Lontong

A traditional way of serving lontong
Course	Main course
Place of origin	Indonesia[1]
Region or state	Java
Associatedcuisine	Indonesia,Malaysia andSingapore
Serving temperature	Room temperature
Main ingredients	Compressed rice cooked inbanana leaf
Variations	Various
Similar dishes	Burasa,ketupat,lemang,lepet
Media:Lontong

Lontong (Indonesian pronunciation:[ˈlɔn̪t̪ɔŋ]) is anIndonesian dish made of compressedrice cake in the form of acylinder wrapped inside abanana leaf,^[1][2] commonly found inIndonesia,Malaysia, andSingapore. Rice is rolled inside a banana leaf and boiled, then cut into small cakes as a staple food replacement forsteamed rice. The texture is similar to that ofketupat, with the difference being that theketupat container is made from wovenjanur (youngcoconut leaf) fronds, whilelontong uses banana leaves instead.

It is commonly callednasi himpit (lit. "pressed rice") inMalaysia, despite being created using other methods.^[3]

Arem-arem also known aslontong isi is a smaller version oflontong and "halal" distant relative ofbakcang, filled with vegetables and occasionally meat, eaten as a snack.

The dish is usually served hot or at room temperature withpeanut sauce-based dishes such asgado-gado,karedok,ketoprak, other traditional salads, andsatay.^[2] It can be eaten as an accompaniment tococonut milk-based soups, such aslontong sayur,soto,gulai, andcurries.^[4] It is also used as an alternative tovermicelli noodles.

The origin of lontong is fromketupat. Both are made from the main ingredient of steamed rice in a banana leaf wrapper or young coconut leaf. Initially,lontong was only considered ordinary food. However, after the spread ofIslam toJava, the tradition of eatinglontong andketupat began.Sunan Kalijaga was the first to introducelontong to Javanese people, includingketupat. This is part of theda'wah carried out by Sunan Kalijaga at that time.Lontong is often served withGulai sauce and vegetables,chayote,tempeh,tofu,tauco,boiled egg,sambal, andkrupuk crackers.^[5][6]

Lontong is traditionally made by boiling the rice until it is partially cooked and then packing it tightly into a rolled-upbanana leaf. The leaf is secured withlidi semat, a wooden needle made from the central rib of a coconut leaf, and cooked in boiling water for about 90 minutes. Once the compacted rice has cooled, it can be cut up into bite-sized pieces. Outer parts oflontong usually have a greenish color because of the chlorophyll left by the banana leaf rubbing off on the rice cake surface.

Alternative ways of cookinglontong include placing uncooked rice into amuslin bag and then letting the water seep in and cause the rice to form a solid mass.^[7] Another popular and easier method is by using commercially available plastic pouches; rice-filled and punctured with a needle to create small holes to allow the water to seep into the package, which are then boiled until the rice becomes cooked and has filled up the pouch. This method was meant to imitate the banana leaf's liquid permeability. Nevertheless, the use of organic banana leaves is highly recommended for better health^{[citation needed]} and ecological reasons.^{[dubious –discuss]}

On the other hand, Malaysiannasi himpit (lit. 'pressed rice') is traditionally created differently. The method is more a mechanical pressure than applying permeable boiling technique; freshly cooked rice is compressed for a few hours between two heavy stone slabs or two trays with a heavy weight on top to producenasi himpit. However,nasi himpit is now usually speedily produced in water-permeable plastic sachets filled with rice and boiled in water.

Similar to rice, the taste oflontong is bland and neutral, and it depends on other ingredients to give a taste through spices and sauces. Commonly,lontong serves as a compact alternative to steamed rice. It can be served with almost any traditional dish recipe as a staple food, but is often eaten withpeanut sauce orcoconut milk-based soup.

In Indonesia, especially amongBetawi people, lontong usually served aslontong sayur, pieces of lontong served in coconut milk soup with shreddedchayote,tempeh,tofu, hard-boiled egg,sambal, andkerupuk.^[4]Lontong sayur is related and quite similar toKetupat sayur and is a favourite breakfast menu next tobubur ayam andnasi uduk.

In Surabaya,lontong balap is made fromlontong,taoge (bean sprouts), fried tofu,lentho (fried mashed beans), fried shallots,sambal petis and sweet soy sauce. East Javaneselontong andtofu recipes are known for their distinctive flavour, acquired from a generous amount ofpetis (a type of shrimp paste).^[8]

The more elaborate recipe oflontong islontong cap go meh, aPeranakanChinese Indonesian adaptation of traditionalIndonesian dishes, lontong served with richopor ayam,sayur lodeh,sambal goreng ati (beef liver in sambal),acar,telur pindang (hard boiledtea egg),abon (beef floss), andkoya powder (mixture of soy and dried shrimp powder).Lontong cap go meh is usually consumed by the Chinese Indonesian community duringthe Cap go meh celebration.

