Cempedak Goreng

Malaysian cempedak fritters: ripe cempedak bulbs, each round its seed, pressed together, dipped in a light rice-flour batter, and fried golden

Origin: Malaysia

From the journey of Jackfruit.

The cempedak, Artocarpus integer, is the jackfruit's smaller, softer, and more strongly scented cousin, native to Borneo, the Malay Peninsula, and Sumatra, and when it is in season in Malaysia, Brunei, and Indonesia it is fried at roadside stalls as cempedak goreng. The method is the one the standard flora of the fruits of Southeast Asia records: two or three ripe bulbs, each still round its seed, are pressed together, dipped in a batter of rice flour, sugar, milk, and water, and fried in hot oil until golden. They are eaten hot, the custardy flesh inside the crust, and the seed is left at the table. The cempedak was once esteemed above the jackfruit. William Marsden, describing Sumatra in 1811, called the nangka 'the more common, less esteemed, and larger fruit', and wrote of both that their flesh was 'of a rich, and to strangers too strong smell and flavour, but which gains upon the palate'. The wild cempedak, bangkong, still grows in the forests of the Malay Peninsula, and in Borneo the cultivated tree itself grows wild. Where cempedak and jackfruit grow together they cross, and Malaysian growers have cloned the hybrid, the nangka-cempedak.

Ingredients

Cempedak

  • 16 ripe cempedak bulbs, seeds left in (from 1 fruit)

Batter

  • 100 g rice flour
  • 30 g plain flour
  • 1 tbsp sugar
  • 0.25 tsp salt
  • 0.25 tsp ground turmeric, for colour (optional)
  • 180 ml milk, or half milk and half water
  • 1 litre vegetable oil, for deep-frying

Method

  1. Oil your hands. Score the skin of the ripe cempedak lengthwise, pull the fruit open, and lift the bulbs away from the core.
  2. Whisk the flours, sugar, salt, and turmeric with the milk to a smooth batter the thickness of double cream.
  3. Heat the oil to 175°C in a wok or deep pan.
  4. Press two or three bulbs together into a rough ball, dip them in the batter, and lower them into the oil. Fry in batches for 8 to 10 minutes, turning, until deep golden.
  5. Drain on paper and eat hot, warning everyone about the seed inside.

Notes

Jackfruit bulbs can be fried the same way, as nangka goreng, but they are firmer and less perfumed. The seeds can be boiled in salted water and eaten like chestnuts.

The Gastrographer

The Gastrographer

Mapping Culinary History

To explore — select an ingredient below.

Journey Point Map Key

Ingredient originTrade or transit route
Became a culinary stapleColonial / trade control
© 2026 The Gastrographer. All original research, narratives, and illustrations. All rights reserved.