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''Pempek'', ''mpek-mpek'' or ''empek-empek'' is a savoury
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 ...
fishcake delicacy, made of fish and tapioca, 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 ...
, South Sumatera, Indonesia. Pempek is served with rich sweet and sour sauce called ''kuah cuka'' or ''kuah cuko'' (lit. vinegar sauce), or just "cuko". Sometimes local people also eat the dish with yellow noodles and diced up cucumber to balance out the vinegar's sourness.


Origin

''Pempek'' is the best-known of Palembang's dishes. Its origin is undoubtedly Palembang. However, the history behind the creation of this savoury dish is unclear. Traditional folklore connects it with Chinese influences. Some suggests that pempek probably originated from ancient ''kelesan'', a steamed dish made of the mixture of sago dough with fish flesh, dated as early as
Srivijaya Srivijaya ( id, Sriwijaya) was a Buddhist thalassocratic empire based on the island of Sumatra (in modern-day Indonesia), which influenced much of Southeast Asia. Srivijaya was an important centre for the expansion of Buddhism from the 7th t ...
n era circa 7th century CE. Sago flour might be extracted from the trunk of sago palm or aren palm. According to local tradition, around the 16th century there was an old
Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of va ...
immigrant who lived near the
Musi river Musi may refer to: * Musi River (Indonesia) * Musi River (India), Telangana * Moosy River, Andhra Pradesh, India * Musi language, a Malay language spoken in Indonesia * Angelo Musi (1918–2009), American basketball player * Agostino de' Musi, real ...
. He noticed an abundance of fish caught by the local fishermen. In the
Sumatra Sumatra is one of the Sunda Islands of western Indonesia. It is the largest island that is fully within Indonesian territory, as well as the sixth-largest island in the world at 473,481 km2 (182,812 mi.2), not including adjacent i ...
n 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 Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of va ...
ngo hiang or kekkian ( fish slice) as a
surimi is a paste made from Fish as food, fish or other meat. The term can also refer to a number of East Asian cuisine, East Asian foods that use that paste as their primary ingredient. It is available in many shapes, forms, and textures, and is ofte ...
(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.


Ingredients


Dough

Pempek dough is made from a mixture of boneless ground fish meat, most commonly ''tenggiri'' ( wahoo), with water, salt and sago flour. Sometimes, people also add a little bit of cooking oil and/or wheat flour to improve the texture and to make the pempek not too chewy, they also add MSG to enrich the umami taste. ''Ikan gabus'' ( snakehead) is also commonly made as pempek. Numerous pempek sellers and producers in Palembang use a cheap combination of fish, which has a strong scent. According to tradition, the best tasting pempek are made of ''belida'' or ''belido'' (''
Chitala lopis ''Chitala lopis'', locally known as the belido, is an extinct species of freshwater fish, formerly endemic to the islands of Java and Sumatra in Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and ...
''), but due to its rarity and superior taste, pempek made from this fish are usually more expensive. Pempek in Bangka Island are made from
mackerel Mackerel is a common name applied to a number of different species of pelagic fish, mostly from the family Scombridae. They are found in both temperate and tropical seas, mostly living along the coast or offshore in the oceanic environment. ...
(''ikan kembung'') and its sauce is red chilli based, while in Jakarta or other cities they could be made from '' gourami'' fish. The latest variant is ''pempek udang'', pempek made of minced
shrimp Shrimp are crustaceans (a form of shellfish) with elongated bodies and a primarily swimming mode of locomotion – most commonly Caridea and Dendrobranchiata of the decapod order, although some crustaceans outside of this order are refer ...
originated from Sungsang area in
Banyuasin Banyuasin ( Musi: ) is a regency of South Sumatra Province in Indonesia. It takes its name from the main river which stream that area, Banyuasin River. Pangkalan Balai is the regency seat. The regency borders Musi Banyuasin Regency, Jambi province ...
near the Musi river estuary, it is noticeable with its pinkish color. The dough is boiled in hot water or steamed until hardened as partly cooked dumplings, and stored to be fried later just before serving.


Sauce

Kuah cuko is produced by adding palm sugar, chili pepper, garlic, vinegar, and salt to boiling water. The color of this sauce is dark brown. Sometimes Tongcai and
Ebi Ebrahim Hamedi ( fa, اِبراهیم حامدی, also Romanized as "Ebrāhim Hāmedi"; born 1949), better known by his stage name Ebi (Persian: ), is an Iranian pop singer who first started his career in Tehran, gaining fame as part of a ban ...
(ground dried shrimp) are also added to increase the flavor. This sweet, sour and spicy sauce is essential for flavouring the pempek, since the pempek dough is very mildly savoury. The sauce of Bangka pempek is chili based, made from the mixture of ground red chili and vinegar and its color is bright red. Traditionally all pempek sauces are served hot and spicy, the ground chilies are mixed in the sauce. However, since some people desire unspicy sauce, or cannot eat hot and spicy sauce, the ground chillis were often separated as sambals. In some pempek restaurants, the bottled kuah cuko sauce is left on customers' tables and they are welcome to pour on the amount of sauce they desire. There are two kind of sauces available, spicy hot and plain.


