Today, as usual, I woke up from my bed, prepare for college and ready to write a new story. After having personal preparation I walked into the kitchen for having breakfast. Can you guess what is my meal for today? I have 4 pieces of pempek complete with cuko, a pair of Palembang’s traditional cuisine. Simply that was a perfect formula on facing new experience, never bored on them !. Even sometimes in one day I just having pempek for completing breakfast, lunch, and dinner. In my opinion, pempek recently has transformed into staple food coupled with rice for Palembang’s citizen. You will find it so simple, pempek is sold by various segments of society either by a five-star restaurant or street vendors.
Pempek originally is made by fresh fish, sago flour, salt, and some additional ingredient depend on its type. At first, fish has to destroyed into small pieces and mix it with water, flour, and salt. It seems so easy to step on process making pempek, exactly make the taste of pempek depend with feeling skill and experience. We can make a mixture from various kind of fish starting from tenggiri, gabus, etc. Every difference of fish, a composition of flour, amount of water will create different taste even that was too little. Historically, there have been pempek in Palembang since the influx of Chinese immigrants to Palembang, which is around the 16th century while Sultan Mahmud Badaruddin II ruling Palembang Darussalam Sultanate. Pempek name believed to come from mention apek, the term for the old man Chinese descent. Based on folklore around the year 1617 a 65-year old living in Daerah Perakitan (banks of Musi River) are concerned witnessed fish catches abundant in the Musi River. The result has not been entirely put to good use, almost citizen just both frying and boiling it. The old man then tried other treatment alternatives. With fellow Chinese friend, he minced fish meat mixed with tapioca flour finally resulting new foods. The new food sold by them by cycling around Palembang city and citizen’s response was satisfying. Because pempek was vend by bicycle sometimes people were yelled “apek-apek” to making them stopping their vehicle. In the long run, most people called the new food as pempek because it spell ed repeated belong to the seller.
Recently there are many kinds of pempek, especially after significant technology development and globalization. Every bargainer is competing on selling pempek, as much as possible gain public attention. Lenjer, Adaan, Kapal-Selam, Kulit, are some general type of pempek which has been existed, in my opinion, all of them are yummy. Might be people other than those staying in Palembang are mostly recognize Pempek Kapal-Selam, the big one therewith egg yolk. You will identify it look like shell form swimming on black water accompanied by some cucumber. Second most popular are Pempek Lenjer, simply every people if be commanded making pempek are preferred to choose it. Pempek lenjer is simple to make, the shape is long and tabulates no more additional ingredient beside primary substance. My favorite is Pempek Adaan because taste very strongly met by spice and no fishy smell at all. It has ball-shape and sometimes pempek adaan are filled by rough garlic depending on appetite. Almost pempek’s appearance are white except for Pempek Kulit who have dark gray color. Because pempek kulit are made by fish’s skin not the same as the others. If we give pempek to some cat around us maybe pempek kulit will be hotly contested because of very strong fish flavor. In health side, pempek contains a variety benefit especially because contain fish. Everyone will receive a high amount of protein, calcium, phosphor, and some vitamin which is useful for health. It also can be alternative to replace rice because sufficient carbohydrates daily need. Consumption of fish for Indonesian people classified as below average according to data. Processing fish’s resource into pempek could be the best solution for creating high attention of fish consumption.
Today people are creative on making pempek, some innovation is presented to us. Newly in Jakarta, we have heard about Pempek Hitam, created from special black charcoal which safe for our body. The idea to create a black Pempek crossed by the seller Jovita and Devi Halim (quoted from Tribune-Kaltim, December 5th, 2015). "Because our parents are from Palembang and see pempek is a traditional food that is very distinctive and also good that comes to mind to sell pempek in Jakarta, with the aim that pempek be more attractive to the public," said Jovita, owner Pempek Shinta. They said that purpose of making pempek Hitam is getting teenager’s attention to eat traditional food on leisure time. Moreover in Palembang city exactly, Pempek Krispi now being a famous name among people’s conversation. It is further development, a new variant of pempek kulit which has been discussed above. Pempek krispi has wonderful taste and tempting, the best recommendation for you who hate fish aroma. They also have very thin shape compared to another type, making us sound like eating a cracker. Hereafter pempek raw materials are not always fish, makers sometimes create it from shrimp, squid, even meatless. Yeah, the last I spell is called Pempek Dos, just consist of flour and salt. Globalization, rapid development, and economy demand have push people to be more creative.
Usually eating pempek are companies with special complement called cuko, black creature with a unique flavor. Quotes said that eating pempek is never delicious if not completed with cuko. How to make this liquid? Just need brown sugar, garlic, tamarind, chili, and salt. Cuko has a function to prevent us from nausea because of fishy taste form that pempek. Everyone recognizes cuko as weak black water with spicy-sweet sense, don’t confuse with vinegar (acetic acid) although they have the same label. Simply pempek and cuko are the best cuisines for everyone, every time, and every moment
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