Lontong cap go meh ( jv, ꦭꦺꦴꦤ꧀ꦛꦺꦴꦁꦕꦥ꧀ꦒꦺꦴꦩꦺꦃ, lonthong cap go mèh) is a

Chinese Indonesian Chinese Indonesians ( id, Orang Tionghoa Indonesia) and colloquially Chindo or just Tionghoa are Indonesians whose ancestors arrived from China at some stage in the last eight centuries. Chinese people and their Indonesian descendants have ...

take on traditional Indonesian dishes, more precisely

Javanese cuisine Javanese cuisine is the cuisine of Javanese people, a major ethnic group in Indonesia, more precisely the province of Central Java, Yogyakarta and East Java. Definition Javanese cuisine refers exclusively to the cuisine of Javanese peop ...

. It is ''

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 ...

'' rice cake served with richly-flavoured dishes which include ''

opor ayam Opor ayam is an Indonesian dish from Central Java consisting of chicken cooked in coconut milk.Patrick Witton and Mark Elliott (2003)''Lonely Planet Indonesia'' Lonely Planet Publications, p. 108 The spice mixture ('' bumbu'') includes galang ...

'' chicken in coconut milk, ''

sayur lodeh Sayur lodeh is an Indonesian vegetable soup prepared from vegetables in coconut milk popular in Indonesia, but most often associated with Javanese cuisine. Ingredients Common ingredients are young unripe jackfruit, eggplant, chayote, ''melinjo'' ...

'' vegetable soup, hot and spicy liver, hard-boiled pindang egg, ''koya'' powder made of soy and dried shrimp or

beef floss ''Rousong'' or ''yuk sung or bak hu'' ( ; ), also known as meat floss, is a dried meat product with a light and fluffy texture similar to coarse cotton, originating from China. ''Rousong'' is used as a topping for many foods, such as congee, to ...

pickles Pickles may refer to: Dogs * Pickles (dog) (died 1967), a dog that found the stolen World Cup trophy in 1966 * Pickles (pickleball), a dog often cited as the name origin for the sport of pickleball * Mr. Pickles, the titular demonic dog in an ...

chili paste Chili sauce and chili paste are condiments prepared with chili peppers. Chili sauce may be hot, sweet or a combination thereof, and may differ from hot sauce in that many sweet or mild varieties exist, which is typically lacking in hot sauces. ...

and

prawn cracker Prawn crackers ( id, krupuk udang) are a deep fried snack made from starch and prawn. They are a common snack food in Southeast Asian cuisine, but they are most closely associated with Indonesia.They have also been adapted into East Asian cuisi ...

. ''Lontong cap go meh'' is usually consumed by Chinese Indonesian community during the

Cap go meh The Lantern Festival ( zh, t=元宵節, s=元宵节, first=t, hp=Yuánxiāo jié), also called Shangyuan Festival ( zh, t=上元節, s=上元节, first=t, hp=Shàngyuán jié), is a Chinese traditional festival celebrated on the fifteenth d ...

celebration.

Components

''Lontong cap go meh'' is actually not a single dish but more of a meal set with several side dishes, served in similar fashion to ''

nasi campur Nasi campur (Indonesian for 'mixed rice'), also known as nasi rames or sega campur (; ) in Java, refers to an Indonesian dish of a scoop of ''nasi putih'' (white rice) accompanied by small portions of a number of other dishes, which includes me ...

'' or ''nasi Bali''. It is a combination of several Javanese favourite dishes—each often prepared and cooked separately—and combined in a single plate prior to serving. The rich combination of flavourful dishes demonstrates the festive nature of the dish, which is traditionally consumed during Cap go meh in Java. The components of ''lontong cap go meh'' are: #''Lontong'': elongated rice cake cooked in

banana leaf The banana leaf is the leaf of the banana plant, which may produce up to 40 leaves in a growing cycle. The leaves have a wide range of applications because they are large, flexible, waterproof and decorative. They are used for cooking, wrappin ...

#''Opor ayam'': chicken stew in coconut milk and spices #''Sayur lodeh'': vegetables in coconut milk soup, sometimes replaced by ''sayur labu siam'' (

Chayote Chayote (''Sechium edule''), also known as mirliton and choko, is an edible plant belonging to the gourd family, Cucurbitaceae. This fruit was first cultivated in Mesoamerica between southern Mexico and Honduras, with the most genetic diversity ...

in coconut milk soup) #''Sambal goreng ati'': beef liver fried in ''sambal'' chili paste #''Telur pindang'': hard-boiled marble egg #''Koya'' powder: a mixture of ground fried soybeans and dried shrimp powder, sometimes replaced or added with ''abon'' (beef floss) #''Acar'': pickles, usually consists of cucumber, carrot, shallot and birds-eye chili #''Sambal'': spiced chili paste with ''terasi'' shrimp paste #''

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 ...

