Rujak (Indonesian spelling) or rojak (Malay spelling) is a salad dish of Javanese origin, commonly found in Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore.[2][3] The most popular variant in all three countries is a salad composed of a mixture of sliced fruit and vegetables served with a spicy palm sugar dressing.[4] It is often described as tangy and spicy fruit salad due to its sweet, hot and spicy dressing made from ground chilli, palm sugar and peanuts.[5]
There is a diverse variety of preparations, especially in Indonesian cuisine, and rujak is widely available throughout Indonesia. While the most common variant is primarily composed of fruits and vegetables, its sweet and tangy dressing is often made with prawn paste. Some recipes may contain seafood or meat components, especially in Malaysia and Singapore where a notable variant shows influence from Indian Muslim cuisine.
Rujak is one of the oldest dishes and the earliest historically identified food of ancient Java. The word "rujak" came from the word rurujak in ancient Javanese Taji inscription (901 CE) from the era of Mataram Kingdom in Central Java.[6]
The dish was later introduced to other regions and neighboring countries by the Javanese diaspora, as well as Indian descents who had lived in Java. In Malaysia and Singapore, it is spelled as "rojak".[7][8]
In Indonesia, particularly among the Javanese, the sweet, spicy and sour tastes of rojak is popular among pregnant women; this craving for unripe mango and other sour-tasting fruits is known as "ngidham" or "nyidham" in Javanese.[9] In Javanese culture, rujak is an essential part of the traditional prenatal ceremony called Naloni Mitoni or tujuh bulanan (literally: seventh month), and is meant to wish the mother-to-be a safe, smooth and successful labour.[10] Special fruit rujak is made for this occasion, and later served to the mother-to-be and her guests, primarily her female friends. The recipe of rujak for this ceremony is similar to typical Indonesian fruit rujak, with the exceptions that the fruits are roughly shredded instead of thinly sliced, and that jeruk bali (pomelo/pink grapefruit) is an essential ingredient. It is believed that if the rujak overall tastes sweet, the unborn would be a girl, and if it is spicy, the unborn baby is a boy.[11]
Mangarabar, or rujak making, is a special event for the inhabitants of the BatakMandailing region in Tapanuli, North Sumatra, Indonesia after the harvest. Normally the whole village will be involved in making and consuming the rujak.[12]
In Malaysia and Singapore, "rojak" is also used as a colloquial expression for an eclectic mix, in particular as a word describing the multi-ethnic character of Malaysian and Singaporean society.[13][7][14]
Indonesian rujak
Sweet rujak sauce. Made of palm sugar, tamarind, peanuts, and chilli.
Rujak Buah (fruit rujak)
Seasonal fruits rujak in Indonesia.
In Indonesia, Rujak buah is also known as rujak manis (sweet rujak). The typical Indonesian fruit rujak consists of slices of assorted tropical fruits such as jambu air (water apple), pineapple, unripe mangoes, bengkoang (jicama), cucumber, kedondong and raw red ubi jalar (sweet potato). Sometimes Malang variants of green apple, belimbing (starfruit) and jeruk Bali (pomelo) are added. The sweet and spicy-hot bumbu rujak dressing is made of water, gula jawa (palm sugar), asem jawa (tamarind), crushed peanuts, terasi (prawn paste), salt, bird's eye chilli and red chilli. All of the fruits are cut to bite-size pieces, and put in the dish.[15]
The bumbu rujak or thick sweet spicy rujak dressing is poured on the fruit slices. An addition of sambal garam powder (a simple mixture of salt and ground red chilli) is put on side as the alternative for those who prefer a salty taste for their rujak. The Javanese people call this kind of rujak as lotis.[16]
Rujak Cuka
Rujak cuka literally means "vinegar rujak". It is a speciality of Sundanese cuisine of West Java, noted for its sour freshness. It is made of shredded fruits such as pineapple and unripe mango, and vegetables such as jícama, cabbage, bean sprouts and cucumber. It is quite similar to asinan due to its sour and spicy dressing, since both dishes contain vinegar, palm sugar and chilli.[17]
Rujak Tumbuk (Rujak Bēbēk)
Rujak bebek or rujak tumbuk (mashed rujak).
This is another variant of Indonesian fruit rujak which comes from West Java.[18] The ingredients are almost the same as typical Indonesian fruit rujak, with the exception that all the ingredients are being ground or mashed together (tumbuk or bēbēk in Indonesian) in a wooden mortar. The fruits being ground are young/green pisang batu (a species of plantain), raw red yam, jicama, Java apple, kedondong and young unripe mango. The dressing is not poured on the fruit, but mashed together with all the ingredients. The dressing contains terasiprawn paste, palm sugar, salt and birds-eye chilli. Traditionally, rujak tumbuk is served in individual smaller portions on banana leaf plates called pincuk. However today, it is also commonly served in plastic cups.
