Everyone either from Indonesia, or who has ever visited Indonesia must know or at least see this particular Indonesian snack named “Kerupuk.”
It is a deep-fried snack or sometimes a side dish made from starch and other ingredients like fish, shrimp, etc., that is literally being sold everywhere, from local roadside shops (or warung) to huge restaurant chains specializing in Indonesian foods.
It’s not even an exaggeration to say that this thing is everywhere. From the very western part of the country, like Sulawesi to Papua, a kerupuk is always being made and sold somewhere in various shapes, colors, tastes, etc. It’s like looking for a gun shop in the US or a pub in the UK, there is no way you ever missed this Indonesian delicacy.
Why There Are So Many Kinds of Kerupuk?
As we all know, Indonesia is rich in natural resources, which spread throughout the country. From people living in the coastal areas to the mountainous and forest areas, they have their specialties in terms of food ingredients and how they process them, hence the reason why there are so many kinds of kerupuk out there in the country.
Based on the differences in terms of ingredients, kerupuk can be categorized into two; coastal and inland kerupuk.
Coastal kerupuk are usually made from fish or any other marine catch such as squid, shrimps, etc. For instance, there is a popular kerupuk from Kalimantan called “Amplang,” in which its ingredients are from fishes like mackerel or belida.
Inland kerupuk, on the other hand, is more likely to use ingredients sourced from the surrounding environment, such as cassavas, rice, tubers, and even animals like cows and chickens, as in kerupuk kulit or kerupuk ceker (chicken feet).
There is also another similar but different from kerupuk named "keripik" which is popular in East Java. The difference is that instead of tapioca starch as the main ingredients, they use various types of fruits, tubers, and vegetables and then deep fry them into chips like snacks.
Unlike kerupuk, keripik cannot be eaten with another dish (I have never seen anyone eat their meal with keripik) because the taste is rather sweet and serves mostly as a snack, not an accompaniment for the main dish.
Why Indonesians Like Kerupuk So Much?
Almost every Indonesian would agree that eating without kerupuk is like a bowl of cereal without milk, it just would not be a complete meal at all.
There are even many dishes out there where the absence of kerupuk makes it feel lacking, such as chicken porridge, fried rice, fried noodles, nasi kuning, nasi uduk, soto betawi, and many more.
Now you must be wondering why Indonesians always put kerupuk in every of their meal? There are a lot of reasons that make kerupuk a favorite for all Indonesians and one of them is a habit
Eating kerupuk has been a staple in Indonesian delicacy even as far back as the 9th century when people considered kerupuk kulit as food for the nobles according to a historical inscription named “Prasasti Watukura" and then passed down through generations and has been through a lot from time to time up to this day.
Even during Indonesian Independence Day, there is a popular event called "lomba makan kerupuk" (or kerupuk eating contest) in which participants must be able to eat kerupuk as much as possible while it is being hanged with a rope. They cannot use their hands but only their mouths to eat it.
This event may seem fun and games but has a deep historical meaning behind it, because it also served as a symbol of the people's struggle during the pre-independence era in which they often faced severe shortages of food.
Hence, people have to rely on alternatives they can find such as corn, cassava, and then make them into kerupuk only to survive, the difficulty in eating hanged kerupuk with only your mouth depicts their struggle.
Habits aside, remember when I said that kerupuk can be found everywhere from roadside shops (warung) to huge restaurant chains? This is also another reason why people love kerupuk.
Kerupuk are easy to find and can be very cheap, one piece of kerupuk is roughly around Rp.1000 ($.0.06), and with that you can even have a full meal with a side of warm rice if you are kind of low on a budget.
Along with the fact that kerupuk has a crunchy and savory taste which kinda fits with every meal and dish, it's no wonder kerupuk has become everyone's favorite.
