''Dendeng'' is thinly sliced

dried meat Dried meat is a feature of many cuisines around the world. Examples include: * Kulen Slanina Pečenica * Aliya, sun-dried meat from Kenya * Bakkwa or rougan, Chinese salty-sweet dried meat sheets. * Biltong, a cured meat that originated in ...

in Minangkabau cuisine. It is preserved through a mixture of sugar and

spice In the culinary arts, a spice is any seed, fruit, root, Bark (botany), bark, or other plant substance in a form primarily used for flavoring or coloring food. Spices are distinguished from herbs, which are the leaves, flowers, or stems of pl ...

s and dried via a frying process. It is similar to jerky. ''Dendeng'' is traditionally produced by using some spices and sugar at various levels. Therefore, its flavour is sweet and spicy. It is also stable for several weeks at room temperature. The creation of ''dendeng'' is commonly credited to the Minangkabau people, in which their earliest ''dendeng'' was made from dried beef, so that it would be preserved for days and could be taken along with them when they traveled. The Padang cuisine version—probably the most popular ''dendeng'' dish in

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

—is called ''dendeng balado'' or ''dendeng batokok''. It is a specialty from Padang, West Sumatra and is made from thinly cut

beef Beef is the culinary name for meat from cattle (''Bos taurus''). Beef can be prepared in various ways; Cut of beef, cuts are often used for steak, which can be cooked to varying degrees of doneness, while trimmings are often Ground beef, grou ...

which is dried and fried before adding chillies and other ingredients.

Variations

The most common version of ''dendeng'' found in Indonesia is ''dendeng sapi'' (beef ''dendeng''), and it usually has a sweetness from the inclusion of caramelized coconut sugar. However, versions made from other exotic meats are also available, especially in Eastern Indonesia. ''Dendeng rusa'' (deer ''dendeng'') can be found in the

Nusa Tenggara The Lesser Sunda Islands (, , ), now known as Nusa Tenggara Islands (, or "Southeast Islands"), are an archipelago in the Indonesian archipelago. Most of the Lesser Sunda Islands are located within the Wallacea region, except for the Bali pr ...

islands and Papua. Indonesian Chinese favor the similar dried pork dish known as ''

bakkwa Bakkwa, also known as ròugān, is a Chinese cuisine, Chinese salty-sweet dried meat product similar to jerky. Bakkwa is made with a meat preservation and preparation technique originating from China. The general method of production has remaine ...

''. Cocos Malays have been observed preserving many types of fish like jacks and

barracuda A barracuda is a large, predatory, ray-finned, saltwater fish of the genus ''Sphyraena'', the only genus in the family Sphyraenidae, which was named by Constantine Samuel Rafinesque in 1815. It is found in tropical and subtropical oceans worldw ...

s this way, a similar method is found among the Filipinos called '' daing''.

References

Dendeng Balado
Padang cuisine Indonesian beef dishes {{Indonesia-stub

Variations

See also

References