''Pempek'', ''mpek-mpek'' and also known as colloquially as ''empek-empek'' is a savoury Indonesian

fishcake A fishcake (sometimes written as fish cake) is a culinary dish consisting of filleted fish or other seafood minced or ground, mixed with a starchy ingredient, and fried until golden. Asian-style fishcakes usually contain fish with salt, water, ...

delicacy, made of

fish A fish (: fish or fishes) is an aquatic animal, aquatic, Anamniotes, anamniotic, gill-bearing vertebrate animal with swimming fish fin, fins and craniate, a hard skull, but lacking limb (anatomy), limbs with digit (anatomy), digits. Fish can ...

and

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 ...

, from

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 ...

, South Sumatera,

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, ...

. Pempek is served with a rich sweet and sour sauce called ''kuah cuka'' or ''kuah cuko'' (), or just "cuko". Sometimes local people also eat the dish with yellow

noodle Noodles are a type of food made from unleavened dough which is either rolled flat and cut, stretched, or extruded, into long strips or strings. Noodles are a staple food in many cultures and made into a variety of shapes. The most common noo ...

s and diced cucumber to balance out the vinegar's sourness, or adding chili powder to giving the vinegar's spiciness.

Origin

Stamp of Indonesia - 2006 - Colnect 385079 - Indonesian Traditional Foods - Pempek

''Pempek'' is the best-known of Palembang's dishes. Its origin is undoubtedly Palembang. However, the history behind the creation of this savoury dish is unclear. Traditional

folklore Folklore is the body of expressive culture shared by a particular group of people, culture or subculture. This includes oral traditions such as Narrative, tales, myths, legends, proverbs, Poetry, poems, jokes, and other oral traditions. This also ...

connects it with Chinese influences. Some suggests that pempek probably originated from ancient ''kelesan'', a steamed dish made of the mixture of

sago Sago () is a starch extracted from the pith, or spongy core tissue, of various tropical palm stems, especially those of ''Metroxylon sagu''. It is a major staple food for the lowland peoples of New Guinea and the Maluku Islands, where it is c ...

dough with fish flesh, dated as early as

Srivijaya Srivijaya (), also spelled Sri Vijaya, was a Hinduism, Hindu-Buddhism, Buddhist thalassocracy, thalassocratic empire based on the island of Sumatra (in modern-day Indonesia) that influenced much of Southeast Asia. Srivijaya was an important ...

n era circa 7th century CE. Sago flour might be extracted from the trunk of sago palm or aren palm. According to local tradition, around the 16th century there was an old Chinese immigrant who lived near the Musi river. He noticed an abundance of fish caught by the local fishermen. In the

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. ...

n tropical climate, before the invention of

refrigeration Refrigeration is any of various types of cooling of a space, substance, or system to lower and/or maintain its temperature below the ambient one (while the removed heat is ejected to a place of higher temperature).IIR International Dictionary of ...

technology, most of these unsold leftover fish decayed and were wasted. The indigenous people, however, had limited knowledge and techniques for processing fish. During that period, most of the indigenous people simply grilled, fried or boiled their fish instead of adding other ingredients to make new dishes. The old Chinese man mixed in some

and other spices, which he then sold around the village on his cart. The people referred to this old man as 'pek-apek, where ''apek'' is a Chinese slang word to call an old man. The food is known today as empek-empek or pempek. Another theory suggests that pempek was a Palembang adaptation of Southern Chinese ngo hiang or kekkian (

) as a

surimi is a paste made from Fish as food, fish or other meat. It can also be any of a number of East Asian cuisine, East Asian foods that use that paste as their primary ingredient. It is available in many shapes, forms, and textures, and is often ...

(魚漿, yújiāng) based food. But instead of being served in soup or plainly fried, pempek is notable for its spicy palm sugar-vinegar based sauce.

Ingredients

Dough

Pempek

dough Dough is a malleable, sometimes elastic paste made from flour (which itself is made from grains or from leguminous or chestnut crops). Dough is typically made by mixing flour with a small amount of water or other liquid and sometimes includes ...

is made from a mixture of boneless ground fish meat, most commonly ''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 ...

