Cilok ( Aksara Sunda: ) is an

Indonesian Indonesian is anything of, from, or related to Indonesia, an archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. It may refer to: * Indonesians, citizens of Indonesia ** Native Indonesians, diverse groups of local inhabitants of the archipelago ** Indonesian ...

ball-shaped

dumpling Dumpling is a broad class of dishes that consist of pieces of dough (made from a variety of starch sources), oftentimes wrapped around a filling. The dough can be based on bread, flour, buckwheat or potatoes, and may be filled with meat, fi ...

made from ''aci'' (

tapioca starch Tapioca (; ) is a starch extracted from the storage roots of the cassava plant (''Manihot esculenta,'' also known as manioc), a species native to the North and Northeast regions of Brazil, but whose use is now spread throughout South America. ...

), a

Sundanese Sundanese may refer to: * Sundanese people * Sundanese language * Sundanese script Standard Sundanese script (''Aksara Sunda Baku'', ) is a writing system which is used by the Sundanese people. It is built based on Old Sundanese script (' ...

snack A snack is a small portion of food generally eaten between meals. Snacks come in a variety of forms including packaged snack foods and other processed foods, as well as items made from fresh ingredients at home. Traditionally, snacks are p ...

originated from

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

. In

, cilok is an abbreviation of ''aci dicolok'' or "poked tapioca", since the tapioca balls are poked with ''lidi'' skewers made from the midrib of the coconut palm frond. The size of cilok balls may vary, but it is usually about the same size as another Indonesian favourite

bakso Bakso or baso is an Indonesian meatball, or a meat paste made from beef surimi. Its texture is similar to the Chinese beef ball, fish ball, or pork ball. The word ''bakso'' may refer to a single meatball or the complete dish of meatball soup. '' ...

meatballs. Cilok balls are boiled until cooked or

deep fried Deep frying (also referred to as deep fat frying) is a cooking method in which food is submerged in hot fat, traditionally lard but today most commonly oil, as opposed to the shallow oil used in conventional frying done in a frying pan. Normal ...

in ample of cooking oil, and might be served with

peanut sauce Peanut sauce, satay sauce (saté sauce), ''bumbu kacang'', ''sambal kacang'', or ''pecel '' is an Indonesian sauce made from ground roasted or fried peanuts, widely used in Indonesian cuisine and many other dishes throughout the world. Peanut s ...

, ''

kecap manis Sweet soy sauce ( id, kecap manis) is a sweetened aromatic soy sauce, originating in Indonesia, which has a darker color, a viscous syrupy consistency and a molasses-like flavor due to the generous addition of palm sugar or jaggery. ''Kecap manis ...

'' (sweet soy sauce),

sambal Sambal is an Indonesian chilli sauce or paste, typically made from a mixture of a variety of chilli peppers with secondary ingredients, such as shrimp paste, garlic, ginger, shallot, scallion, palm sugar, and lime juice. ''Sambal'' is an Indo ...

, bottled

chili sauce Chili sauce and chili paste are condiments prepared with chili peppers. Chili sauce may be hot, sweet or a combination thereof, and may differ from hot sauce in that many sweet or mild varieties exist, which is typically lacking in hot sauces. ...

, or served in soup. The texture of cilok is quite chewy, its shape and texture is quite similar to Japanese

dango is a Japanese dumpling made from rice flour mixed with uruchi rice flour and glutinous rice flour. It is different from the method of making mochi, which is made after steaming glutinous rice. ''Dango'' is usually finished round shaped, thre ...

, although almost all of cilok variants are savoury compared to sweet dango. Cilok is a popular street snack, usually sold by travelling vendors using cart or bicycle frequenting residential areas, marketplace, busy street-side, or stationed in front of a school. The chewy tapioca balls with savoury peanut sauce is a popular snack among Indonesian school children.

Types and variants

Basic or common cilok usually are tapioca balls skewered and served in peanut sauce. However, there are numbers of variants of additions, fillings and sauce depends on the creativity of the cooks. An example is cilok filled with

quail egg Quail eggs are eaten and considered a delicacy in many parts of the world, including Asia, Europe, and North America. In Japanese cuisine, they are sometimes used raw or cooked as ''tamago'' in sushi and often found in ''bento'' lunches. In ...

served in ''ebi''

dried shrimp Dried shrimp are shrimp that have been sun-dried and shrunk to a thumbnail size. They are used in many East Asian, Southeast Asian and South Asian cuisines, imparting a unique umami taste. A handful of shrimp is generally used for dishes. The fla ...

sauce. The many different varieties of ''cilok'' are usually named after the various additional ingredients seasonings served with it. Types and variants among others are: ;Cilok biasa: Common simple cilok sold by street vendors. Usually plain tapioca balls (without fillings) skewered and served in peanut sauce, sweet soy sauce and sambal chili sauce, placed inside a plastic pouch. ;Cilok daging: Meat cilok with the addition of minced beef into tapioca dough, almost similar to beef bakso meatball. ;Cilok kuah: Refer to cilok served in broth soup in similar fashion as bakso meatballs. ;: Similar to cilok kuah; served in broth soup, but is far more hot and spicy due to generous addition of chili sauce. ;Cilok isi ayam: Cilok filled with seasoned

chicken meat Chicken is the most common type of poultry in the world. Owing to the relative ease and low cost of raising chickens—in comparison to mammals such as cattle or hogs—chicken meat (commonly called just "chicken") and chicken eggs have becom ...

. ;: Derived from Sundanese abbreviation ''aci di-gemol'' (round-shaped aci), with ''gemol'' being a Sundanese word meaning "make into a rounded shape". The preparation method for involves deep frying the tapioca balls and then sprinkled with

chili powder Chili powder (also spelled chile, chilli, or, alternatively, powdered chili) is the dried, pulverized fruit of one or more varieties of chili pepper, sometimes with the addition of other spices (in which case it is also sometimes known as chili p ...

. ;: Also derived from Sundanese abbreviation ''aci telor'' (aci with fried egg), which is skewered aci balls deep fried with

egg An egg is an organic vessel grown by an animal to carry a possibly fertilized egg cell (a zygote) and to incubate from it an embryo within the egg until the embryo has become an animal fetus that can survive on its own, at which point the a ...

batter coatings. Usually are seasoned with powdered flavorings, sambal chili sauce or sweet soy sauce.

Gallery

File:Cilok-Kuah.jpg, Cilok kuah served in broth soup File:BACIL.jpg, Cilor, deep fried skewered tapioca balls coated with egg batter File:Cilok Plasa Matahari Jember.jpg, Cilok street vendor on motorcycle File:Cimol.jpg, Cimol, deep fried tapioca balls seasoned with powdered flavourings

References

External links

Cilok Recipes
{{Street food Sundanese cuisine Dumplings Street food in Indonesia Cassava dishes

Types and variants

Gallery

See also

References

External links