Pempek

Pempek
Varieties of pempek.
Course	Main course or snack
Place of origin	Indonesia
Region or state	Palembang, South Sumatra
Serving temperature	Hot
Main ingredients	Fish cake from mixture dough of fish and tapioca, egg, noodle, palm sugar, vinegar and tamarind, dried shrimp powder
Variations	Lenggang, Tekwan
Cookbook: Pempek Media: Pempek

Pempek, mpek-mpek or empek-empek is a savoury fishcake delicacy from Palembang,^[1] Indonesia, made of fish and tapioca. Pempek is served with yellow noodles and a dark, rich sweet and sour sauce called kuah cuka or kuah cuko (lit. vinegar sauce), or just "cuko".

Origin

Pempek is the best-known of Palembang's dishes.^[2] Its origin is undoubtedly Palembang. However, the history behind the creation of this savoury dish is unclear. According to local tradition, around the 16th century there was an old Chinese immigrant who lived near the Musi river. He noticed an abundance of fish caught by the local fishermen. In the Sumatran 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 ngo hiang or kekkian (fish slice) as a surimi (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

Pempek dough is the base of various shaped pempeks.

Dough

Pempek dough is made from a mixture of boneless ground fish meat, most commonly tenggiri (wahoo), with water, salt and sago flour. People sometimes add a little bit of cooking oil and/or wheat flour to improve texture and not to make the pempek to chewy. 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), but due to its rarity and superior taste, pempek made from this fish are usually more expensive.^[3] Pempek in Bangka Island are made from mackerel (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 originated from Sungsang area in Banyuasin near the Musi river estuary,^[4] 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 Ebi (shredded dried shrimp) is 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 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 and ebi (ground dried shrimp) powder. The additional fish krupuk crackers might be offered.

Variants

Pempek kapal selam and keriting in kuah cuko.

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,^[5] pempek variants are:

Pempek kapal selam: (Indonesian: 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.^[6] The name derived from the shape of pempek that resembles submersible midget submarine.

Pempek kapal selam and kulit.

Pempek telur kecil: (Indonesian: 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.

Pempek Keriting (Curly pempek)

Pempek keriting: (Indonesian: 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 instead.
Pempek kulit: (Indonesian: 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. It is stuffed with chilli, ebi (dried shrimp powder) and sweet kecap 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.

Most of those pempek in various forms are deep fried in cooking oil until light pale brown, and served with yellow noodles or rice vermicelli and kuah cuko, sprinkled with chopped cucumber and ebi (ground dried shrimp) 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, served with chilli and sprinkled with bawang goreng (fried shallots).
Laksan: often referred to as Palembang style pempek in laksa soup, sliced pempek fishcake served in coconut milk 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.

Outlets

As a local specialty, pempek can be commonly found on every street in Palembang with a concentration of outlets in downtown Palembang.^[7] Pempek can also be found in other regions, especially in major cities in Indonesia. However, the taste of pempek in other regions are usually different to pempek from Palembang. 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 cart. The cheaper pempek version sold by traveling vendors on cart generally use less fish and more tapioca, resulting a more flavorless taste. Pempek is also a popular dish in South Sumatra's neighboring province capital city Bandar Lampung.^[8] Some pempek establishments, such as Pempek Pak Raden and Pempek Bunga Mas are opening branches all over major foodcourts. In Jakarta, the notable pempek outlets are Pempek Megaria in Metropole cinema complex, Central Jakarta.^[9] It is among the oldest pempek establishment in the city. Other pempek outlets are those in Pasar Minggu market, South Jakarta. In Yogyakarta one of leading pempek establishment in the city is Pempek Ny. Kamto located near Malioboro street.

Outside Indonesia, pempek establishments can be found in Singapore, Malaysia and Australia. As Palembang is located quite 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.

