Rempeyek: The Peanut Lace Cracker

Combine the rice flour, cold water, and salt in a bowl and whisk until a completely smooth, very thin batter forms — it should run off the spoon in a light, unbroken sheet, with no lumps. The batter is so thin it barely coats the peanuts; if it holds a visible, opaque film on the spoon, thin it further with water.

Stir the raw peanuts through the batter so they are evenly distributed and each nut is lightly wetted.

Heat the oil in a wok or deep pan to frying temperature. This is where the dish lives or dies: ladle a sparse spoonful of the peanut batter onto the back of a flat ladle or directly onto the surface of the hot oil, allowing the batter to spread into a wide, irregular round. The peanuts should lie scattered within it, not clustered; the batter between them should be almost transparent — a true lace network. A batter too thick at this stage produces a solid disk, not a cracker.

Fry the cracker until it lifts freely from the oil's surface and turns a pale, even gold throughout. The lace between the peanuts will be rigid and fully set; any pale or soft patches indicate the cracker needs more time.

Remove the cracker with a spider or slotted spoon and drain upright in a rack or against the side of a bowl lined with paper. The finished cracker should shatter cleanly under the lightest pressure — that snap is the final confirmation of correct frying.