Alternative names | Kerupuk, keropok |
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Course | Snack |
Place of origin | Indonesia [1] [2] |
Region or state | Java |
Serving temperature | Room temperature |
Main ingredients | Starch, animal proteins, vegetables. |
Variations | Different variations according to ingredients |
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Krupuk (Javanese) [n 1] is a cracker made from starch or animal skin and other ingredients that serve as flavouring. Most krupuk are deep fried, while some others are grilled or hot sand fried. They are popular snacks in maritime Southeast Asia (Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Brunei, and Philippines), most closely associated with the culinary traditions of Indonesia, in particular Javanese cuisine. It is a ubiquitous staple in its country of origin and has spread to other countries either via the migration of diaspora populations or exports. [3]
Krupuk in Javanese means "fried side dish" (made of flour, mixed with other ingredients). [4] The word was later absorbed into other languages and stylized according to local pronunciations. In Indonesia and the modern states of Brunei, Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore, and the Philippines, krupuk is known under a general name with minor phonetic variations. It is called "kerupuk" in Indonesian, while in Malay, it is "keropok". In Dutch, it is "kroepoek" ("oe" being equivalent to "u"), which was also the original spelling prior to the establishment of modern Indonesia and post-independence spelling reform.
The Javanese onomatopoeia for the sound of crunchy foods (krauk for a big crunch; kriuk for a small crunch) is believed to have inspired the name. It might have also inspired the naming of kripik , a different type of Javanese cracker.
According to culinary historian Fadly Rahman, krupuk had existed in Java since the 9th or 10th century. [2] It was written in the Batu Pura Inscription as krupuk rambak, which refers to crackers made from cow or buffalo skin, that still exist today as krupuk kulit ("skin krupuk") and are usually used in a Javanese dish called krechek . In its development, krupuk spread across the archipelago, and the taste varies according to the ingredients. From Java, krupuk spread to various coastal areas of Kalimantan, Sumatra, to the Malay Peninsula. [2] It is produced and consumed in various varieties and is an integral part of the national cuisines of several Southeast Asian countries. Kroepoek also can be found in the Netherlands, through their historic colonial ties with Indonesia. [5]
Today, krupuk has been one of the food-product export commodities of Indonesia, reaching foreign markets including Thailand, China, South Korea, the United States, Mexico, and the European Union. [3]
To achieve maximum crunchiness, most of this pre-packed raw krupuk must be sun-dried first before being deep fried at home. To cook krupuk, a wok with plenty of high-temperature cooking oil is needed. A healthier, fatless version might be made by briefly pulsing the raw krupuk in the microwave oven: usually one minute at the medium (~700W) power is enough to successfully puff a handful of chips. Raw krupuk is quite small, hard, and darker in color than the cooked one. [6]
Krupuk and kripik can be consumed alone as a snack or cracked and garnished on top of foods for a complementary, crisp texture. Certain Indonesian dishes such as gado-gado, karedok, rujak, asinan, bubur ayam and certain kinds of soto require a certain type of krupuk for toppings. It is an essential ingredient to make seblak , a savoury-spicy dish made of boiled, wet krupuk cooked with protein (chicken, beef, or seafood), all in a spicy sauce. [7]
Indonesia has perhaps the largest variety of krupuk. [8] There are many variations on krupuk, many of which are made from starch with seafood (shrimp, fish, or squid), but occasionally with rice, fruits, nuts or vegetables; these variations are more usual in Southeast Asia.
In Malaysia, it is called keropok and associated with fish and seafood (those made with other foods than fish and seafood are called kerepek). Varieties of keropok found in Malaysia Keropok kering, Keropok lekor and amplang. Keropok lekor originated from Terengganu, and Amplang is endemic to the coastal towns of Semporna and Tawau in Sabah. While keropok kering can be found in most of the Malaysian states, [17] Mukah town in Sarawak also historically known as a fishing town for the making of keropok. [18]
Krupuk, most commonly spelt as kropek and kropeck in the Philippines, is sometimes also referred to as "fish crackers", "prawn crackers" or less commonly as "fish chicharrón", which is technically fried fish skin. Some forms of chicharrón are made with non-animal sources such as tapioca starch and green peas, hence the term. It is debatable if the vegetarian, kropek-like "mock pork crackling" could be considered a form of kropek, since there are a lot of similarities but also differences which make them two. These are sold at sari-sari stores in smaller portions as a light snack, as well as in bigger bags at local supermarkets and convenience stores.
