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Pempek, a Traditional Fishcake of Palembang

Minggu, 23 Januari 2022 - 02:33 | 91.98k
A set of fishcakes along with its signature dark fiery sauce. (Photo: Khodijah Siti/TIMES Indonesia)
A set of fishcakes along with its signature dark fiery sauce. (Photo: Khodijah Siti/TIMES Indonesia)

TIMESINDONESIA, JAKARTA – Palembang is the unique city that located in the South Sumatera. They have different kind of cultures and culinary. So far, there’s one food that is mostly common for an Indonesian people, but it has many variants of it and that is the Pempek or Fishcakes.

Pempek is made out of tapioca flour and ground fish. This fishcake varies from the plain round balls to big triangular ones stuffed with hard boiled eggs in it. All will be served with a signature dark fiery sauce called cuko.

Pempek has savoury taste and chewy texture, just like a fried meatball, it’s just a little fishy. But don’t let the unpleasant scent of fish distract, keep digging in and you will find the true taste of Palembang delicacy.

The sauce tastes a little bit sour for it was made of vinegar. Some brown sugar will be added to keep the taste between sour and sweet balance. Some bird eye pepper flakes were also added to bring the sauce taste to another level.

Some diced cucumber will be added into the sauce to make the taste fresh and kick in your mouth. The sauce and the fishcake will be a perfect combination to catch during a hot day in summer or may be in the coldest day of rainy season.

Fishcakes was founded first as the household primary meal that mostly not official. After year 1900, the food was known as the street snacks until nowadays. The Fishcake in the past uses the Belida fish instead tuna one. This is because the Belida fish was already common in Palembang city back then.

After few years passed, the fish become very rare to find and uses tuna fish as the alternative way to make Pempek. As for now, not only in Palembang, but you could also find this fishacke in every corner of the country. (*)

 

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Editor : Khodijah Siti
Publisher : Sofyan Saqi Futaki

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