Rujak ( Indonesian spelling) or Rojak ( Malay spelling) is a salad dish of Javanese origin, commonly found in Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore. The most popular variant in all three countries is a salad composed of a mixture of sliced fruit and vegetables served with a spicy

palm sugar Palm sugar is a sweetener derived from any variety of palm tree. Palm sugar is sometimes qualified by the type of palm, as in coconut palm sugar. While sugars from different palms may have slightly different compositions, all are processed ...

dressing. It is often described as tangy and spicy fruit salad due to its sweet, hot and spicy dressing made from ground chilli, palm sugar and peanuts. There is a diverse variety of preparations, especially in

Indonesian cuisine Indonesian cuisine is a collection of various regional culinary traditions that formed the archipelagic nation of Indonesia. There are a wide variety of recipes and cuisines in part because Indonesia is composed of approximately 6,000 popula ...

, and rujak is widely available throughout Indonesia. While the most common variant is primarily composed of fruits and vegetables, its sweet and tangy dressing is often made with prawn paste. Some recipes may contain seafood or meat components, especially in Malaysia and Singapore where a notable variant shows influence from Indian Muslim cuisine.

Etymology

Rujak is one of the oldest dishes and the earliest historically identified food of ancient Java. The word "rujak" came from the word ''rurujak'' in ancient Javanese Taji inscription (901 CE) from the era of

Mataram Kingdom The Mataram Kingdom (, jv, ꦩꦠꦫꦩ꧀, ) was a Javanese Hindu–Buddhist kingdom that flourished between the 8th and 11th centuries. It was based in Central Java, and later in East Java. Established by King Sanjaya, the kingdom was rule ...

in Central Java. The dish was later introduced to other regions and neighboring countries by the Javanese diaspora, as well as Indian descents who had lived in Java. In Malaysia and Singapore, it is spelled as "rojak".

Cultural significance

In Indonesia, particularly among the Javanese, the sweet, spicy and sour tastes of rojak is popular among pregnant women; this craving for unripe

mango A mango is an edible stone fruit produced by the tropical tree '' Mangifera indica''. It is believed to have originated in the region between northwestern Myanmar, Bangladesh, and northeastern India. ''M. indica'' has been cultivated in Sout ...

and other sour-tasting fruits is known as "ngidham" or "nyidham" in Javanese. In Javanese culture, rujak is an essential part of the traditional

prenatal Prenatal development () includes the development of the embryo and of the fetus during a viviparous animal's gestation. Prenatal development starts with fertilization, in the germinal stage of embryonic development, and continues in fetal devel ...

ceremony called '' Naloni Mitoni'' or ''tujuh bulanan'' (literally: seventh month), and is meant to wish the mother-to-be a safe, smooth and successful labour. Special fruit rujak is made for this occasion, and later served to the mother-to-be and her guests, primarily her female friends. The recipe of rujak for this ceremony is similar to typical Indonesian fruit rujak, with the exceptions that the fruits are roughly shredded instead of thinly sliced, and that ''jeruk bali'' (

pomelo The pomelo ( ), ''Citrus maxima'', is the largest citrus fruit from the family Rutaceae and the principal ancestor of the grapefruit. It is a natural, non-hybrid, citrus fruit, native to Southeast Asia. Similar in taste to a sweet grapefr ...

/pink

grapefruit The grapefruit (''Citrus'' × ''paradisi'') is a subtropical citrus tree known for its relatively large, sour to semi-sweet, somewhat bitter fruit. The interior flesh is segmented and varies in color from pale yellow to dark pink. Grapefruit ...

) is an essential ingredient. It is believed that if the rujak overall tastes sweet, the unborn would be a girl, and if it is spicy, the unborn baby is a boy. Mangarabar, or rujak making, is a special event for the inhabitants of the

Batak Batak is a collective term used to identify a number of closely related Austronesian ethnic groups predominantly found in North Sumatra, Indonesia, who speak Batak languages. The term is used to include the Karo, Pakpak, Simalungun, Tob ...