Kropek is often eaten as an appetizer, with a vinegar and chili dipping sauce, sometimes as accompaniment at drinking sessions, or paired with a meal. There are a lot of local brands which sell different varieties of kropek. Some of the more well-known brands in the Philippines are La La Fish Crackers and Oishi prawn crackers, fish crackers, and fish kropeck. Oishi, a Philippines-based company that has expanded across Asia, is one of the biggest Filipino and Asian companies.
In Indonesia, major production centres of krupuk are usually coastal fishing towns. Sidoarjo in East Java, [19] Cirebon in West Java, Karimun Jawa island, Padang, Palembang and Medan in Sumatra, Bangka Island, Samarinda and Pontianak in Kalimantan, and Makassar in Sulawesi are major producers of krupuk, and many recipes originate from there.
Some inland towns are also famous as krupuk production centres, such as Bandung, Garut and Malang. Although they usually do not produce seafood-based krupuk as their coastal town counterparts. Most krupuk producers traditionally are modest home industries. However, today there is a dilemma among krupuk factories, whether to shift to automation through modern machinery but have to lay-off some of their workers, or continue producing in traditional ways but lack in producing capacity. [20]
Most of the coastal towns in Malaysia such as Mukah, Malacca Town, Pangkor Island and Lumut produce keropok from large scale manufacturing to small scale home factories.
Shrimp paste or prawn sauce is a fermented condiment commonly used in Southeast Asian and Coastal Chinese cuisines. It is primarily made from finely crushed shrimp or krill mixed with salt, and then fermented for several weeks. They are either sold in their wet form or are sun-dried and either cut into rectangular blocks or sold in bulk. It is an essential ingredient in many curries, sauces and sambal. Shrimp paste can be found in many meals in Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. It is often an ingredient in dip for fish or vegetables.
Nasi goreng is a Southeast Asian fried rice dish, usually cooked with pieces of meat and vegetables. One of Indonesia's national dishes, it is also eaten in Malay-speaking communities in countries such as Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei, and has gained popularity in Sri Lanka through migrations from the Indonesian Archipelago, in countries like Suriname via Indonesian immigrant communities, and in the Netherlands through its colonial ties with Indonesia. Nasi goreng is distinguished from other Asian fried rice preparations by its distinct smoky aroma, and caramelised yet savoury undertones of flavour. There is no single defined recipe for nasi goreng, and its composition and preparation varies greatly from household to household.
Emping is a type of Indonesian chip, a bite-size snack kripik cracker, made of melinjo or belinjo nuts. Emping crackers have a slightly bitter taste. Emping snacks are available in markets plain (original), salty, spicy, or sweet, depending on the addition of salt or caramelized sugar.
Pempek, mpek-mpek and also known as colloquially as empek-empek is a savoury Indonesian fishcake delicacy, made of fish and tapioca, from Palembang, South Sumatera, Indonesia. Pempek is served with rich sweet and sour sauce called kuah cuka or kuah cuko, or just "cuko". Sometimes local people also eat the dish with yellow noodles and diced up cucumber to balance out the vinegar's sourness.
Lontong is an Indonesian dish made of compressed rice cake in the form of a cylinder wrapped inside a banana leaf, commonly found in Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore. Rice is rolled inside a banana leaf and boiled, then cut into small cakes as a staple food replacement for steamed rice. The texture is similar to that of ketupat, with the difference being that the ketupat container is made from woven janur fronds, while lontong uses banana leaf instead.
Javanese cuisine is the cuisine of Javanese people, a major ethnic group in Indonesia, more precisely the province of Central Java, Yogyakarta and East Java.
