Chendol is commonly found in Singapore hawker centres. It is a well loved sweet, affordable cold dessert popular with both young and old. The young love its layers of sweetness and flexibility of fanciful toppings while the old have the added pleasure of enjoying it for nostalgia. Chendol is a 1,000 year old Southeast Asian dessert, a godsend for our repressive humid hot climate.
It is found throughout Southeast Asia in various forms and under different names but is unmistakably chendol. In Malaysia, it is known as cendol (spelt without the "h"). In Indonesia, it is known as Jendol but in Central and East Java it is known as Dawet or Dhawet. In Thailand, they call it Lod Chong. It is Khao Lod Song in Laos, Nom Lot in Cambodia, Banh Lot in Vietnam and Mont Let Saung in Myanmar. The Hmong people call it Naab Vaam. Various forms of chendol can be found around the world due to global migration of Southeast Asian peoples. The dessert is open to interpretations and innovations.
Jendol seller in Jakarta, Indonesia in 2010.
So, various forms of chendol are pervasive in the streets, food centres, food courts and restaurants of Southeast Asia.
The three defining ingredients of chendol are the pressed noodle, coconut milk and caramelised palm sugar syrup.
Toppings like boiled red beans, jackfruit, durian, attap seed, corn, glutinous rice, etc are optional and vary from place to place, even stall to stall.
The noodles can be made with flour made of rice, glutinous rice, mung bean, tapioca, sago, or a blend of these. It is often coloured green with pandan leaf (screw pine) which also imparts to it a sweet flavour and fragrance.
In Indonesia, there are black noodles (dawet ireng) coloured with burnt paddy straw, green noodles coloured with basil leaf, there are literally hundreds of varieties depending on the region.
Rice or tapioca, etc paste is pressed through a perforated container and the noodles passing out are dropped into a container of cold water below.
The noodles are served in a cup or bowl of coconut milk. The caramelised palm sugar give the dessert a layering of sweet flavours and fragrance.
CNN caused an uproar especially in Indonesia and Malaysia when it named "Cendol, Singapore" in a 2018 article as one the "50 of the world's best desserts".
The main objections centred around the origins of chendol though the CNN article did not address origins of the dessert at all. It focussed only on what is "Cendol, Singapore" and mentioned that different versions of chendol is widely found throughout Southeast Asia. But "with the addition of a scoop of sweetened red beans, Singapore's take on the classic" prevails according to CNN.
Though chendol is enjoyed throughout Southeast Asia, its origins and how it spread are still obscure. But, Indonesia seems to have the strongest claim as the dessert is mentioned in its ancient literary works and folklore.
The earliest known reference to dawet was in the Kakawin Kresnayana or the Journey of Krishna (a kakawin is a long narrative poem in old Javanese). Kakawin Kresnayana was written around the 1100s in Central Java during the time of the Kediri Kingdom which ruled Central and East Java from 1042 - 1222. This then put dawet at more than 1,000 years old.
For further research.
At that time, the Malay archipelago was heavily influenced by Indian culture. It is plausible that dawet might even have some Indian roots but there is not evidence found to support that connection so far.
Nevertheless, putu mayang noodle (idiyappam) which originates from south India is made with similar tools and techniques i.e. making rice noodle by pressing rice paste through a perforated container.
Middle Eastern traders came to the Malay archipelago since the 7th century. It is possible that they may have brought Faloodeh to Java, which became dawet / cendol. I have a more detailed article on the Faloodeh - Cendol nexus 👈 click
Dawet seller in Malang in Central Java in 1935.
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Dawet seller in Solo in Central Java in 2010.
Another Javanese reference mentioning dawet dates back to the Majapahit empire (1293 - 1527).
In the legend of Warok Suromenggolo from Ponorogo (East Java), he was at war with the king of the Majapahit empire. Exhausted and taking shelter in Jabung village, Warok Suromenggolo met a dawet seller. Refreshed by the dawet, the grateful Warok Suromenggolo proclaimed that anyone in Jabung village who sells dawet shall prosper. Warok Suromenggolo's proclamation turned out to be true as even today, Dawet Jabung is famous throughout East Java, if not the whole of Indonesia.
In another legend involving Warok Suromenggolo and Dawet Jabung, Warok Suromenggolo was engaged in a duel with Warok Surogentho. Warok Suromenggolo was injured and fell unconscious. Warok Suromenggolo was saved by a villager named Ki Jabung who splashed dawet on Warok Suromenggolo's wounds. Warok Suromenggolo woke and his wounds healed instantly. This angered Warok Surogentho who then killed Ki Jabung. In his gratitude towards Ki Jabung, Warok Suromenggolo proclaimed that anyone who sells dawet in Jabung village shall prosper.
In Jabung village today, dawet is served in a bowl on a saucer. According to custom, if the male customer takes the saucer as well as the bowl of dawet, it means that the male customer would like to marry the dawet seller. If the female dawet seller releases her grip on the saucer, it signals that she is willing to marry him. Otherwise, she would hold on tightly to the saucer and allow the customer to take the bowl only 😄
In Central and East Java, they practice the wedding custom of dodol dawet. On the eve of the wedding, the parents of the bride would set up a dawet stall to serve the sweet dessert to guests and relatives. The guests would pay the bride's parents with tokens (terracotta "coins" usually represented by pieces from roof tiles). The belief is that the more dawet is sold, more guests will grace the wedding ceremony.
