Batagor is a Sundanese dish from Indonesia, and popular in Southeast Asia, consisting offried fish dumplings, usually served with peanut sauce. It is traditionally made from minced tenggirifish meat, although other types of seafood such as tuna, mackerel, and prawn may also be used. The fish paste is subsequently stuffed into wonton skins or filled into tofu, and then deep fried in palm oil. Street-side batagor fried dumplings are usually served with fried tofu and finger-shaped fried otak-otak fish cakes. These batagor components are cut into bite-size pieces and topped with peanut sauce, Kecap manis, sambal, and lime juice. As a fried food, batagor generally have a crispy and crunchy texture; since the serving method is identical, batagor and siomay are often sold by the same vendor, with batagor being offered as a crispy variation of siomay.
History and origin
Batagor is ubiquitous in Indonesian cities, and can be found in street-side food stalls, travelling carts, bicycle vendors, and restaurants. However, it is most strongly associated with the West Javan city ofBandung. The dish is influenced by Chinese Indonesian cuisine, and might be derived from siomay, with the main difference being that batagor is fried instead of steamed. It has been readily adapted into local Sundanese cuisine, and today, most batagor sellers are Sundanese. Batagor began appearing in various Indonesian cities throughout the country in the 1980s, and is believed to have been invented in 1968 in Bandung. According to legend, batagor was created as a way to salvage unsold bakso meatballs. It is said that one day the bakso did not sell well, and a seller was stuck with too many leftovers. In order to cut his losses, he then came up with the idea to grind the meatballs, stuff them into tofu, deep fry them, and serve them with peanut sauce in a fashion similar to siomay. This created a new dish of bakso tahu goreng, abbreviated as "batagor".
Varieties
Batagor is traditionally served with peanut sauce, although in Bandung, most batagor sellers also offer a variant served in clearbroth, batagor kuah. The soup can be made by boiling chicken broth and adding various ingredients such as pepper, sugar, salt, leek, and celery. Chili sauce, tomato sauce, and lime can also be added to bring more flavor into the soup. Batagor is popular for its savory flavor, crispy texture of its deep fried wonton skin and tofu, and its sweet and savoury peanut sauce. The typical price of batagor is fairly affordable, with a plate of modest street-side batagor costing around 10,000 Indonesian rupiah, less than one US dollar, as of 2018.
