If you're not from East Java, you may have never heard of a food called “Heci.”
Maybe some people already know that each region in Indonesia may have a different name for the same food. That was the case with “Heci”. If you don't know what “Heci” is? Well, simply that is the term for vegetable fritters or Bakwan in southern part of East Java. This is commonly used by residents living in the former Madiun Residency area including Madiun, Magetan, Ngawi, Pacitan, and Ponorogo.
History of Bakwan
According to the Indonesia Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy, Bakwan is also one of Indonesia's typical foods resulting from Chinese cultural acculturation. The term “bakwan (肉丸)” is believed to come from Hokkien, one of the Chinese varieties—bak (肉) meaning “meat,” and wan (丸) meaning “ball.”
If in China it is known as meatballs, in Indonesia, bakwan has undergone adjustments. Because meat is relatively expensive, it is replaced with vegetables. Therefore, the bakwan that we know today was born, namely a mixture of vegetables and flour that is fried.
Other Names for Bakwan
It turns out that cultural differences are not only experienced by people who come from different countries. Even within the same country, people from different provinces can still experience culture shock. I experienced it when I wanted to pay for food in Yogyakarta. I asked for “Heci,” but no one knew what I was talking about. At that time I just realized that "Heci" has another name in Yogyakarta. And maybe in other areas in Indonesia.
Although the name bakwan is known by the majority of Indonesians, based on information from MamaSuka. Bakwan actually has different names in various regions. For example, in West Java, bakwan is known as bala-bala. For some areas of Central Java and East Java, people usually call it pia-pia.
Quoted from Detik Food, Ote-ote is a signature food of Porong, Sidoarjo, East Java. Indonesian people generally know it as vegetable fritters. However, people in East Java on the north coast part such as Porong, Sidoarjo, Surabaya, Gresik, and Mojokerto know it as ote-ote. There is no difference between ote-ote and bakwan. The ingredients used and the process of making it are the same. Because this food is indeed bakwan, only the name is different.
As for the residents who live in Malang, Blitar and Lumajang. They usually call bakwan by the name weci. Sometimes, the filling of the bakwan is not only vegetables, but also shrimp. Just like ote-ote and heci, weci is also usually eaten with petis chili sauce and cayenne pepper.
Meanwhile, in South Sulawesi, bakwan is called kandoang and the northern part calls it makao. The name makao is also used by people in the NTT area when referring to bakwan. While another name that is quite unique is “hongkong”, which is the name for bakwan in the Banyuwangi area. What is clear is not the name of a place, but hongkong means fried vegetable bakwan.
Easy and heap bakwan is indeed a snack for millions of Indonesians. Not only the usual vegetable bakwan, but there are also various variations of bakwan that we can try.
