Pecel Semanggi, Surabaya Traditional Food

Surabaya offers many local dish to enjoy by culinary lovers. Start from Rujak Cingur, Tahu Tek, Rawon a.k.a Black soup to the Lontong Balap (Lontong race). Some of them offer not only taste, but also nostalgic and history about Surabaya and its culture, for example is Lontong Balap which in earlier day had been sold by running from Wonocolo to Wonokromo, thus the name Lontong Balap was given. But between those list of must wanted dish there is one important food which must to try, it is a Pecel Semanggi.

this is Pecel Semanggi

Pecel Semanggi is not different from other Pecel from Indonesian. It consisted from vegetables poured with peanut sauce. The look of this dish is not interesting. It barely called a dish, more like a snack. The portion is not big like other dish in Surabaya. But for Surabaya people, the taste of Pecel Semanggi is very typical of Surabaya. There is no other town that can perfectly made Pecel Semanggi like Surabaya do. It has become trademark of Surabaya, even Surabaya people who lives in different cities considers this dish is a homesick drug from their hometown.

semanggi plant

Those taste came from Semanggi as its main ingredients. Semanggi belongs to the group of Salviniales. It is also served alongside Mung bean sprouts and Turi Flowers, and poured with sweet and spicy peanut sauce mixed with Cassava. Sometimes it is also served with boiled Cassava leaf and Fried Tempe. Semanggi traditionally always served on top of Banana leaf, called Pincuk, without spoon or fork or rice or Lontong, just Semanggi. If it does not come with spoon or fork so how do you eat it? It does come with Kerupuk Puli, a broad crisp made from rice flour. It substituted spoon, so you eat it using Kerupuk Puli as the spoon.

Unfortunately, it is very difficult nowadays to find Pecel Semanggi merchant. The merchant always walk around the town, never settled on the same spot. Some people even consider it is lucky to meet and find Semanggi merchant. But even that, Semanggi is still a very popular food in Surabaya, composer S. Padimini even create a song about this dish. Another reason why Semanggi is so hard to find is it is very difficult nowadays to find Semanggi plant itself, all the field to plant Semanggi now change to real estate or office. Some place that still has Semanggi is in Kendung village, in Benowo. Kendung village even called "Semanggi Village" because their people job is selling Semanggi.