Krupuk

*Krupuk*
	Kerupuk in air-tight tin containers
Course	Snack
Place of origin	Indonesia
Region or state	Java
Associated national cuisine	Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, and Philippines
Serving temperature	Room temperature
Main ingredients	Starch, animal proteins, vegetables.
Variations	Different variations according to ingredients
	Cookbook: Krupuk; Media: Krupuk;

Krupuk (Javanese), kerupuk (Indonesian), keropok (Malay), kroepoek (Dutch) or kropek (Tagalog) is a deep fried cracker made from starch and other ingredients that serve as flavouring. They are a popular snack in maritime Southeast Asia, and is most closely associated with the culinary traditions of Indonesia, in particular Javanese cuisine. It is an ubiquitous staple in its country of origin, and later spread to other countries either via the migration of diaspora populations or exports.^[3]

Etymology[]

Krupuk in Javanese means "fried side dish (made of flour, mixed with other ingredients).^[4] The word was later absorbed to other languages and stylesized according to local pronunciations. In the modern states of Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, and the Philippines, it appears under a general name with minor phonetic variations. In Indonesian, it's "kerupuk". In Malay, it is "keropok". In Dutch, it's "kroepoek" ("oe" being equivalent to "u"), which was the original spelling before the establishment of Indonesia.

Javanese onomatopoeia for the sound one makes when eating crunchy foods (krauk for a big crunch; kriuk for a small crunch) is believed to have inspired the naming. It might also inspire the naming of kripik (a different type of Javanese cracker).

History[]

According to culinary historian Fadly Rahman, krupuk had existed in Java since the 9th or 10th century.^[2] It was written in the Batu Pura inscription as krupuk rambak, which refers to crackers made from cow or buffalo skin, that still exist today as krupuk kulit, and are usually used in a Javanese dish called krechek. In its development, krupuk spreads across the archipelago, and the taste varies according to the ingredients. From Java, krupuk spread to various coastal areas of Kalimantan, Sumatra, to the Malay Peninsula.^[2] It is produced and consumed in various varieties and is an integral part of the national cuisines of several Southeast Asian countries. Kroepoek also can be found in the Netherlands, through their historic colonial ties with Indonesia.^[5]

Today, krupuk has been one of food-product export commodities of Indonesia, reaching foreign markets including Thailand, China, South Korea, European Union, United States and Mexico.^[3]

Preparation and consumption[]

To achieve maximum crunchiness, most of this pre-packed raw krupuk must be sun-dried first before being deep fried at home. To cook krupuk, a wok and plenty of very hot cooking oil is needed. A healthier fatless version might be made by briefly pulsing the raw krupuk in the microwave oven: usually one minute at the medium (~700W) power is enough to successfully puff a handful of chips. Raw krupuk is quite small, hard, and darker in color than cooked one.^[6]

Krupuk and kripik can be consumed alone as a snack, or cracked and sprinkled on top of certain food as a complement to add crispy texture. Certain Indonesian dishes such as gado-gado, karedok, rujak, asinan, bubur ayam and certain kinds of soto were known to require a certain type of krupuk for toppings. Krupuk is an essential ingredient to make seblak, a savoury and spicy dish made of boiled wet krupuk cooked with protein sources (chicken, beef or seafood) in spicy sauce.^[7]

Types[]

Indonesia[]

Variety of raw unfried krupuk sold at Indonesian traditional market, Bengkulu province

Indonesia has perhaps the largest variety of krupuk.^[8] There are many variations on krupuk, many of which are made from starch with seafood (shrimp, fish, or squid), but occasionally with rice, fruits, nuts or vegetables; these variations are more usual in Southeast Asia.

