Pempek or empek-empek ( a kind of fishcake) is the first word comes to mind when thinking of the city of Palembang, South Sumatra. Indeed, although the food, which is mainly made from fish and flour, can be found in many places in South Sumatra, Palembang is still recognized as the center for Pempek. Pempek itself has been famous in Palembang since the 16th century.
Pempek was initially introduced by the Chinese immigrants. Initially, the main ingredient of pempek was the cork fish, which lived in Musi River. At that time, a Chinese called Apek, the cork fish was mixed with tapioca flour. The food was then peddled around Palembang.
For the Chines immigrants in South East Asia, Apek refers to uncle or the oldest brother of father. Eventually, Apek’s processed food was called pempek or empek-empek, named after the seller. Pempek stalls are easily found in Palembang, starting from street hawkers to restaurant. Each of stall has its own specialty.
One of the famous pempek stall is Pempek Beringin. The pempek is legendary, as it was opened in the 70’s decade. The stall even has been visited by celebrities, such as Mario Teguh (motivator), Firza (singer), Nikita Willy (actress), and Diego Michiels (football player). One of the Pempek Beringin stalss is located on Jalan Radial (Radial Road) No 2890 Palembang
The stall consists of two stores. Entering the first floor, the customer will find a row of various types of pempek. Each of variety is served on winnowing paved by banana leaf. Aside of tables and chairs, the first floor also displays various souvenirs, including foods and fashion products typical of Palembang.
Dozens of chairs and tables are arranged neatly and comfortably on the 200 meter square area of the second floor. This room even provides a screen and karaoke equipments. The room is comfortable at all, while the environment is so homy. Visitors can also enjoy the outdoor scenery from the open space of the room.
The stall provides many types of pempeks, such as large and small sizes of 'lenjer pempek', tofu pempek (pempek tahu), skin pempek (pempek kulit), roasted pempek (pempek panggang), adaan, and others.
Those pempeks have the similar main inggredients, however, each of them has specific ingredient, said Nurwan Suhanda, the employee at marketing division of Pempek Beringin. For an example, 'pempek adaan'. The main ingredients for this type of pempek are fish and flour. However, it is proceeded with a specific ingredient, namely coconut milk. Meanwhile, 'pempek lenjer' has eggs as the additional ingredient, while 'pempek kulit' (skin pempek) is made from sea and fresh water fishes.
You have to try the 'pempek kulit' (skin pempek) of the stall. Usually, the 'pempek kulit' has dark color. However, the 'pempek kulit' of Beringin has a bright colour. Beringin’s 'pempek kulit' is crispy, while other pempek kulits are usually a little bit chewy. Aside of crispy, the 'pempek kulit' also has a little bit salty taste.
Nurwan said that the 'pempek kulit' at Beringin has a bright color, as its main ingredient is the red fish meat. He said that the 'pempek kulit' was made from cork fish, mackerel, and knife fish. “We only take the red fish, which is located between the white meat and skin,” Nurwan said.
There is also tofu pempek, which has a soft texture.
Beringin has a special ‘cuko’ or vinegar to serve with pempek. The vinegar tastes sweet when sipped. But the cuko starts being spicy when it flows to the base of tongue. To neutralize the spicy flavor, you can order for aloe vera ice. The sweetness and freshness are so relieving. The aloe vera slices are also served with basil seeds.
“We can sell around 3,000 pempeks or 150 kilogram per a day,” Nurwan said. The price of a pempek is about Rp 4,500.
Beringin is also famous for Palembang’s specialty, namely cork fish eggs soup. The soup has as red and thick gravy as Thai’s tom yam. It is fresh, and has sweet-spicy flavor, combined with the strong aroma of basil leaves. The cork fish eggs are also savory and mix-matched with the thick and red gravy.
“We get the cork fish supplies not only from Musi River, but also from Kalimantan and Medan. There are cork fish cultivation in the areas,” Nurwan said.
(Muhammad Farid/Translator)
