Bakso orbaso is anIndonesianmeatball,[2] or a meat paste made frombeefsurimi.[3] Its texture is similar to theChinesebeef ball,fish ball, orpork ball. The wordbakso may refer to a single meatball or the complete dish of meatball soup.Mie bakso refers to bakso served with yellow noodles and rice vermicelli, whilebakso kuah refers to bakso soup served without noodles.
Bakso can be found all across Indonesia, from street vendors to high-class restaurants. Along withsoto,satay, andsiomay,bakso is one of the most popularstreet foods in Indonesia.[4] Today, various types of ready-to-cookbakso are also available asfrozen foods sold insupermarkets in Indonesia. It is usually eaten with noodles.
Bakso is commonly made from finely ground beef with a small quantity oftapioca flour and salt. However, bakso can also be made from other ingredients, such as chicken, pork, fish, or shrimp.[4] Unlike other meatball recipes,bakso has a consistent firm, dense, homogeneous texture due to thepolymerization ofmyosin in the beef surimi.
As most Indonesians areMuslims and observehalal dietary laws,bakso is usually made from beef, chicken, or a mixture of beef and chicken.[3] In non-Muslim majority areas, such as in the Chinatowns of major cities and on theHindu-majority island ofBali, porkbakso might be found.[5]
Traditionally the beef surimi paste or dough is made into balls by hand and boiled in hot water. After the meat is done, the meatballs are dried and served or refrigerated for later use. Pre-cookedbakso are usually displayed in the windows of street vendor carts.
The namebakso originated frombak-so (肉酥,Pe̍h-ōe-jī:bah-so͘), theHokkien pronunciation for "fluffy meat" or "minced meat".[6] This suggests that bakso hasIndonesian Chinese cuisine origin.[7] Chinese influences is apparent inIndonesian food, such asbakmi,mie ayam,pangsit,mie goreng,kwetiau goreng,bakso, andlumpia.[8] Indeed, bakso texture is quite similar to Chinesebeef balls, which are quite fluffy and have a homogenous texture. Althoughbakso has a Chinese Hokkien origin name, culinary experts suggest that it is likely thatbakso was a mixture of culinary influences back in the colonialDutch East Indies. Also inIndonesian, the termbola daging often refers to the Western or European style of meatballs, which is different in texture and elasticity compared to bakso. For example,Swedish meatballs are translated asbola daging Swedia in Indonesian. The soup and the noodles probably originated in China, but the meatball may have come from the Dutch, who colonized Indonesia in the 19th century.[3]
Despite its possible Chinese origin,bakso seems to have undergone localization, especially intoChinese Indonesian andJavanese cuisine. Today, most of thebakso vendors are nativeJavanese fromWonogiri (a town nearSolo) andMalang.[9]Bakso Solo andBakso Malang are the most popular variants; the name comes from the city it comes from,Solo inCentral Java and Malang inEast Java.Bakso Solo is usually served with yellow noodles and rice vermicelli in beef broth, whileBakso Malang usually is enriched with tofu and crispy friedwonton. In Malang,bakso bakar (roasted bakso) is also popular.
InBandung, West Java, there is a type of bakso called bakso cuanki, which is similar to baksoMalang. It can contain various types of bakso ingredients; such as bakso aci, siomay dumpling, boiled wonton, fried wonton, and fried bakso, served with scallion and broth soup.[10]
Bakso bakar: grilled and skewered bakso, prepared tosatay
Bakso beranak: big meatball filled with small meatballs
Bakso bola tenis tennis ball-sized bakso, either filled with hard-boiled egg asbakso telur or filled withtetelan which includes pieces of spare beef meat and fat orurat (tendon).
Bakso cirawang: bakso made of cartilage, tapioca, and garlic. It is fromGarut.[12]
Bakso cuanki: a famous bakso fromBandung,West Java made with either mackerel or shrimp.[13]
Bakso gepeng: flat beef bakso, usually has a finer and more homogenous texture
Bakso goreng: fried bakso with a rather hard texture, usually consumed solely as a snack or mixed in one bowl as part of bakso Malang or bakso cuanki
Bakso stalls usually served bottles of sauces,condiments, additions, and garnishing. Clients may add these condiments according to their personal preferences. The following condiments and accompaniments are often added to a bowl of bakso:
Bawang goreng crisp fried shallot sprinkled upon bakso
Kecap manis or sweet soy sauce, to add a mild sweetness
Bakso is one of the most popular street foods in Indonesian cities and villages alike.[4] Travelling street vendors, either by carts or bikes are often frequenting residential areas in Indonesia, whilebaksowarung and humble tent food stalls are often sprung on street sides in Indonesian cities.Bakso came to international attention when United States PresidentBarack Obama remembered it as one of his favourite foods from his childhood in Indonesia, and mentioned it in his speech.[2][3] It was also part of a task inThe Amazing Race Asia 1,The Amazing Race Australia 1 andThe Amazing Race 28 where teams had to either sell and/or eatbakso.
The traveling meatball vendor is often associated withintelligence undercover activity. On social media, there are also manymemes depicting meatball vendors communicating throughwalkie-talkies. According to Ridlwan Habib, an intelligence observer, the profession of mobile food traders such as meatball workers is often used by members of the Detective orDensus 88 to spy onterrorist activities or other suspicious criminal activities.[27][28]
Similar meatball dishes can be found in otherSoutheast Asian cuisines, such as those in Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Singapore, as well as Chinese-style meatballs.
The dish is also similar toVietnamese noodle soup with meatballs,phở bò viên.[29][30] InVietnam,Phở means noodle soup whileBò Viên is meatballs.[31] Phở Bò Viên is one of the versions of Pho dishes inVietnam. It has been considered as the national dish ofVietnam.[32]
InMalaysia andSingapore, there is a similar meatball soup calledbebola daging, which is aMalay translation of "meatball". Many recipes ofbebola daging in Malaysia and Singapore are derived from either Western (Indian or European) or Eastern (Chinese) meatballs, such asbebola daging Masala which is derived from Indian cuisine influence.[33]
In thePhilippines, meatballs are calledalmondigas orbola-bola, and are usually served in amisua noodle soup with toasted garlic, squash, and pork cracklings.Bola-bolas are also stewed or pan-fried until golden brown.
Bunch of pre-cookedbakso offered in supermarket refrigerator.
In the past,borax andformalin were often added to the beef surimi mixture to preserve the produced bakso, and also to increase the chewiness of the bakso. (from borax-induced myosincross-linking) with less usage of meat.[34] As a result, bakso is often listed by the Indonesian Food and Drug Administration as an unhealthy foodstuff. The country's Directorate of Consumer Protection warns of the risk ofliver cancer caused by high consumption over 5–10 years,[35] which caused the government to issuesodium tripolyphosphate as a borax substitute.
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