Krupuk gendar (brown rice cracker) and krupuk kampung or krupuk putih (cassava starch crackers) in air-tight containers

Krupuk amplang, refer to pingpong balls-sized fish krupuk from Kalimantan.
Krupuk bawang, garlic cracker
Krupuk gendar, ground rice cracker
Krupuk ikan, fish cracker, commonly found in Indonesia, especially seafood industry production centres, such as Palembang, Bangka, Cirebon and Sidoarjo. Wahoo is the most popular fish used to make krupuk ikan, however a more expensive variant uses belida fish / featherback knifefish.
Krupuk blek (also known as krupuk uyel, krupuk kampung, or krupuk putih), cassava starch cracker is ubiquitous in Indonesia
Krupuk kemplang, a type of flat fish cracker is particularly popular in Southern Sumatran city of Palembang
Krupuk kuku macan, another name of amplang with distinct "tiger nail" nugget-shaped brown-coloured fish cracker, popularly associated with Samarinda and the island of Bangka.
Krupuk kulit (most parts of Indonesia), Krupuk jangek (Minangkabau), or Rambak (Java), refer to cracker made from dried cattle skin, particularly popular in Minangkabau area West Sumatra.
Krupuk kulit babi, crispy fried pork skin, also known as pork rinds. Rarely found in Muslim majority regions in Indonesia, but common in non-Muslim majority provinces, such as Bali, North Sumatra, and North Sulawesi.
Krupuk mie (noodle cracker) is yellowish krupuk made from noodle-like paste usually used for asinan topping, particularly popular in Jakarta and most of markets in Java.
Krupuk udang, shrimp cracker or prawn cracker probably is the most internationally well-known variant of krupuk. The examples of popular krupuk udang brands in Indonesia is Camili Kerupuk,^[9] Finna^[10] and Komodo brand whereas the popular krupuk udang household brands in Malaysia are Rota Prawn Crackers and myReal Pulau Pangkor Prawn Crackers.^[11]

Krupuk udang, prawn cracker
Krupuk ikan, fish cracker
Kerupuk kampung made of tapioca starch
Krupuk amplang, fish cracker
Krupuk kemplang, fish cracker
Krupuk mie, noodle cracker
Krupuk kulit, skin cracker

Malaysia[]

Keropok lekor in Terengganu, Malaysia.

In Malaysia, it is called keropok and associated with fish and seafood (those made with other foods than fish and seafood are called kerepek). Varieties of keropok found in Malaysia Keropok kering, Keropok lekor and amplang. Keropok lekor originated from Terengganu, and Amplang is endemic to the coastal towns of Semporna and Tawau in Sabah. While keropok kering can be found in most of Malaysia states ^[12] Mukah town in Sarawak also historically known as a fishing town for the making of keropok.^[13]

Philippines[]

Krupuk, is most commonly known as kropek and kropeck in the Philippines, but is sometimes also referred to as 'fish crackers', 'prawn crackers' or less commonly as 'fish chicharron', which is technically fried fish skin. But in the Philippines some forms of chicharron are not made with animal products at all, rather they are made with tapioca starch and green peas, hence the term 'fish chicharron' came to be. It's debatable if the vegetarian, kropek like 'mock pork cracklin' could be considered a form of kropek, since there are a lot of similarities but also differences which make them two, be it separate, but comparable snacks. They are sold at sari-sari stores in smaller portions, suitable for kids or people who are looking for a light snack, as well as in bigger bags at local supermarkets and convenience stores.

Kropek is eaten as an appetizer, with a vinegar and chili dipping sauce, sometimes as accompaniment at drinking sessions, or paired with a meal. There are a lot of local brands which sell kropek all with their own touch. However, some of the most popular and well known brands in the Philippines are the 'La La Fish Crackers' and Oishi renowned for their prawn crackers, fish crackers and fish kropeck. Oishi, being a Philippines-based company, which has expanded all across Asia, making it not only one of the biggest Filipino brands, but one of the biggest Asian companies.

Production centres[]

Sun-drying krupuk at Karimun Jawa island.

In Indonesia, major producing centres of krupuk usually are coastal fishing towns. Sidoarjo in East Java,^[14] Cirebon in West Java, Karimun Jawa island, Padang, Palembang and Medan in Sumatra, Bangka Island, Samarinda and Pontianak in Kalimantan, and Makassar in Sulawesi are major producers of krupuk, and many recipes originate from there.

Some inland towns also famous as krupuk production centres, such as Bandung, Garut and Malang. Although usually they are not producing seafood-based krupuk as their coastal towns counterparts. Most of krupuk producer traditionally are modest home industry. However, today there is a dilemma among krupuk factories, whether to shift to automation through modern machinery but have to lay-off some of their workers, or continues producing in traditional ways but lack in producing capacity.^[15]

Most of the coastal towns in Malaysia such as Mukah, Malacca Town, Pangkor Island and Lumut produce keropok from large scale manufacturing to small scale home factories.

