The food in
Central Java is influenced by the two ancient kingdoms of
Yogyakarta and
Surakarta (also commonly known as Solo). Most of Central Javanese dishes are indigenously developed, however in coastal cities such as
Semarang and
Pekalongan, notable
Chinese influences can be seen, such as
lumpia (spring roll) and
bakmi Jawa. While in the royal court of Surakarta, the European influences can be seen, such as
bistik Jawa and
selat Solo. Many of Central Java-specific dishes contain the names of the area where the food first became popular, for example:
Semarang from Semarang. It is a chicken soup with rice vermicelli and tomato, served with potato perkedel, fried tempeh, and satay of cockles and chicken intestines, with lime and krupuk'' (crackers). • '''
Bandeng Juwana''': processed tender boned
milkfish originated from the fishing town of
Juwana, east of Semarang. Although originated, produced and processed in Juwana, it is largely sold in Semarang. • '''
Lumpia Semarang'
: fried or steamed spring rolls. The filling varies, but consists mainly of meat and bamboo shoots. It is served with sweet fermented soybean sauce (tauco) or sweet garlic sauce. Another accompaniment is acar'' (Indonesian-style sweet and sour
cucumber pickle) and chili. •
Nasi ayam: a dish composed of rice, chicken, egg,
tofu, and served with a sweet-salty
coconut milk gravy. •
Roti ganjel rel, rectangular shaped brown bread with sesame seeds, flavored with cinnamon and palm sugar. Usually served during Dugderan and
Ramadan. • '
Soto
Semarang': a chicken soup in a small personal serving; mixed with rice,
perkedel, and satay of cockles, chicken intestines, and
quail eggs. One of the famous
Soto Semarang is
Soto Bangkong. Named after Bangkong crossroad in Semarang. • '''
Wingko Babat'
: a cake made largely of glutinous rice and desiccated coconut, toasted and sold warm. Although it originated from Babat, East Java, it is popular in Semarang. Care should be taken to differentiate between Babat and babat
. Babat is a city in East Java, part of the North Coast Road and where wingko
Babat came from, while babat'' is
tripe, an ingredient often used for Indonesian cuisine in general.
Jepara • '
Soto
Jepara':
soto is a common Indonesian soup, usually infused with
turmeric, and can be made with chicken, beef, or mutton. The version from Jepara, a Central Javanese town, is made of chicken. • '
Opor panggang
': a typical
opor from Jepara. It is a kind of
opor ayam but with distinctive flavor, since the chicken used in this dish is first roasted in a clay cauldron. •
Kuluban: traditional salad from
Jepara Regency. •
Kelan antep: dish made from lean meat, ginger, bay leaves, red onion, garlic, red chili, tamarind, sugar, and others. •
Horok-horok: steamed corn starch. After being cooked, corn starch is then poured into jars and stirred with a comb. So although chewy and tough, it is shaped in small granules resembling
Styrofoam. To add flavor, a pinch of salt can be added. This dish can be served as an accompaniment to meatballs,
gado-gado,
pecel, or satay
kikil (beef tendon). •
Hoyok-hoyok: also called
oyol-oyol, is a dish made from tapioca flour mixed with water and oil, then served with extra grated coconut.