Lontong dekem is originated fromPemalang Regency, Central Java. The process involves soaking the lontong in soup until it is submerged, hence the namedekem meaning "immersion" in Pemalang Javanese dialect.

Lontong kari is lontong served in soupy chickencurry and vegetables. It is become a specialty breakfast ofParahyangan region.^[9] Kari was first brought to Indonesia by Buddhist monks from India.^[10]

Lontong bengkalis fromBengkalis Regency,Riau, consists of lontong, jackfruit soup, and peanut sauce. It is also sprinkled with anchovies and slices of green bird's eye chili.^[11]

InWest Sumatra, aMinang dish fromPadang Pariaman is calledlontong gulai pakis, lontong served with youngfern leavesgulai. Usually served with hard-boiled eggs andkerupuk jangek orkrupuk kulit (cow skin crackers).

Lontong kikil is lontong serve in spicycow's trotters soup and vegetables.^[4]

Another lontong recipes arelontong kupang andlontong balap fromSurabaya andSidoarjo area inEast Java.Lontong kupang is made oflontong served withsmall white clams.

Lontong krubyuk is a traditionalKarimunjawa dish. The termlontong krubyuk itself comes from the Javanese languagekrubyuk orngrubyuk means walking in water or puddles. This name corresponds to the appearance of a dish that contains a lot of gravy. A serving oflontong krubyuk comes withlontong, half-cooked bean sprouts, sliced celery leaves, and shredded chicken stew, and then is poured with broth.^[12]

Lontong mie is one of the popular dishes inSurabaya. It consists of slices oflontong, yellow noodles, fried tofu,petis (shrimp paste sauce), bean sprouts,lento (black-eyed pea fritter), and fried shallots.^[13]

Lontong pical is aMinang food. It is rice cake with noodles and vegetables smothered in thin peanut sauce also sprinkled withkrupuk.^[14]

Alontong dish fromBlora,Central Java. It is made of slices oflontong, fried tofu, and peanut sauce and served on a teak leaf plate.^[15]

Lontong tuyuhan is slices of rice cake with chicken and coconut milk soup. It is a delicacy ofRembang Regency.^[16]

Arem-arem is the smaller sizelontong filled with diced vegetables such ascarrot,common bean, andpotato seasoned with salt and red chili, or tofu,oncom, andtempeh; sometimes also filled with minced meat orabon (beef floss), are eaten as a snack. The rice is flavored withcoconut milk. This kind of snack is calledarem-arem inJavanese, but commonly called simplylontong orlontong isi in other parts of Indonesia. It is a common snack in Java, and quite similar tolemper, but uses common rice instead of sticky ricelemper. It usually uses a thin, young banana leaf as a wrapper, a thin, light yellow-green colored banana leaf.Lontong on the other hand, usually uses thicker, mature banana leaves. The texture ofarem-arem snacks is softer compared to those of commonlontong, due to the thinner banana leaf, addition of coconut milk, and prolonged boiling and steaming period.

It is commonly callednasi himpit (lit. "pressed rice") inMalaysia, and unlike lontong,nasi himpit is created by pressing rice overnight.^[3] Thelontong rice cake is cut into smaller pieces, and these rice cake pieces are known asnasi himpit (compressed rice). The termlontong in Malaysia and Singapore usually refers to a dish that consists of rice cakes in a coconut-based soup such assayur lodeh containing shrimp and vegetables like chopped cabbage, turnip, and carrots. Additional condiments are added either during cooking or in individual servings. These include things such as fried tempeh, fried tofu, boiled eggs, dried cuttlefishsambal, fried spicy shredded coconut (serunding kelapa), fried chicken, etc.

Nasi himpit is also an accompaniment to satay and is eaten with peanut sauce. In the east coast states of Peninsular Malaysia,nasi himpit is eaten with peanut sauce (kuah kacang) for breakfast.Nasi himpit is also one of the ingredients in the Malaysian version of chickensoto.

• Burasa
• Ketupat, a similar dish with container made from weavedjanur (young palm leaves)
• Lemper
• Lepet

• Indonesian snack foods
• Indonesian rice dishes
• Javanese cuisine
• Malay cuisine
• Malaysian cuisine
• Cocossian cuisine
• Banana leaf

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