gives it aroma. It is commonly eaten as a snack in Indonesia where it is also known as kue bandang-bandang by Bugis people. Sometimes it is simply called as kue pisang (banana cake).

Nagasari sometimes appear in different colors, with white being its normal color. Red Nagasari contains palm sugar, blue one has Clitoria ternatea for coloring, and green one uses Pleomele angustifolia (syn. Dracaena angustifolia). Kue Nagasari is commonly sold in Indonesian traditional market as one of jajan pasar (market munchies), sold together with other popular traditional cakes such as klepon, onde-onde, bika Ambon, lapis legit and pastel.

Source : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nagasari

4.        Rawon

Rawon is sometimes dubbed as Indonesian beef black soup, and it pretty much covers the description. The dark soup is produced by the use of an ingredient called buah kluwek orbuah picung or Pangium edule in Latin. This kind of nuts is believed to be an original Indonesian spice, and it is quite popular in Southeast Asia. Use properly, and the nuts will be the saviour of the dish. Use wrongly, it can ruin your meal. The key is the choosing process, and the best nuts are the old ones, which are light weighted.

Apart from the nuts, various other spices such as galangal, turmeric roots, candle nut, bay leaves, lemongrass, ginger, coriander, and cumin, are also used to obtain rich, deep flavour of the broth. A bowl of rawon is usually served with fried shallots, small beansprouts, warm rice, salted egg, crackers, and some fiery sambal (grounded chilli paste/sauce).

Origin and history

Rawon is a pride dish from Surabaya, the capital city of East Java. There are several similar dishes in the other areas in Indonesia, such as kuah pucung in Jakarta and palu kalua in Makassar. Apparently, rawon was commoners' food in the past, but surprisingly it became popular among the royal members as well, due to the high popularity it had from every walks of life.

Formerly, the dish only used sliced or cubed beef, but nowadays we can easily find menus like rawon buntut (ox-tail rawon) or rawon lidah (ox-tongue rawon) in restaurant menus.

Source : http://irenesgettingfat.blogspot.com/2013/03/indonesian-culinary-gems-rawon.html

5.        Gudeg

Gudeg is the special food of Jogja. The main ingredients are young jackfruit cooked with coconut milk, teak leaves, Indonesian bay-leaf / Indonesian laurel, galangal, and other spices cooked in the oven about 100 degrees centigrade for 24 hours. Usually, Jogja gudeg is served complete with tofu, tempeh, duck eggs, shredded chicken meat, and of course white rice.

That said, the history of gudeg begins from the time of the opening Mentaok Forest in Kotagede Jogjakarta to built the Palace of Islamic Mataram Kingdom. In the forest, many jackfruit trees grow, in addition there are many palm trees grew on the edge of the forest and river. As a result, the pioneer of Mataram created a food, named gudeg and became main menu of Mataram society at that time.

There are some main ingredients to make gudeg such as manggar gudeg(coconut tree flowers), jackfruit gudeg, and bamboo gudeg (bamboo saplings are still young). However, due to young jackfruit is more easily found in the gardens belong to the people of Jogja, so jackfruit gudeg is more easily found in Jogja. In the past, people in Jogja only knew one kind of gudeg, the wet gudeg. The dry gudeg is well known around 1950. This was after the people from outside Jogja began carrying it as souvenirs.

You can easily find gudeg in the Wijilan Street, east of the Jogjakarta palace. As souvenirs, you can choose dry gudeg that will be durable for 3 days with packaging using 'besek' (basket of woven bamboo) or use the 'kendil' (urn of baked clay). Even more unique, some gudeg seller in the Wijilan street will be happy to show the gudeg making process to the visitors. In addition the Wijilan street, you can find gudeg in some restaurants, markets and many other places.

Some people say do not come to Jogja if you have not tasted the delights of the gudeg Jogja. So if you visit to Jogja, please take a little of your time to taste it!

Source : 

http://www.gamawisata.com/en/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&id=43&layout=blog&Itemid=67

6.        Klepon

Klepon (pronounced Klê-pon) is a traditional rice cake, popular in Indonesia and Malaysia. It is a boiled rice cake, stuffed with liquid gula jawa (palm sugar), and rolled in grated coconut. Klepon is green because it is flavored with a paste made from the pandan or dracaena plant whose leaves are used widely in South East Asian cooking. In other parts of Indonesia, such as in Sumatra and in neighboring Malaysia, klepon is called as onde-onde. However, in Javaonde-onde refers to the Chinese Jin deui, a rice cake ball coated with sesame seeds and filled with sweet greenbean paste. Although popular across Southeast Asia, klepon may have originated in Java.