Rujak Serut
This literally means "shredded rujak", and is another variant of Indonesian fruit rujak. As with rujak tumbuk, the ingredients are similar to Indonesian fruit rujak, with the exceptions that the fruits are not cut into bite-sized pieces, but shredded into a roughly grated consistency.
Rujak u' Groeh
A delicacy from Aceh province, this rujak consists of very young and tender coconut meat, young (green) papaya, bird's eye chilli, sugar, palm sugar, ice, salt and a dash of lime. This rujak is best eaten cold.[19]
Rujak Pengantin
"Pengantin" means "bride-and-groom pair" in Indonesian. This rujak is reminiscent of Indonesia's colonial cuisine. It contains slices of boiled eggs, potatoes, fried tofu, pineapple, carrot, bean sprouts, pickles, chilli, lettuce, cabbage, cucumber, emping crackers, roasted peanuts, peanut sauce and little vinegar. In some variants, the peanut sauce is mixed with mayonnaise. It is somewhat like Central Javanese gado-gado.
Rujak Kuah Pindang
Rujak kuah pindang, uses thin sweet and spicy sauce made of pindang fish brine broth, Bali.
Rujak is a popular street food in Bali.[20] A Balinese variation of the Indonesian fruit rujak, but instead of the normal rujak dressing, the fruits are soaked in a spiced fish broth. The broth consists of terasi (fermented prawn paste), salt, bird's eye chilli, red chilli and pindang fish broth.[21]
Rujak Terasi
Terasi means shrimp paste. This rujak is from Lombok. It is slices of fruits like mango, kedondong (june plum), pineapple, papaya with sambal using roasted shrimp paste.[22]
Rujak Cingur
Rujak Cingur, made from buffalo mouth is a speciality of Surabaya.
This is another variant of rujak from Surabaya. It contains slices of bangkuang, unripe mango, cucumber, kangkung (water spinach), kedondong, tofu and soybean sprouts all served in a black sauce made from petis (sticky black fermented prawn paste, related to terasi), fried shallots, salt, palm sugar, unripe banana and crushed peanuts. Traditionally it is served on a banana leaf; today it is more commonly served on plates.
Rujak Tolet
Similar to fruit rujak, and also from Surabaya. Aside from unripe fruits the rojak also includes fried tofu, fried garlic and optionally beef tendons. The sauce is petis-based mixed with palm sugar, slices of raw bird's eye chilli and sweet soy sauce.
Juhi means saltedcuttlefish in Indonesian; this rujak contains fried tau kwa tofu, fried boiled potatoes, fried shredded salted cuttlefish, cucumber, noodles, lettuce, cabbages, peanut sauce, vinegar, chilli and fried garlic. This dish was originated from the Chinese community in Batavia (now Jakarta) and now has become a Betawi dish closely related with Asinan Betawi.[24]
Rujak Shanghai
Rujak Shanghai served in Glodok Chinatown area, Jakarta.
Named after "Bioscoop Shanghay" (a cinema named after Shanghai, China's most populated city) In Batavia Kota area, this dish was created by Indonesia's Chinese community. This variant of rujak can be found in Indonesian Chinatowns in cities such as Glodok in Jakarta. Rujak Shanghai contains seafood, like Rujak Juhi. Boiled sliced gurita (octopus) and edible jellyfish are served with kangkung, and served with thick red sweet and sour sauce, mixed with pineapple juice, and toasted crushed peanuts. Usually chilli sauce and pickled bengkoang are served as condiments.[25]
Rujak Soto
A delicacy from Banyuwangi, East Java, it is a unique blend between beef soto and rujak cingur. A local speciality in which the vegetables (water spinach and bean sprouts) rujak served with lontong rice cake in petis sauce poured with soto soup. It was created in 1975 by Usni Solihin.[26]
Rujak Es Krim
The specialty dessert from Yogyakarta. Fruit rujak mixed with ice cream made from coconut milk. It is also served with sambal.[27]
In Brebes, there is a typical rujak called rujak belut. It is fried eels smeared with sambal and served with fresh chopped shallot and tomato.[31]
Rujak Bulung
Rujak bulung is a traditional rujak dish in Bali. It is edible seaweed mixed with pindang (fish) sauce, grated coconut, grated galangal, and rujak seasoning made from salt, sugar, chili peppers and shrimp paste.[32]
Rujak Kembang Katis
Rujak Kembang Katis
Rujak kembang katis or rujak bunga pepaya in Indonesian, is a food from Bangka Island. The rujak is cassava leaves, papaya flower and some other vegetables with peanut sauce.[33]
Rujak Teplak
In Tegal Regency, rujak teplak is a common rujak dish. It consists of vegetables such as water spinach, cabbage, bean sprouts, asparagus beans, papaya leaves, cassava leaves, and banana blossom smeared with spicy sauce. The sauce is made from chilis, peanuts, and cassava. The dish is served with a cracker called kerupuk mie (noodle cracker).[34]
Rujak Gamel
Rujak gamel is a specialty rujak of Gamel Village in Cirebon Regency, West Java. It consists of noodles, boiled water spinach, cabbage, tofu, fritter, eggplant, and wet krupuk.[35]
Malaysian and Singaporean rojak
Rojak Buah (fruit rojak)
Fruit rojak in Singapore.
