How to pronounce Pempek

In the International Phonetic Alphabet it is /ˈpɛmpɛʔ/. In plain English letters that is PEM-peck, with the stress on the syllable in capitals. There is no recording by a native speaker yet, so use the spelling and the IPA.

What is Pempek?

Pempek is a street food of Indonesia. Where it comes from: South Sumatra (Palembang). People usually eat it as a snack and at lunch or dinner. Its main ingredients are fish. It tastes sour and savory.

Where Pempek comes from

Pempek is one of 46 signature dishes of Indonesia on this map. See all dishes from Palembang.

• Tekwan · Soup & stew · South Sumatra (Palembang)

  Tekwan is a soup from Palembang in South Sumatra, made with small fish balls of the same dough as pempek, fish from the local Musi river mixed with tapioca.

• Mie celor mi celor · Noodles & pasta · South Sumatra (Palembang)

  Mie celor is a noodle soup served in a thick broth of coconut milk and prawn stock, a speciality of Palembang in South Sumatra; Indonesian sources link it also with neighbouring Jambi.

• Rendang · Main dish · West Sumatra

  Rendang belongs to the Minangkabau people of West Sumatra.

• Nasi goreng · Rice dish · Java

  Nasi goreng is fried rice, and fried rice came to the region with Chinese settlers.

• Gado-gado · Main dish · Jakarta

  Gado-gado is a Jakarta salad of boiled and raw vegetables, potato, hard-boiled egg, fried tofu and tempeh, and slices of rice cake, all dressed with a thick sauce of ground peanuts, palm sugar, chilli and lime.

• Mie Aceh mi Aceh · Noodles & pasta · Aceh

  Mie Aceh, Aceh noodles, is the curried, spicy noodle dish of Aceh at the northern tip of Sumatra.

Food of Indonesia

Dishes like Pempek in other countries

Same type of dish and similar main ingredients as Pempek:

• Fischbrötchen · Street food · Baltic coast (Mecklenburg-Vorpommern), Germany

  The Fischbrötchen is northern Germany's favourite quick bite: a bread roll filled with fish and trimmings such as raw onion, pickles, remoulade or creamy horseradish.

• Jellied eels · Street food · London, United Kingdom

  Jellied eels are chopped eels boiled in a spiced stock of water, vinegar, nutmeg and lemon, then left to cool; the eel is naturally gelatinous, so the liquid sets into a jelly around the pieces.

• Ageh 阿給 · Street food · New Taipei, Taiwan

  Ageh is a snack from Tamsui in New Taipei: a block of fried tofu, hollowed out, stuffed with glass noodles cooked in a braising sauce, sealed with fish paste and steamed, then served with a sweet chilli or soy-based sauce.

• Balık ekmek · Street food · Istanbul (Eminönü), Türkiye

  Balık ekmek means "fish bread": a fillet of grilled or fried fish, usually mackerel, in a half loaf of crusty bread with onion, lettuce and lemon.