), with water, salt and

flour. Sometimes, people also add a little bit of cooking oil and/or wheat flour to improve the texture and to make the pempek not too chewy, they also add MSG to enrich the

umami Umami ( from ), or savoriness, is one of the five basic tastes. It is characteristic of broths and cooked meats. People taste umami through taste receptors that typically respond to glutamates and nucleotides, which are widely present in me ...

taste. ''Ikan gabus'' ( snakehead) is also commonly made as pempek. Numerous pempek sellers and producers in Palembang use a cheap combination of fish, which has a strong scent. According to tradition, the best tasting pempek are made of ''belida'' or ''belido'' ('' Chitala lopis''), but due to its rarity and superior taste, pempek made from this fish are usually more expensive. Pempek in

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 ...

are made from

mackerel Mackerel is a common name applied to a number of different species of pelagic fish, mostly from the family Scombridae. They are found in both temperate and tropical seas, mostly living along the coast or offshore in the oceanic environment. ...

(''ikan kembung'') and its sauce is red chilli based, while in Jakarta or other cities they could be made from ''

gourami Gouramis, or gouramies , are a group of fresh water, freshwater Anabantiformes, anabantiform fish that comprise the family (biology), family Osphronemidae. The fish are native to Asia—from the Indian Subcontinent to Southeast Asia and northeas ...

'' fish. The latest variant is ''pempek udang'', pempek made of minced

shrimp A shrimp (: shrimp (American English, US) or shrimps (British English, UK)) is a crustacean with an elongated body and a primarily Aquatic locomotion, swimming mode of locomotion – typically Decapods belonging to the Caridea or Dendrobranchi ...

originated from Sungsang area in Banyuasin near the Musi river estuary, it is noticeable with its pinkish color. The dough is boiled in hot water or steamed until hardened as partly cooked dumplings, and stored to be fried later just before serving.

Sauce

''Kuah cuko'' (lit: vinegar sauce) is produced by adding

palm sugar Palm sugar is a sweetener derived from any variety of palm tree. Palm sugar may be qualified by the type of palm, as in coconut palm sugar. While sugars from different palms may have slightly different compositions, all are processed simila ...

, chili pepper, garlic,

vinegar Vinegar () is an aqueous solution of diluted acetic acid and trace compounds that may include flavorings. Vinegar typically contains from 5% to 18% acetic acid by volume. Usually, the acetic acid is produced by a double fermentation, converting ...

, and

salt In common usage, salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl). When used in food, especially in granulated form, it is more formally called table salt. In the form of a natural crystalline mineral, salt is also known as r ...

to boiling water. The color of this sauce is dark brown. Sometimes Tongcai and Ebi (ground dried shrimp) are also added to increase the flavor. This sweet, sour and spicy sauce is essential for flavouring the pempek, since the pempek dough is very mildly savoury. Pempek Bangka

The sauce of Bangka pempek is chili based, made from the mixture of ground red chili and vinegar and its color is bright red. Traditionally all pempek sauces are served hot and spicy, the ground chilies are mixed in the sauce. However, since some people desire unspicy sauce, or cannot eat hot and spicy sauce, the ground chillis were often separated as sambals. In some pempek restaurants, the bottled kuah cuko sauce is left on customers' tables and they are welcome to pour on the amount of sauce they desire. There are two kind of sauces available, spicy hot and plain. Another pempek variant is called ''pempek sambal'', a specialty of Palembang's neighboring city

Jambi Jambi is a province of Indonesia. It is located on the east coast of central 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 i ...

. This type of pempek is not consumed with liquid sauce, but the flat rounded pempek is being smeared, coated and sauteed with thick sambal chili sauce.

Serving

The boiled or steamed pempek dumplings are deep-fried in

cooking oil Cooking oil (also known as edible oil) is a plant or animal liquid fat used in frying, baking, and other types of cooking. Oil allows higher cooking temperatures than water, making cooking faster and more flavorful, while likewise distributing h ...

until light pale brown right before serving. They are cut in bite-size, served with yellow noodles or

rice vermicelli Rice vermicelli is a thin form of rice noodle. It is sometimes referred to as "rice noodles" or "rice sticks", but should not be confused with cellophane noodles, a different Asian type of vermicelli made from mung bean starch or rice starch r ...