Mandailing region in Tapanuli,

North Sumatra North Sumatra ( id, Sumatra Utara) is a province of Indonesia located on the northern part of the island of Sumatra. Its capital and largest city is Medan. North Sumatra is Indonesia's fourth most populous province after West Java, East Java and ...

, Indonesia after the harvest. Normally the whole village will be involved in making and consuming the rujak. In Malaysia and Singapore, "rojak" is also used as a colloquial expression for an eclectic mix, in particular as a word describing the multi-ethnic character of Malaysian and Singaporean society.

Indonesian rujak

Rujak Buah (fruit rujak)

In Indonesia, ''Rujak buah'' is also known as ''rujak manis'' (sweet rujak). The typical Indonesian fruit rujak consists of slices of assorted tropical fruits such as ''

jambu air ''Syzygium samarangense'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Myrtaceae, native to an area that includes the Greater Sunda Islands, Malay Peninsula, and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, but introduced in prehistoric times to a wider a ...

'' (water apple),

pineapple The pineapple (''Ananas comosus'') is a tropical plant with an edible fruit; it is the most economically significant plant in the family Bromeliaceae. The pineapple is indigenous to South America, where it has been cultivated for many centuri ...

, unripe

es, ''bengkoang'' ( jicama),

cucumber Cucumber (''Cucumis sativus'') is a widely-cultivated creeping vine plant in the Cucurbitaceae family that bears usually cylindrical fruits, which are used as culinary vegetables.kedondong and raw red ''ubi jalar'' (

sweet potato The sweet potato or sweetpotato ('' Ipomoea batatas'') is a dicotyledonous plant that belongs to the bindweed or morning glory family, Convolvulaceae. Its large, starchy, sweet-tasting tuberous roots are used as a root vegetable. The young ...

). Sometimes

Malang Malang (; ) is a landlocked city in the Indonesian province of East Java. It has a history dating back to the age of Singhasari Kingdom. It is the second most populous city in the province, with a population of 820,043 at the 2010 Census and ...

variants of green apple, belimbing ( starfruit) and jeruk Bali (

) are added. The sweet and spicy-hot bumbu rujak dressing is made of water, ''gula jawa'' (

), ''asem jawa'' (

tamarind Tamarind (''Tamarindus indica'') is a leguminous tree bearing edible fruit that is probably indigenous to tropical Africa. The genus ''Tamarindus'' is monotypic, meaning that it contains only this species. It belongs to the family Fabacea ...

), crushed peanuts, ''terasi'' ( prawn paste), salt, bird's eye chilli and red chilli. All of the fruits are cut to bite-size pieces, and put in the dish. The ''bumbu rujak'' or thick sweet spicy rujak dressing is poured on the fruit slices. An addition of ''sambal garam'' powder (a simple mixture of salt and ground red chilli) is put on side as the alternative for those who prefer a salty taste for their rujak. The Javanese people call this kind of rujak as ''lotis''.

Rujak Cuka

Rujak cuka literally means "vinegar rujak". It is a speciality of Sundanese cuisine of West Java, noted for its sour freshness. It is made of shredded fruits such as pineapple and unripe mango, and vegetables such as jícama, cabbage, bean sprouts and cucumber. It is quite similar to ''

asinan ''Asinan'' is a pickled (through brined or vinegared) vegetable or fruit dish, commonly found in Indonesia. ''Asin'', Indonesian for "salty", is the process of preserving the ingredients by soaking them in a solution of salty water. ''Asinan' ...

'' due to its sour and spicy dressing, since both dishes contain vinegar, palm sugar and chilli.

Rujak Tumbuk (Rujak Bēbēk)

This is another variant of Indonesian fruit rujak which comes from West Java. The ingredients are almost the same as typical Indonesian fruit rujak, with the exception that all the ingredients are being ground or mashed together (''tumbuk'' or ''bēbēk'' in Indonesian) in a wooden mortar. The fruits being ground are young/green ''pisang batu'' (a species of plantain), raw red yam, jicama, Java apple, ''kedondong'' and young unripe mango. The dressing is not poured on the fruit, but mashed together with all the ingredients. The dressing contains ''terasi'' prawn paste, palm sugar, salt and birds-eye chilli. Traditionally, rujak tumbuk is served in individual smaller portions on banana leaf plates called ''pincuk''. However today, it is also commonly served in plastic cups.

