The origin of rujak is unclear, and there are numbers of rujak variants in Southeast Asia, especially in Indonesia and Malaysia.
It is possible that since ancient times, the natives of the Malay archipelago ate sour-tasting seasonal tropical fruits—especially Java apple, kedondong and unripe mango, together with palm sugar and salt to balance the sourness.
In Indonesia, certain fruit trees have their own fruit-bearing seasons usually from late in the dry season to the wet season, thus the time of fruit harvest usually coincides with the time of having rujak in Indonesian villages.
The fruit species seasonally anticipated for rujak feasts are mango, Java apple and kedondong.

Rujak is one of the oldest dishes and the earliest historically identified food of ancient Java.
It was mentioned as rurujak in ancient Javanese Taji inscription (901 CE) from the era of Mataram Kingdom in Central Java.
The Javanese in Indonesia have incorporated rujak into their prenatal ceremony called Naloni Mitoni.
According to local traditions, unripe mango and other sour-tasting fruits are craved by pregnant women, apparently as the counterpart of pickles in the West.

The introduction of hot and spicy chilli pepper and peanuts may have taken place during the early colonial era in the 16th century, since these products were brought by Spanish and Portuguese traders from the Americas.
It's suggested that rujak might be related to Indonesian gado-gado, while the rojak in Malaysia and Singapore demonstrate Indian influences with orange-coloured peanut and sweet potato sauce as a dip for fried fritters (with vegetables, coconut, prawn or other items inside), eggs and potatoes.

In Indonesia, rujak is a traditional fare, sold in traditional marketplaces, warungs or travelling gerobak pushcart by locals; especially Javanese, Sundanese and Balinese people.
In Malaysia, rojak is associated with Mamak stalls, which are Muslim Malaysian Indian food stalls where rojak mamak is a popular dish.
In Singapore, rojak mamak is mainly sold by Indian Muslims, rojak buah (fruit rojak) mainly by the Chinese, and rojak Bandung (Cuttlefish) mainly by the Malays.
Today, they are sold in most hawker centres in the city.
The origin of rujak is unclear, and there are numbers of rujak variants in Southeast Asia, especially in Indonesia and Malaysia. It is possible that since ancient times, the natives of the Malay archipelago ate sour-tasting seasonal tropical fruits—especially Java apple, kedondong and unripe mango, together with palm sugar and salt to balance the sourness. In Indonesia, certain fruit trees have their own fruit-bearing seasons usually from late in the dry season to the wet season, thus the time of fruit harvest usually coincides with the time of having rujak in Indonesian villages. The fruit species seasonally anticipated for rujak feasts are mango, Java apple and kedondong.
Rujak is one of the oldest dishes and the earliest historically identified food of ancient Java. It was mentioned as rurujak in ancient Javanese Taji inscription (901 CE) from the era of Mataram Kingdom in Central Java. The Javanese in Indonesia have incorporated rujak into their prenatal ceremony called Naloni Mitoni. According to local traditions, unripe mango and other sour-tasting fruits are craved by pregnant women, apparently as the counterpart of pickles in the West.
The introduction of hot and spicy chilli pepper and peanuts may have taken place during the early colonial era in the 16th century, since these products were brought by Spanish and Portuguese traders from the Americas. It's suggested that rujak might be related to Indonesian gado-gado, while the rojak in Malaysia and Singapore demonstrate Indian influences with orange-coloured peanut and sweet potato sauce as a dip for fried fritters (with vegetables, coconut, prawn or other items inside), eggs and potatoes.
In Indonesia, rujak is a traditional fare, sold in traditional marketplaces, warungs or travelling gerobak pushcart by locals; especially Javanese, Sundanese and Balinese people. In Malaysia, rojak is associated with Mamak stalls, which are Muslim Malaysian Indian food stalls where rojak mamak is a popular dish. In Singapore, rojak mamak is mainly sold by Indian Muslims, rojak buah (fruit rojak) mainly by the Chinese, and rojak Bandung (Cuttlefish) mainly by the Malays. Today, they are sold in most hawker centres in the city.
Rojak