Rempeyek or peyek is a deep-fried savoury Indonesian-Javanese cracker made from flour with other ingredients, bound or coated by crispy flour batter. The most common type of rempeyek is peyek kacang ; However, other ingredients can be used instead, such as teri, rebon, or ebi. Today, rempeyek is commonly found in Indonesia and Malaysia, as well as in countries with considerable Indonesian migrant populations, such as The Netherlands and Suriname.
Kemplang is an Indonesian traditional savory fish cracker snack commonly found in southern parts of Sumatra, Indonesia. Kemplang crackers are commonly made of ikan tenggiri (wahoo) or any type of Spanish mackerel, mixed with tapioca starch and other flavorings, sun-dried and then grilled or fried.
Amplang, also known as kerupuk kuku macan, is an Indonesian traditional savoury fish cracker snack commonly found in Indonesia and Malaysia. Amplang crackers are commonly made of ikan tenggiri (wahoo) or any type of Spanish mackerel, mixed with starch and other materials before being deep-fried.
Krechek or krecek or sambal goreng krechek is a traditional Javanese cattle skin spicy stew dish from Yogyakarta and Central Java, Indonesia. Traditionally it is made from the soft inner skin of cattle, however, the most common recipe today uses readily available rambak or krupuk kulit.
Krupuk kulit is a traditional Indonesian cattle skin krupuk (cracker). It is traditionally made from the soft inner skin of cattle which is diced and sun-dried until it hardens and loses most of its water content. The diced and dried skin are later fried in ample hot cooking oil until they expand similarly with bubbles and yield a crispy texture. This fried cattle skin is then sealed in vacuum plastic bags to ensure and prolong its crispiness.
Sambal is an Indonesian chili sauce or paste, typically made from a mixture of a variety of chilli peppers with secondary ingredients such as shrimp paste, garlic, ginger, shallot, scallion, palm sugar, and lime juice. Sambal is an Indonesian loanword of Javanese origin. It originated from the culinary traditions of Indonesia and is also an integral part of the cuisines of Singapore, Malaysia, Brunei, and Sri Lanka. It has also spread through overseas Indonesian populations to the Netherlands and Suriname.
Fish crackers are deep-fried crackers made from fish and spices, originating from Indonesia. The crackers are made mainly with tapioca flour and/or sago flour and then salt, sugar, and MSG as seasonings. Fish crackers can be found throughout Southeast Asia and East Asia. However, they are more commonly found and of greater variety in Indonesia and Malaysia.
Prawn crackers are a deep-fried snack made from starch and prawn. They are a common snack food in Southeast Asian cuisine, but they are most closely associated with Indonesia. They have also been adapted into East Asian cuisines, where the similar Japanese kappa ebisen (かっぱえびせん) and Korean saeukkang are popular snacks.
Seblak is an Sundanese savoury and spicy dish, originating from the Sundanese region in West Java, Indonesia. Made of wet krupuk cooked with protein sources in spicy sauce. Seblak is a specialty of Bandung city, West Java, Indonesia. Seblak can be acquired from restaurants, warungs or gerobak (cart) street vendors. It is one of the most popular street foods in Indonesia, especially in Bandung and Jakarta.
Pindang refers to a cooking method in the Indonesian and Malay language of boiling ingredients in brine or acidic solutions. Usually employed to cook fish or egg, the technique is native to Sumatra especially in Palembang, but has spread to Java and Kalimantan. The term also could refer to a specific sour and spicy fish soup which employs seasonings like tamarind. Pindang has food preservation properties, which extends the shelf life of fish products.
Tahu campur, literally meaning "mixed tofu" in Javanese language and broader Indonesian language, is an East Javanese tofu dish. The dish consists of sliced tahu goreng, lontong, lentho or sometimes replaced by perkedel, fresh bean sprouts, fresh lettuce, yellow noodles, and krupuk crackers, served in savoury beef stew, garnished with fried onions, and sambal chili sauce. The beef stew soup is seasoned with spices and petis, a type of shrimp paste commonly used in East Javanese cuisine.
Indonesian noodles are a significant aspect of Indonesian cuisine which is itself very diverse. Indonesian cuisine recognizes many types of noodles, with each region of the country often developing its own distinct recipes.