salt-boiled fish,[7] i.e.
fish cooked in salt and spices including tamarind juice, garlic, shallot, ginger, turmeric, lemongrass, galangal, chili pepper, Indonesian bayleaf, citrus leaf, shrimp paste, and palm sugar.
The
Indonesian dictionary describes pindang as "salted and seasoned fish, and then smoked or boiled until dry for preservation".[11] In Indonesia, various boiled fish products are generally known as pindang.[12] In Malaysia, it is known as pindang in Southwest coast of Malay peninsula, and singgang in Northeast coast of Malay peninsula.[13]
Pindang is often described as Indonesian salt-boiled fish, particularly in Java.[7] On the other hand, in
Bali pindang specifically refers to seasoned fish
brine, where rujak kuah pindang, or Bali style fruit
rujak with fish brine stock is a popular dish.[14]
As a dish
Although cooking methods and dishes described as pindang could be found all across Indonesia, from Jepara and Banyuwangi in coastal Java to fishing towns of Sumatra, pindang is strongly associated with
the local cuisine of Palembang, where pindang patin (Pangasius fish pindang) is its specialty,[5] and the
province has rich variety of pindang dishes.[15]
In Malaysia, pindang is consumed in Southwest coast of Malay peninsula, the region that facing Malacca strait and Sumatra,[13] with some region has its own variation and different names. For example, pindang recipes have been pass down for generation by
Chitty, the
Peranakan Tamils of
Malacca that is unique to the state.[18]
The term pindang refer to the cooking process of boiling the ingredients in
salt together with certain spices that contains
tannin,[10] usually soy sauce, shallot skin, guava leaves, teak leaves, tea or other spices common in Southeast Asia. This gives the food a yellowish to brown color and lasts longer compared to plainly boiled fish or eggs, thus pindang is an Indonesian traditional method to preserve food, usually employed for fish and eggs.[10] In Indonesia, ikan pindang (fish pindang) is also known as ikan cue. Both terms are often erroneously used interchangeably, although not all pindang fish are made of cue fish (
Caranx sp.).[19]
Pindang is regarded as one of
fish preservation method through boiling with salt addition. Although the method is used in other parts of the world, it is only of major commercial significance in Southeast Asia. The shelf life of the products varies from one or two days to several months.[12] The technique is native to Java and Sumatra. In Indonesia, various preserved pindang fish are available in traditional markets. Common fish being processed as pindang are tongkol (mackerel tuna or Euthynnus), bandeng (milkfish), kembung (mackerel or Rastrelliger), lejang (Decapterus), and also kuwe or cue (
Caranx sp.).[12]
Pindang preparation is often called the "wet preservation", i.e. after covered in coarse salt, instead of being dried in the sun like
salted fish, it is boiled on a low flame until the liquids are evaporated and the salt seasoning absorbed well into fish.[20] Compared to salted fish, pindang uses less salt, thus the taste is not as salty as salted fish. Other preserving methods common in Indonesian cuisine include asin (salted) or cured and dried in salt, and dendeng which is cured and dried in sugar, acar (
pickling), and also asap (
smoked).[4]
Variants
Pindang variants can be differentiated according to the kind of fish species used, or according to specific regional recipes which use different ingredients and
spices combination. Pindang recipes can be found in various cooking traditions of Southeast Asia; from
Javanese,
Betawi,
Palembang, and
Malay cuisine. In Indonesia, pindang recipes show exceptional diversity in
South Sumatra.[15]
Fish and seafood
Pindang bandeng or pindang serani:
Milkfish pindang, specialty of
Betawi,
Jakarta.[21] The name "serani" is corrupted from nasrani or Christian, which refer to
Mardijker of
Kampung Tugu in North Jakarta.[21] Pindang serani is also common in
Jepara, Central Java, is made from various kinds of seafood, but the most popular one is milkfish.[22]
Pindang baung: Pindang made of ikan baung (Hemibagrus) specialty of
Lampung province, Indonesia.[23]
Pindang gabus:
Snakehead pindang, specialty of South Sumatra.[25]
Pindang gunung pangandaran: Fish pindang that uses
torch ginger, specialty of
Pangandaran, West Java, Indonesia.[26]
Pindang gurame kuning:
Gourami pindang in yellowish sauce, this Indonesian pindang has its typical sour, hot and spicy flavour.[27]
Pindang ikan bunga kecombrang: Fish pindang that uses kecombrang (Etlingera elatior) flower which is quite popular in Indonesia.[28] The pink flower reduce the fishy aroma of the ingredient. It usually uses tengiri (
wahoo) fish, but other more common fish such as
carp might be used.[29]
Pindang kepala ikan manyung or pindang gombyang: Pindang that uses the head of ikan manyung or ikan jambal (Ariidae). It is commonly found in
Indramayu in West Java, Pati and Semarang in Central Java.[31][32]
Pindang kerapu:
Grouper pindang served with pineapple.[34]
Pindang kerupuk: Pindang soup that uses
krupuk keriting,
fish cracker, specialty of South Sumatra.[15] Using krupuk cracker in soup is quite similar to Sundanese
seblak.