Rujak Serut

This literally means "shredded rujak", and is another variant of Indonesian fruit rujak. As with rujak tumbuk, the ingredients are similar to Indonesian fruit rujak, with the exceptions that the fruits are not cut into bite-sized pieces, but shredded into a roughly grated consistency.

Rujak u' Groeh

A delicacy from

Aceh Aceh ( ), officially the Aceh Province ( ace, Nanggroë Acèh; id, Provinsi Aceh) is the westernmost province of Indonesia. It is located on the northernmost of Sumatra island, with Banda Aceh being its capital and largest city. Granted a ...

province, this rujak consists of very young and tender coconut meat, young (green) papaya, bird's eye chilli, sugar,

, ice, salt and a dash of lime. This rujak is best eaten cold.

Rujak Pengantin

"Pengantin" means "bride-and-groom pair" in Indonesian. This rujak is reminiscent of Indonesia's colonial cuisine. It contains slices of boiled eggs, potatoes, fried tofu, pineapple, carrot, bean sprouts, pickles, chilli, lettuce, cabbage, cucumber,

emping Emping (also known as arifin) are a type of Indonesian chips, a bite-size snack kripik cracker, made of ''melinjo'' or ''belinjo'' (''Gnetum gnemon'') nuts (which are seeds). Emping crackers have a slightly bitter taste. Emping snacks are av ...

crackers, roasted peanuts, peanut sauce and little vinegar. In some variants, the peanut sauce is mixed with mayonnaise. It is somewhat like Central Javanese gado-gado.

Rujak Kuah Pindang

Rujak is a popular street food in

Bali Bali () is a province of Indonesia and the westernmost of the Lesser Sunda Islands. East of Java and west of Lombok, the province includes the island of Bali and a few smaller neighbouring islands, notably Nusa Penida, Nusa Lembongan, and ...

. A Balinese variation of the Indonesian fruit rujak, but instead of the normal rujak dressing, the fruits are soaked in a spiced fish broth. The broth consists of terasi ( fermented prawn paste), salt, bird's eye chilli, red chilli and pindang fish broth.

Rujak Cingur

''Cingur'' (pronounced ''"ching-ur"'') literally means "mouth" in Javanese. This variant of rujak originates from

Surabaya Surabaya ( jv, ꦱꦸꦫꦧꦪ or jv, ꦯꦹꦫꦨꦪ; ; ) is the capital city of the Indonesian province of East Java and the second-largest city in Indonesia, after Jakarta. Located on the northeastern border of Java island, on the M ...

. This speciality rujak from

East Java East Java ( id, Jawa Timur) is a 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 border its northern and ...

has a "meaty" taste. It contains slices of cooked buffalo or cow lips, '' bangkuang,'' unripe

rice cake A rice cake may be any kind of food item made from rice that has been shaped, condensed, or otherwise combined into a single object. A wide variety of rice cakes exist in many different cultures in which rice is eaten and are particularly preval ...

tofu Tofu (), also known as bean curd in English, is a food prepared by coagulating soy milk and then pressing the resulting curds into solid white blocks of varying softness; it can be ''silken'', ''soft'', ''firm'', ''extra firm'' or ''super f ...

and tempe, all served in a black sauce made from ''petis'' (black fermented prawn paste, related to terasi) and crushed peanuts. It is topped with a sprinkle of fried shallots and kerupuk (Indonesian prawn crackers).

Rujak Petis

This is another variant of rujak from

. It contains slices of ''bangkuang'', unripe

and

soybean The soybean, soy bean, or soya bean (''Glycine max'') is a species of legume native to East Asia, widely grown for its edible bean, which has numerous uses. Traditional unfermented food uses of soybeans include soy milk, from which tofu ...

sprouts all served in a black sauce made from

petis Shrimp paste or prawn sauce is a fermented condiment commonly used in Southeast Asian and Southern Chinese cuisines. It is primarily made from finely crushed shrimp or krill mixed with salt, and then fermented for several weeks. They are eith ...

