Rempeyek or peyek is a deep-fried savoury Indonesian- Javanese cracker made from

flour Flour is a powder made by Mill (grinding), grinding raw grains, List of root vegetables, roots, beans, Nut (fruit), nuts, or seeds. Flours are used to make many different foods. Cereal flour, particularly wheat flour, is the main ingredie ...

(usually

rice flour Rice flour (also rice powder) is a form of flour made from finely milled rice. It is distinct from rice starch, which is usually produced by steeping rice in lye. Rice flour is a common substitute for wheat flour. It is also used as a thickening ...

) with other ingredients, bound or coated by crispy flour batter. The most common type of rempeyek is ''peyek kacang'' ("

peanut The peanut (''Arachis hypogaea''), also known as the groundnut, goober (US), goober pea, pindar (US) or monkey nut (UK), is a legume crop grown mainly for its edible seeds. It is widely grown in the tropics and subtropics by small and large ...

peyek"); However, other ingredients can be used instead, such as ''teri'' (dried

anchovies An anchovy is a small, common forage fish of the family Engraulidae. Most species are found in marine waters, but several will enter brackish water, and some in South America are restricted to fresh water. More than 140 species are placed in 1 ...

), ''rebon'' (small shrimp), or ''ebi'' ( dried shrimp). Today, rempeyek is commonly found 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, ...

and

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 ...

, as well as in countries with considerable Indonesian migrant populations, such as

The Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

and

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 ...

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 ...

, salt, and spices such as ground candlenuts and

coriander Coriander (), whose leaves are known as cilantro () in the U.S. and parts of Canada, and dhania in parts of South Asia and Africa, is an annual plant, annual herb (''Coriandrum sativum'') in the family Apiaceae. Most people perceive the ...

are often mixed within the flour batter. Some recipes also add a chopped

citrus ''Citrus'' is a genus of flowering trees and shrubs in the family Rutaceae. Plants in the genus produce citrus fruits, including important crops such as oranges, mandarins, lemons, grapefruits, pomelos, and limes. ''Citrus'' is nativ ...

leaf. The spiced batter, mixed or sprinkled with the granule ingredients, is deep-fried in hot

coconut oil Coconut oil (or coconut fat) is an edible oil derived from the kernels, meat, and milk of the coconut palm fruit. Coconut oil is a white solid fat below around , and a clear thin liquid oil at higher temperatures. Unrefined varieties have a disti ...

. The flour batter acts as a binding agent for the granules (peanuts, anchovy, shrimp, etc.). It hardens upon frying and turns into a golden brown and crispy cracker. In Indonesia, rempeyek making is traditionally a small-scale home industry, yet today, some rempeyek producers have reached a larger production scale and distribute widely, with a rempeyek-brand trading value reaching 25 million Rupiah (around US$2,100) monthly. In Malaysia, rempeyek is now widely made using machines.

Etymology and origin

''Rempeyek'' is derived from the Javanese

onomatopoeia Onomatopoeia (or rarely echoism) is a type of word, or the process of creating a word, that phonetics, phonetically imitates, resembles, or suggests the sound that it describes. Common onomatopoeias in English include animal noises such as Oin ...

''peyek'', depicting the sound of a crisp cracker breaking. Rempeyek is often associated with

Javanese cuisine Javanese cuisine () is the cuisine of Javanese people, a major Native Indonesian, ethnic group in Indonesia in the provinces of Central Java, Yogyakarta, and East Java. Definition Javanese cuisine refers exclusively to the cuisine of Javan ...

, served to accompany

pecel Pecel (, Javanese:ꦥꦼꦕꦼꦭ꧀) is a traditional Javanese salad with peanut sauce, usually eaten with steamed rice, ''lontong'' or '' ketupat''. The simplicity of its preparation and cheap price has contributed to its popularity throug ...

(vegetables in peanut sauce) or other meals or as a stand-alone snack. Today, it is common throughout

and is also popular in

following the migration of Javanese immigrants in the early 19th century.

Variants

Rempeyek kacang tanah dan ikan bilis 20230421 120821

The most common and widely distributed type of rempeyek is ''rempeyek kacang'' (peanut rempeyek); however, anchovy, small

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 ...

, dried shrimp, spinach (''rempeyek bayam''), and beans such as

mung bean The mung bean or green gram (''Vigna radiata'') is a plant species in the legume family.Brief Introduction of Mung Bean. Vigna Radiata Extract Green Mung Bean Extract Powder Phaseolus aureus Roxb Vigna radiata L R Wilczek. MDidea-Extracts P ...

s and

soybean The soybean, soy bean, or soya bean (''Glycine max'') is a species of legume native to East Asia, widely grown for its edible bean. Soy is a staple crop, the world's most grown legume, and an important animal feed. Soy is a key source o ...

s are also common types. ''Rempeyek kacang'' is especially common in the

Banyumas Banyumas (, formerly spelled "Banjoemas") Regency is an inland regency () in the southwestern part of Central Java province in Indonesia. Its capital is the town of Purwokerto, but that town no longer has a central administration and is split o ...

region of

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 ...

, while ''rempeyek rebon'' (small shrimp) is common in the Javanese port town of

Cirebon Cirebon (, formerly rendered Cheribon or Chirebon in English) is a port city on the northern coast of the Indonesian island of Java. It is the only coastal city of West Java, located about 40 km west of the provincial border with Central J ...

. Rempeyek made with larger shrimp is commonly found in Padang restaurants. The recent popularity of spicy food saw the use of sliced ''cabai rawit'' ( bird's eye chili pepper) as rempeyek. There is also a regional specialty of ''rempeyek yutuk'' (

mole crab Hippoidea is a superfamily of decapod crustaceans known as mole crabs or sand crabs. Ecology Hippoids are adapted to burrowing into sandy beaches, a habit they share with raninid crabs, and the parallel evolution of the two groups is strikin ...

), which can be found mostly in

's southern coast towns, such as

Cilacap Cilacap Regency (, also spelt: Chilachap, old spelling: Tjilatjap, Sundanese language, Sundanese: ) is a Regencies of Indonesia, regency () in the southwestern part of Central Java province in Indonesia. Its capital is the town of Cilacap, which ...

. More niche variants with insect ingredients, such as crickets and termites, also exist.

In popular culture

A popular Javanese song, ''Iwak Peyek'', by female

dangdut Dangdut () is a genre of Indonesian folk music that is partly derived and fused from Hindustani, Arabic, and, to a lesser extent, Javanese, Malay, Minangkabau, Sundanese and local folk music. Dangdut is the most popular musical genre in Indon ...

group Trio Macan, describes ''rempeyek'' as a commoners' dish. It served as the rallying song for supporters of Persebaya Football Club from

Surabaya Surabaya is the capital city of East Java Provinces of Indonesia, province and the List of Indonesian cities by population, second-largest city in Indonesia, after Jakarta. Located on the northeastern corner of Java island, on the Madura Strai ...

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 ...

External links

Making that peanut and anchovy cracker – Rempeyek
Yahoo! Entertainment
Rempeyek Kacang Recipe
Kompas.com (in Indonesian)

References

{{Malaysian cuisine Indonesian snack foods Malaysian snack foods Deep fried foods Flour

Etymology and origin

Variants

In popular culture

External links

See also

References