| Cilok | |
| Country: | Indonesia |
| Region: | West Java, Banten, Jakarta |
| Course: | Snack |
| Served: | Hot |
| Main Ingredient: | Tapioca ball dumplings served in peanut sauce or sambal |
| Variations: | cilok kuah, cilor, cimol, bacil (bakso cilok), cikar (cilok bakar or grilled cilok) |
Cilok (Aksara Sunda:) is an Indonesian ball-shaped dumpling made from aci (tapioca starch), a Sundanese snack originated from Indonesia.[1] In Sundanese, cilok is an abbreviation of aci dicolok or "poked tapioca", since the tapioca balls are poked with lidi skewers made from the midrib of the coconut palm frond.
The size of cilok balls may vary, but it is usually about the same size as another Indonesian favourite bakso meatballs. Cilok balls are boiled until cooked or deep fried in ample of cooking oil, and might be served with peanut sauce, kecap manis (sweet soy sauce), sambal, bottled chili sauce, or served in soup. The texture of cilok is quite chewy, its shape and texture is quite similar to Japanese dango, although almost all of cilok variants are savoury compared to sweet dango.
Cilok is a popular street snack, usually sold by travelling vendors using carts or bicycles frequenting residential areas, marketplace, busy street-side, or stationed in front of schools. The chewy tapioca balls with savoury peanut sauce are popular snack among Indonesians.[2]
Basic or common cilok are usually tapioca balls skewered and served in peanut sauce. However, there are a number of variants of additions, fillings and sauce that depend on the creativity of the cooks. An example is cilok filled with quail eggs and served in ebi dried shrimp sauce.[3] The many different varieties of cilok are usually named after the various additional ingredients and seasonings served with them. Types and variants among others are: