Pecel (, Javanese:ꦥꦼꦕꦼꦭ꧀) is a traditional Javanese

salad A salad is a dish consisting of mixed ingredients, frequently vegetables. They are typically served chilled or at room temperature, though some can be served warm. Condiments called '' salad dressings'', which exist in a variety of flavors, a ...

with

peanut sauce Peanut sauce, satay sauce (saté sauce), ''bumbu kacang'', ''sambal kacang'', or ''pecel'' is an Indonesian cuisine, Indonesian sauce made from ground roasted or fried peanuts, widely used in Indonesian cuisine and many other dishes throughout t ...

, usually eaten with steamed rice, ''

lontong ''Lontong'' () is an Indonesian cuisine, Indonesian dish made of compressed rice cake in the form of a Cylinder (geometry), cylinder wrapped inside a banana leaf, commonly found in Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore. Rice is rolled inside a bana ...

'' or '' ketupat''. The simplicity of its preparation and cheap price has contributed to its popularity throughout Java. It has become a food that represents practicality, simplicity, and travel since the dish is often found along train journeys across Java. Pecel was introduced to

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

, where it is known as pecal, by Javanese immigrants. Pecel is also very popular in

Suriname Suriname, officially the Republic of Suriname, is a country in northern South America, also considered as part of the Caribbean and the West Indies. It is a developing country with a Human Development Index, high level of human development; i ...

, where it was introduced by the

Javanese Surinamese Javanese Surinamese are an ethnic group of Javanese people, Javanese and by extension Indonesians, Indonesian descent in Suriname. They have been present since the late 19th century, when their first members were selected as Indentured servitu ...

History

Pecel is an ancient food that has existed since the 9th century AD, the era of the Ancient Mataram Kingdom under the reign of king Rakai Watukura Dyah Balitung (898–930 AD) which was recorded in the Kakawin Ramayana. Pecel is also written in the Taji Ponorogo Inscription (901 AD), the Siman Inscription from Kediri (865 S/943 AD), the Babad Tanah Jawi (1647 AD) and

Serat Centhini ''Serat Centhini'' is a twelve-volume compilation of Javanese tales and teachings, written in verse and published in 1814. The work was commissioned, directed, and partially written by Crown Prince Mangkunegoro, later enthroned as Pakubuwono V o ...

(1742 S/1814 AD). ''Pecel'' is only one of many Javanese vegetable-based salads. It is similar to '' lothek'', except that ''lothek'' is usually served with fried batter or tofu and uses both raw and cooked vegetables.

Ingredients

The main ingredients usually consist of leafy vegetables,

bean sprouts Sprouting is the natural process by which seeds or spores germinate and put out shoots, and already established plants produce new leaves or buds, or other structures experience further growth. In the field of nutrition, the term signifies ...

(or any other plant sprouts), long beans, and

cabbage Cabbage, comprising several cultivars of '' Brassica oleracea'', is a leafy green, red (purple), or white (pale green) biennial plant grown as an annual vegetable crop for its dense-leaved heads. It is descended from the wild cabbage ( ''B.& ...

s. Some other types of vegetables can also be added. People may use

amaranth ''Amaranthus'' is a cosmopolitan distribution, cosmopolitan group of more than 50 species which make up the genus of annual plant, annual or short-lived perennial plants collectively known as amaranths. Some names include "prostrate pigweed" an ...

leaves, '' kangkung'',

cassava ''Manihot esculenta'', common name, commonly called cassava, manioc, or yuca (among numerous regional names), is a woody shrub of the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae, native to South America, from Brazil, Paraguay and parts of the Andes. Although ...

leaves, or leaves of any other local plants that are in season. Some modern recipes will add

carrot The carrot ('' Daucus carota'' subsp. ''sativus'') is a root vegetable, typically orange in colour, though heirloom variants including purple, black, red, white, and yellow cultivars exist, all of which are domesticated forms of the wild ...

s (sliced) into the mix or replace white cabbages with red ones to spice up the color. The sauce is made of roasted (or fried) peanuts, tamarind ('' asam jawa''),

coconut sugar Coconut sugar (also known as coco sugar, coconut palm sugar, coco sap sugar or coconut blossom sugar) is a palm sugar produced from the sap of the flower bud stem of the coconut palm. Other types of palm sugar are made from the kithul palm ('' Ca ...