Hoyok-hoyok is a sweet version of
horok-horok. •
Jepara shrimp soup: similar to shrimp soup in general. This version of soup use shrimp broth and fried shrimp, also raw crushed chili. This soup is delicious eaten while still hot or warm. • '
Jepara pangsit
soup': considered as a fusion cuisine, this dish is a blend of local and foreign cuisines, i.e. Javanese, Dutch, and Chinese. The
pangsit (dumpling) in this soup is not like the dumpling we know, but rather in the form of a clear soup with shrimp egg rolls. This is one of the favorite dishes of
R.A. Kartini. •
Bongko mento: originated in Jepara palace, it is a snack wrapped in a banana leaf. Consists of omelet filled with sauteed shredded chicken breast mixed with oyster mushrooms, glass noodles, and coconut milk. •
Lontong krubyuk: similar to
lontong dishes in general, this dish consists of rice cake served with shredded chicken meat stews doused in
bakso soup and garnished with a mixture of half-cooked bean sprouts and sliced celery. What distinguishes this from other
lontong dishes, this dish is served with a lot of soup. •
Singit: beef shank cooked in coconut milk, soy sauce, salt, red chili, garlic, onion, and brown sugar, over low heat until the sauce thickens. • '''
Semur Jepara''': made of meat, salt, pepper, nutmeg powder, soy sauce, cooking oil, and others. • '''
Sayur pepaya Jepara''': a vegetable stew usually served in the afternoon. The main ingredients are young papaya, coconut milk, beef stew, and others. • '''
Sayur asem Jepara''': similar to
sayur asem Jakarta. •
Sayur betik: a vegetable stew, using young unripe papaya and beef trimming as the main ingredients. • '''
Gule petih Jepara''': made of tender goat meat and spice mixture. Usually served during
Eid al-Fitr and
Eid al-Adha. • '''
Laksa Jepara''': made of chicken fillet, banana shrimp, chicken stock, coconut milk, lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves, salt, sugar, oil, and other ingredients. •
Sayur keluak ayam: made of vegetables,
keluak and chicken. •
Kagape kambing: a dish made of goat meat. Easily found during
Eid al-Adha. • '''
Bakso Karimunjawa''': meatballs soup made from fish, instead of beef or chicken. •
Tongseng cumi:
tongseng made of calamari or squid, instead of goat or chicken. • '''
Rempah Jepara''': a dish made from grated coconut, fish, and others. •
Bontosan: a dish of mashed grouper or mackerel mixed with rice powder and shaped into spindles, wrapped in banana leaves or plastic, steamed, then thickly sliced, and served with sauce or gravy.
Bontosan is actually the pre-dried form of fish crackers. It can also be served after being shallow-fried until the outside is crisp and golden brown. Similar in taste to
pempek. • '''
Sate sapi Jepara''': satay made of cow meat mixed with spices typical of Jepara. •
Sate kikil: a satay dish made of
kikil (beef tendon), also called satay
cecek. Usually served with
horok-horok. •
Pecel ikan laut panggang: roasted saltwater fish served with coconut milk sauce. •
Tempong: uncooked dried anchovy, shaped like fritter.
Kudus • '''
Jenang Kudus''': A sweetmeat made from rice flour, palm sugar, and coconut milk. • '
Opor bakar
' • '
Soto
Kudus':
soto is a common Indonesian soup usually infused with
turmeric, and can be made with chicken, beef, or mutton. The version from Kudus, a Central Javanese town, is made of chicken.
Pati •
Bandeng presto: is a
pressure cooked milkfish that soften the finer fish bones. The pressure cooking also help the spices to seep into the flesh of milkfish perfectly. •
Nasi gandul: is beef served on white steamed rice poured with spicy savoury soup, served on banana leaf. •
Petis runting: is a kind of gulai typical culinary of Pati. Soupy but somewhat viscous, made from a rather coarse rice flour roasted with goat meat and
balungan or goat bones, including bone marrows, and usually enjoyed while it hot to avoid the fatty bone marrow coagulating. •
Sayur mangut: is a hot and spicy Ariid catfish head cooked in coconut milk. •
Sayur tempe bosok: is a kind of curry-soup made from stinky over-ripe (almost rotten) tempeh. Popularly consumed during the rainy season against the cold. •
Soto kemiri: is a common Javanese chicken soup spiced with candlenut.
Yogyakarta '', spicy meat and beans stew. •
Ayam geprek: crispy
battered fried chicken crushed and mixed with hot and spicy
sambal. •
Ayam goreng Kalasan: chicken stewed in
coriander,
garlic,
candlenut, and coconut water, then deep-fried until crispy. Served with
sambal and raw vegetables. •
Bakpia and
bakpia pathok: a sweet pastry filled with sugared mung bean paste, derived from the Chinese pastry. A well-known bakpia-producing area is Pathok near
Jalan Malioboro, where
bakpia Pathok is sold. •
Belalang goreng: fried
grasshopper dish. •
Brongkos: spicy meat and
tolo beans (black-eyed peas) stew in coconut milk and
kluwek soup with other spices. •
Gudeg: a traditional food from Yogyakarta and
Central Java made from young unripe
nangka (
jack fruit) boiled for several hours with
palm sugar and
coconut milk. This is usually accompanied by
opor ayam (chicken in coconut milk),
telur pindang (hard boiled egg stew), and
krechek (spicy beef skin and tofu stew).