Klepon, along with getuk and cenil, are often eaten as morning or afternoon snacks. One must take care when consuming klepon, because a freshly boiled one usually contains hot palm sugar liquid.

In the 1950s, klepon was introduced by Indo immigrants to the Netherlands and is readily available in Dutch or Chinese Indonesian restaurants and supermarkets throughout the country.

Source : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Klepon

7.        Wingko

Wingko, which is sometimes called Wingko Babat, is a traditional Javanese pancake-like snack made from coconut.

It is a kind of cake made mainly of coconut and other ingredients. Wingko is popular especially along the north coast of Java island. It is sold mostly by peddlers on trains, at bus or train stations, or in the producer’s own shop. This might explain why it's very popular in Java to use wingko as a gift to families upon returning from traveling.

Wingko is typically a round, almost hard coconut cake that is typically served in warm, small pieces. Wingko is sold either in the form of a large, plate-sized cake or small, paper wrapped cakes. It's delicious due to the combined sweetness of sugar and the unique, fresh taste of crispy coconut. The price varies, depending on where it's sold. The more famous the brand of cake, the more expensive the cake. Your bargaining skills might lower the price a little.

The most famous wingko is made in Babat. As its full name, wingko babat, suggests, wingko actually originated in Babat, a small regency in Lamongan, a municipality in East Java. Babat is near the border with Bojonegoro, another municipality in East Java which is now famous for its teak wood and recently discovered oil field.

In Babat, which is only a small town, wingko plays a big role in its economy. There are many wingko factories in that city which employ a large number of workers. The factories take in a large number of coconut fruit from the neighbouring municipalities.

Today wingko is a famous food in both Babat with various brands and sizes of wingko for sale. Most wingko factories are still owned by Indonesian Chinese and some still use Chinese language names for their brands.

Source : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wingko

8.        Brem

Brem is the traditional fermented food or fermented beverage from Indonesia. There are two types of brem, brem cake (solid) that usually eaten as snack from Madiun and Wonogiri, and brem beverage (liquid) made of rice wine from Bali and Nusa Tenggara, but mostly known from Bali. The time of the appearance of brem in Java is estimated about 1000 A.D., based on investigations which surveyed in the old Javanese inscriptions and literature.

Brem beverage consumed and holds important use in temple ceremonies of Hinduism, it called Tetabuhan, an offering beverage for Buto Kala (English Kala the Giant) in order to evoke harmony. Brem can be either white or red depending on the proportions of white and black glutinous rice used in production. Brem liquid is very sweet to semi-sweet, yet acidic, and vary in alcohol content from 5% to 14%.

Brem cake is produced in two small villages, Wonogiri and Madium. This kind of brem is believed by Indonesian consumer to be important for stimulating the blood system. It is also reported to prevent dermatitis, probably due to the presence of significant amounts of B vitamins produced by the microorganisms. This product is consumed as a snack and not daily available in the family.

Source : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brem

9.        Kue Pancong

Indonesia's popular snack: kue pancong or pancong cake or coconut cakelets.

What is it

It's half-circle shaped snack, made from coconut, rice flour, coconut milk, and salt. The making involves a specific pan which has the same half circular shape. The result is crispy and light cake, although maybe it's too light to be called cake, served with generous sprinkles of granulated sugar.

It is a traditional culinary item, which manages to survive despite the modernization of the world due to its awesomeness.

Origin

It is said to be originated from Jakarta (Betawi), although it's called different names in different areas in Indonesia, such as bandros in Bandung, West Java, gandos in Central Java, and haluman in Bali. It is also very similar with kue rangi, and I was told that what makes them different is the kind of shredded coconut they use, as well as the serving process. Kue rangi uses melted brown sugar as the finishing, while kue pancong has sprinkles of granulated sugar.

Source : http://irenesgettingfat.blogspot.com/2013/04/indonesian-culinary-gems-kue-pancong.html

10.    Kue Lekker

What is it

Kue lekker is a wafer-thin, crispy snack, usually sold by street carts. It's not that different with crepe or wafer, as it has similar ingredients to make. However, while crepe is usually served wet and soft, this one can make a mouthwatering crunch sound when bitten.

The filling is various and sometimes it goes with the seller/vendor's or customer's imagination. The usual ones have sugar, chocolate, cheese, sugar, and/or condensed milk, but nowadays you can even ask for sliced banana, syrup, peanuts, and many more.

It's made with a small, flat pan which will be rotated quickly by the vendor to speed up the cooking process and making it crispy. He will use an attached handle to rotate the pan, some may use pedals to do so. When it's cooked, it'll be folded to semi-lunar shape and then it's ready to be served. 

