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.
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.
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.
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.
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 :
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 :
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 :
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.
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.
