Javanese
Petjil: steamed vegetables with peanut sauce
Petjil is a Javanese-Surinamese dish of briefly steamed vegetables such as beansprouts, long bean and cabbage under peanut sauce. It is vegetarian by default and costs SRD 50 to SRD 120 in the warungs of Blauwgrond.
Flavour and texture
Fresh and crunchy under sweet peanut sauce. Light, unlike almost everything else here.
Street price, indicative SRD 50–120
Petjil is the Surinamese form of Javanese pecel, and one of the few dishes in the Surinamese repertoire where vegetables are the main event rather than the accompaniment.
The vegetables are briefly steamed rather than boiled, so they stay crisp. The peanut sauce is thinner and sweeter than the satay sauce familiar in Europe.
Petjil arrived, like saoto and bami, with the Javanese indentured labourers who began reaching Suriname in 1890, close to 33,000 people up to 1939. In Java pecel is everyday food: whatever vegetables the garden holds, briefly cooked, under a sauce of pounded peanut, garlic, palm sugar and chilli.
The Surinamese version turned sweeter and the sauce thinner. It also moved from home cooking to warung cooking: in Blauwgrond petjil is on practically every menu, usually beside the saoto and the bami, at SRD 50 to SRD 120.
For vegetarians this is the easiest thing in Suriname to order. Do ask whether there is trassi in the sauce, that is shrimp paste, and not every warung leaves it out.
Frequently asked questions
Is petjil vegetarian?
The vegetables are, but ask about the peanut sauce: it sometimes contains trassi (shrimp paste). Many Blauwgrond warungs will make a version without if you ask.
What is the difference between petjil and gado gado?
Petjil (from Javanese pecel) is usually just steamed vegetables with peanut sauce, while gado gado normally also has egg, potato, tofu or tempeh, making it a full meal. Beyond that they are close relatives.
What is petjil?
Petjil is a Javanese-Surinamese dish of briefly steamed vegetables, usually beansprouts, long bean and cabbage, under peanut sauce. In the warungs of Blauwgrond a portion costs SRD 50 to SRD 120.
Where does petjil come from?
From Javanese pecel, carried over by the Javanese indentured labourers brought to Suriname from 1890. The Surinamese version has a thinner and sweeter peanut sauce than the Javanese original.