Batagor (abbreviated from ''Bakso Tahu Goreng'', Sundanese and Indonesian: "fried

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. '' ...

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 ...

") is a Sundanese dish 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 ...

, and popular in

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical south-eastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of mainlan ...

, consisting of fried fish dumplings, usually 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 ...

. It is traditionally made from minced ''tenggiri'' (

Spanish mackerel Scomberomorini is a tribe of ray-finned saltwater bony fishes that is commonly known as the Spanish mackerels, seerfishes or seer fish. This fish closely resembles the King Mackerel. This tribe is a subset of the mackerel family (Scombridae) � ...

), although other types of seafood such as

tuna A tuna is a saltwater fish that belongs to the tribe Thunnini, a subgrouping of the Scombridae ( mackerel) family. The Thunnini comprise 15 species across five genera, the sizes of which vary greatly, ranging from the bullet tuna (max len ...

, mackerel, and

prawn Prawn is a common name for small aquatic crustaceans with an exoskeleton and ten legs (which is a member of the order decapoda), some of which can be eaten. The term "prawn"Mortenson, Philip B (2010''This is not a weasel: a close look at nature' ...

may also be used. The fish paste is subsequently stuffed into

wonton A wonton () is a type of Chinese dumpling commonly found across regional styles of Chinese cuisine. It is also spelled wantan or wuntun in transliteration from Cantonese () and wenden from Shanghainese (). There are many different styles o ...

skins or filled into tofu, and then

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. Norma ...

in palm oil. Street-side batagor fried dumplings are usually served with fried

and finger-shaped fried ''

otak-otak ''Otak-otak'' (lit. brains in Malay and Indonesian) is a Southeast Asian fish cake made of ground fish mixed with spices and wrapped in leaf parcels. ''Otak-otak'' is traditionally served steamed or grilled, encased within the leaf parcel it ...

'' fish cakes. These batagor components are cut into bite-size pieces and topped with

, '' 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 ...

'' (chili paste), and lime juice. As a fried food, batagor generally have a crispy and crunchy texture; since its serving method is identical, batagor and

siomay Siomay (also Somai), is an Indonesian steamed fish dumpling with vegetables served in peanut sauce. It is derived from the Chinese Shumai. It is considered a light meal, similar to the Chinese Dim Sum. It is traditionally made from pork but is f ...

are often sold by the same vendor, with batagor being offered as a crispy variation of siomay.

History and origin

Batagor is ubiquitous in Indonesian cities, and can be found in street-side food stalls, travelling carts, bicycle vendors, and restaurants. However, it is most strongly associated with the

West Java West Java ( id, Jawa Barat, su, ᮏᮝ ᮊᮥᮜᮧᮔ᮪, romanized ''Jawa Kulon'') is a province of Indonesia on the western part of the island of Java, with its provincial capital in Bandung. West Java is bordered by the province of Banten ...

n city of Bandung. The dish is influenced by

Chinese Indonesian cuisine Chinese Indonesian cuisine ( id, Masakan Tionghoa-Indonesia, ) is characterized by the mixture of Chinese with local Indonesian style. Chinese Indonesians, mostly descendant of Han ethnic Hokkien and Hakka speakers, brought their legacy of ...

, and might be derived from

, with the main difference being that batagor is fried instead of steamed. It has been readily adapted into local Sundanese cuisine, and today, most batagor sellers are Sundanese. Batagor began appearing in various Indonesian cities throughout the country in the 1980s, and is believed to have been invented in 1968 in Bandung. According to legend, batagor was created as a way to salvage unsold ''bakso'' meatballs. It is said that one day the ''bakso'' did not sell well, and a seller was stuck with too many leftovers. In order to cut his losses, he then came up with the idea to grind the meatballs, stuff them into tofu, deep fry them, and serve them with peanut sauce in a fashion similar to ''siomay'' or ''

ngo hiang Ngo hiang (), also known as heh gerng () lor bak () or kikiam () is a unique Hokkien and Teochew dish widely adopted in Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand; in addition to its place of origin in southern China. It is ...

''. This created a new dish of ''bakso tahu goreng'' ("fried bakso ndtofu"), abbreviated as "batagor".

Varieties

Batagor is traditionally served with

, although in Bandung, most batagor sellers also offer a variant served in clear

broth Broth, also known as bouillon (), is a savory liquid made of water in which meat, fish or vegetables have been simmered for a short period of time. It can be eaten alone, but it is most commonly used to prepare other dishes, such as soups, ...

, ''batagor kuah'' ("batagor soup"). The soup consists of a clear chicken broth with the addition of various ingredients such as pepper, sugar, salt, leek, and celery. Chili sauce, tomato sauce, and lime can also be added to add more flavor into the soup. Batagor is popular for its savory flavor, crispy texture of its deep fried wonton skin and tofu, and its sweet and savoury peanut sauce. As of 2018, batagor is often sold at around 10,000 Indonesian rupiahs per portion at modest street-side vendors.

References

External links

Batagor Recipe from Asian Food Channel

Batagor Bandung Recipe
{{Dumplings Sundanese cuisine Dumplings Tofu dishes Fish dishes Street food in Indonesia

History and origin

Varieties

See also

References

External links