Rojak (1966) (a Malay salad)

[Benjamin Zimmer]

On Tue, 28 Dec 2004 09:43:22 EST, Bapopik at AOL.COM wrote:

>ROJAK--102,000 Google hits, 632 Google Groups hits
>(Not in OED, "miserable on food")
[...]
>I have a few citations in the archives, but not historical. As expected,
>the Los Angeles Times has it.
>...
>...
>18 December 1966, pg. K19:
>_TRAVELER'S DIARY_
>_Singapore: New_
>_Upholstered Asia_
[...]
>The Indian stalls purvey rojak, a mess of bean cakes, fried  crab
>claws, dusted with chili powder, sprinkled with cucumbers and onions and
>smothered with a thick gravy.

The Encarta dictionary has it:

------
http://encarta.msn.com/dictionary_561539333/definition.html
rojak (1)
ro·jak (plural ro·jaks)
noun  Malaysia
1. mixed salad: a mixed salad of fruit and vegetables
[Late 20th century. From Malay, literally "mixed."]
------
http://encarta.msn.com/dictionary_561599740/definition.html
rojak (2)
ro·jak (plural ro·jaks)
noun  Malaysia
1. taboo term: a taboo term for a person of mixed ethnic background (slang)
------

You might also search for the usual Indonesian spellings of the salad:
"rujak" (spelling since 1972), "rudjak" (spelling from 1950 to 1972), or
"roedjak" (spelling before 1950 and still the most common Dutch spelling).

In Indonesia, the sweet/sour/spicy "rujak" sauce is also used for grilling
chicken or beef, in a dish called "ayam bumbu rujak" (chicken) or "daging
bumbu rujak" (beef).  There's a hit for "daging bumbu rujak" in a March
31, 1965 LA Times review of JB's Little Bali Cafe in Inglewood.
Remarkably, the restaurant is still there and is still serving "daging
bumbu rujak":
<http://los.angeles.diningguide.net/data/d100499.htm>.


--Ben Zimmer