Pecel (, Javanese:ꦥꦼꦕꦼꦭ꧀) is a traditional Javanese

salad A salad is a dish consisting of mixed, mostly natural ingredients with at least one raw ingredient. They are typically served at room temperature or chilled, though some can be served warm. Condiments and salad dressings, which exist in a va ...

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 ...

, usually eaten with carbs (

steamed rice Cooked rice refers to rice that has been cooked either by steaming or boiling. The terms steamed rice or boiled rice are also commonly used. Any variant of Asian rice (both Indica and Japonica varieties), African rice or wild rice, glutinous ...

, ''

lontong Lontong is an Indonesian cuisine, Indonesian dish made of compressed rice cake in the form of a Cylinder (geometry), cylinder wrapped inside a banana leaf, commonly found in Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore. Rice is rolled inside a banana leaf a ...

'' or ''

ketupat ''Kupat'' (in Javanese and Sundanese), ''ketupat'' (in Indonesian and Malay), or ''tipat'' (in Balinese) is a Javanese rice cake packed inside a diamond-shaped container of woven palm leaf pouch, Originating in Indonesia, it is also found i ...

'').Pecel Recipe (Java Style Salad with Peanut Sambal)
/ref> The simplicity of pecel preparation and its cheap price have contributed to its popularity throughout Java. It has become a food that represents practicality, simplicity, and travel, since the dish is often found along the train journey across Java. Pecel was introduced to

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

, where it is known as pecal, by Javanese immigrants. Pecel is also very popular in

Suriname Suriname (; srn, Sranankondre or ), officially the Republic of Suriname ( nl, Republiek Suriname , srn, Ripolik fu Sranan), is a country on the northeastern Atlantic coast of South America. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north ...

, where it was introduced by the

Javanese Surinamese Javanese Surinamese people are an ethnic group of Javanese descent in Suriname. They have been present since the late 19th century, when their first members were selected as indentured laborers by the Dutch colonizers from the former Dutch ...

History

Babad Tanah Jawi ''Babad Tanah Jawi'' ( jv, ꦧꦧꦢ꧀ꦠꦤꦃꦗꦮꦶ, "History of the land of Java"), is a generic title for many manuscripts written in the Javanese language. Their arrangements and details vary, and no copies of any of the manuscripts are o ...

(circa 17th century), Ki Gede Pemanahan referred to the dish he presented to his guest,

Sunan Kalijaga Sunan Kalijaga (1460-1513), born as Raden Mas Said son of a Duke of Tuban in East Java, Indonesia, was one of the "nine saints" of Javanese Islam (Wali Sanga). the "Kalijaga" title was derived from an orchard known as "Kalijaga" in Cirebon. O ...

as "''pecel''-ized boiled vegetables". In

Javanese language Javanese (, , ; , Aksara Jawa: , Pegon: , IPA: ) is a Malayo-Polynesian language spoken by the Javanese people from the central and eastern parts of the island of Java, Indonesia. There are also pockets of Javanese speakers on the northe ...

, "''pecel''" used to refer to the act of squeezing the water out of something. Sunan Kalijaga was not familiar with the dish as he came from northeastern part of

Central Java Central Java ( id, Jawa Tengah) is a province of Indonesia, located in the middle of the island of Java. Its administrative capital is Semarang. It is bordered by West Java in the west, the Indian Ocean and the Special Region of Yogyakarta in t ...

, while the dish was native to

Yogyakarta Yogyakarta (; jv, ꦔꦪꦺꦴꦒꦾꦏꦂꦠ ; pey, Jogjakarta) is the capital city of Special Region of Yogyakarta in Indonesia, in the south-central part of the island of Java. As the only Indonesian royal city still ruled by a monarchy, ...

. This dish became one of the most popular Javanese dishes soon after it was introduced to other regions of Java, and the word ''pecel'' took its current meaning, "a side dish that is made of vegetables and sauce". ''Pecel'' is only one of many Javanese vegetable-based salads. It is similar to '' lothek'', except that ''lothek'' is usually served with fried batter or tofu and uses both raw and cooked vegetables.

Ingredients

Main ingredients usually consist of leafy vegetables, bean sprouts (or any other plant sprouts), long beans, and cabbages. Some other types of vegetables can also be added. People may use amaranth leaves, ''

kangkung ''Ipomoea aquatica'', widely known as water spinach, is a semi- aquatic, tropical plant grown as a vegetable for its tender shoots. ''I. aquatica'' is generally believed to have been first domesticated in Southeast Asia. It is widely cultivate ...

'', cassava leaves, or leaves or any other local plants that are in season. Some modern recipes will add carrots (sliced) into the mix, or replace white cabbages with the red ones to spice up the color. The sauce is made of roasted (or fried) peanut, asam jawa, coconut sugar, and other spices. It might be served thick or watery, sweet or spicy, depending on the regional variation. ''Pecel'' is usually eaten with rice or rice cake (''

'' or ''

kupat ''Kupat'' (in Javanese and Sundanese), ''ketupat'' (in Indonesian and Malay), or ''tipat'' (in Balinese) is a Javanese rice cake packed inside a diamond-shaped container of woven palm leaf pouch, Originating in Indonesia, it is also foun ...

