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Pempek is a traditional dish from Palembang, South Sumatra. It's made from finely ground mackerel or snakehead fish, mixed with tapioca flour or sago flour, and other ingredients such as eggs, ground garlic, flavorings, and salt. Pempek is usually served with a sauce called cuko, which has a sour, sweet, and spicy flavor.
Besides Palembang, pempek can also be found in various regions outside of Palembang, made by both immigrants and locals. Pempek is also widely recognized as an Indonesian culinary icon, having been featured at various food festivals, cultural diplomacy events, and has become a dish that represents Indonesia on the international stage.
In the 1880s, pempek vendors used to carry baskets full of food while walking around selling their wares. Today, pempek is sold by street vendors and restaurants. Pempek vendors can be found easily in several areas in the provinces of South Sumatra and Bengkulu.
Pempek is eaten in a small bowl, dipping the pempek in cuko (vinegar in Indonesian). The cuko is then slurped to enhance the flavor. Other accompaniments to pempek include diced fresh cucumber, yellow noodles, and chili powder for added spiciness.
1. History
Pempek has a unique history that is inextricably linked to the arrival of Chinese immigrants to Palembang during the reign of the Palembang Darussalam Sultanate, led by Sultan Mahmud Badaruddin II in the 16th century AD. According to local lore, pempek was sold around the city by a Chinese man often called Apek around 1617 AD.
Apek itself, in Chinese, means uncle or old man. Apek was around 65 years old at the time. Apek lived on the banks of the Musi River and had the idea to utilize the abundant fish by processing it into dishes other than curries and frying. Finally, Apek processed the fish he caught and mixed it with flour. This was similar to the meatball dish brought by Chinese traders to Palembang. Afterward, Apek went around selling his product, which at the time didn't have a name. When someone wanted to buy, they would address Apek with just the suffix "peek, peek," which eventually gave rise to the name pempek. Thus, it can be concluded that the history of pempek involves the acculturation of Chinese culinary culture.
Pempek itself is a Palembang adaptation of ngo hiang and kekkian, both of which are fish dishes. However, instead of being served in soup or simply fried, pempek is famous for its cuko, a sweet, sour, and spicy sauce.
2. Ingredients
Originally, pempek was made from belida fish. However, with the increasing scarcity and high price of belida fish (until it was designated a protected species in 2021), it was replaced with snakehead fish, which is cheaper but still offers a delicious flavor.
In later developments, several other types of river fish can also be used, such as putak fish, snakehead fish, and kehung. Sea fish such as mackerel, red snapper, parang-parang, yellowtail, and flatfish are also used. Some also use sardines, catfish, and white tuna.
Pempek is served with a dark brown sauce called vinegar or cuko (Palembang language). Cuko is made from boiling water, then added with brown sugar, ebi (dried shrimp), crushed bird's eye chili, garlic, and salt. For the native people of Palembang and other parts of Sumatra, cuko has always been spicy to stimulate appetite. However, with the influx of immigrants from outside Sumatra, cuko is now available with a sweet flavor for those who don't like spicy food. Other accompaniments to the meal This specialty consists of diced fresh cucumber, dried shrimp, and yellow noodles.
Today's pempek is also available in frozen form, facilitating distribution to various cities in Indonesia. This innovation allows pempek to be enjoyed more widely without losing its distinctive flavor, as it is packaged using frozen food technology and still served with authentic cuko sauce. These frozen pempek products are also often found online and are part of the trend of ready-to-eat foods that are convenient yet maintain a traditional flavor.
3. Types
A well-known type of pempek is "pempek kapal selam," which is pempek filled with chicken eggs and fried in hot oil. There are also others, such as pempek lenjer, pempek bulat (also known as "ada'an"), pempek kulit ikan, pempek pistel (filled with slices of boiled, sautéed and seasoned young papaya), pempek telur kecil (small egg pempek), pempek tahu (tofu pempek), pempek tunu (shrimp pempek), pempek dos (dos), and pempek kering (curly pempek).
From a single pempek dough, many dishes can be created, depending on the ingredients, the final processing method, and the presentation. These include laksan, tekwan, model, celimpungan, and lenggang. Laksan and celimpungan are served in a coconut milk-based sauce; while model and tekwan are served in a sauce containing pieces of wood ear mushroom, shrimp heads, jicama, and sprinkled with sliced spring onions, celery, fried onions, and other seasonings. New variations have also begun to be created, such as cheese pempek, beef meatball pempek, sausage pempek, and cheese lenggang pempek, baked in a non-stick pan.
Pempek pistel is a typical Palembang pempek variant that is easily found. It is made in a similar way to submarine pempek: the dough is formed into a hollow shape and filled with sautéed young papaya, then boiled until cooked. Typically, pempek pistel is filled with more than just young papaya; some also contain dried shrimp.
4. Popularity
Pempek is not only popular in Palembang or South Sumatra, but also in several surrounding areas, such as Riau, Lampung, and Bangka Belitung. Some pempek in these areas even have distinct flavors compared to those found in Palembang. For example, the main ingredients in Bangka pempek are mostly sea fish, compared to those in Palembang, which often use freshwater fish.
This is influenced by the geographical differences between the two regions: Palembang's waters are dominated by rivers, while Bangka, which is essentially an archipelago, is surrounded by ocean.
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