Notes[]

References[]

^ Adrian Vickers (3 November 2005). A History of Modern Indonesia. Cambridge University Press. pp. 190–. ISBN 978-1-139-44761-4.
^ Jump up to: ^a ^b ^c Wirayudha, Randy (31 August 2017). "Kriuk Sejarah Kerupuk". Historia - Majalah Sejarah Populer Pertama di Indonesia (in Indonesian). Retrieved 11 October 2020.
^ Jump up to: ^a ^b Post, The Jakarta. "Indonesia sells 35 containers of kerupuk at Thaifex 2016". The Jakarta Post. Retrieved 30 August 2021.
^ Poerwadarminta, WJS. Bausastra.
^ "A Guide to Dutch Indonesian Cuisine". Awesome Amsterdam. Archived from the original on 6 July 2014. Retrieved 15 August 2014.
^ Indonesian Regional Food and Cookery: Prawn cracker
^ Karina Armadani (19 December 2014). "Kuliner Tradisional: Menikmati Pedasnya Seblak Khas Bandung". CNN Indonesia (in Indonesian).
^ Yohan Handoyo. "Christmas Crackers". Jakarta Java kini. Archived from the original on 7 April 2014. Retrieved 4 April 2014.
^ [1]
^ Krupuk Udang Finna
^ "myReal Pulau Pangkor Prawn Crackers by Lumut Crackers Sdn. Bhd". lumutcrackers.com.my.
^ Su-Lyn Tan; Mark Tay (2003). Malaysia & Singapore. Lonely Planet. pp. 149–. ISBN 978-1-74059-370-0.
^ Pat Foh Chang (1999). Legends and history of Sarawak. Chang Pat Foh. ISBN 978-983-9475-07-4.
^ "Sidoarjo Cracker Industry". EastJava.com. 4 November 2010. Retrieved 3 November 2014.
^ Post, The Jakarta. "Krupuk A bite-size problem". The Jakarta Post. Retrieved 30 August 2021.

External links[]

[1] Adrian Vickers (3 November 2005). A History of Modern Indonesia. Cambridge University Press. pp. 190–. ISBN 978-1-139-44761-4.

[Historia-Kerupuk-2] Jump up to: ^a ^b ^c Wirayudha, Randy (31 August 2017). "Kriuk Sejarah Kerupuk". Historia - Majalah Sejarah Populer Pertama di Indonesia (in Indonesian). Retrieved 11 October 2020.

[JP-Krupuk-1-3] Jump up to: ^a ^b Post, The Jakarta. "Indonesia sells 35 containers of kerupuk at Thaifex 2016". The Jakarta Post. Retrieved 30 August 2021.

[4] Poerwadarminta, WJS. Bausastra.

[Amsterdam-5] "A Guide to Dutch Indonesian Cuisine". Awesome Amsterdam. Archived from the original on 6 July 2014. Retrieved 15 August 2014.

[6] Indonesian Regional Food and Cookery: Prawn cracker

[CNN-Seblak-7] Karina Armadani (19 December 2014). "Kuliner Tradisional: Menikmati Pedasnya Seblak Khas Bandung". CNN Indonesia (in Indonesian).

[JJK-8] Yohan Handoyo. "Christmas Crackers". Jakarta Java kini. Archived from the original on 7 April 2014. Retrieved 4 April 2014.

[9] [1]

[10] Krupuk Udang Finna

[11] "myReal Pulau Pangkor Prawn Crackers by Lumut Crackers Sdn. Bhd". lumutcrackers.com.my.

[12] Su-Lyn Tan; Mark Tay (2003). Malaysia & Singapore. Lonely Planet. pp. 149–. ISBN 978-1-74059-370-0.

[Chang1999-13] Pat Foh Chang (1999). Legends and history of Sarawak. Chang Pat Foh. ISBN 978-983-9475-07-4.

[14] "Sidoarjo Cracker Industry". EastJava.com. 4 November 2010. Retrieved 3 November 2014.

[15] Post, The Jakarta. "Krupuk A bite-size problem". The Jakarta Post. Retrieved 30 August 2021.

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