Origin

It is said to be originated from Solo, East Java. The name 'kue lekker' is a mix of Indonesian and Dutch languages, as 'kue' means cake in Indonesian, and 'lekker' means delicious or great in Dutch.

Source : http://irenesgettingfat.blogspot.com/2013/07/indonesian-culinary-gems-kue-lekker.html

11.    Bakpia

Bakpia Pathok is the food of Jogja the basic ingredients are flour, green beans and sugar. Taste sweet and sticky created from the contents of green beans mixed with sugar. While the savory taste comes from the skin of bakpia which is a dough of flour mixed with vegetable oils that are baked. You will be able to get easily along Pathuk Street, now named KS. Tubun Street.

This food is not entirely original from Jogjakarta but the influence of China. In China, named Tou Lu Pia (derived from the Hokkien dialect) which means the meat pie. However bakpia in Jogja has been adapted to the local flavor with the tongue does not have any meat but the green beans. This type of cake was originally brought by Goe Gee Oe from China in 1948, who tried to make bakpia as a home industry and retail peddled from house to house. Packaging using "besek", a box that is made from thin bamboo woven in such a way that the shape of a square box. Bakpia production is growing with time until around 1980, there was the producers in the region Pathok making shop in the homes of the producers itself. The packaging also has been using "dos" (cardboard). The trademark in the form of house numbers of the owner so that now is known for its Bakpia Pathok. The taste of Bakpia Pathok itself is a blend between sweet, sticky, and savory. Now, selection of flavors that can be choose are chocolate, cheese or the original flavor of green beans. Bakpia also can be found not only in the region Pathok but in the shops of souvenirs, stations, terminals, even in traditional markets. But of course it will be more stable in the first place, namely in Pathok.

Bakpia Pathuk is very suitable as gifts for family, friends, or colleagues because durable and of course it's delicious!

Source : 

http://www.gamawisata.com/en/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&id=43&layout=blog&Itemid=67

12.    Geplak

Geplak is the typical food of Bantul, Jogjakarta. The taste is very sweet, made from young coconut that is grated and mixed with sugar then roasted. In form rounded and oval-irregular. Long cooking time makes this food a durable without preservatives.

The beginning of Geplak making was not be separated from the role of the Bantul town in the past. In the Dutch colonial period a lot of land used as a sugar plantation in Bantul. Agricultural land being planted with sugar cane. Too much sugar mill was established here. There are about six sugar mills in Bantul at the time, but until now only one is still operating sugar mills, named Madukismo that is one of the largest sugar mill in Southeast Asia in the early establishment of Indonesia republic. Beside, also supported by Bantul geographically that is located in coastal areas so that there are many coconut trees.Finally emerged Geplak with main ingredient is young coconut mixed with sugar. At first, Geplak are only two colors, if using white sugar , Geplak color will be white, and using brown sugar makes the color will be brown. But now many variations of colors including : red, yellow, brown, green, red, and white. At this time, the taste of Geplak is not just savory and sweet but it varies, such as the taste of durian, strawberry, chocolate, etc.. Geplak is easily found in Bantul town, souvenirs centre in the Jogja City, terminals, and in the markets.

Source : 

http://www.gamawisata.com/en/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&id=43&layout=blog&Itemid=67

13.    Bajigur

Bajigur is a hot and sweet beverage native to the Sundanese people of West Java, Indonesia. The main ingredients are coconut milk and Aren sugar; usually to add taste, a small amount of ginger and a small pinch of salt. Traditionally fragrant pandan leaves were added, but now often artificial vanilla powder is used. It can also include kopi tubruk, finely pounded coffee.

This beverage is served hot and is sold through vendor carts traveling in villages and residential areas. The carts are equipped with portable stoves to keep the beverage hot. Bajigur is considered suitable to be consumed in cool highlands, or during cold nights or rainy days to warm oneself. The beverage is usually accompanied with traditional snacks such as steamed banana, boiled sweet potato or boiled peanuts.

Source : http://margalubay.blogspot.com/2011/04/bajigur.html

14.    Bandrek

Bandrek is a traditional hot, sweet and spicy beverage native to Betawi of West Java, Indonesia. The Sundanese people who live in the highland cool climate prefer to consume bandrek to warm themselves at night and during cold weather. This beverage is usually made of jahe (ginger), and other ingredients such as kayu manis (cinnamon), star anise, cloves, corianderseeds, cardamom pods, lemongrass, gula merah (palm sugar), and sometimes a small amount of chillies. Milk can be added or not, depending on one’s taste. Sweetened condensed milk or coconut milk is commonly used, and sometimes pieces of young coconut flesh are added as well. It is believed that bandrek has a healing effect on minor health problems, such as sore throat.

Source : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bandrek