, and other spices. It might be served thick or watery, sweet or spicy, depending on the regional variation. ''Pecel'' is usually eaten with rice or rice cake (''

'' or '' kupat''). It can also be eaten alone or with fried side dishes, such as fried ''tempeh'', ''tofu'', etc.; and Javanese crackers, such as ''

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 ...

'' or '' rempeyek''.

Variants

The difference usually lies in the thickness level of the sauce and the taste profiles (spicy, sweet, or savoury). In

Central Java Central Java (, ) is a Provinces of Indonesia, 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 Yogya ...

, ''pecel'' sauce is sweet-savoury with medium thickness, except in the northern coast and northeastern regions where the sauce tends to be spicier and the sauce is usually a bit thinner than usual. In

East Java East Java (, , ) is a Provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia located in the easternmost third of Java island. It has a land border only with the province of Central Java to the west; the Java Sea and the Indian Ocean border its northern ...

, especially

Madiun Madiun () is a city in the western part of East Java, Indonesia, known for its agricultural center. The city has been administratively separate from the surrounding Madiun Regency since the formation of the two bodies in 1950, but the city remain ...

, the peanut sauce is very thin and spicy. River tamarind ('' lamtoro'') seeds are often added as a topping. In Tegal, Central Java, ''pecel'' sauce is made of peanut and cassava root. In

Surakarta Surakarta (Javanese script, Javanese: , Pegon script, Pegon: ), known colloquially as Solo (Javanese script, Javanese: ; ), is a major List of regencies and cities of Indonesia, city in Central Java, Indonesia. The city adjoins Karanganyar Reg ...

's ''pecel ndeso'', black sesame sauce is used on top of peanut sauce. In

Yogyakarta Yogyakarta is the capital city of the 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 Hamengkubuwono, a monarchy, Yogyakarta is regarded as an importan ...

, pecel is served with ''bacem'' (sweet-simmered)

tempeh Tempe or tempeh (; , ) 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, '' Rhizopus oligosporus'' or '' Rhizopu ...

or ''tofu''. In

, a pecel variant called ''lothek'' (alt. spelling: '' lotek'') includes the use of some raw vegetables, lontong, and ''gorengan''. The name "''lothek''" is derived from "''luthik''", a wooden spatula used to scoop the peanut sauce from a ''cowek'' (grinding bowl). ''Pecel tumpang'' is a pecel smothered with ''tumpang'' (tempeh sauce). It is a delicacy of Kertosono District in Nganjuk. ''Mie pecel'' or ''pecel mie'', noodles with ''pecel'' sauce common in

as well as

Medan Medan ( , ) is the capital city, capital and largest city of the Indonesian Provinces of Indonesia, province of North Sumatra. The nearby Strait of Malacca, Port of Belawan, and Kualanamu International Airport make Medan a regional hub and multi ...

. One of them is ''pecel mie kenyol'' from Batang, a noodle made from cassava with a chewy texture.

Gallery

File:Nasi Pecel Khas Madiun.jpg, ''Pecel''

with '' rempeyek'' cracker File:Nasi Pecel Daun Jati.jpg, ''Pecel'' with fritter, ''sate puyuh'' (quail egg satay), ''sate keong'' (freshwater snail satay), and ''sate usus'' (chicken intestine satay) on a teak leaf in Tuban File:MIE PECEL.jpg, ''Mie pecel'' with ''badak'' (veggies fritter) in

Semarang Semarang (Javanese script, Javanese: , ''Kutha Semarang'') is the capital and largest city of Central Java province in Indonesia. It was a major port during the Netherlands, Dutch Dutch East Indies, colonial era, and is still an important regio ...

References

{{Malaysian cuisine Malaysian cuisine Javanese cuisine Sauces Vegetarian dishes of Indonesia Vegetable dishes of Indonesia Street food in Indonesia Salads Indonesian salads

History

Ingredients

Variants

Gallery

See also

References