REPORT TEXT

“PEMPEK (EMPEK-EMPEK)”

By : Group 7

1. Dian Rizki Maharani

2. Dwita Nofalinda
3. Resi Juliana
4. Ridwan Heryadi
 Pempek, mpek-mpek or empek-empek is an original
food from Palembang, South Sumatera, Indonesia, that made
from the mashed fish and tapioca. Pempek is served with
rich sweet and sour sauce called kuah cuka or kuah cuko ,
or just "cuko". Sometimes local people also add yellow
noodles for variations.

Pempek is the best known of Palembang's dishes.

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 fisherman. In the Sumatran tropical climate, before the
invention of refrigeration technology, most of these unsold,
left over fish decayed and were wasted.
 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, and then he sold it 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.

Pempek dough is made from a mixture of boneless ground fish

meat, most commonly Tenggiri fish, with water, salt and sago flour.
Gabus fish is commonly made as pempek. According to the
tradition, the best tasting pempek are made of Belida fish, but due to
its rarity and superior taste, pempek made from this fish are usually
more expensive. Kuah cuko is produced by adding palm sugar, chili
pepper, garlic, vinegar, and salt to boiling water. The color of this
sauce is dark brown. Sometimes Ebi (shredded dried shrimp) is also
added to increase the flavor. This sweet, sour and spicy sauce is
essential for flavouring the pempek. Traditionally, all pempek sauces
are served hot and spicy, the ground chilies are mixed in the sauce.
 There are many varieties of pempek, they are: Pempek
kapal selam, Pempek telur kecil, Pempek lenjer, Pempek
keriting, Pempek pistel, Pempek kulit, Pempek adaan, Pempek
tahu, Pempek Tunu, and Pempek model.

As a local specialty, pempek can be commonly found on

every street in Palembang with a concentration of outlets in
downtown Palembang. Pempek can also be found in other
regions, especially in major cities in Indonesia. However, the
taste of pempek in other regions are usually different to pempek
from Palembang. Outside Indonesia, pempek establishments
can be found in Singapore, Malaysia and Australia. Some
pempek establishments import boiled unfried frozen pempek
dumplings in vacuum packages straight from Palembang. These
ready to cook pempek dumplings are also popularly sold in
Palembang as oleh-oleh foodstuff gifts or souvenirs for visitors
from other Indonesian cities.
THANKS FOR YOUR
ATTENTION 