Batagor Indonesia Food

Feel hungry but you don't want to eat to heavy food in the afternoon. So this is the good choice. Batagor.
Batagor (abbreviation from: Bakso Tahu Goreng, Sundanese and Indonesian: "fried bakso and tofu") is Sundanese Indonesian fried fish dumplings served with peanut sauce. It is traditionally made from tenggiri (wahoo) fish meat. Sometimes other types of seafood such as tuna, mackerel, and prawn also can be used to make batagor. Just like siomay, other complements to batagor are steamed cabbage, potatoes, bitter gourd and tofu. Batagor is cut into bite size pieces and topped with peanut sauce, sweet soy sauce, chili sauce and a dash of lime juice. Because being fried, batagor have crispy and crunchy texture. Since the serving method is identical, today batagor and siomay often sold under one vendor, with batagor offered as variation or addition to siomay.

Batagor is ubiquitous in Indonesian cities. It can be found in street-side foodstalls, travelling carts, bicycle vendors, and restaurants. The dish is influenced by Chinese Indonesian cuisine and derived from siomay, with the difference instead of being steamed, batagor is consider as fried type of siomay. Batagor was invented in 1980s in Bandung, and the most famous variety is Batagor Bandung. It has been adapted into local Sundanese cuisine.

Batagor (Baso Tahu Goreng)
- Fried Dumplings -

Ingredients:
500 g featherback fish (ikan belida) paste -> can be substituted for other white fish or shrimp or chicken
2 tsbp shallots, grated
1 tbsp mashed roasted garlic
2 tsp ground white pepper
2 tsp ground dried shrimp (ebi tumbuk)
1 tsp fish sauce -> my idea
2 1/2 tsp sugar
2 tsp salt
1 tsbp sesame oil
3 eggs
400 g chayotte or jicama, shredded and drain
250 g tapioca starch

wonton skins
tofu or tofu puffs
peanut sambal
cucumber acar (cucumber pickle)

Methods:
1. In a big bowl, combine fish paste with shallot, garlic, white pepper, dried shrimp, fish sauce, sugar, salt and sesame seed oil. Then add egg and mix well.

2 Add chayotte or jicama, mix well. Add tapioca starch and mix well again. Set aside.

3. Divide fish paste filling mixture into 3 parts. One for fried siomay (shu mai), one for tofu and another one for fishball.

Tofu/Tofu Puffs:
1. Halve tofus into triangle shape. Use a spoon (a grapefruit spoon works great here) to remove the tofu from the middle of each triangle. Be careful to keep the pouch intact. Combine the tofu parts that you take out of the middle with a part of filling.

2. With a tablespoon, scoop the filling and gently stuff in each piece of tofu. Do this step until all tofus are used up. Deep fry to golden brown.

However, you will need to make changing if you use tofu puffs. All you need to do is cutting the puffs halved. Then fill with a teaspoon of fish paste mixture. Steam to them to cook the filling then fry.

Siomay:
Lay a wonton skin on a flat surface. Brush the edges of skin with a little water. Place 1 teaspoon of filling into skin, being careful to avoid the edges. Fold and unify the edges together to seal. Repeat the same step until the filling is used up. Deep fry to golden brown.

Fishball:
With two spoons, make a ball of 1 tablespoon mixture. Drop into a fryer to cook it. Repeat the same step until the filling is used up. I myself like to drop the balls into a 90C hot water to cook the inside until the balls floating. Drain then fry them to golden brown.

Serving:  plate siomay, filled tofu and fishball.  Pour peanut sambal over.  Drizzle kecap manis and ketchup over.  Add acar and chili sambal (only if you feel the peanut sambal is not hot enough) on the side.