Rujak. | |
Alternative names | Lotis; Rojak |
---|---|
Type | Salad |
Place of origin | Indonesia[1] |
Region or state | Java |
Serving temperature | Fresh in room temperature |
Main ingredients | Fruits, vegetables, palm sugar, peanuts and chilli dressing. |
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Rujak (Indonesian spelling) or rojak (Malay spelling) is a Javanese traditional fruit and vegetable salad dish, commonly found in Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore.[2][3]
Rujak is available everywhere across Indonesia, and there are rich variations within the country. The most popular rujak variant is rujak buah (fruit rujak), which is mixed sliced fruit and vegetables served with a spicy palm sugar dressing.[4] Unlike common fruit salads, rujak 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] It is a popular street fare in Bali.[6]
Etymology
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.[7] The Javanese in Indonesia have incorporated rujak into their prenatal ceremony called Naloni Mitoni.[8] In Java, pregnant women often craved for unripe mango and other sour-tasting fruits. This food craving phenomenon is called "ngidham" or "nyidham" in Javanese.[9]
The dish was later introduced to other regions and neighboring countries by Javanese diasporas and Indian descents who had lived in Java. Hence the heavy Indian influence in some versions of this dish.[10]
In Malaysia and Singapore, the term "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.[11]
Main Ingredients
The main ingredients for rujak include mangos, bengkoang (local jicamas), kedondong, and papayas. Other fruits may be added as appropriate. The fruits used in a classic rujak typically have different levels of ripeness to achieve a balance taste and perfect texture so as not to make pregnant women nauseous.
Sweet-spicy sauce was later poured on the top of sliced fruits, or served as a dipping sauce. The sauce is made of groundnuts, chilli peppers, coconut sugar, asam jawa (local tamarind), and oftentimes, a little bit of trasi (savory fish/shrimp/prawn paste).
In Javanese traditional market, rujak is often sold along with pecel. "Rujak pecel" is a mixed dish featuring these two.
In Java and across Indonesia, rujak can be found in local warungs or sold by street food sellers (using pushcarts).
Variants
Javanese Regions
Rujak is classically known as a fruit salad. However, as its status changed to a market food, sellers have created their own versions of rujak.[12][13]
Below are among the most popular versions.
Rujak Pecel
A cross between rujak and pecel. Fruits and vegetables slathered with sauce (usually pecel sauce). Lonthong, fried tempeh (or other fried side dish), and krupuk can also be added.
Origins: Central Java (North and North East regions) and East Java.
Rujak Cingur
A take on rujak pecel, this type of rujak uses the lips of a cow or buffalo (Javanese: cingur) as one of the main ingredients. Unlike rujak pecel where pecel sauce js used, it uses rujak sauce instead.
Origin: East Java.
Rujak Petis
Another take on rujak pecel. This time, the sauce is made of petis udang (sweet shrimp/prawn paste).
Origin: Madura and East Java.
Rujak Bebeg
Bebeg means "mushed" or "grounded" in Javanese. Rujak bebeg is a take on the classic rujak recipe. But instead of sliced, the fruits are grounded with a small alu (wooden mortar) or an uleg (stone mortar).
Origins: Central Java (especially Southern regions) and Yogyakarta.
Es Rujak
Shredded fruit served in a thin, soup-like, rujak sauce. Served with ice cubes.
Origins: Central Java.
Rujak Gobet
Shredded fruits served in a thin, soup-like, rujak sauce (like es rujak). No ice cubes.
Popular in Central Java, East Java, and Yogyakarta.
Rujak Es Krim
Sliced fruits in a thin, soup-like, sauce, with a dollop of ice cream on top.
Origin: Yogyakarta.
Rujak Soto
A mixture of rujak cingur and soto soup.
Origin: East Java.
Jakarta
Rujak Juhi
It's a modern take of traditional rujak: a mixture of sliced cucumber, cabbage, potato, egg noodles, and grilled crab meat.
Rujak Shanghai
It looks more like Sundanese "asinan" than the traditional rujak. Such confusion is common in big cities where city folks tend to confuse one ethnic food for the other (Javanese and Sundanese are among the largest migrants that live in Jakarta).