In Malaysia and Singapore, fruit rojak typically consists of cucumber, pineapple, jícama, bean sprouts, taupok (puffy, deep-fried tofu) and youtiao (cut-up Chinese-style fritters).[13] Unripe mangoes and green apples are less commonly used. The dressing is made of water, belacan, sugar, chilli and lime juice. Ingredients vary among vendors, with some adding prawn paste (hae ko in Hokkien), tamarind or black bean paste to the mix. The ingredients are cut into bite-sized portions and tossed in a bowl with the dressing, and topped with crushed peanuts and a dash of ground or sliced torch ginger bud (bunga kantan in Malay).
A popular variant found in Penang, Malaysia is Rojak Penang, which adds jambu air, guava, squid fritters and honey to the mixture, and emphasizes the use of tart fruits such as unripe mangoes and green apples, while bean sprouts and fried tofu puffs are usually omitted.[36] The sauce or dressing for the rojak tends to be very thick, with an almost toffee-like consistency.[37]
Rojak India
Indian (mamak) rojak in SingaporeA selection of items for Indian rojak in SingaporeRojak mamak in Malaysia.
In Malaysia, mamak rojak (also known as Indian rojak or Pasembur) is associated with Mamak stalls, which are Muslim Malaysian Indian food stalls where rojak mamak is a popular dish.[38] It contains fried dough fritters, tofu, boiled potatoes, prawn fritters, hard boiled eggs, bean sprouts, cuttlefish and cucumber mixed with a sweet thick, spicy peanut sauce.[38] In the northwestern states of Peninsular Malaysia such as Penang, and Kedah, it is always called pasembur, while in Kuala Lumpur it is called rojak mamak.
In Singapore, Indian rojak consists of an assortment of potatoes, hard-boiled eggs, tofu and prawn fritters, often colorfully dyed. Customers typically select their favorite items from a display, after which they are heated up in a wok, chopped up, and served with a sweet and spicy peanut and chilli sauce on the side for dipping.[39]
Rojak Bandung
A Singaporean dish known as Rojak Bandung contains cuttlefish, water spinach, cucumber, tofu, peanuts, chilli and sauce.[40][41] Rojak Bandung has no relation to the Indonesian city of Bandung; in the Malay language, the term bandung means "pairs".[42]
See also
Asinan– Indonesian pickled vegetable or fruit dish
Malaysian cuisine consists of cooking traditions and practices found in Malaysia, and reflects the multi-ethnic makeup of its population. The vast majority of Malaysia's population can roughly be divided among three major ethnic groups: Malays, Chinese and Indians. The remainder consists of the indigenous peoples of Sabah and Sarawak in East Malaysia, the Orang Asli of Peninsular Malaysia, the Peranakan and Eurasian creole communities, as well as a significant number of foreign workers and expatriates.
Indonesian cuisine is a collection of various regional culinary traditions that formed in the archipelagic nation of Indonesia. There are a wide variety of recipes and cuisines in part because Indonesia is composed of approximately 6,000 populated islands of the total 17,508 in the world's largest archipelago, with more than 1,300 ethnic groups.
Malay cuisine is the traditional food of the ethnic Malays of Southeast Asia, residing in modern-day Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Brunei, Southern Thailand and the Philippines as well as Cocos Islands, Christmas Island, Sri Lanka and South Africa.
Penang cuisine is the cuisine of the multicultural society of Penang, Malaysia. Most of these cuisine are sold at road-side stalls, known as "hawker food" and colloquially as "muckan carts". Local Penangites typically find these hawker fares cheaper and easier to eat out at due to the ubiquitousness of the hawker stalls and that they are open for much of the day and night. Penang island. On February 22, 2013, Penang was ranked by CNN Travel as one of the top ten street food cities in Asia. Penang has also been voted by Lonely Planet as the top culinary destination in 2014.
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.