Serving

The boiled or steamed pempek dumplings are deep-fried in
cooking oil Cooking oil is plant, animal, or synthetic liquid fat used in frying, baking, and other types of cooking. It is also used in food preparation and flavoring not involving heat, such as salad dressings and bread dips, and may be called edible oil. ...
until light pale brown right before serving. They are cut in bite-size, served with yellow noodles or rice vermicelli, showered in ''kuah cuko'', and sprinkled with chopped
cucumber Cucumber (''Cucumis sativus'') is a widely-cultivated Vine#Horticultural climbing plants, creeping vine plant in the Cucurbitaceae family that bears usually cylindrical Fruit, fruits, which are used as culinary vegetables.
and ebi powder. The additional fish krupuk crackers might be offered.


Variants

This fishcake dough can be made into various shapes and forms with additional ingredients. Just like pasta the shapes have their own distinctive names, although all are made from the same dough. There are many varieties of pempek; variants are: * ''Pempek kapal selam'': ( id, submarine pempek), which is made from a chicken egg wrapped within the pempek dough and then deep-fried. The shape is similar to Chinese dumplings but larger in size. According to food science and technology scientist, the ''pempek kapal selam'', with egg addition, is rich in protein, fat, vitamin a, mineral, and carbohydrate content, is the most nutritious variety. The name derived from the shape of pempek that resembles
submersible A submersible is a small watercraft designed to operate underwater. The term "submersible" is often used to differentiate from other underwater vessels known as submarines, in that a submarine is a fully self-sufficient craft, capable of ind ...
midget submarine. * ''Pempek telur kecil'': ( id, small egg pempek), filled with egg similar to pempek kapal selam, but smaller in size. * ''Pempek lenjer'': long cylindrical pempek, its shape is similar to sausages, also can served in big cylindrical. * ''Pempek keriting'': ( id, curly pempek), the dough is made into small noodle ball. This similar process also applied to produce white krupuk. * ''Pempek pistel'': the shape and size is similar to pempek telur kecil, but filled with minced young
papaya The papaya (, ), papaw, () or pawpaw () is the plant species ''Carica papaya'', one of the 21 accepted species in the genus ''Carica'' of the family Caricaceae. It was first domesticated in Mesoamerica, within modern-day southern Mexico and ...
instead. * ''Pempek kulit'': ( id, skin pempek), fish-skin pempek, the dough is mixed with minced fish skin, as the result it has stronger fishy aroma and darker color. * ''Pempek adaan'': ball shaped pempek. * ''Pempek tahu'': tofu sliced and filled with pempek dough. * ''Pempek tunu'': charcoal-grilled pempek stuffed with
ebi Ebrahim Hamedi ( fa, اِبراهیم حامدی, also Romanized as "Ebrāhim Hāmedi"; born 1949), better known by his stage name Ebi (Persian: ), is an Iranian pop singer who first started his career in Tehran, gaining fame as part of a ban ...
, sweet
kecap Soy sauce (also called simply soy in American English and soya sauce in British English) is a liquid condiment of Chinese origin, traditionally made from a fermented paste of soybeans, roasted grain, brine, and ''Aspergillus oryzae'' or ''Asper ...
sauce and chilli sauce. * ''Pempek model'' (''model iwak''): tofu wrapped inside pempek dough. Similar to pempek kapal selam, but egg is replaced with tofu. Instead of served with cuko, it is served in shrimp soup. *''Pempek uyen/bujan'': curly pempek made from taro and fish from Bangka. Most of those forms of pempek are deep fried in
cooking oil Cooking oil is plant, animal, or synthetic liquid fat used in frying, baking, and other types of cooking. It is also used in food preparation and flavoring not involving heat, such as salad dressings and bread dips, and may be called edible oil. ...
until light brown, and are served with yellow noodles or rice vermicelli and ''kuah cuko'', sprinkled with chopped
cucumber Cucumber (''Cucumis sativus'') is a widely-cultivated Vine#Horticultural climbing plants, creeping vine plant in the Cucurbitaceae family that bears usually cylindrical Fruit, fruits, which are used as culinary vegetables.
and ebi powder. The pempek fishcake can be used as a base ingredient of other dishes. The unfried cylindrical pempek lenjer is often cut and added as a mixture to the following dishes: * ''Celimpungan'': small pempek balls cooked in spicy
coconut milk Coconut milk is an opaque, milky-white liquid extracted from the grated pulp of mature coconuts. The opacity and rich taste of coconut milk are due to its high oil content, most of which is saturated fat. Coconut milk is a traditional food i ...
, served with chilli and sprinkled with ''bawang goreng'' (fried shallots). * ''Laksan'': often referred to as Palembang style pempek in
laksa Laksa is a spicy noodle dish popular in Southeast Asia. Laksa consists of various types of noodles, most commonly thick rice noodles, with toppings such as chicken, prawn or fish. Most variations of laksa are prepared with a rich and spicy coco ...
soup, sliced pempek fishcake served in
coconut milk Coconut milk is an opaque, milky-white liquid extracted from the grated pulp of mature coconuts. The opacity and rich taste of coconut milk are due to its high oil content, most of which is saturated fat. Coconut milk is a traditional food i ...
based soup. * ''Lenggang'': omelette with mixture of sliced pempek fishcake, also served in kuah cuko. * '' Tekwan'': chopped pempek fishcake soup with jicama, mushroom and fishballs. * ''Model'': fried pempek dough filled with tofu inside, also served with shrimp broth.


