History of Bergedil • Fried Potato Patty Loved throughout Maritime Southeast Asia

Every time I have mee rebus, mee soto, nasi lemak, nasi ambeng, etc., I'll throw in a bergedil, whenever it is available.

There's something comforting about the sweet taste of mash potato, savouriness from the browned outside, and aroma of scallion embedded in the soft patty.

For me, a serving of mee rebus, or rebus soto, etc., is not enough sustenance (not filling enough), so a bergedil tops up my need for carbs in a very agreeable, tasty way. 

The little fried mashed potato patties are found throughout the Malay Archipelago and Peninsula. It is well loved by all communities living here.

Its origins are uncontroversial - no quarrels about how it came about unlike the unresolved origin squabbles over nasi lemak, chili crab, chendol, bak kut teh, chicken rice, etc. 

Dutch couple and their Indonesian servant between 1880 - 1920

It is known as bergedil or begedil in the Malay Peninsula and in Java. Elsewhere in the Malay Archipelago, it is known as perkedel. Bergedil, begedil or perkedel, it is the Malay / Javanese way of saying the Dutch word frikadel, a fried minced meat (beef, pork or chicken) patty. 

The fried meat patty is found in central Europe so the Danish (frikadeler), and Germans (frikadellen) also have their own versions but it was the Dutch who brought the dish to the Malay Archipelago and Peninsula. 

Not the Spanish or Portuguese who came here earlier, meh? Nope, because the Iberians do not have a frikadel type dish. 

Digression: The hamburger is made by stuffing the frikadellen between two halves of a sliced bun. So, hamburgers and the bergedil are actually siblings though they have grown apart and are very different now 😮

Image courtesy of Peakpx

In the dash for spices, the Dutch landed in Indonesia in 1599, and by 1699, the entire Malay Archipelago was under control of the Dutch East India Company. When the Dutch government nationalised the Dutch East India Company (which had gone bankrupt) in 1799, the Dutch East Indies became a colony of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. 

Dutch Square in Malacca. Image courtesy of Wikipedia

The Dutch also ruled Malacca from 1641 to 1825 (for 184 years), so the bergedil could also originate from the Malay Peninsula. Either way, no one disputes its Dutch roots.

Not surprisingly, it was also the Dutch who brought the potato to the Malay Archipelago in the 1700s when it was known as kentang Holanda. Today, potato is simply known as kentang.

There are five different frikadel recipes in Oost-Indisch kookboek (East Indies Cookbook) published in 1866 in Samarang, Java, Indonesia.

Chicken Frikadel (recipe from Oost-Indisch kookboek)

1 large tablespoon full of red onions, 

3 small sioong bawang putih (garlic cloves),

1 large tablespoon of kemirie (candlenut), 

1 teaspoon of galangal, 

1 small piece of tumeric, 

1 teaspoon of trassie (fermented shrimp paste or belacan), 

1 do. ketoembar (coriander), 

4 teaspoon djinten poetie (jintan putih or cumin),

1 teaspoon lombok (chili pepper),

Chicken breast.

First, minced meat and then finely rubbed with all these herbs, 3 eggs are mixed with it and 2 teaspoons salt, then make small balls and fry them with coconut oil until brown.

Fergedel recipe from In a Malayan Kitchen by Susie Hing published in Singapore in 1956.

The main ingredient was 1 kati (21 oz) of potatoes with 5 oz of meat.

Ellice Handy's influential My Favourite Recipes published in Singapore in 1952 has a recipe called "Indonesian Meat and Potato Cakes". This lends credence to the general consensus that the bergedil was from Indonesia, and hence the Dutch.

Today, there's bergedil kentang (potato), tempe (fermented soy bean), tauhu (bean curd), etc. It is not clear when the currently pervasive all potato bergedil came about.

The most commonly seen modern bergedil is kentang or potato based. It is made by oil frying diced potato which are then mashed. Chopped scallion and dried shrimp, etc., are added to the potato mash which is then hand formed into patties. The patties are coated with beaten egg, then oil fried till browned outside.

The next time you enjoy a bergedil with your mee rebus, mee soto, nasi lemak, or nasi campur, pause and contemplate for a moment, the marvel that you are partaking in a localised version, adapted from a European meat ball dish that came to our sunny shores nearly 500 years ago.

To me, stories and history make food taste better. How about you?

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Written by Tony Boey on 14 July 2024

References:

Akulturasi Budaya Etnis Belanda Dalam Makanan Nusantara Perkedel