pempek, traditional food of Palembang

Pempek is one of Palembang’s traditional foods. This food made from fish and sago can be easily found in Palembang. In shops, on the streets, almost everyone sells pempek. So in addition to its origin, the availability of Pempek in Palembang City makes Palembang called the City of Pempek.
Pempek was originally known as ‘Kelesan’, a tool used to smooth the convex-shaped fish meat with a kind of ear on the opposite side. Indeed, the way pempek is made is by ‘keles’ (pressing) on a kind of mat that resembles a laundry board. Originally, the ‘press’ or tool to smooth the fish was made from coconut shells with holes. However, this has now been replaced by a grinding machine.

The name pempek became popular in Palembang because it was once sold by ‘Apek’, an old man of Chinese descent. So, when Apek sold pempek to the public, the public would call him ‘pek…pek’, so over time the word ‘pek’ turned into ‘pempek’. However, this story still needs to be explored.