Gudeg from Yogyakarta has a unique sweet and savory taste, and is drier and more reddish than other regional variants because of the addition of Javanese
teak leaf. •
Kipo: derived from the
Javanese question
Iki opo? ("What is this?"), a small sweet snack from
Kotagede made of glutinous rice flour and coconut milk dough filled with grated coconut and palm sugar. •
Krechek (also known as
krecek or
sambal goreng krechek): a traditional spicy beef skin dish made from seasoned
krupuk kulit (beef skin crackers).
Krechek is usually served as a side dish together with
gudeg. •
Nasi kucing: rice with small side dishes.
Solo • '''
Bakso Solo'
: bakso literally means meatballs, made of beef, and served in boiling hot soup with mung bean-thread noodles, green vegetables, shredded cabbage, and various sauces (chili, tomato). This version from Solo has super-sized meatballs, the size of tennis balls. Also known as Bakso Tenis
. Bakso'' is a Chinese-influenced dish, but has become a popular snack throughout Indonesia. • '
Bistik
Jawa': Javanese
beef steak, a European-influenced dish from
Solo. •
Nasi liwet: a rice dish cooked in
coconut milk and
chicken broth, served with meat and vegetable side dishes. • '
Sate buntel
' (lit: wrapped satay): Minced fatty beef or goat meat, encased in
caul fat and wrapped around a bamboo skewer then grilled. The size of this satay is quite large, very similar to a Middle Eastern
kebab. After being grilled on
charcoal, the meat is separated from the skewer, cut into bite-size chunks, then served in sweet soy sauce and
merica (
pepper). • '
Selat
Solo': a
salad consisting of stewed
beef,
lettuce,
carrot, green bean, and potato chips or
French fries in sweet spiced dressing. • '''
Sosis solo''', Javanese sausages made from beef or chicken and coated by egg. • '''
Srabi Solo'
: a pancake made of coconut milk, mixed with a little rice flour as thickener. Srabi'' can be served plain or with toppings, such as sliced
banana, chopped
jackfruit, chocolate sprinkle (
muisjes), or
cheese. •
Tongseng: a strongly spiced curry of bone-in mutton, which is quickly stir-fried at the point of sale with vegetables added. •
Tengkleng:
goat ribs and
offal in a curry-like soup, similar to
gule kambing, but with a lighter and thinner soup. • '''
Timlo Solo''': a beef and vegetable soup. Some versions also have noodles.
Banyumas Refers to Javanese cultural region of Western Central Java bordering West Java, including
Banyumas,
Tegal,
Brebes,
Cilacap,
Kebumen,
Purbalingga, and
Banjarnegara. • '''
Nasi bogana Tegal''': a steamed rice dish wrapped in banana leaves and served with a variety of side dishes. • '''
Sate Tegal
or Sate Balibul''': juvenile (five-month-old) goat
satay from Tegal, noted for its tender meat. • '''
Sate Ambal'
: a satay variant from Ambal, Kebumen, Central Java. This satay uses ayam kampung (
free-range chicken). The sauce is not made from peanuts, but rather ground tempeh, chili, and spices. The chicken is marinated for about two hours to make the meat tastier. This satay is served with ketupat''. • '''
Sroto Sokaraja'
: a variant of soto'' from Sokaraja, Banyumas. • '
Tempeh mendoan
': fried battered
tempeh from Banyumas.
Other Central Javanese cuisine •
Bakmoy: small cubes of fried tofu, chicken, and boiled egg served with chicken broth and relish made from sweet soy sauce. •
Kamir: round-shaped bread that almost similar to
apem, consisting of flour, butter, and egg mixture. •
Krechek: spicy stew made from
skin cracker, potato and soy beans. •
Mie kopyok (lit. shaked noodles): a noodle soup made of garlic broth, rice cake, fried tofu, and rice cracker. •
Mie ongklok: boiled noodles were made using cabbage, chunks of chopped leaves, and starchy thick soup called
loh. Usually served with
satay and
tempeh. •
Nasi megono, rice dish with chopped young
jackfruit mixed with coconut and other spices. • '''
Sate Blora''': chicken satay from Blora area. •
Sop senerek, traditional soup from Magelang with beef, red bean, carrot, tomato, celery, and
fried shallots. • '''
Swikee Purwodadi''': frogs' legs cooked in fermented soybean (
tauco) soup. == East Javanese cuisine ==