(sticky black fermented prawn paste, related to terasi), fried

shallot The shallot is a botanical variety (a cultivar) of the onion. Until 2010, the (French red) shallot was classified as a separate species, ''Allium ascalonicum''. The taxon was synonymized with '' Allium cepa'' (the common onion) in 2010, as the ...

s, salt,

, unripe banana and crushed peanuts. Traditionally it is served on a banana leaf; today it is more commonly served on plates.

Rujak Tolet

Similar to fruit rujak, and also from

. Aside from unripe fruits the rojak also includes fried tofu, fried garlic and optionally beef tendons. The sauce is petis-based mixed with palm sugar, slices of raw bird's eye chilli and sweet soy sauce.

Rujak Juhi

''Juhi'' means salted

cuttlefish Cuttlefish or cuttles are marine molluscs of the order Sepiida. They belong to the class Cephalopoda which also includes squid, octopuses, and nautiluses. Cuttlefish have a unique internal shell, the cuttlebone, which is used for control of ...

in Indonesian; this rujak contains fried ''tau kwa'' tofu, fried boiled potatoes, fried shredded salted cuttlefish, cucumber, noodles, lettuce, cabbages, peanut sauce, vinegar, chilli and fried garlic. This dish was originated from the Chinese community in Batavia (now

Jakarta Jakarta (; , bew, Jakarte), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta ( id, Daerah Khusus Ibukota Jakarta) is the capital city, capital and list of Indonesian cities by population, largest city of Indonesia. Lying on the northwest coa ...

) and now has become a Betawi dish closely related with ''

Asinan ''Asinan'' is a pickled (through brined or vinegared) vegetable or fruit dish, commonly found in Indonesia. ''Asin'', Indonesian for "salty", is the process of preserving the ingredients by soaking them in a solution of salty water. ''Asinan' ...

Betawi''.

Rujak Shanghai

Named after "Bioscoop Shanghay" (a cinema named after Shanghai, China's most populated city) In Batavia Kota area, this dish was created by Indonesia's Chinese community. This variant of rujak can be found in Indonesian Chinatowns in cities such as Glodok in Jakarta. Rujak Shanghai contains seafood, like Rujak Juhi. Boiled sliced ''gurita'' (octopus) and edible

jellyfish Jellyfish and sea jellies are the informal common names given to the medusa-phase of certain gelatinous members of the subphylum Medusozoa, a major part of the phylum Cnidaria. Jellyfish are mainly free-swimming marine animals with umbre ...

are served with '' kangkung'', and served with thick red sweet and sour sauce, mixed with

juice, and toasted crushed peanuts. Usually chilli sauce and pickled '' bengkoang'' are served as condiments.

Rujak Soto

A delicacy from

Banyuwangi Banyuwangi, previously known as Banjoewangi, is the administrative capital of Banyuwangi Regency at the far eastern end of the island of Java, Indonesia. It had a population of 106,000 at the 2010 Census and 117,558 at the 2020 Census. The tow ...

, it is a unique blend between beef soto and rujak cingur. A local speciality in which the vegetables (water spinach and bean sprouts) rujak served with ''lontong'' rice cake in petis sauce poured with soto soup. It was created in 1975 by Usni Solihin.

Rujak Es Krim

The speciality dessert from

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, ...

. Fruit rujak mixed with ice cream made from coconut milk. It is also served with sambal.

Rujak Mie

Rujak mie is a dish from

Palembang Palembang () is the capital city of the Indonesian province of South Sumatra. The city proper covers on both banks of the Musi River on the eastern lowland of southern Sumatra. It had a population of 1,668,848 at the 2020 Census. Palembang ...

. The dish consists of noodles, tofu, slices of

pempek ''Pempek'', ''mpek-mpek'' or ''empek-empek'' is a savoury Indonesian fishcake delicacy, made of fish and tapioca, from Palembang, South Sumatera, Indonesia. Pempek is served with rich sweet and sour sauce called ''kuah cuka'' or ''kuah cuko'' ...

, cucumber, lettuce, and ''cuko'' (sweet spicy broth).