'':

, sometimes replaced by ''

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 availa ...

'' cracker

Origin

Chinese cuisine Chinese cuisine encompasses the numerous cuisines originating from China, as well as overseas cuisines created by the Chinese diaspora. Because of the Chinese diaspora and historical power of the country, Chinese cuisine has influenced many ot ...

's influences on Indonesian cuisine are evident in Indonesian take on Chinese dishes, such as '' mie goreng, lumpia,

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. '' ...

'' 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 fre ...

''. However the culinary influences also took another way around.

Peranakan The Peranakans () are an ethnic group defined by their genealogical descent from the first waves of Southern Chinese settlers to maritime Southeast Asia, known as Nanyang (), namely the British Colonial ruled ports in the Malay Peninsula, th ...

Chinese Indonesian cuisine has also been influenced by native Indonesian cuisine. It is believed that ''lontong cap go meh'' is a Peranakan Chinese Indonesian take on traditional Indonesian dishes. Early Chinese immigrants in Indonesia settled in northern coastal cities of

Java Java (; id, Jawa, ; jv, ꦗꦮ; su, ) is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea to the north. With a population of 151.6 million people, Java is the world's List ...

, such as

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. ...

Pekalongan Pekalongan ( jv, ꦦꦼꦏꦭꦺꦴꦔꦤ꧀) is a city of Central Java, Indonesia. It was formerly the seat of Pekalongan Regency on the northern coast of the province, but is now an independent municipality within the province. The city is Cen ...

, Lasem,

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 ...

and

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 ...

, as early as

Majapahit Majapahit ( jv, ꦩꦗꦥꦲꦶꦠ꧀; ), also known as Wilwatikta ( jv, ꦮꦶꦭ꧀ꦮꦠꦶꦏ꧀ꦠ; ), was a Javanese people, Javanese Hinduism, Hindu-Buddhism, Buddhist thalassocracy, thalassocratic empire in Southeast Asia that was ba ...

period. During that time only male Chinese settled in Java and they intermarried with local Javanese women and created a Javanese-Chinese Peranakan culture. These early Chinese immigrants became accustomed to the cooking of their Javanese wives. To celebrate

Chinese New Year Chinese New Year is the festival that celebrates the beginning of a New Year, new year on the traditional lunisolar calendar, lunisolar and solar Chinese calendar. In Sinophone, Chinese and other East Asian cultures, the festival is commonly r ...

, during Cap go meh, Peranakan of Java replaced the traditional ''

yuanxiao Yuanxiao (, Yuánxiāo ) is a dumpling of glutinous rice flour, filled with sesame or peanut powder, and sugar, or sweet adzuki bean paste, eaten in a soup, during the Lantern Festival, the fifteenth day of the Chinese New Year. It is similar to ...

'' (rice ball) with local ''lontong'' accompanied with an array of Javanese dishes such as ''opor ayam'' and ''sambal goreng ati'' (spicy beef liver). It is believed that the dish reflect the assimilation among Chinese immigrants and local Javanese community. It is believed that ''lontong cap go meh'' is full of good fortune symbols; the thick rice cake is considered richer compared to thin watery ''bubur'' (rice

congee Congee or conjee ( ) is a type of rice porridge or gruel eaten in Asian countries. It can be eaten plain, where it is typically served with side dishes, or it can be served with ingredients such as meat, fish, seasonings and flavourings, most o ...

) which is often regarded as food of the poor. The elongated form of ''lontong'' also symbolizes longevity. While eggs symbolize good fortune and yellowish turmeric-coconut milk broth represents gold and fortune. ''Lontong cap go meh'' was strictly a Peranakan-Javanese phenomena; Peranakans in the Malay Peninsula, Sumatra and Borneo are not familiar with this dish. It is commonly associated with Imlek traditions of Chinese Indonesians in Javan cities, especially Semarang. Since

Betawi people Betawi may refer to: *Betawi people *Betawi language * Betawi cuisine *Betawi mask dance See also * Batavia (disambiguation) * Batavi (disambiguation) Batavi may refer to: *Batavi (Germanic tribe) **Revolt of the Batavi *Batavi (military unit) *Ba ...

(native

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 ...

ns) were also heavily influenced by Chinese Indonesian Peranakan culture, ''lontong cap go meh'' is also considered as part of

Betawi cuisine Betawi cuisine is rich, diverse and eclectic, in part because the Betawi people that create them were composed from numbers of regional immigrants that came from various places in the Indonesian archipelago, as well as Chinese, Indian, Arab, and ...

References

External links

Lontong Cap Go Meh Recipe, Chinese and Javanese Dish Combine
{{Indonesian cuisine Indonesian rice dishes Indonesian chicken dishes Indonesian fusion cuisine Betawi cuisine Indonesian Chinese cuisine Javanese cuisine Peranakan cuisine