''Lotek'' (alt. spelling: ''lothek'', Javanese: ꦭꦺꦴꦛꦼꦏ꧀) is a Javanese (Indonesian) vegetable-based salad with peanut sauce. While the sauce ingredients are the same with that of '' pecel'', ''lotek'' sauce is typically much sweeter to taste, a nod to a classic "Matraman" (adj. belong to the

Mataram Sultanate The Sultanate of Mataram () was the last major independent Javanese kingdom on the island of Java before it was colonised by the Dutch. It was the dominant political force radiating from the interior of Central Java from the late 16th cent ...

) cuisine. ''Lotek'' is popular in the southern parts of

Central Java Central Java ( id, Jawa Tengah) is a province of Indonesia, located in the middle of the island of Java. Its administrative capital is Semarang. It is bordered by West Java in the west, the Indian Ocean and the Special Region of Yogyakart ...

, and

Yogyakarta Yogyakarta (; jv, ꦔꦪꦺꦴꦒꦾꦏꦂꦠ ; pey, Jogjakarta) is the capital city of Special Region of Yogyakarta in Indonesia, in the south-central part of the island of Java. As the only Indonesian royal city still ruled by a monarchy, ...

, where sweet taste is traditionally preferred. It may also be called '' lontong pecel'' since it's basically ''

lontong Lontong is an Indonesian dish made of compressed rice cake in the form of a cylinder wrapped inside a banana leaf, commonly found in Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore. Rice is rolled inside a banana leaf and boiled, then cut into small cakes as ...

'' and '' pecel'' served with ''

krupuk ''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, ...

'' and ''

gorengan A fritter is a portion of meat, seafood, fruit, vegetables or other ingredients which have been battered or breaded, or just a portion of dough without further ingredients, that is deep-fried. Fritters are prepared in both sweet and savory va ...

''.

Etymology

The word ''lothek'' derived from a Javanese word which means "a wooden or bamboo spatula", used to scoop out sambal, sauce, or any paste, from the grinding bowl. In modern Indonesia, the "th-" sound is replaced with "t-", which non-Javanese speakers find easier to pronounce. As Javanese traditional villages turn urban (and welcomed people from other ethnic groups), the "t-" sound version is used more often.

Variants

Surakarta Surakarta ( jv, ꦯꦸꦫꦏꦂꦠ), known colloquially as Solo ( jv, ꦱꦭ; ), is a city in Central Java, Indonesia. The 44 km2 (16.2 sq mi) city adjoins Karanganyar Regency and Boyolali Regency to the north, Karanganyar Regency and Su ...

, lotek includes the use of mixed vegetables (raw and steamed vegetables), served with ''

'', ''

tempeh Tempeh or tempe (; jv, ꦠꦺꦩ꧀ꦥꦺ, témpé, ) is a traditional Indonesian food made from fermented soybeans. It is made by a natural culturing and controlled fermentation process that binds soybeans into a cake form. A fungus, '' Rhizo ...

'', '' bakwan'' (fried batter) and '' fried tofu.'' In

, people used steamed or boiled vegetables only. ''Lotek'' is also popular in other regions in Indonesia, thanks to Javanese (urban) migrants. In

Bandung Bandung ( su, ᮘᮔ᮪ᮓᮥᮀ, Bandung, ; ) is the capital city of the Indonesian province of West Java. It has a population of 2,452,943 within its city limits according to the official estimates as at mid 2021, making it the fourth most ...

, ''lotek'' is known as "a cross between

gado-gado ''Gado-gado'' ( Indonesian or Betawi) is an Indonesian salad of raw, slightly boiled, blanched or steamed vegetables and hard-boiled eggs, boiled potato, fried tofu and tempeh, and ''lontong'' (rice wrapped in a banana leaf), served with a ...

and pecel" since locals are more familiar with these references. The final dish looks similar to that of Surakarta's version. Some people may confuse ''lotek'' with '' karedok'', but as in most vegetable dishes in Sundanese cuisine, the latter is made of raw vegetables.{{Cite web, last=Media, first=Kompas Cyber, date=2021-02-18, title=Resep Karedok Khas Sunda, Sayuran Siram Bumbu Kacang buat Sarapan, url=https://www.kompas.com/food/read/2021/02/18/070400975/resep-karedok-khas-sunda-sayuran-siram-bumbu-kacang-buat-sarapan, access-date=2021-03-11, website=KOMPAS.com, language=id

References

Javanese_cuisine