Malaysian and Singaporean rojak

Rojak Buah (fruit rojak)

In Malaysia and Singapore, fruit rojak typically consists of cucumber, pineapple, jícama, bean sprouts, ''taupok'' (puffy, deep-fried

) and

youtiao ''Youtiao'' (), known in Southern China as Yu Char Kway is a long golden-brown deep-fried strip of dough of Chinese origin and (by a variety of other names) also popular in other East and Southeast Asian cuisines. Conventionally, ''youtiao ...

(cut-up Chinese-style fritters). Unripe

es and green apples are less commonly used. The dressing is made of water, belacan, sugar, chilli and lime juice. Ingredients vary among vendors, with some adding prawn paste (''hae ko'' in

Hokkien The Hokkien () variety of Chinese is a Southern Min language native to and originating from the Minnan region, where it is widely spoken in the south-eastern part of Fujian in southeastern mainland China. It is one of the national languages ...

), tamarind or black bean paste to the mix. The ingredients are cut into bite-sized portions and tossed in a bowl with the dressing, and topped with crushed peanuts and a dash of ground or sliced

torch ginger ''Etlingera elatior'' (also known as torch ginger, ginger flower, red ginger lily, torch lily, wild ginger, ''combrang, bunga kantan'', Philippine wax flower, ගොඩ ඕලු (goda olu), ගොඩ නෙලුම් (goda nelum), සිද් ...

bud (''bunga kantan'' in Malay). A popular variant found in

Penang Penang ( ms, Pulau Pinang, is a Malaysian state located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia, by the Malacca Strait. It has two parts: Penang Island, where the capital city, George Town, is located, and Seberang Perai on the M ...

, Malaysia is Rojak Penang, which adds

, guava, squid fritters and honey to the mixture, and emphasizes the use of tart fruits such as unripe mangoes and green apples, while bean sprouts and fried tofu puffs are usually omitted. The sauce or dressing for the rojak tends to be very thick, with an almost toffee-like consistency.

Rojak India

In Malaysia, mamak rojak (also known as Indian rojak or Pasembur) is associated with Mamak stalls, which are Muslim

Malaysian Indian Malaysian Indians or Indian Malaysians are Malaysian citizens of Indian or South Asian ancestry. Today, they form the third-largest group in Malaysia after the Malays and the Chinese. Most are descendants of those who migrated from India duri ...

food stalls where ''rojak mamak'' is a popular dish. It contains fried dough fritters, tofu, boiled potatoes, prawn fritters, hard boiled eggs, bean sprouts, cuttlefish and cucumber mixed with a sweet thick, spicy peanut sauce. In the northwestern states of Peninsular Malaysia such as Penang, and

Kedah Kedah (), also known by its honorific Darul Aman and historically as Queda, is a state of Malaysia, located in the northwestern part of Peninsular Malaysia. The state covers a total area of over 9,000 km2, and it consists of the mainland ...

, it is always called pasembur, while in Kuala Lumpur it is called ''rojak mamak''. In Singapore, Indian rojak consists of an assortment of potatoes, hard-boiled eggs,

and prawn fritters, often colorfully dyed. Customers typically select their favorite items from a display, after which they are heated up in a wok, chopped up, and served with a sweet and spicy peanut and chilli sauce on the side for dipping.

Rojak Bandung

A Singaporean dish known as '' Rojak Bandung'' contains cuttlefish, ''kangkung'', cucumber, tofu, peanuts, chilli and sauce. Rojak Bandung has no relation to the Indonesian city of

Bandung Bandung ( su, ᮘᮔ᮪ᮓᮥᮀ, Bandung, ; ) is the capital city of the Indonesian province of West Java. It has a population of 2,452,943 within its city limits according to the official estimates as at mid 2021, making it the fourth most ...

; in the Malay language, the term ''bandung'' means "pairs".

References

External links

Rujak Buah, Indonesian fruit rujak recipe

Images of Indonesian Fruit Salad: Rujak in Pinterest
{{Salads Vegetable dishes of Indonesia Street food in Indonesia Malaysian cuisine Singaporean cuisine Malay cuisine Indian diaspora in Singapore Salads Vegetable dishes Fruit dishes