🥔 SIDE
Perkedel Kentang (Indonesian Potato Fritters)
Fried potatoes mashed with fried shallots, spring onion, celery leaves, white pepper and nutmeg, shaped into little patties, dipped in egg and fried golden, the classic side for soto ayam and rice.
Indonesian · medium · serves 8
prep 25 min · cook 35 min · plus 1 h hands-off time
~136 cal · 5g protein · 26g carbs · 1g fat · 4g fiber · 4g sugars · 0g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
↓ Jump to Recipe
AI-generated illustration
Perkedel are fried patties from Java and Sumatra, and perkedel kentang, made from potato, is the best known. The name comes from the Dutch frikadel, a meatball, a reminder of the colonial kitchen, but the Indonesian version turned the idea around: potato is the main ingredient, and meat, if there is any, is only a small addition.
The potatoes are traditionally fried rather than boiled before mashing. Frying drives off water and gives a drier, more flavourful mash that holds its shape. It is seasoned with white pepper, nutmeg, a little salt and sugar, and mixed with crisp fried shallots, spring onion and Chinese celery leaves, then rolled into balls, flattened, dipped in beaten egg and fried again until golden with a lacy egg edge.
Perkedel is served warm or at room temperature as a side with rice meals, and above all with a bowl of soto ayam, the turmeric chicken soup. It sits on the tumpeng, the festive cone of yellow rice, and in West Sumatra, where it is called paragede, it appears at Minangkabau weddings. It is just as often eaten on its own as a snack, with fresh bird's eye chillies on the side.
Saved recipes and passport stamps are kept on this device. Sign in to keep them across your devices and leave reviews.
Make it yours
✓ Naturally vegetarian and gluten-, dairy-, nut- and pork-free. No swaps needed.
Toggle a diet and the ingredients rewrite themselves with regional substitutes.
🥕 Vegetarian
🌱 Vegan
🌾 Gluten-Free
🥛 Dairy-Free
🥜 Nut-Free
🥚 Egg-Free
🐖 Pork-Free
Dietary labels are a cooking guide, not allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish; we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, read the label on every product you use, and note that a kitchen can cross-contaminate in ways a recipe cannot control.
Ingredients
US
Metric
Serves 8
- 1 kg floury potatoes, peeled and cut into wedges
- 1 litre , for deep-frying
- 1/4 cup crispy fried shallots (bawang goreng), homemade, or a brand fried without a flour coating
- 2 spring onions, finely chopped
- 2 tbsp Chinese celery leaves, finely choppedHard to find? 2 tbsp celery leaves - milder and less aromatic
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp ground white pepper
- 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp sugar
- 2 eggs, lightly beaten (for coating)
Instructions
- 1Heat the oil in a deep pan to about 170C (340F). Pat the potato wedges dry and fry them in batches for 8 to 10 minutes, until cooked through and golden. Drain.✎ Chef’s noteFrying the potatoes instead of boiling them gives a drier mash, so the patties hold together and taste of potato rather than water.
- 2While they are still warm, mash the potatoes until fairly smooth. Mix in the fried shallots, spring onion, celery leaves, salt, white pepper, nutmeg and sugar. Taste for seasoning.
- 3With lightly oiled hands, roll the mixture into 16 balls and flatten each into a patty about 1.5 cm thick. Chill them on a tray, uncovered, for 1 hour to firm up.
- 4Reheat the oil to 170C (340F). Dip each patty in the beaten egg and fry a few at a time for 2 to 3 minutes per side, until golden with a lacy egg edge. Drain on paper towels.✎ Chef’s noteLet the egg drip from each patty for a second before it goes in. The trailing egg is what forms the crisp, frilly edge.
- 5Serve warm or at room temperature, alongside soto ayam or rice, or on their own with fresh chillies.
Javanese home tradition.
Ratings & reviews
Cooked it? Rate this dish:
No account needed. Sign in to leave a full review with a comment.
Cooked it?
