Meet Tapioca Flour!

In west-java indonesia, tapioca flour is the main ingredient in a lot of street snacks. People from that region are very creative in making delicious snacks even just from tapioca flour. There are a dozen snacks such as Cilok (tapioca balls) which are usually served with peanut sauce. And there are so many varieties of how these tapioca balls are made. They can be fried, steamed, grilled, you name it. With their creativity, their snacks are popular all over the country. From batagor to seblak, these days all around the country, you can find it all.

Typically, the price of these snacks are reasonable. Though low in nutrition, they make great snacks especially at the end of the month. They can be filled with chicken or whatever you have in your kitchen, mix them and be creative. Lately, I am just craving local snacks. So I ended up making a lot of variations from tapioca flour. I made Cilor, Cimol, Cilok, Batagor with tofu, and Cireng. They are pretty similar but have different techniques and a few additions of ingredients here and there.

The only cooking that I managed to properly document is Cimol. This snack has a hard outer layer but softer inside. It is usually sprinkled with chili powder but you can get creative with the seasoning. I use Sambal balado a condiment that tastes sweet and spicy, to season it. But if I were to be honest, my favorite powder would be BBQ and Sweet corn.

To make a cimol these are the steps by step and the ingredients.

• Boil 150ml water with minced garlic (2-3 cloves)
• In a bowl add 250gr tapioca flour, season it with salt, white pepper, and powdered bouillon (optional)mix them well.
• Add the water slowly into the bowl and mix it while it's hot. At first you have to mix it with a spoon then once it’s a lot less hot, knead to make a smooth dough.
• Make a round ball from the dough.
• Put the balls into the frying pan with oil inside but don’t turn on the stove just yet.
• Use low flame to cook and eventually increase it.
• Stir it multiple times until the balls expand and are slightly golden brown.
• Make sure that the outer layer is hard, strain it.
• Season with the powder of your options. You can use chili powder but also powdered seasoning like I used above.
• Enjoy while it’s hot.

It’s one of the most simple snacks that you can make with just tapioca flour. You can also customize it by adding a spoon of flour. But that’s completely optional because I tried without it and they turn out just fine. The key is making sure that you’re kneading properly and making sure that the water is the right temperature which is right after boiling. Let me know if you want to try it!