Jakarta (ANTARA) –
Tofu is one of Indonesian people’s favorite foods and is often used as a side dish. Not only fried, this food made from soybeans has various interesting and appetizing culinary variants.
One of the variants of this tofu dish is kupat tofu and gimbal tofu. Even though they are both made from tofu and at first glance they look similar to ketoprak, the two foods are very different, both in terms of their origins, serving ingredients, and even the taste they have.
So, what are the striking differences between these two dishes that make them so special and interesting to taste? The following is the explanation.
The origins of kupat tofu and gimbal tofu
Even though they both come from Central Java, the two foods are still different from their cities of origin. Kupat tofu is known as a typical Magelang food, while dreadlocked tofu is a Semarang specialty.
The origin of the term dreadlocked tofu comes from one of the fillings, namely dreadlocks. Looking like bakwan, gimbal is shrimp coated in flour batter and fried until crispy and crunchy.
Meanwhile, kupat tofu is a tofu dish that is added with ketupat, so the term “kupat” is taken from the words ketupat and “tofu” as one of the basic ingredients of this food.
Ingredients for serving kupat tofu and dreadlocked tofu
Kupat tofu has the main ingredients of tofu, ketupat, sprouts, and is usually added with cabbage.
The tofu used is usually fried until brown, but still has a soft texture on the inside and crunchy on the outside. Then, these ingredients are sprinkled with a sweet and slightly spicy peanut sauce.
Different from kupat tofu, gimbal tofu consists of tofu, sprouts, cabbage, and a special addition, namely gimbal, fried shrimp in flour which is similar to bakwan.
This shrimp gimbal is the characteristic of gimbal tofu and gives it a distinctive savory taste.
Dreaded tofu is not usually served with ketupat or lontong, but if you use lontong it can be an added variation to a more filling dish.
Distinctive taste
The key to the deliciousness of these two foods lies in the peanut sauce, but there is quite a noticeable difference in terms of taste.
In kupat tofu, peanut sauce is made from fried peanuts that are ground with garlic, chili and brown sugar.
This spice has a distinctive sweet and savory taste with a little spicy addition depending on taste.
Meanwhile, the dreadlocked tofu seasoning has a richer, savory and salty taste because of the addition of petis. Petis is a shrimp paste that gives a strong aroma and distinctive salty taste, so the taste of dreadlocked tofu is more suitable for those who like savory and salty tastes.
In terms of texture, dreadlocked tofu peanut sauce is usually prepared a little runny, not thick like pecel or ketoprak seasoning.
That’s the difference between kupat tofu and dreadlocked tofu, which is one of the most popular tofu dishes the choice of some Indonesian people. Both kupat tofu and gimbal tofu offer unique delicacies with their own characteristics. Have you tried these two tofu foods?
Reporter: Putri Atika Chairulia
Editor: Maria Rosari Dwi Putri
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