Pempek in Palembang

When I told people on campus that I was going to Sumatra they would ask "Where?"  When I said "Palembang" they would then ask if I could bring back some "pempek" and "kerupuk".  I've seen several types of "kerupuk"(various spellings) here in Bali and often have a few as a snack whilst waiting for a meal.  They come in various shapes and sizes, and are usually fish flavoured.  Some are rather like the familiar "prawn cracker".

Most passengers on the return flight must have received similar requests as hardly a passenger boarded without a box (or two) of pempek and a bag of kerupuk.  Pempek was to be a new experience for me.




Disc shaped kerupuk on a shop shelf

Apart from the variety, there were no real surprises with kerupuk.  But pempek was something new altogether.  The tourist guides list "pempek" as one of the main attractions.  So what is "pempek"? 

From Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pempek) comes this explanation:

"Pempek, mpek-mpek or empek-empek is a savoury fishcake delicacy from Palembang,Indonesia, made of fish and tapioca. Pempek is served with yellow noodles and a dark, rich sweet and sour sauce called kuah cuka or kuah cuko (lit. vinegar sauce).

Pempek is the best-known of Palembang's dishes Its origin is undoubtly Palembang, however the history behind the creation of this savoury dish is unclear. 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 Sumatran tropical climate, before the invention of refrigeration 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 tapioca 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 (fish slice) as a surimi based food. But instead of being served in soup or plainly fried, pempek is notable for its spicy palm sugar-vinegar based sauce."

The Wiki article has explanations the details of the dough, the sauces and other components.  In summary, it is one of the traditional foods of Indonesia and is an iconic food of Palembang.  It is a fishcake of varying size and shape made from a dough mixture of ground fish, tapioca, egg, noodle and dried shrimp powder, fried then eaten either hot or cold with a spicy sauce of palm sugar, vinegar, tamarind and chilli.  They come is a variety of shapes, sizes and flavours.  They are made in small factories and home kitchens, and the characteristic smell of shrimp paste is unmistakeable in many parts of the city.

The taxi driver we had used all week said he lived near one of the best makers of pempek, so we went in search of a good pempek on Saturday before setting off for the airport.

We parked at the compound of this small Chinese temple and walked down crowded streets, through the market to the pempek maker.

Pempek and kerupuk - handmade in many small workshops

The "fresh fish" lane in the market

Chillies by the thousands - red, green, whatever.



Our pempek artisan



Sampling before purchase - the "submarines" really were delicious.

Out in the lanes people travelled about in the pedi-cabs, often carrying large goods.



The large woven baskets are used for drying the products out in the sun and traffic.

Along the lane we passed trays and baskets of kerupuk of many styles drying outside in the sun.



Above: another small manufacturer
Below: inside the "factory"

A baby in a crate swings asleep as mum works

The seller packs our pempek and secures our many boxes for transport. 



Packing the pempek - we don't want the oils and the sauce to spoil our baggage.

 

Just as Italian pasta comes in many shapes and sizes, so too do pempek.  According to the Wiki article cited above, the main types are:

• Pempek kapal selam: (Indonesian: submarine pempek), 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, fat, vitamin a, mineral, and carbohydrate content, is the most nutritious variety. The name derived from the shape of pempek that resembles submersible midget submarine.
• Pempek telur kecil: (Indonesian: small egg pempek), filled with egg similar to pempek kapal selam, but smaller in size.
• Pempek lenjer: long cylindrical pempek, its shape is similar to sausages.
• Pempek keriting: (Indonesian: curly pempek), the dough is made into small noodle ball. This similar process also applied to produce white krupuk.
• Pempek pistel: the shape and size is similar to pempek telur kecil, but filled with minced youngpapaya instead.
• Pempek kulit: (Indonesian: skin pempek), 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 sliced and filled with pempek dough.
• Pempek model: tofu wrapped inside pempek dough. Similar to pempek kapal selam, but egg is replaced with tofu.

I tried several of these types of pempek, both in Palembang, and on my return to Bali.  I didn't enjoy the "pempek kulit" (fish skin pempek) but the "submarine" pempek kapal selam was very good indeed.

This is the final blog about Palembang, the pempek city.

Paul in Bali

September 2013