Chinese Indonesian cuisine is characterized by the mixture of Chinese with local Indonesian style. Chinese Indonesians, mostly descendant of Han ethnic Hokkien and Hakka speakers, brought their legacy of Chinese cuisine, and modified some of the dishes with the addition of Indonesian ingredients, such as kecap manis, palm sugar, peanut sauce, chili, santan and local spices to form a hybrid Chinese-Indonesian cuisine. Some of the dishes and cakes share the same style as in Malaysia and Singapore, known as Nyonya cuisine by the Peranakan.
Nasi goreng, Malay lit. 'fried rice', is a Southeast Asian rice dish with pieces of meat and vegetables added. It can refer simply to fried pre-cooked rice, a meal including stir fried rice in a small amount of cooking oil or margarine, typically spiced with kecap manis, shallot, garlic, ground shrimp paste, tamarind and chilli and accompanied by other ingredients, particularly egg, chicken and prawns. There is also another kind of nasi goreng which is made with ikan asin which is also popular across Indonesia. Nasi goreng is sometimes described as Indonesian stir-fried rice, although it is also popular in Southeast Asia. Beyond the Malay Archipelago, it has gained popularity through Indonesian influence in Sri Lanka and via Indonesian immigrant communities in Suriname and the Netherlands. It is distinguished from other Asian fried rice recipes by its aromatic, earthy and smoky flavor, owed to generous amount of caramelised sweet soy sauce and powdered shrimp paste, and the taste is stronger and spicier compared to Chinese fried rice.
Pecel is a traditional Javanese salad with peanut sauce, usually eaten with steamed rice, lontong or ketupat.
Pasembur is a Malaysian salad consisting of shredded cucumber, potatoes, bean curd, turnip, bean sprouts, prawns fritters, spicy fried crab, fried squid or other seafoods and dressed with a sweet and spicy nut sauce.
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.
Tingkeban is a Javanese prenatal ceremony held during the seventh month of a woman's pregnancy, also known as mitoni. The ritual is also known as slametan mitoni, another name for the slametan rudjakan, which is held when rice in the field is almost ripe and can soon be harvested. Tingkeban is conducted by village midwives and is performed on the seventh, 17th, or 27th day of the seventh Islamic month of the pregnancy, at 7 am. In some locations, the tingkeban is only done for the birth of the first child in the family, whereas others hold a shortened version of the ritual that does not involve ritual bathing or distributing rujak.
Sundanese cuisine is the cuisine of the Sundanese people of Western Java, and Banten, Indonesia. It is one of the most popular foods in Indonesia. Sundanese food is characterised by its freshness; the famous lalab eaten with sambal and also karedok demonstrate the Sundanese fondness for fresh raw vegetables. Unlike the rich and spicy taste, infused with coconut milk and curry of Minangkabau cuisine, the Sundanese cuisine displays the simple and clear taste; ranged from savoury salty, fresh sourness, mild sweetness, to hot and spicy.
Asinan is a pickled vegetable or fruit dish, commonly found in Indonesia. Asin, Indonesian for "salty", is the process of preserving the ingredients by soaking them in a solution of salty water. Asinan is quite similar to rujak, which is usually served fresh, while asinan is preserved vegetables or fruits. Of the many types and variations of asinan in Indonesia, the most popular are asinan Betawi and asinan Bogor. Asinan can be found in restaurants, warung, and travelling street vendor.
Ayam penyet ; Javanese for squeezed fried chicken) is Indonesian — more precisely East Javanese cuisine — fried chicken dish consisting of fried chicken that is squeezed with the pestle against the mortar to make it softer, and is served with sambal, slices of cucumbers, fried tofu, and tempeh. In Indonesia, penyet dishes such as fried chicken and ribs are commonly associated with Surabaya, the capital city of East Java. The most popular ayam penyet variant is ayam penyet Suroboyo.
Salads that are internationally known as Thai salads with a few exceptions fall into four main preparation methods. In Thai cuisine these are called yam, tam, lap and phla. A few other dishes can also be regarded as being a salad.
Ayam goreng is an Indonesian and Malaysian dish consisting of deep-fried chicken in oil. Ayam goreng literally means "fried chicken" in Malay, Indonesian and also in many Indonesian regional languages. Unlike other countries, Indonesian fried chicken usually uses turmeric and garlic as its main ingredients rather than flour.
Ayam bakar is an Indonesian and Malay dish, consisting of charcoal-grilled chicken. Ayam bakar literally means "grilled chicken" in Indonesian and Malay.
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.
Gado-gado is an Indonesian salad of raw, slightly boiled, blanched or steamed vegetables and hard-boiled eggs, boiled potato, fried tofu and tempeh, and sliced lontong, served with a peanut sauce dressing.
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