Pindang lampung:
Lampung style fish pindang from Lampung province, Sumatra, Indonesia. Fish that usually made into pindang lampung are patin (pangasius), gabus (snakehead), baung (Hemibagrus), and bawal (
pomfret). Spices used are red chili pepper, lemongrass, galangal, daun salam (Indonesian bay leaf), citrus leaf, turmeric, shallot and garlic.[35]
Pindang meranjat or pindang salai: the most hot and spicy South Sumatran pindang variant from Meranjat village,
Ogan Komering Ilir Regency, uses iwak salai (
smoked fish) made from catfish, patin, baung, or lais fish.[36][15]
Pindang musi rawas: Sour and fresh pindang from
Musi Rawas, South Sumatra, which unlike other variants uses mashed
tomato instead of tamarind as its souring agent.[36]
Pindang palembang or pindang patin: Pangasius pindang, specialty of Palembang.[5][15]
Pindang sekayu: Sweet tasting fish pindang from
Sekayu, Musi Banyuasin, using a sweet soy sauce.[36]
Pindang telur gabus: Pindang that uses
fish roe of gabus,
snakehead's egg, specialty of South Sumatra.[15]
Pindang tongkol: A pindang variant using pindang processed
mackerel tuna. Pindang tongkol is quite common across Indonesia; however, it is especially popular in
Bangka Belitung islands.[37]
Pindang udang: A pindang variant that uses
shrimp,
pineapple and
lemon basil, another specialty of Palembang.[38] A similar recipe is also found in Melaka Chetti pindang variant.[citation needed]
Pindang ikan parang: A Melaka Chetti pindang variant using coconut milk.[citation needed]
Pindang kerang/sotong: A Perak Malay pindang variant using cockles or squid, a specialty of Lenggong Valley, Perak.[citation needed]
Pepes pindang tahu kemangi: Shredded pindang fish mixed with tofu and
lemon basil, cooked in Indonesian pepes (inside
banana leaf wrappings) method.[39]
Sambal pindang tongkol suwir: Indonesian
sambal chili paste mixed and cooked with shredded tongkol (
mackerel tuna) that already processed as pindang. This dish can be consumed as side dish with nasi rames or as condiment; i.e. hot and spicy fish relish.[40]
Pindang telur bebek or pindang telur itik:
Duck egg pindang, in Indonesia it is considered as a variant of the common pindang telur that mostly uses chicken egg, as both employs same ingredients and cooking method.[42] In Malaysia, it is a pindang variant from Negeri Sembilan using duck egg.[citation needed]
Pindang hati ayam dan kacang botol: Negeri Sembilan pindang variant using chicken heart and vegetables.[43]
Pindang kaki ayam or pindang ceker:
Chicken feet cooked in pindang method, it uses belimbing wuluh fruit as souring agent.[44]
Meat
Nasi pindang semarang or also known as pindang kudus:
Beefbrisket cooked in pindang method spiced with keluwek and served upon steamed rice, specialty of
Semarang and
Kudus in Central Java, Indonesia.[45][46]
Pindang asam iga kambing:
Goat ribs pindang flavoured with asam jawa (
tamarind).[47]
Pindang iga or pindang tulang:
Beef ribs pindang or bone pindang,[15] unlike other pindangs that mostly uses fish or eggs, this unique meat pindang is another specialty of Palembang, South Sumatra.[48]
Pindang kambing:
Goat meat pindang found in Indonesia.[49]
Vegetables
Pindang kacang panjang:
Asparagus bean pindang, although mainly contains vegetables it is usually added with pindang fish or bits of spare meat.[50]
Pindang pegagan: This pindang variant uses pegagan (Centella asiatica) turmeric and chili pepper. Its soup is light and not oily, since the spices are boiled directly, and not stir fried in
palm oil, specialty of South Sumatra.[36]
^"Pindang". Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia (in Indonesian). pindang/pin·dang/ n ikan yang digarami dan dibumbui kemudian diasapi atau direbus sampai kering agar dapat tahan lama