Course main and snack Region or state Jakarta and West Java | Place of origin Indonesia | |
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Serving temperature hot (for fried tofu), and room temperature (other ingredients) Main ingredients fried tofu, steamed rice cake (lontong or ketupat), bean sprouts, rice vermicelli, cucumber, served in peanut sauce and sweet soy sauce, topped with krupuk and fried shallots | ||
Ketoprak is a vegetarian dish from Jakarta, Indonesia, consists of tofu, vegetables and rice cake, rice vermicelli served in peanut sauce.
Contents
Etymology and origin
The etymology of the name ketoprak is unknown, and its name similarity to the Javanese folk-drama is peculiar. However, according to popular Betawi tradition, ketoprak was actually derived from the acronym of its ingredients; which are ket from ketupat, to from tahu and toge, and prak from digeprak (Betawi for: "mashed" or "crushed"), which describes the method on grounding garlic, chili pepper and peanut granules together to create the peanut sauce.
Although today ketoprak is often associated with Jakarta, as the dish is more easily available in this city compared to others. There is a suggestion that the dish might be originated from elsewhere. In Jakarta, majority of ketoprak street vendors hailed from the West Javan city of Cirebon. In Cirebon, an area famous for its ketoprak is in Pasuketan area. Ketoprak might be derived from a popular Javanese-Sundanese dish kupat tahu (tofu and ketupat), with addition of bihun (rice vermicelli), beansprouts, cucumber and sweet soy sauce.
Ingredients
Ketoprak consists of sliced fried tofu, steamed rice cake (lontong or ketupat), sliced cabbage and cucumber, bihun (thin rice vermicelli), bean sprouts, served in peanut sauce, topped with krupuk and fried shallots. The fried tofu can be considered as the centerpiece of the dish, since it is freshly fried directly after customer placed their order, to ensure its freshness and hotness.
The peanut sauce is made from ground peanut and palm sugar made into a thick paste, mixed with garlic, chili pepper, salt and also kecap manis (sweet soy sauce).
Serving
Ketoprak is a typical street-food. It was originally popular around the Jakarta area but has spread throughout Java. The seller prepares the ingredients at home and mixes them in front of the customers as they place their orders. It is sold in individual portions from small stalls or carts along the street. Customers may request that the dish be mild, medium or spicy. The price range is about IDR 8.000 to 15.000 according to outlets and ingredients included. Sometimes, hard boiled egg might be added.
Similar dishes
Ketoprak is nearly similar to kupat tahu, lotek and karedok from West Java, gado-gado from Jakarta and also pecel from Central Java, although the ingredients in the peanut sauces are slightly different. Gado-gado and karedok use only brown sugar for sweetening, but in ketoprak sweet soy sauce is used for additional sweetener, and ground garlic is added. There is also a similar dish from neighboring Singapore called Satay bee hoon.