Mark's rujak cingur

Thanks to Mark Costello, my friend and mentor in all things Surabayan, for his comment on my last post.

Here is Wikipedia's description of the local specialty he mentions, rujak cingur:

Literally meaning mouth in Javanese, "cingur" (pronounced: ching-oor) is a variant of rujak from Surabaya. This specialty rujak from East Java has a "meaty" taste. It contains slices of cooked buffalo or cow lips, bangkuang (jicama), young raw mango, pineapple, cucumber, kangkung, lontong (rice cake), tofu and tempe, all served in a black sauce made from petis (black fermented shrimp paste, related to terasi), and ground peanuts. It is topped with a sprinkle of fried shallots andkerupuk (Indonesian shrimp crackers).



Not one to be left out of a good eating experience, I went out and tried this for dinner tonight. It is quite delicious. The thick black-brown sauce is spicy, savory and nutty. There is crunch in the veg, a little sweet from the pineapple, and the soy proteins are all good eating. I must admit, though, I chewed a bit of the beef lips and did not dig the rubbery texture. I assiduously picked those bits out. But they would not keep me from ordering cingur rujak again.

Thanks to the many who sent positive comments on the "Surabaya Snax" posting. I will continue to share new eating adventures as I find them.