Perkedel

About This Recipe

Perkedel are Indonesia's golden potato patties — mashed potato seasoned with fried shallots, garlic, white pepper, and a whisper of nutmeg, shaped into plump ovals and fried until the outside crisps and the inside stays cloud-soft. The name betrays their colonial ancestry: it's a Malay rendering of the Dutch frikadel, a meat patty that Indonesian cooks reinvented around the potato during the Dutch East Indies era. Today perkedel are everywhere — tucked beside soto ayam, crowning nasi kuning at celebrations, served at Padang restaurants, and fried by the hundred for Ramadan iftar tables. Manado's perkedel jagung swaps in corn, proving the format's endless flexibility. Humble ingredients, but the texture contrast makes them disappear fast.

Ingredients

Serves 12

• 1 kgpotatoes, boiled and mashed
• 2eggs
• 3shallots, minced
• 2 clovesgarlic, minced
• 2 tbspfried onion flakes
• 1 tspsalt
• 1/2 tspwhite pepper
• 1/4 tspnutmeg
• oil for frying

Instructions

1. 1

   Mix

   Separate the eggs, reserving the whites in a shallow bowl. Fold the yolks, minced shallots, garlic, fried onion flakes, salt, white pepper, and nutmeg into the cooled mashed potatoes with a light hand, mixing only until evenly combined — overworking makes the patties gluey.

   Make sure the mash is completely cool and on the dry side; warm or wet potato absorbs oil and falls apart in the fryer.

2. 2

   Shape

   With lightly oiled hands, roll the mixture into golf-ball portions and flatten each into a plump oval about 2cm thick. Keep the surfaces smooth and crack-free — fissures let oil seep in during frying.

3. 3

   Fry

   Whisk the reserved egg whites until just frothy, dip each patty to coat thinly, and lower into oil at 170°C. Fry 3–4 minutes per batch, turning once, until deep golden with a lacy egg-white crust. Drain on paper towels.

   The egg-white dip is the traditional secret — it forms the crisp, slightly ruffled shell that keeps the inside fluffy.

4. 4

   Serve

   Serve hot or at room temperature as a side to soto, nasi kuning, or rice and sambal. They are at their textural best within the first hour of frying.

Variations

• •

  Perkedel jagung (Manado): replace potato with a batter of crushed sweet corn, egg, and aromatics.

• •

  Perkedel daging: fold in 100g of seasoned cooked ground beef for the heartier old-school version.

• •

  Add chopped celery leaves or scallion greens to the mix for freshness.

• •

  Perkedel tahu: use mashed pressed tofu instead of potato for a protein-rich vegetarian patty.

Storage

Cooked perkedel keep 2 days refrigerated in an airtight container; re-crisp in a 180°C oven or air fryer for 5–6 minutes rather than microwaving, which softens the crust. The shaped, unfried mixture also holds overnight in the fridge.

Frequently Asked Questions