Tahu goreng (

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 ...

spelling) or Tauhu goreng (Malaysian and Singaporean spelling) is a generic name for any type of fried tofu dish in the cuisines of

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 ...

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 ...

and

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

Preparation

When preparing the dish, cakes of hard tofu are deep fried until golden brown. A popular way to serve fried tofu is to cut them diagonally in half and arranged on a plate garnished with

bean sprout Sprouting is the natural process by which seeds or spores germinate and put out shoots, and already established plants produce new leaves or buds, or other structures experience further growth. In the field of nutrition, the term signifies ...

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 scallion. A thick sauce is prepared with shallots,

garlic Garlic (''Allium sativum'') is a species of bulbous flowering plant in the genus ''Allium''. Its close relatives include the onion, shallot, leek, chive, Allium fistulosum, Welsh onion and Allium chinense, Chinese onion. It is native to South A ...

chili pepper Chili peppers (also chile, chile pepper, chilli pepper, or chilli), from Nahuatl '' chīlli'' (), are varieties of the berry-fruit of plants from the genus ''Capsicum'', which are members of the nightshade family Solanaceae, cultivated for ...

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 ...

paste,

soy sauce 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 ''Asp ...

and

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

juice.

Cultural origins

Malay language Malay (; ms, Bahasa Melayu, links=no, Jawi alphabet, Jawi: , Rejang script, Rencong: ) is an Austronesian languages, Austronesian language that is an official language of Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore, and that is also spo ...

and

; ''tauhu'' or ''tahu'' refers to 'tofu' and ''goreng'' indicates 'fried'. Tofu originated from

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

and brought to

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 United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, south-eastern region of Asia, consistin ...

by Chinese immigrants to the region. Its first arrival in Indonesia is estimated through the

Khubilai Khan Kublai ; Mongolian script: ; (23 September 1215 – 18 February 1294), also known by his temple name as the Emperor Shizu of Yuan and his regnal name Setsen Khan, was the founder of the Yuan dynasty of China and the fifth khagan-Emperor of Chi ...

's army in Kediri at 1292. Fried tofu is consumed extensively in Asian cultures and has found its way into mainstream Western vegetarian diets.

Variations

Indonesia

In Indonesia, tahu goreng can be mildly fried or deep fried, plain or battered. In Indonesia, tahu goreng is usually eaten with ''sambal kecap'' a kind of sambal hot condiment made from ''

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) and chopped

s and shallots. Some variants might use

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 ...

with chili instead. Some variants are: * Tahu isi: (lit: filled tofu), probably the most popular variant of tahu goreng in Indonesia, tofu filled with

carrot The carrot ('' Daucus carota'' subsp. ''sativus'') is a root vegetable, typically orange in color, though purple, black, red, white, and yellow cultivars exist, all of which are domesticated forms of the wild carrot, ''Daucus carota'', nat ...

s and sometimes minced meat is battered and deep fried. It is commonly found sold by gorengan (Indonesian fritters) vendors. Commonly eaten with ''cabai rawit'' (

bird's eye chili Bird's eye chili or Thai chili (Thai: ''prik ki nu'', พริกขี้หนู, literally "mouse dung chili" owing to its shape) is a chili pepper, a variety from the species ''Capsicum annuum'' native to Mexico. Cultivated across Southea ...

). *

Tahu sumedang Tahu sumedang or Tahu bunkeng (Sumedangite tofu, bunkeng tofu) is a Sundanese deep-fried tofu from Sumedang, West Java, Indonesia. It was first made by a Chinese Indonesian named Ong Kino. It has some different characteristic from other tofu. His ...

: the name derived from Sumedang city,

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 ...

. Pioneered by Tahu Bunkeng tofu store in Sumedang established by Chinese immigrants in 1917.Tahu Bunkeng the pioneer of Tahu Sumedang
/ref> * Tahu gejrot: fried tofu in a thin, hot, sweet and sour sauce with shallots and chilies, originated from Cirebon city,

. * Tahu taoge: stir fried diced tofu with beansprouts. *

Tahu campur Tahu campur, literally meaning "mixed tofu" in Javanese language and broader Indonesian language, is an East Javanese tofu dish. The dish consists of sliced ''tahu goreng'' (fried tofu), ''lontong'' (rice cakes), ''lentho'' (fried black-eyed pea ...

: (lit: mixed tofu), with beef slices, vegetables, beansprouts, and noodles or rice vermicelli, served in thin broth. The dish is common 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 ...

n cities, such as

Malang Malang (; ) is a landlocked List of regencies and cities of Indonesia, city in the Indonesian Provinces of Indonesia, province of East Java. It has a history dating back to the age of Singhasari, Singhasari Kingdom. It is the second most popul ...

Surabaya Surabaya ( jv, ꦱꦸꦫꦧꦪ or jv, ꦯꦹꦫꦨꦪ; ; ) is the capital city of the Provinces of Indonesia, Indonesian province of East Java and the List of Indonesian cities by population, second-largest city in Indonesia, after Jakarta. L ...

, and Lamongan. * Tahu gunting: (lit: tofu cut with scissor), fried tofu in thick sweet and spicy peanut sauce, originated from

city,

. * Tahu telur: (lit: tofu with egg), with omelette, beansprout, peanuts, and lontong rice cake, served in thin sweet and sour soy sauce. Also originated from

city,

. * Tahu bulat (round tofu) or tahu bola also called bola-bola tahu (tofu balls): is a relatively new variant of fried tofu from

Tasikmalaya en, Neaty City , nickname = nl, Delhi Van Java en, Delhi of Java , image_skyline = , imagesize = , image_caption = Clockwise from the top: Great Mosque of Tasi ...

. The tofu is mixed with seasoning and shaped in balls or rounded form, and later deep-fried in cooking oil. *

Kupat tahu ''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 ...

: (lit: ketupat with tofu), ketupat rice cake, beansprout, served in thick sweet and spicy peanut sauce, common throughout Java, however the most popular variant came from Kuningan, Magelang, Solo and Surabaya.

References

External links