Ketoprak is a popular street food in Jakarta, consisting of fried tofu, rice vermicelli noodles, bean sprouts and cucumber with a very spicy peanut sauce. Sometimes hard boiled eggs or deep fried eggs are added and the dish often includes rice cakes. I haven’t included rice cakes here as they are a whole recipe in themselves. Prawn crackers are traditionally added to the topping.
This salad is a delightful combination of textures and temperatures, with sizzling tofu contrasting with cool crunchy cucumber and silky warm noodles. The peanut sauce should be super garlicky and spiked with chilli. This is no wimpy salad!
Ingredients (serves 2)
For the peanut sauce:
2 heaped tbsp peanut butter
2 -3 small red hot chillies, finely chopped
4 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
2 tsp sugar
1 tbsp tamarind paste
100ml water
1 to 2 tbsp lime juice
Salt (to taste)
For the salad:
2 nests of vermicelli
200g firm tofu (patted dry)
Rice flour
A handful of beansprouts
Cucumber cut into small cubes
Oil for frying
Soy sauce
Spring onions sliced fairly thinly
Julienned carrots
Prawn crackers
Method
For the peanut sauce:
For the salad:
This salad is a delightful combination of textures and temperatures, with sizzling tofu contrasting with cool crunchy cucumber and silky warm noodles. The peanut sauce should be super garlicky and spiked with chilli. This is no wimpy salad!
Ingredients (serves 2)
For the peanut sauce:
2 heaped tbsp peanut butter
2 -3 small red hot chillies, finely chopped
4 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
2 tsp sugar
1 tbsp tamarind paste
100ml water
1 to 2 tbsp lime juice
Salt (to taste)
For the salad:
2 nests of vermicelli
200g firm tofu (patted dry)
Rice flour
A handful of beansprouts
Cucumber cut into small cubes
Oil for frying
Soy sauce
Spring onions sliced fairly thinly
Julienned carrots
Prawn crackers
Method
For the peanut sauce:
- Place all the ingredients, except for the lime juice and salt, together in a saucepan.
- Whisk until everything is mixed.
- Heat to a simmer and cook gently for 10 minutes. Add more water if the sauce thickens too much.
- Add the lime juice and salt to taste.
For the salad:
- Cut the tofu into small cubes.
- Place rice flour on a plate and coat each cube of tofu with flour.
- Cook the vermicelli according to packet instructions and drain (keep warm).
- Heat oil in a wok and fry the tofu pieces until golden. This will take approx. 5 minutes.
- Arrange the noodles in serving bowls or on plates.
- Add the beansprouts and cucumber over and around the noodles.
- Place the sizzling tofu over the noodles. Add soy sauce to taste.
- Spoon the peanut sauce over and garnish with spring onions and julienned carrot strips
