Bakso

Baksoorbaso(Jawi: باقسو) is anIndonesianmeatball,or a meat paste made frombeefsurimi.Its texture is similar to theChinesebeef ball,fish ball, orpork ball. The wordbaksomay refer to a single meatball or the complete dish of meatball soup.Mie baksorefers to bakso served with yellow noodles and rice vermicelli, whilebakso kuahrefers to bakso soup served without noodles.
Baksocan be found all across Indonesia, from street vendors to high-class restaurants. Along withsoto,satay, andsiomay,baksois one of the most popularstreet foodsin Indonesia.Today, various types of ready-to-cookbaksoare also available asfrozen foodssold insupermarketsin Indonesia. It is usually eaten with noodles.
Baksois commonly made from finely ground beef with a small quantity oftapioca flourandsalt.However, bakso can also be made from other ingredients, such as chicken, pork, fish, or shrimp.Unlike other meatball recipes, bakso has a consistent firm, dense, homogeneous texture due to thepolymerizationofmyosinin the beef surimi.
As most Indonesians areMuslimsand observehalaldietary laws,baksois usually made from beef, chicken, or a mixture of beef and chicken.In non-Muslim majority areas, such as in the Chinatowns of major cities and on theHindu-majority island ofBali, porkbaksomight be found.
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-cookedbaksoare usually displayed in the windows of street vendor carts.
Baksois usually served in a bowl of beefbroth, with yellownoodles,bihun(rice vermicelli), salted vegetables,tofu, egg (wrapped within bakso),Chinese broccoli,bean sprout,siomayor steamed meat dumpling, and crispwonton, sprinkled with friedshallotsandcelery. Slices of bakso are often used and mixed as complements inmie goreng,nasi goreng, orcap cairecipes.
The namebaksooriginated frombak-so(肉酥,Pe̍h-ōe-jī:bah-so͘), theHokkienpronunciation for "fluffy meat" or "minced meat".This suggests that bakso hasIndonesian Chinese cuisineorigin.Chinese influences is apparent inIndonesian food, such asbakmi,mie ayam,pangsit,mie goreng,kwetiau goreng,bakso, andlumpia.Indeed, bakso texture is quite similar to Chinesebeef balls, which are quite fluffy and have a homogenous texture. Althoughbaksohas a Chinese Hokkien origin name, culinary experts suggest that it is likely thatbaksowas a mixture of culinary influences back in the colonialDutch East Indies. Also inIndonesian, the termbola dagingoften refers to the Western or European style of meatballs, which is different in texture and elasticity compared to bakso. For example,Swedish meatballsare translated asbola daging Swediain 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.
Despite its possible Chinese origin,baksoseems to have undergone localization, especially intoChinese IndonesianandJavanese cuisine. Today, most of thebaksovendors are nativeJavanesefromWonogiri(a town nearSolo) andMalang.Bakso SoloandBakso Malangare the most popular variants; the name comes from the city it comes from,SoloinCentral Javaand Malang inEast Java.Bakso Solois usually served with yellow noodles and rice vermicelli in beef broth, whileBakso Malangusually 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.
Indonesia has developed numerous bakso variants, usually differing in shape, size, texture, ingredients, and fillings.
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:
Baksois one of the most popular street foods in Indonesian cities and villages alike.Travelling street vendors, either by carts or bikes are often frequenting residential areas in Indonesia, whilebaksowarungand humble tent food stalls are often sprung on street sides in Indonesian cities.Baksocame to international attention when United States PresidentBarack Obamaremembered it as one of his favourite foods from his childhood in Indonesia, and mentioned it in his speech.It was also part of a task inThe Amazing Race Asia 1,The Amazing Race Australia 1andThe Amazing Race 28where teams had to either sell and/or eatbakso.
The traveling meatball vendor is often associated withintelligenceundercover activity. On social media, there are also manymemesdepicting 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 88to spy onterroristactivities or other suspicious criminal activities.
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 toVietnamesenoodle soup with meatballs,phở bò viên.InVietnam,Phởmeans noodle soup whileBò Viênis meatballs.Phở Bò Viên is one of the versions of Pho dishes inVietnam. It has been considered as the national dish ofVietnam.
InMalaysiaandSingapore, there is a similar meatball soup calledbebola daging, which is aMalaytranslation of "meatball". Many recipes ofbebola dagingin Malaysia and Singapore are derived from either Western (Indian or European) or Eastern (Chinese) meatballs, such asbebola daging Masalawhich is derived from Indian cuisine influence.
In thePhilippines, meatballs are calledalmondigasorbola-bola, and are usually served in amisuanoodle soup with toasted garlic, squash, and pork cracklings.Bola-bolasare also stewed or pan-fried until golden brown.
In the past,boraxandformalinis often added to beef surimi mixture to preserve the produced bakso, and also to make bakso more chewy (from borax induced myosincross-linking) with less usage of meat.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 cancercaused by high consumption over 5–10 years.The government issuedSodium tripolyphosphateas borax substitute. Today's bakso, frozen bakso being sold at supermarkets and traditional markets in Indonesia are borax free.