''). It can also be eaten alone or with fried side dishes, such as, fried ''tempeh'', ''tofu'', etc.; and

Javanese crackers Javanese may refer to: Of Java * Javanese people, and their culture *Javanese language ** Javanese script, traditional letters used to write Javanese language **Javanese (Unicode block), **Old Javanese, the oldest phase of the Javanese language ...

, such as ''krupuk'' or ''rempeyek''.

Variants

The difference usually lies on the thickness level of the sauce, the taste profiles (spicy, sweet, or savory). In

, ''pecel'' sauce is sweet-savory with medium thickness, except in northern coast and north-eastern regions where the sauce tends to be more spicy and the sauce is usually a bit thinner than usual. In

East Java East Java ( id, Jawa Timur) is a Provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia located in the easternmost hemisphere of Java island. It has a land border only with the province of Central Java to the west; the Java Sea and the Indian Ocean bord ...

, especially

Madiun Madiun ( jv, ꦑꦸꦛꦩꦝꦶꦪꦸꦤ꧀, translit=Kutha Madhiun) is a landlocked city in the western part of East Java, Indonesia, known for its agricultural center. It was formerly (until 2010) the capital of the Madiun Regency, but is now adm ...

, the peanut sauce is very thin and spicy. ''Lamtoro'' seeds are often added as a topping. In

Tegal Tegal is a city in the northwest part of Central Java of Indonesia. It is situated on the north coast (or ''pesisir'') of Central Java, about from Semarang, the capital of the province. It had a population of 239,599 at the 2010 Census and 276 ...

, Central Java, ''pecel'' sauce is made of peanut and cassava root. In

Surakarta Surakarta ( jv, ꦯꦸꦫꦏꦂꦠ), known colloquially as Solo ( jv, ꦱꦭ; ), is a city in Central Java, Indonesia. The 44 km2 (16.2 sq mi) city adjoins Karanganyar Regency and Boyolali Regency to the north, Karanganyar Regency and Sukoh ...

's ''pecel ndeso'', black sesame sauce is used on top of peanut sauce. In

, pecel is served with ''bacem'' (sweet-simmered)

tempeh Tempeh or tempe (; jv, ꦠꦺꦩ꧀ꦥꦺ, témpé, ) is a traditional Indonesian food made from fermented soybeans. It is made by a natural culturing and controlled fermentation process that binds soybeans into a cake form. A fungus, ''Rhizopus ...

or ''tofu''. In

, a pecel variant called ''lothek'' (alt. spelling: '' lotek'') includes the use of some raw vegetables, lontong, and ''gorengan''. The name "''lothek''" is derived from "''luthik''", a wooden spatula used to scoop the peanut sauce from a ''cowek'' (grinding bowl). ''Mie pecel'' or ''pecel mie'', a noodle with ''pecel'' sauce is common in

as well as

Medan Medan (; English: ) is the capital and largest city of the Indonesian province of North Sumatra, as well as a regional hub and financial centre of Sumatra. According to the National Development Planning Agency, Medan is one of the four main ...

. One of them is ''pecel mie kenyol'' from Batang, the noodle made from cassava with a chewy texture.

Gallery

File:Nasi Pecel Khas Madiun.jpg, ''Pecel''

with ''

rempeyek Rempeyek or peyek is a deep-fried savoury Indonesian- Javanese cracker made from flour (usually rice flour) with other ingredients, bound or coated by crispy flour batter. The most common type of rempeyek is ''peyek kacang'' ("peanut peyek") ...

'' cracker File:Nasi Pecel Daun Jati.jpg, ''Pecel'' with fritter, ''sate puyuh'' (quail egg satay), ''sate keong'' (freshwater snail satay), and ''sate usus'' (chicken intestine satay) on a teak leaf in

Tuban Tuban is a town located on the north coast of Java, in Tuban Regency (of which the town is the administrative capital), approximately west of Surabaya, the capital of East Java. Tuban Regency is surrounded by Lamongan Regency in the east, Bojo ...

File:MIE PECEL.jpg, ''Mie pecel'' with ''badak'' (veggies fritter) in

Semarang Semarang ( jv, ꦏꦸꦛꦯꦼꦩꦫꦁ , Pegon: سماراڠ) is the capital and largest city of Central Java province in Indonesia. It was a major port during the Dutch colonial era, and is still an important regional center and port today. ...

References

{{Malaysian cuisine Malaysian cuisine Javanese cuisine Sauces Vegetarian dishes of Indonesia Vegetable dishes of Indonesia Street food in Indonesia

History

Ingredients

Variants

Gallery

See also

References