Outlets

As a local specialty, pempek can be commonly found on every street in Palembang with a concentration of outlets in downtown Palembang. Pempek can also be found in other regions, especially in major cities in Indonesia. However, the taste of pempek in other regions usually differs from Palembang pempek. The main ingredients such as fish and flour are scarce and/or difficult to find in other regions, causing the difference in taste. Pempek is easy to find in Jakarta and other Indonesian cities, from the food-courts in malls and shopping centers to traveling pempek vendors on carts. The cheaper pempek version sold by traveling vendors on carts generally use less fish and more tapioca, resulting in less flavor. Pempek is also a popular dish in South Sumatra's neighboring province capital city Bandar Lampung. Some pempek establishments, such as Pempek Pak Raden and Pempek Bunga Mas are opening branches all over major food courts. In
Jakarta Jakarta (; , bew, Jakarte), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta ( id, Daerah Khusus Ibukota Jakarta) is the capital and largest city of Indonesia. Lying on the northwest coast of Java, the world's most populous island, Jakarta ...
, the notable pempek outlets are Pempek Megaria in
Metropole cinema A metropole (from the Greek ''metropolis'' for "mother city") is the homeland, central territory or the state exercising power over a colonial empire. From the 19th century, the English term ''metropole'' was mainly used in the scope of ...
complex, Central Jakarta.Fairy Mahdzan: Potty for Pempek Palembang!
/ref> It is among the oldest pempek establishments in the city. Other pempek outlets are those in
Pasar Minggu Pasar Minggu is a district of South Jakarta, Jakarta, Indonesia. The area is known for its traditional Sunday market, famous for the fruit market. Historically, Pasar Minggu is a fruit cultivation area developed by the Dutch government during the ...
market, South Jakarta. In Yogyakarta one of the leading pempek establishments in the city is Pempek Ny. Kamto located near
Malioboro ''Jalan Malioboro'' ( jv, ꦢꦭꦤ꧀​ꦩꦭꦶꦪꦧꦫ, Dalan Maliyabara; en, Malioboro Street) is a major shopping street in Yogyakarta (city), Yogyakarta, Indonesia; the name is also used more generally for the neighborhood around the stre ...
street. Outside Indonesia, pempek establishments can be found in Singapore, Malaysia and
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
. As Palembang is not far from Singapore and Malaysia, to ensure the authenticity some pempek establishments import boiled unfried frozen pempek dumplings in vacuum packages straight from Palembang. These ready to cook pempek dumplings are also popularly sold in Palembang as ''oleh-oleh'' foodstuff gifts or souvenirs for visitors from other Indonesian cities.


See also

* Kemplang *
Surimi is a paste made from Fish as food, fish or other meat. The term can also refer to a number of East Asian cuisine, East Asian foods that use that paste as their primary ingredient. It is available in many shapes, forms, and textures, and is ofte ...
*
Kerupuk ''Krupuk'' ( Javanese), ''kerupuk'' (Indonesian), ''keropok'' (Malay), ''kroepoek'' (Dutch) or ''kropek'' ( Tagalog) is a cracker made from starch or animal skin and other ingredients that serve as flavouring. Most krupuk are deep fried, wh ...
* Lekor


References


External links


Prof.Dr. Made Astawan, Departement of Food Science and Technology, Bogor Agricultural University. Pempek, Nilai Gizi "Kapal Selam" Paling Tinggi


{{Indonesian cuisine Indonesian cuisine Deep fried foods Surimi Fish dishes Street food in Indonesia Palembang cuisine