, showered in ''kuah cuko'', and sprinkled with chopped

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 ...

crackers might be offered.

Variants

This fishcake dough can be made into various shapes and forms with additional ingredients. Just like

pasta Pasta (, ; ) is a type of food typically made from an Leavening agent, unleavened dough of wheat flour mixed with water or Eggs as food, eggs, and formed into sheets or other shapes, then cooked by boiling or baking. Pasta was originally on ...

the shapes have their own distinctive names, although all are made from the same dough. There are many varieties of pempek; variants are: * ''Pempek kapal selam'': (), which is made from a chicken egg wrapped within the pempek dough and then deep-fried. The shape is similar to Chinese dumplings but larger in size. According to food science and technology scientist, the ''pempek kapal selam'', with egg addition, is rich in

protein Proteins are large biomolecules and macromolecules that comprise one or more long chains of amino acid residue (biochemistry), residues. Proteins perform a vast array of functions within organisms, including Enzyme catalysis, catalysing metab ...

fat In nutrition science, nutrition, biology, and chemistry, fat usually means any ester of fatty acids, or a mixture of such chemical compound, compounds, most commonly those that occur in living beings or in food. The term often refers specif ...

vitamin A Vitamin A is a fat-soluble vitamin that is an essential nutrient. The term "vitamin A" encompasses a group of chemically related organic compounds that includes retinol, retinyl esters, and several provitamin (precursor) carotenoids, most not ...

mineral In geology and mineralogy, a mineral or mineral species is, broadly speaking, a solid substance with a fairly well-defined chemical composition and a specific crystal structure that occurs naturally in pure form.John P. Rafferty, ed. (2011): Mi ...

, and

carbohydrate A carbohydrate () is a biomolecule composed of carbon (C), hydrogen (H), and oxygen (O) atoms. The typical hydrogen-to-oxygen atomic ratio is 2:1, analogous to that of water, and is represented by the empirical formula (where ''m'' and ''n'' ...

content, is the most nutritious variety. The name derived from the shape of pempek that resembles

submersible A submersible is an underwater vehicle which needs to be transported and supported by a larger ship, watercraft or dock, platform. This distinguishes submersibles from submarines, which are self-supporting and capable of prolonged independent ope ...

midget submarine A midget submarine is any submarine under 150 tons, typically operated by a crew of one or two but sometimes up to six or nine, with little or no on-board living accommodation. They normally work with mother ships, from which they are launched an ...

. * ''Pempek telur kecil'': (), filled with egg similar to pempek kapal selam, but smaller in size. * ''Pempek lenjer'': long cylindrical pempek, its shape is similar to sausages, also can served in big cylindrical. Pempek

* ''Pempek keriting'': (), the dough is made into small noodle ball. This similar process also applied to produce white

. * ''Pempek pistel'': the shape and size is similar to pempek telur kecil, but filled with minced young

papaya The papaya (, ), papaw, () or pawpaw () is the plant species ''Carica papaya'', one of the 21 accepted species in the genus '' Carica'' of the family Caricaceae, and also the name of its fruit. It was first domesticated in Mesoamerica, within ...

instead. * ''Pempek kulit'': (), fish-skin pempek, the dough is mixed with minced fish skin, as the result it has stronger fishy aroma and darker color. * ''Pempek adaan'': ball shaped pempek. * ''Pempek tahu'':

tofu or bean curd is a food prepared by Coagulation (milk), coagulating soy milk and then pressing the resulting curds into solid white blocks of varying softness: ''silken'', ''soft'', ''firm'', and ''extra (or super) firm''. It originated in Chin ...

sliced and filled with pempek dough.

* ''Pempek tunu'': charcoal-grilled pempek stuffed with ebi, sweet kecap sauce and

chilli sauce Chili sauce and chili paste are condiments prepared with chili peppers. Chili sauce may be Scoville scale, hot, Sweetness, sweet or a combination thereof, and may differ from hot sauce in that many sweet or mild varieties exist, which is typic ...

