P
Indonesian
Rawon Setan: Surabaya's Midnight Black Soup
Rawon Setan ("Devil's Rawon") — the legendary Surabaya rawon stall that has operated since the 1950s and serves rawon ONLY at night (from 5PM until sold out, usually by midnight). The name "Setan" (devil) is colloquial — reflecting the jet-black colour of the soup and its addictive quality. It has become a pilgrimage destination for Indonesian food enthusiasts. The rawon itself follows the standard keluak technique (INDO-KELUAK-01) but Rawon Setan's version is distinguished by an especially concentrated bumbu and a broth that is blacker and more intensely flavoured than most versions — the keluak proportion is higher.
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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.
700 g
beef (brisket or shin)
cut into 3–4 cm cubes
Your own market
For the bumbu (spice paste)
8–10 nuts
kluwek (keluak / black nut)
flesh scooped and rinsed; proportion higher than standard rawon
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
6 cloves
shallots
peeled
Your own market
4 cloves
garlic
peeled
Your own market
3 cm
fresh galangal
sliced
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
2 cm
fresh turmeric
sliced
Your own market
2 cm
3 stalks
lemongrass
bruised, white part only
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
4
candlenuts (kemiri)
dry-toasted
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
1 tsp
coriander seeds
toasted and ground
Your own market
to taste
salt
Your own market
For the broth
1.5 litres
water
Your own market
2 stalks
lemongrass
bruised
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
4
kaffir lime leaves
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
2 tbsp
neutral oil
for frying bumbu
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
To serve
200 g
bean sprouts
briefly blanched
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
4 portions
steamed white rice
Your own market
4
4 tbsp
sambal
raw chilli sambal, served alongside
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
4 stalks
green onions
finely sliced
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
2 tbsp
fried shallots
Your own market
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II
The Method
1
Crack the keluak nuts. Scoop the black flesh into a bowl, cover with warm water and rinse briefly. Work the flesh with the fingers until it forms a smooth, dense paste. The paste should be uniformly black and free of fibrous shell fragments.
2
Combine the keluak paste with the shallots, garlic, galangal, turmeric, ginger, candlenuts and ground coriander. Grind to a concentrated bumbu using a stone mortar or blender. The paste must be completely smooth; a coarse paste will not release full colour into the broth.
3
Heat the oil in a heavy pot over medium heat. Add the bumbu and fry, stirring constantly, until the paste darkens further, loses its raw smell and the oil begins to separate and pool at the edges — the mark that the paste is cooked through.
4
This is where the dish lives or dies. The keluak proportion in this version is higher than in standard rawon. The fried bumbu must be cooked long enough that the black colour is fully extracted and the paste is deeply fragrant before the liquid is added; an undercooked bumbu at this stage produces a raw, bitter broth that cannot be corrected later.
5
Add the beef cubes to the pot and turn to coat in the bumbu. Add the water, bruised lemongrass stalks and kaffir lime leaves. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a steady simmer. Cook until the beef is completely tender and yields without resistance when pressed — at least 90 minutes, longer for shin.
6
Taste and adjust salt. The broth should be jet-black, intensely savoury and rounded — not bitter, not thin. Skim any excess fat from the surface. The soup is ready when a spoonful coats the back of the ladle with a dark, glossy film.
7
Ladle the broth and beef over rice in deep bowls. Finish each portion with blanched bean sprouts, sliced green onions, fried shallots and a halved salted duck egg alongside. Serve the raw chilli sambal separately. The bowl arrives at the table very dark — nearly opaque.
III
Quality Hierarchy
01
Reserve — Wild-harvested keluak from East Java or the Maluku supply chain, selected for dense, uniformly black flesh with no grey streaks; beef from grass-fed local cattle, brisket point-end.
02
Estate — Commercially packed keluak from a trusted Indonesian or Singaporean supplier, inspected and rinsed carefully; good-quality brisket from a halal butcher with visible marbling.
03
Market — Standard keluak sourced from an Asian grocery; blade or chuck substituted for brisket — adequate but the broth will be thinner and the colour less opaque.
04
House — Pre-cracked or jarred keluak paste; any braising cut of beef. Serviceable as an introduction to the dish but the concentrated Rawon Setan character will be considerably diminished.
IV
Sensory Tests
◇Sight. The broth is jet-black and nearly opaque; a ladleful leaves a dark, glossy film on the back of the spoon.
◇Smell. The fried bumbu smells deeply earthy and rounded, with no raw or acrid note from the keluak.
◇Touch. Beef cubes yield without resistance when pressed between two fingers — no springback.
◇Sight. Oil separates and pools visibly at the edges of the frying bumbu, signalling that the paste is cooked through.
◇Where it lives or dies. The bumbu must be fried until the keluak is fully extracted and the paste deeply fragrant before any liquid enters the pot; undercook it and the broth is bitter and pale, a fault no amount of simmering will repair.
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VI
What to Pour
A lightly chilled, off-dry Indonesian or Southeast Asian iced tea (teh tarik style) cuts the richness of the broth without competing with the keluak's deep earthiness. For those seeking fermented accompaniment, a young, slightly acidic tapai-based drink is contextually appropriate. Alcohol is not conventional in this serving tradition.
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Sourced through Provenance