History of Kerak Telor, a Traditional Omelet Dish from Jakarta

VIVA – Indonesia has many culinary that spreads across several areas, one is in Jakarta. Jakarta with the majority of the Betawi people has one of the traditional foods, namely Kerak Telor.

Kerak telor is a traditional omelet from Jakarta. The main ingredients for making kerak telor are white glutinous rice, chicken or duck eggs, and Ebi, then sprinkled with a delicious topping of coconut serundeng and fried onions.

Usually, Kerak telor sellers can be found on the roadside or at various tourist destinations such as the National Monument (Monas), Taman Mini Indonesia Indah, and Kota Tua Jakarta.

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Kerak Telor Betawi.

Photo :

• VIVAnews/Fernando Randy

This Betawi cuisine has been around since the Dutch colonial era. According to the Jakarta Culture Service, the origin of the kerak telor was unintentional and unexpected. So, in ancient times, many coconut trees grew in the Jakarta area, or what used to be known as Batavia.

Many of the coconuts are used by Betawi residents to be processed into snacks which are eventually referred to as kerak telor. Initially, this Betawi cuisine began to be sold around Monas in the 1970s and it turns out that many people like it.

The mixture of rice and egg is crunchy and the eggs and coconut have a savory taste. So, Kerak Telor becomes a special culinary because of the combination of its unique taste and texture. The price for this omelet from Betawi is still affordable.

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Kerak telor.

Photo :

• U-Report

Kerak Telor Recipe

The Ingredients:

• 100gr of white glutinous rice, wash until clean, and soak it in water for 24 hours (overnight) to make it soft.
• 1 tablespoon of wet Serundeng
• 1 teaspoon of dried shrimp powder
• 1 duck egg
• ½ teaspoon of salt and spices mixed
• ½ teaspoon of pepper powder
• Dried Serundeng
• Fried onions

How To Make Kerak Telor, as quoted from the Latitudes site:

1. Heat a frying pan until quite hot. Add 2 tablespoons of white glutinous rice that has been soaked with water and flattened out. Cook for about 1-2 minutes.

2. Add 1 tablespoon of wet Serundeng & 1 teaspoon of dried shrimp powder.

3. Add 1 duck egg onto the sticky rice and add some mixed seasoning (½ teaspoon of salt and spices and ½ teaspoon of pepper powder). Flatten and stir well. Cover and cook over low heat until slightly dry.

4. After a couple of minutes, turn over the kerak telor and transfer it from the pan to a plate. Spread some dried Serundeng and fried onions on top as a finishing touch. Then, Kerak Telor is ready to be served.

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3. Add 1 duck egg onto the sticky rice and add some mixed seasoning (½ teaspoon of salt and spices and ½ teaspoon of pepper powder). Flatten and stir well. Cover and cook over low heat until slightly dry.