Notes

References

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

Indonesian cuisine by ethnic group

List of Indonesian dishes

Common Indonesian dishes	Nasi goreng Nasi campur Nasi kuning Nasi bakar Sate Soto Soto mie Sop buntut Semur Tempeh Tahu goreng Tumis kangkung Gado-gado Sambal Acar Ayam bakar Ayam goreng Ikan bakar Ikan goreng Ketupat Lontong Bubur ayam Bubur kacang hijau Bubur ketan hitam Rujak Otak-otak Emping Krupuk Krupuk ikan Krupuk kulit Krupuk udang Kripik Perkedel Rijsttafel Kue Telur pindang

Acehnese	Mie aceh Roti canai Nasi gurih

Balinese	Betutu Lawar Nasi Bali Babi guling Sate Lilit

Batak	Saksang Arsik Babi panggang Manuk Napinadar Tanggotanggo Dengke mas na niura Na tinombur Itak Gurgur Pohulpohul Ombusombus Lampet Benti Dali ni Horbo Sambal Tuktuk Tipatipa Na Nidugu Sasagun

Betawi	Mie kangkung Nasi uduk Nasi ulam Ketoprak Ketupat sayur Laksa Betawi Soto Betawi Kerak telor Asinan Betawi

Bugis and Makassarese	Coto Makassar Pallubasa Konro Sop saudara Kapurung Burasa Gogos

Cirebonese	Empal gentong Docang Mie koclok Sega lengko Sega Jamblang Tahu gejrot

Chinese and Peranakan	Nasi tim Bakmi Bakpau Bakso Cap cai Fu yung hai Kepiting saus tiram Kwetiau goreng Laksa Lontong Cap Go Meh Lumpia Mie ayam Mie goreng Mie Kering Siomay Swikee

Javanese	Ayam penyet Botok Buntil Gudeg Iga penyet Krechek Kuluban Mie rebus Nasi ambeng Nasi bogana Nasi kucing Nasi liwet Nasi pecel Opor Pecel Pecel Lele Rambak petis Rawon Sayur lodeh Selat solo Serundeng Trancam Tumpeng Tongseng Urap

Malay	Apam balik Bubur pedas Nasi lemak Pempek Tekwan Laksan Lakso Palembang Laksa Medan Mie celor Nasi biryani Sop Kambing

Moluccan and Papuan	Colo-colo Papeda Sagu Babi bakar

Manado	Brenebon Cakalang fufu Dabu-dabu Klappertaart Paniki Rica-rica Tinutuan Woku

Minangkabau	Asam pedas Dendeng Galamai Gulai Kepiting saus Padang Keripik sanjay Lemang Nasi Kapau Nasi Padang Rendang Sate Padang Soto Padang

Sasak	Ayam Taliwang Plecing kangkung Beberuk terong

Sundanese	Lalab Karedok Pepes Sayur asem Oncom Laksa Bogor Mie kocok Nasi timbel Empal gepuk Soto Bandung Batagor Laksa Bogor Asinan Bogor Kupat tahu Tahu sumedang

Timorese	Se'i Katemak

Arab	Martabak Nasi kebuli

Indian	Nasi biryani Roti cane

Snacks	Amplang Arem-arem Bakpia Bika Ambon Dadar gulung Dodol Getuk Kemplang Klepon Kolak Kue bugis Kue cubit Kue cucur Kue ku Kue lapis Kue pandan Kue putu Kue putu mangkok Kue semprong Nagasari Nastar Lapis legit Lemper Lepet Lupis Onde-onde Pastel / Curry puff Pisang goreng Rempeyek Rengginang Serabi Tapai Wingko

Beverages	Bajigur Bandrek Brem Cendol Cincau Dadiah Es bir Es buah Es campur Es doger Es goyobod Es Kopyor Es teler Kopi luwak Teh jahe Teh talua Tuak Wedang jahe

Traditional beer non alcohol	Bir Jawa Bir Kocok Bir Pletok

Spices and seasonings	Bumbu Bumbu kacang Kecap manis Petis Sambal Tauco Terasi

List articles	List of Indonesian beverages List of Indonesian dishes List of Indonesian soups

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