From the ingredients, it suggests the food is a mix of Sundanese (asinan style), East Javanese (the use seafood and koya), Chinese (white radish), and modern Indonesian cuisines (the use of tomato sauce).
Main ingredients include white radish, sliced cucumber, and cuttlefish, served in tomato sauce, and topped with koya (grounded shrimp crackers).
Alternative name: Rujak Bandung.
Palembang
Rujak Mie
Technically not a rujak, as it doesn't include any ingredients that would make a rujak dish. However, it has a sweet sour taste as in typical rujaks (which might become the reason behind the naming).
Rujak Mie is a mixture of egg noodles, tahu, bean sprouts, and sliced cucumber, served in cuko Palembang.
Other Regions in Indonesia
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.[14]
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 gado-gado.
Rujak Kuah Pindang
A Balinese snack, a 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.[15]
Malaysia and Singapore
Rojak in Malaysia and Singapore demonstrate Indian influences with orange-coloured peanut and sweet potato sauce as a dip for fried fritters (with vegetables, coconut, prawn or other items inside), eggs and potatoes.[10]
In Malaysia, rojak is associated with Mamak stalls, which are Muslim Malaysian Indian food stalls where rojak mamak is a popular dish.[16]
In Singapore, rojak mamak is mainly sold by Indian Muslims, rojak buah (fruit rojak) mainly by the Chinese, and rojak Bandung (Cuttlefish) mainly by the Malays. Today, they are sold in most hawker centres in the city.[10]
See also
- Asinan – Indonesian pickled vegetable or fruit dish
- Gado-gado – Indonesian salad dish
- List of fruit dishes – Wikipedia list article
- List of salads – Wikipedia list article
- Mamak stall
- Pasembur
- Pecel – Indonesian vegetable dish
- Bahasa Rojak
- Food portal
References
- ^ "Menguak Fakta Menu Lalapan Sunda Lewat Prasasti Taji". beritasatu.com (in Indonesian). Retrieved 23 December 2017.
- ^ "Rujak Indonesian Fruit Salad & Tangy Peanut Citrus Sauce". Food.com.
- ^ Indonesia OK!!: The Guide with a Gentle Twist. Galangpress Group. 2004. p. 80. ISBN 9789799341792.
- ^ Dina Yuen (2012). Indonesian Cooking: Satays, Sambals and More. Tuttle Publishing. ISBN 9781462908530.
- ^ "Spicy fruit salad (rujak)". SBS.
- ^ Eka Juni Artawan (24 March 2016). "Savor: Rujak Bali – Spicy Balinese fruit salad". The Jakarta Post.
- ^ "4 Makanan yang Sudah Ada Sejak Ribuan Tahun Lalu, Ada Kesukaanmu? - Bobo". bobo.grid.id (in Indonesian). Retrieved 27 February 2021.
- ^ Lusiana Mustinda (26 November 2014). "Mitoni, Ritual Tujuh Bulanan untuk Kelancaran Persalinan". Food Detik.com (in Indonesian).
- ^ "Ibu Hamil Sedang Ngidam, Nih! Haruskah Semuanya Dituruti?". Hello Sehat (in Indonesian). 10 November 2018. Retrieved 26 February 2021.
- ^ a b c "Rojak". Your Singapore.
- ^ hermes (14 April 2018). "Singapore's 'rojak' mix of cultures works fine". The Straits Times. Retrieved 27 February 2021.
- ^ Luthfi, Wihdi. "Aneka Rujak di Indonesia (Bagian II)". www.goodnewsfromindonesia.id (in Indonesian). Retrieved 27 February 2021.
- ^ "Tak cuma buah dan cingur, ini 10 macam rujak lain khas Indonesia". brilio.net (in Indonesian). Retrieved 27 February 2021.
- ^ Tresna Purnama Dewi (12 July 2012). "Rujak U' Groeh". Budaya Indonesia.
- ^ "Bali: Warung Rujak Gelogor". Good Indonesian Food. 2 November 2015. Archived from the original on 11 February 2017. Retrieved 10 February 2017.
- ^ "Top 10 Most Ordered Mamak Foods in Malaysia". Explorer Malaysia.