The dodol dawet custom has deep symbolic meanings. The parents working together to sell dawet reminds the newly wed couple that happiness in couple life comes from working harmoniously together. The terracotta "coins" signify that everything come from the land / earth. The success of the dodol dawet business represents good fortune. The dodol dawet ceremony is a wish that the couple's life together is sweet like the dawet dish. Such a beautiful custom!
One of the earliest records of the word jendol was "tjendol" in the 1866 Oost-Indisch Kookboek or East Indies Cookbook. Oost-Indisch Kookboek has a cendol recipe named "Tjendol of Dawet" indicating that cendol and dawet refer to the same dish.
The 1866 recipe in English: "Tjendol or Dawet. Boil some water in a kuali (wok), then take a plate of arrowroot, first mix it very thinly with cold water, when it is well mixed, put in small quantities in the kuali with the boiling water, mix it well, boil it until it is thick, and then drop it through a coarse sieve into cold water. If you want to drink it, squeeze milk put the arrowroot grains in it, and Javanese sugar of your choice (which must first be cooked into syrup with a piece of jackfruit)."
Another old jendol recipe excerpted from: J. M. J. Catenius-van der Meijden. “New complete East Indian cookbook / recipes for the complete Indian rice table, pickles, baked goods, custards, jams, ice creams” dated 1902.
The 1902 jendol recipe in English: "Tjendol or dawet. A plate full of arrowroot, cold water, santan (coconut milk), Javanese sugar syrup, a little salt.
Preparation: Boil water; then take the amount of arrowroot powder and dilute it with cold water. Add this, while stirring, to the boiling hot water, mix well and cook until thick.
Then this thick, boiled arrowroot is poured into a sieve with large holes, which is held over a container of cold water. Drop the arrowroot, in drops, into the cold water.
Take santan, diluted with a little salt and the Javanese sugar syrup, and add a few spoonfuls of the solidified arrowroot balls.”
Over in Malaysia, the word cendol showed up in written records much later. The earliest was in 1932, where cendol was mentioned in the list of food sold at the Sunday market at Kampung Baru in Kuala Lumpur (reference Saudara article in the Malay Concordance Project).
It is probable that Javanese migrants brought chendol / cendol to Malaysia and Singapore (then British Malaya). Migration of Javanese from Java to British Malaya took place mainly around 1880 to 1930s.
Malay hawker in Singapore in 1900.
Singapore was inhabited by about 1,000 fishermen and sea nomads at the time of Stamford Raffles' landing in 1819. On setting up the British East India Company trading post in Singapore, Raffles brought in labourers from India, China and Indonesia. Javanese were a major part of these Indonesian migrant workers. Some of these migrant labourers worked as street hawkers. It is probable that some of these Indonesian street hawkers who came to Singapore brought chendol or jendol with them.
Chendol seller in Singapore in 1959 outside the Singapore Club (at Fullerton Building).
Cendol Geylang Serai (spelt without the "h") is probably the oldest chendol stall in Singapore now. The stall now in its third generation is at stall #02-107 at Geylang Serai Market & Food Centre.
Maideen came from India and when he arrived, Indonesians were already selling cendol in Geylang Serai. Cendol Geylang Serai was founded in 1910 by Maideen bin Ahmad who started selling chendol from two baskets across his shoulders in Geylang Serai. Maideen moved into a food stall in Geylang Serai Market in 1951. Maideen handed the business to the second generation in 1995 and it is now run by the third generation since 2005. (Source)
At Cendol Geylang Serai, they have a large, prominent signboard proclaiming "NO RED BEANS". Cendol Geylang Serai sells the old Indonesian style chendol with just noodle, coconut milk, caramelised sugar syrup and crushed ice.
How then did chendol spread throughout Indochina? This question needs more research i.e. there is no clear answer now. There are, however, some interesting anecdotes which in the future might provide leads for our research.
In Thailand, there's lod chong Singapore but how it came about is still being debated. One theory is, there was a stall selling lod chong at the then Singapore Cinema in Yaowarat (Bangkok Chinatown) around the 1960s. Hence the name, lod chong Singapore. Another theory has it that lod chong Singapore is made with tapioca flour instead of rice flour. As the tapioca flour used was imported from Singapore, it became known as lod chong Singapore. Both theories are plausible and have their own adherents.
Over in Vietnam, banh lot is generally believed to have come from Thailand.
If there is a single dessert which the 700 million people in Southeast Asia share a common love for and can identify with, it is chendol. Beyond pleasing tastebuds, chendol is rich in the folklore and customs of Southeast Asian peoples.
There is a lot more to discover about Southeast Asia through the humble chendol.
References:
Image of Dawet seller courtesy of Wikipedia. Image of Dawet seller courtesy of Wikipedia. Image of chendol seller in Singapore courtesy of National Archives of Singapore. Image of Malay hawker courtesy of National Archives of Singapore. Image of jendol seller courtesy of Wikipedia. Image of lod chong courtesy of Flickr.
Dawet
Dawet Banjanegara (Central Java)
Banh Lot
Mont Let Saung
There may be a link to the Indian and Persian desert, if there is, then maybe the rice flour.
ReplyDeleteCendol is pretty much its own thing with palm sugar and pandan leaves as coloring. And one thing for sure is that it's not Malaysian or Singaporean traditional food. So why Malaysian got riled up for something that is not theirs to begin with is beyond me. It's like white American getting angry over Germany's sushi making it to CNN top 50