P
Indonesian
Ketoprak: Jakarta's Peanut Sauce Rice Cake Salad
Ketoprak — a Betawi (Jakarta) street-food dish of lontong (compressed rice), fried tofu, bean sprouts, and rice vermicelli, dressed in a sweet-savoury peanut sauce with kecap manis, garlic, and chilli. Topped with krupuk and fried shallots.
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I
The Market List
The benchmark for each ingredient, and who stocks it near you. Tap a stockist to go straight to the product.
400 g
lontong (compressed rice cake)
sliced into rounds
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
200 g
150 g
bean sprouts
briefly blanched
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
100 g
rice vermicelli
soaked and drained
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
For the peanut sauce
200 g
roasted peanuts
ground to a coarse paste
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
3 tbsp
kecap manis
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
2 cloves
garlic
crushed
Your own market
2
red chillies
finely sliced or ground
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
To finish
60 g
krupuk (prawn crackers)
ready-fried
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
40 g
fried shallots
Your own market
Each tap is counted, so the stockist sees the demand Provenance sends them.
II
The Method
1
Prepare the peanut sauce. Combine the ground roasted peanuts, crushed garlic, and chilli in a bowl or mortar. Stir in the kecap manis. Thin with a little warm water, working until the sauce is smooth, pourable, and coats the back of a spoon with a glossy, even layer.
From the canon — Kecap manis — thick, sweet, molasses-like soy sauce — is arguably the single most important seasoning in Indonesian cooking. Kecap Manis: The Sweet Soy That Defines a Cuisine →
2
Arrange the lontong rounds, fried tofu slices, blanched bean sprouts, and drained rice vermicelli together on a serving plate or in individual bowls.
3
Spoon the peanut sauce generously over the assembled ingredients, ensuring every element is dressed. Taste: the sauce must be sweet, savoury, and faintly hot in equal measure — the kecap manis should not be overwhelmed by either garlic or chilli.
4
Scatter the fried shallots over the top, then lay the krupuk across the dish immediately before serving. The crackers must still be audibly crisp when broken at the table.
III
Quality Hierarchy
01
Reserve — Home-pressed lontong from freshly cooked jasmine rice; peanut sauce from freshly roasted, hand-ground peanuts; house-made krupuk fried to order.
02
Estate — Market-sourced lontong from a Betawi specialist; good-quality packaged roasted peanuts ground fresh; kecap manis from a reputable Indonesian producer.
03
Market — Vacuum-packed lontong from an Asian grocer; commercial peanut butter thinned and seasoned to approximate the sauce; standard packaged krupuk.
04
House — Pre-cooked rice formed and chilled as a rough substitute for lontong; jarred peanut sauce adjusted with kecap manis; supermarket prawn crackers.
IV
Sensory Tests
◇Sight. The peanut sauce is smooth, a warm amber-brown, and coats the back of a spoon without breaking or pooling.
◇Sight. The tofu is evenly golden on all cut faces with no raw, pale patches remaining.
◇Touch. The lontong rounds hold their shape under slight pressure — compressed but not hard, with a uniform, yielding density.
◇Sound. The krupuk fractures cleanly and loudly when broken, indicating it has not absorbed moisture from the sauce.
◇Where it lives or dies. The dish lives or dies in the peanut sauce: it must balance sweet kecap manis, garlic, and chilli into a cohesive, glossy dressing — too thick and it clogs the delicate rice and vermicelli; too thin and it dissolves into the plate.
Pillar V
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VI
What to Pour
The pairing
Ancient Lakes of Columbia Valley Riesling
Ancient Lakes Vineyard — Cave B · Ancient Lakes
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
Wine
From British Columbia
Nothing from British Columbia holds against this yet.
Without alcohol
No pour without alcohol holds against this yet.
Why each one works is part of membership — Enter · from $49 a year →
The whole pairingPillar VII
Origin and lineage are part of membership.
Where the dish comes from and how it came to be — on every recipe.
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