Bakwan is an Indonesia

Indonesia

Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...

n fried meal consisting of vegetables and batter. Bakwan usually refer to vegetable fritter

Fritter

A fritter is any kind of food coated in batter and deep fried. Although very similar to a doughnut it differs in the fact that it requires some base ingredient beyond the dough it is cooked with.-Anglo-American fritters:...

 snack, commonly sold by gorengan (Indonesian fritter) traveling street vendors. The ingredients is vegetables; usually beansprouts, shredded cabbages and carrots, battered and deep fried in cooking oil. In West Java

West Java

West Java , with a population of over 43 million, is the most populous and most densely populated province of Indonesia. Located on the island of Java, it is slightly smaller in area than densely populated Taiwan, but with nearly double the population...

 bakwan is called as 'bala-bala'. It is similar to Japanese yasai tenpura (vegetable tempura

Tempura

], is a Japanese dish of seafood or vegetables that have been battered and deep fried.-Batter:A light batter is made of cold water and soft wheat flour . Eggs, baking soda or baking powder, starch, oil, and/or spices may also be added...

).

Variations

Bakwan usually consist of vegetables, however another variation called 'bakwan udang' uses a whole shrimp on top of batter and sold in snack stands in the marketplace. Because of its similarity, the term 'bakwan' is often interchangeable with 'perkedel'. For example the Indonesian corn fritters is often called either 'perkedel jagung' or 'bakwan jagung'.

In East Java

East Java

East Java is a province of Indonesia. It is located on the eastern part of the island of Java and includes neighboring Madura and islands to its east and to its north East Java is a province of Indonesia. It is located on the eastern part of the island of Java and includes neighboring Madura and...

, bakwan refer to fried wonton

Wonton

Not to be confused with WantonA wonton is a type of dumpling commonly found in a number of Chinese cuisines.-Filling:...

 with filling; served with tofu, noodles and meatballs in soupy broth. The dough filling is the mixture of ground meat or fish with flour, wrapped in wonton skin and fried. This kind of bakwan is similar to bakso

Bakso

Bakso or baso is Indonesian meatball or meat paste made from beef surimi and is similar in texture to the Chinese beef ball, fish ball, or pork ball. Bakso is commonly made from beef with a small quantity of tapioca flour, however bakso can also be made from other ingredients, such as chicken,...

 meatballs soup, and commonly known as 'Bakwan Malang' or 'Bakwan Surabaya' refer to cities of its origin; Malang

Malang

Malang is the second largest city in East Java province, Indonesia. It has an ancient history dating back to the Mataram Kingdom. The city population at the 2010 Census was 819,708. During the period of Dutch colonization, it was a popular destination for European residents. The city is famous for...

 and Surabaya

Surabaya

Surabaya is Indonesia's second-largest city with a population of over 2.7 million , and the capital of the province of East Java...

in East Java.