Lontong or ketupat rice cakes are served with Javanese entrees and side dishes to make a lontong cap go meh. A popular Peranakan food eaten by the Indonesian Chinese community as part of the Chinese New Year cap go meh 15 CHINESE NEW YEARLANTERN FESTIVALThe Chinese celebrate the new year for 15 days well 16 days if you count the new year’s eve. The 15th day is called “cap goh” in Hokkien language. On this last day, the celebration usually involves a lantern festival. Kids and adults will light up lanterns. Back in the old days, the lanterns are lighted up and then flew off flying lanterns. But of course, this is not a common practice in this modern day, not at my hometown at least. I remember we just lighted up lanterns and walked around the neighborhood showing off our cool lanterns 🙂EATING YUAN XIAO / TANG YUANG RICE BALLSDay 15 is also celebrated by eating rice balls yuan xiao or also known as tang yuan to bring more prosperity and good luckSTORY BEHIND THE LONTONG CAP GO MEH TRADITIONThe early male Chinese immigrants who landed and settled down at the Javanese cities such as Surabaya, Semarang, Pekalongan just to mention a few started this lontong cap go meh tradition. They married the local Javanese women and that’s where the Peranakan fusion between the Chinese and the local Javanese food such as lontong cap go meh, starting to emerge as well. This is a very brief version of the story anyway 🙂AUSPICIOUS LONTONG CAP GO MEHFood often has auspicious meaning in the Chinese culture. The Javanese food cooked by the immigrants’ wives played a big role in lontong cap go meh. These are the usual dishes included in lontong cap go meh LONTONG the traditional Chinese yuan xiao or tang yuan that was consumed during cap go meh is replaced with Indonesian lontong. The long shape of lontong before being cut represents longevity TELUR PINDANG The round eggs represents good fortune SAYUR LODEH AND OPOR AYAM The rich and yellowish color of the broth represents wealth, gold, and fortuneDISHES YOU CAN PREPARE TO MAKE LONTONG CAP GO MEHYou don’t have to make all of these dishes, but IMHO, you gotta have at least sayur lodeh, opor ayam, and sambal goreng kentang to make a tasty lontong cap go RICE CAKEYou gotta try out this easy rice cooker lontong/ketupat. You will never make lontong the old way again with hours and hours of boilingReady to be usedSAYUR LODEHThis humble vegetables dish cooked in coconut milk and aromatics is a must to have to accompany lontong cap go meh or lontong sayur OPOR AYAMOpor ayam is a classic Javanese chicken dish and it’s well-loved by the Javanese people I love it too and I’m not Javanese SAMBAL GORENG KENTANGCubes of fried potatoes are cooked in aromatics and spicy chili sauce. This is a favorite dish by almost all Indonesians I must say. Most of the time innards like beef liver is added. I used chicken gizzards or chicken livers sometimes. In this recipe I used chicken gizzards TELUR PINDANGEggs are braised in spices and seasonings. I didn’t make this because I already included hard-boiled eggs in my opor ayamEggs braised in all the aromatic herbs and spicesBUBUK KOYAH KEDELAI SPICED SOY POWDERThis incredibly easy to make bubuk kedelai is a must to have for lontong cap go meh and many other Javanese dishes. We love this a lot too! ACAR TIMUN CUCUMBER PICKLESIt doesn’t have to be acar timun. You can use any acar like carrots, shallots, etc. I happened to have the recipe for this acar timun. I didn’t include this in lontong cap go meh for this post KERUPUK CRACKERSYou can use prawn crackers kerupuk udang, emping crackers, or tapioca crackersIt may seem like a lot of things to prepare, but if you plan ahead, this is very doable. I do not recommend making everything on the same day. You will hate me and yourself 🙂 Trust me, I’ve done that before and I turned into a monster that day LOL! My kids love lontong cap go meh. If you plan to serve this for the kids, you always have the option of not making the dishes not spicy. My kids can tolerate spicy food now 😉 Our family loves lontong cap go meh and lontong sayur Medan and they absolutely don’t mind this tradition at YOU MAKE THIS LONTONG CAP GOH MEH RECIPE?I love it when you guys snap a photo and tag to show me what you’ve made 🙂 Simply tag me WhatToCookToday WhatToCookToday on Instagram and I’ll be sure to stop by and take a peek for real! How To Make The Best Lontong Cap Go Meh for Chinese New YearInstructions Dishes you can prepare the day beforeI recommend making the lontong the day before because it needs to be cooled down before you can cut themI also recommend making opor ayam the day before as the flavor is even better the next daySide dishes you can prepare several days beforePrepare the acar timun several days before no more than one week before though. The bubuk koyah kedelai can be prepare several days or weeks before too as they can be kept up to 3 months in the fridgeOn the day you plan to serve lontong cap go mehYou just need to make sambal goreng kentang and sayur lodeh on the day you plan to serve this. It makes things more manageable and less hectic for youHow to serve lontong cap go mehCut the rice cakes into squares and the size you prefer. Put about 4-5 rice cakes depending on the size you cut on a platter. Ladle the sayur lodeh with some veggies over. Add one piece of chicken, one or half of hard-boiled egg and spoon some of the broth over too. Top with some sambal goreng kentang. A spoonful of acar. Place few crackers on the side. Sprinkle on the bubuk koyah kedelai and bawang goreng on top. You can serve additional acar, bubuk koyah kedelai, and prawn crackers on the side for your guests to add more if they want toYou will also like this Lontong Sayur Medan too. Don’t forget to check out nasi sayur too. It’s another one of our favorites! MarvellinaMarvellina is a food blogger, recipe developer, photographer, and publisher at What To Cook Today. A food blog that brings you tried and true Asian recipes.

resep lontong kecap jawa timur