. * ''Pempek model'' (''model iwak''):

wrapped inside pempek dough. Similar to pempek kapal selam, but egg is replaced with tofu. Instead of served with cuko, it is served in shrimp soup. *''Pempek uyen/bujan'': curly pempek made from taro and fish from Bangka. Most of those forms of pempek are deep fried in

until light brown, and are served with yellow noodles or

and ''kuah cuko'', sprinkled with chopped

cucumber The cucumber (''Cucumis sativus'') is a widely-cultivated creeping vine plant in the family Cucurbitaceae that bears cylindrical to spherical fruits, which are used as culinary vegetables.coconut milk Coconut milk is a plant milk extracted from the grated pulp of mature coconuts. The opacity and rich taste of the milky-white liquid are due to its high oil content, most of which is saturated fat. Coconut milk is a traditional food ingred ...

, served with chilli and sprinkled with ''bawang goreng'' (fried shallots). * ''Laksan'': often referred to as Palembang style pempek in laksa soup, sliced pempek fishcake served in

coconut milk Coconut milk is a plant milk extracted from the grated pulp of mature coconuts. The opacity and rich taste of the milky-white liquid are due to its high oil content, most of which is saturated fat. Coconut milk is a traditional food ingred ...

based soup. * ''Lenggang'': omelette with mixture of sliced pempek fishcake, also served in kuah cuko. * '' Tekwan'': chopped pempek fishcake soup with jicama, mushroom and fishballs. * ''Model'': fried pempek dough filled with tofu inside, also served with shrimp broth. A variation of ''model'' called ''model gendum'' is made from wheat flour.

Outlets

As a local specialty, pempek can be commonly found on every street in Palembang with a concentration of outlets in downtown Palembang. Pempek can also be found in other regions, especially in major cities in Indonesia. However, the taste of pempek in other regions usually differs from Palembang pempek. The main ingredients such as fish and flour are scarce and/or difficult to find in other regions, causing the difference in taste. Pmpk Smbl

Pempek is easy to find in Jakarta and other Indonesian cities, from the food-courts in malls and shopping centers to traveling pempek vendors on carts. The cheaper pempek version sold by traveling vendors on carts generally use less fish and more tapioca, resulting in a rather bland flavour. The fame of South Sumatran Palembang's pempek has influenced some neighbouring provinces, which also in return has developed their own pempek variants. Pempek is also a popular dish in South Sumatra's neighboring province capital city

and Bandar Lampung, and also the neighbouring island of Bangka. Some pempek establishments, such as Pempek Pak Raden and Pempek Bunga Mas are opening branches all over major food courts. In

Jakarta Jakarta (; , Betawi language, Betawi: ''Jakartè''), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta (; ''DKI Jakarta'') and formerly known as Batavia, Dutch East Indies, Batavia until 1949, is the capital and largest city of Indonesia and ...

, the notable pempek outlets are Pempek Megaria in Metropole cinema complex, Central Jakarta.Fairy Mahdzan: Potty for Pempek Palembang!
/ref> It is among the oldest pempek establishments in the city. Other pempek outlets are those in Pasar Minggu market, South Jakarta. 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 ...

, one of the leading pempek establishments in the city is Pempek Ny. Kamto located near

Malioboro ''Jalan Malioboro'' (; ) is a major shopping street in Yogyakarta (city), Yogyakarta, Indonesia; the name is also used more generally for the neighborhood around the street. It lies north–south axis in the line between Kraton Ngayogyakarta Hadi ...

street. Outside Indonesia, pempek establishments can be found in

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

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 ...

and

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. As Palembang is not far from Singapore and Malaysia, to ensure the authenticity some pempek establishments import boiled unfried frozen pempek dumplings in vacuum packages straight from Palembang. These ready to cook pempek dumplings are also popularly sold in Palembang as ''oleh-oleh'' foodstuff gifts or souvenirs for visitors from other Indonesian cities.

References

External links

Prof.Dr. Made Astawan, Departement of Food Science and Technology, Bogor Agricultural University. Pempek, Nilai Gizi "Kapal Selam" Paling Tinggi

{{Indonesian cuisine Indonesian cuisine Deep fried foods Surimi 16th-century introductions Fish dishes Street food in Indonesia Palembang cuisine