''Kemplang'' is an Indonesian traditional savory

fish cracker A fish (: fish or fishes) is an aquatic, anamniotic, gill-bearing vertebrate animal with swimming fins and a hard skull, but lacking limbs with digits. Fish can be grouped into the more basal jawless fish and the more common jawed fis ...

(''

krupuk ' (Javanese language, Javanese) is an Indonesian cuisine, Indonesian deep frying, deep-fried Cracker (food), cracker made from starch and other ingredients that serve as flavouring. They are a popular snack in parts of Southeast Asia, but are ...

ikan'')

snack A snack is a small portion of Human food, food generally Eating, eaten between meals. Snacks come in a variety of forms including Food packaging, packaged snack foods and other processed foods, as well as items made from fresh ingredients at ho ...

commonly found in southern parts of

Sumatra Sumatra () is one of the Sunda Islands of western Indonesia. It is the largest island that is fully within Indonesian territory, as well as the list of islands by area, sixth-largest island in the world at 482,286.55 km2 (182,812 mi. ...

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, ...

. Kemplang crackers are commonly made of ''ikan tenggiri'' (

wahoo The wahoo (''Acanthocybium solandri'') is a scombrid fish found worldwide in tropical and subtropical seas. In Hawaii, the wahoo is known as ono. The species is sometimes called hoo in the United States. It is best known to sports fishermen, a ...

) or any type of

Spanish mackerel Scomberomorini is a tribe of ray-finned, saltwater, bony fishes that is commonly known as Spanish mackerels, seerfishes, or seer fish. This tribe is a subset of the mackerel family (Scombridae), which it shares with four sister tribes, the tu ...

, mixed with

tapioca Tapioca (; ) is a starch extracted from the tubers of the cassava plant (''Manihot esculenta,'' also known as manioc), a species native to the North Region, Brazil, North and Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast regions of Brazil, but which has ...

starch and other flavorings, sun-dried and then grilled or fried. The shape of a kemplang is similar to Japanese

senbei , also spelled ''sembei'', is a type of Japanese rice cracker. They come in various shapes, sizes, and flavors, usually savory but sometimes sweet. Senbei are often eaten with green tea as a casual snack and offered to visiting house guests as ...

cracker. It is flat and round with whitish color, sometimes with dark burnt acquired from grilling process. Kemplang is usually consumed with a sour and spicy

sambal Sambal is an Indonesian chili sauce or paste, typically made from a mixture of chillis with secondary ingredients such as shrimp paste (terasi), garlic, ginger, shallot, scallion, palm sugar, and lime juice. ''Sambal'' is an Indonesia ...

chili paste.

History

The name ''kemplang'' derived from local

Palembang language Palembang, also known as Palembang Malay (), is a Malayic languages, Malayic variety of the Musi languages, Musi dialect chain primarily spoken in the city of Palembang and nearby lowlands, and also as a lingua franca throughout South Sumatra. ...

which means "to hit" to refer the process of flattening the krupuk dough. Kemplang was developed in coastal town in southern parts of Sumatra which traditionally includes

South Sumatra South Sumatra () is a Provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia, located in the southeast of the island of Sumatra. The capital and largest city of the province is the city of Palembang. The province borders the provinces of Jambi to the north ...

Bangka Belitung The Bangka Belitung Islands (; Jawi: ) is a province of Indonesia. Situated off the southeastern coast of Sumatra, the province comprises two main land masses — the islands of Bangka and Belitung — and numerous smaller islands. Bangka B ...

and

Lampung Lampung, officially the Province of Lampung (; ), is a province of Indonesia. It is located on the southern tip of the island of Sumatra. It has a short border with the province of Bengkulu to the northwest, and a longer border with the provi ...

provinces. In

Palembang Palembang (, Palembang: ''Pelémbang'', Mandarin: 巨港 (Jùgǎng), Hokkien: 舊港 (Kū-káng), Jawi: ) is the capital city of the Indonesian province of South Sumatra. The city proper covers on both banks of the Musi River in the ea ...

, kemplang home industry is often linked to

pempek ''Pempek'', ''mpek-mpek'' and also known as colloquially as ''empek-empek'' is a savoury Indonesian cuisine, Indonesian fishcake delicacy, made of Fish as food, fish and tapioca, from Palembang, South Sumatera, Indonesia. Pempek is served with a ...

industry, as both uses almost identical ingredients; wahoo fish and tapioca. Kemplang crackers are more likely to be fried in Palembang and Bangka, while in Lampung, kemplang crackers are commonly grilled on charcoal. Kemplang is often sought as ''oleh-oleh'' (foodstuff gift or souvenir) by those who visited Palembang,

Bandar Lampung Bandar Lampung ( Lampungese: ''Kutak Bandarlampung''; formerly Dutch: ''Oosthaven'', ) is the capital and largest city of the Indonesian province of Lampung. Located on the southern tip of Sumatra, Bandar Lampung was originally called Tanjungka ...

, or Bangka. Today, kemplang made by home industries in southern Sumatra has been widely distributed, available in marketplaces and supermarkets in Indonesian cities, such as Jakarta, Bandung, Surabaya and Medan.

Production centers

Kemplang commonly produced by home industries in Palembang, Bandar Lampung, and

Bangka island Bangka is an island lying east of Sumatra, Indonesia. It is administered under the province of the Bangka Belitung Islands, being one of its namesakes alongside the smaller island of Belitung across the Gaspar Strait. The 9th largest island in ...

. In Palembang, the demands of kemplang cracker usually increased during ''

lebaran is the Indonesian popular name for two Islamic official holidays, Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha in Indonesia, and is one of the major national holidays in the country. holiday officially lasts for two days in the Indonesian calendar, although th ...

'' (Eid ul-Fitr) holiday.

References

{{Indonesian cuisine, state=collapsed Indonesian cuisine Crackers (food) Fish dishes Palembang cuisine

History

Production centers

See also

References