Martabak is a popular Indonesian street food which has two main flavor options sweet and savory. This dish is available throughout Indonesia with its variations. Even in popular culture, there is a saying that if you want to visit your partner’s family, you have to bring a martabak to their place. I don’t know why but many Indonesians consider this dish to be delicious and maybe that's why people bring martabak when they visit their soon to be inlaws. I have not met anyone who doesn’t like martabak and I think it’s quite ridiculous if they hate martabak. Growing up, my grandma used to make martabak on a special occasion, and it’s also served during any family gathering or many special occasions. The other day I got martabak when I visited my dads. It was from a stall that I have not tried before and was supposedly good. Even on my way back, the grab driver told me that it was the best martabak in town and that he doesn’t like anything other than the sweet martabak from there.
But what is Martabak made of? technically there are two types of Martabak, one with egg and another is pancake-like, fluffy martabak. The egg martabak is made with a dough, a couple of eggs, whisked together which is then made into fillings and you can add mostly meat into it. Then, fry the dough, put the filling and fold it into squares. It is a different story with sweet martabak which has fluffy-pancake-like texture. These days, they also have a crepe-like texture which is quite new that is served in many martabak stalls. There are also cheaper variations of martabak that are sold at school canteen and such. My mom and I used to sell the cheaper version of it and we used to have so many orders as martabak is one of the common snacks that are served during wedding, local celebrations even religious events.
I also love martabak because it is one of the dishes that can be available 24 hours where I live. Although in general they are available from afternoon to evening. My favorite is martabak with two chicken eggs, although when I want to spice up my martabak, it’s going to be 2 duck eggs. In many stalls, they will offer you the egg options and you can have up to 5 eggs in some places. Martabak prices can also vary with some well-known ones that can be up to $4/package. It is certainly a shared dish/snack but I am often guilty of eating a box by myself. The sweet martabak comes with a generous amount of fillings that will make you experience a food coma. The most common fillings would be peanut, chocolate and cheese. However as time goes on, there are many variations to it such as nutella, pandan, oreo and even red velvet.
It’s fair to say that in many Indonesia's lives, martabak equates to togetherness. It is a meal that they can share while having a chat and it rarely fails to put a smile on anyone’s face. It’s really that yummy and I think, among many Indonesian dishes must-try, sweet and savory martabak are a must try when you visit the country.