Rempeyek facts for kids
Peanut rempeyek
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| Alternative names | Peyek |
|---|---|
| Type | Cracker |
| Place of origin | Indonesia |
| Region or state | Java and Nationwide in Indonesia, Malaysia |
| Main ingredients | Rice flour, peanuts, dried anchovies or shrimp, coconut milk |
| Variations | Peyek bayam |
Rempeyek or Peyek is a tasty, crispy cracker from Indonesia. It's made by deep-frying a special batter. This batter usually contains flour, often rice flour.
The most popular kind of rempeyek is peyek kacang. This means it has peanuts mixed into the batter. But you can also find rempeyek with other yummy things. These include dried anchovies, small shrimp, or even dried shrimp.
Rempeyek is very popular in Indonesia and Malaysia. You can also find it in places like The Netherlands and Suriname. This is because many people from Indonesia have moved there.
How Rempeyek is Made
To make rempeyek, people mix coconut milk, salt, and spices into the flour batter. Common spices are ground candlenut and coriander. Some recipes also add chopped citrus leaves for extra flavor.
Then, the batter is mixed with or poured over the main ingredients. These could be peanuts, anchovies, or shrimp. This mix is then deep-fried in hot coconut oil. The flour batter acts like a glue. It holds all the ingredients together. As it fries, it turns golden brown and becomes super crispy.
Making rempeyek is often a small family business in Indonesia. But some companies now make it on a much larger scale. They sell it widely across the country. In Malaysia, machines are often used to make rempeyek.
What's in a Name?
The name Rempeyek comes from the Javanese language. The word peyek sounds like the crunch a crispy cracker makes when it breaks. It's an onomatopoeia!
Rempeyek is often linked to Javanese cuisine. People in Java eat it with dishes like pecel. Pecel is a mix of vegetables with peanut sauce. Rempeyek is also a great snack on its own. It became popular all over Indonesia. It also spread to Malaysia when Javanese people moved there in the early 1800s.
Different Kinds of Rempeyek
The most common type of rempeyek is rempeyek kacang, which has peanuts. But there are many other kinds too! You can find rempeyek made with anchovy, small shrimp, or dried shrimp. There's even rempeyek bayam, which uses spinach.
Other types use beans, like mung beans and soybeans. Rempeyek kacang is very popular in the Banyumas area of Central Java. Rempeyek rebon, made with small shrimp, is common in the Javanese port town of Cirebon. If you go to Padang restaurants, you might find rempeyek made with larger shrimp.
Some unique versions even use insects like crickets or termites!
Rempeyek in Pop Culture
There's a famous Javanese song called Iwak Peyek. It was sung by a music group called Trio Macan. The song talks about rempeyek as a simple, everyday food. This song even became a cheering song for fans of the Persebaya football club from Surabaya, East Java.