Kept on this device, no account needed. Sign in to leave a review and keep your passport across your devices.
No reviews yet, be the first to cook it.
🌏 While it simmers, know your destination
📍
Jakarta. Gado-gado and soto Betawi were both listed as Indonesian national intangible cultural heritage in 2016. The soto is the coconut-milk one, built on galangal, kaffir lime and candlenut, which is what sets it apart from the clear yellow sotos of other Indonesian cities.
🗺️
Indonesia. Rendang belongs to the Minangkabau of West Sumatra rather than to Indonesia at large, and Malaysia lays its own claim; it is defined by cooking the coconut milk down until the liquid is gone and the meat starts to fry in what is left. Sambal, meanwhile, is not one recipe but hundreds, changing island by island with what grows and what is fermented locally.
🌍
Asia. Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, and its food spans the delicate seasonality of Japanese washoku, the chili-fired curries of India and Thailand, and the wheat-and-lamb traditions of Central Asia. Rice, noodles, soy, and fermentation recur across its regions, while ancient spice routes and religious traditions shaped distinct grammars of flavor. Whether from a street-cart wok or a monastery kitchen, eating is deeply communal and ritual-rich.
The story behind this dish is up top, worth a read while the pot works.
More from Indonesia
Nasi Goreng KampungVillage-style fried rice, smoky and sweet with kecap manis, crowned with a crisp-edged fried egg.
Gado-GadoJakarta’s "mix-mix": blanched vegetables, tofu, tempeh, and egg under warm peanut sauce.
Beef RendangBeef simmered for hours in coconut milk and spice paste until the liquid vanishes and the meat turns dark, dry, and intense.
Browse all Indonesia recipes →
Good to know
Storing it: Fried food is best eaten fresh while crisp. Re-crisp leftovers in a hot oven or air fryer; the microwave makes them soft.
Make it an Indonesia meal
Es CendolDrink
KleponDessert
Similar dishes from around the world
Papas a la Provenzal (Argentine Garlic and Parsley Fries)Argentina
Tostones con Mojo (Cuban Twice-Fried Green Plantains)Cuba
Ibirayi (Rwandan Spiced Fried Potatoes)Rwanda
Matevž (Slovenian Mashed Beans and Potatoes)Slovenia
Mei Chips (Tongan Fried Breadfruit Chips)Tonga
Patatas a lo Pobre (Andalusian Poor Man’s Potatoes)Spain
Cuisine
Diet
Frequently asked questions
What is Perkedel Kentang (Indonesian Potato Fritters)?
Fried potatoes mashed with fried shallots, spring onion, celery leaves, white pepper and nutmeg, shaped into little patties, dipped in egg and fried golden, the classic side for soto ayam and rice.
Where does Perkedel Kentang (Indonesian Potato Fritters) come from?
Perkedel Kentang (Indonesian Potato Fritters) is an Indonesian dish from Jakarta, Indonesia.
Can Perkedel Kentang (Indonesian Potato Fritters) be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?
This Perkedel Kentang (Indonesian Potato Fritters) recipe includes substitution suggestions for vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, egg-free, and pork-free versions. Treat the substitutions as a starting guide rather than a guarantee, and see the allergen note below.
Is Perkedel Kentang (Indonesian Potato Fritters) safe for people with food allergies?
Our dietary labels and substitutions are a cooking guide, not medical or allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we still count coconut as a tree nut to be cautious, although the FDA stopped listing it as one in 2025), fish, and shellfish, but we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, always read the label on every product you use, and remember a home or commercial kitchen can cross-contaminate ingredients in ways a recipe cannot control.
How long does Perkedel Kentang (Indonesian Potato Fritters) take to make?
About 2 h in all: 25 minutes prep and 35 minutes cooking, plus 1 h of hands-off waiting the method needs, serving 8.
Get the Sunday Spin
One dish from somewhere in the world, in your inbox every Sunday. No spam, just dinner inspiration you can cook that day.