List of Delicious Traditional Dishes from Belitung

In addition to its amazing tourist destinations, Belitung also has a plethora of traditional foods. Both wet and dry foods, all are delicious to eat. What foods are there? Among them are the following nine dishes.

Lempah Kuning and Sup Gangan

As an archipelago region, Belitung is certainly surrounded by the sea. Many of its tourist spots are beaches, and because of this, the livelihood of its people is fishing. Therefore, many foods in Belitung are fish-based or made from fish. Two of them are Lempah Kuning and Sup Gangan.

Lempah Kuning and Sup Gangan are both fresh fish soups. They both use Tenggiri fish, although Lempah Kuning can also use red snapper. Besides the similarity in the type of fish, both dishes also have a yellow broth. The difference is that the broth of Sup Gangan is thicker than that of Lempah Kuning.

Stuffed Crab

Crab is called ketam in Belitung. The main ingredient is boiled crab. The meat is then removed from the shell and mixed with flour and spices. After that, it is put back into the shell and fried.

Stuffed crab can be purchased in packs containing 10 stuffed crabs for around Rp100,000. This food can be taken as a souvenir, you know, because it can last up to three days outside the refrigerator.

Lakse

Lakse is a traditional Belitung noodle that is twisted. Initiated by the Chinese community living in Belitung, lakse indeed looks like the dishes served in Chinese restaurants. This food is also claimed to be Belitung's spaghetti because it is made from flour ingredients like pasta.

Pempek

Pempek is not only a specialty of Palembang, but this food is also famous in Belitung. It is still enjoyed with a sour and spicy vinegar sauce, but the people of Belitung sometimes do not fry the pempek, but only boil it. Pempek enjoyed without frying is called bakwan, you know!

Berego

In terms of shape and ingredients, Berego is similar to lontong. The only difference is that the rice used to make berego is mixed with sago flour. The people of Belitung often enjoy Berego with lempah kuning and sup gangan. Wow, it must be refreshing and filling.

Cakien

Cakien is similar to tahu bakso. The difference is in the shape, as cakien is more elongated. Additionally, while tahu bakso includes tofu filling, cakien only uses tofu skin to wrap the meatballs made from fish. Cakien is usually enjoyed with meatball broth, making it refreshing.  

Kemplang

Kemplang is a dry snack that must be bought when visiting Belitung. This cracker made from tenggiri fish is round, flat, and wide. Kemplang is very popular because the taste and aroma of the fish are so dominant.

Usually, kemplang is sold in packages containing 10 to 30 pieces. Inside, it is always accompanied by a small plastic bag of spicy shrimp paste as a dipping sauce for kemplang.

Kue Rintak

Kue Rintak is usually served in the homes of Muslim communities in Belitung during Idul Fitri. This cake is made from sago, so it is also known as sago cake. The light, sweet, soft, and savory taste of this cake is loved by children as a snack.

Usually, this cake is round. However, there are several souvenir producers in Belitung who get creative, so the shape of kue rintak varies, from elongated shapes to five-petaled flower shapes.

Author: Nisa Maulan Shofa