Ketoprak

Anita Jacobson’s ketoprak brings vermicelli, fried tofu, bean sprouts and cucumber together with a freshly ground peanut sauce. She singles out vermicelli as a defining feature of this Indonesian salad.

Peanuts fry first, followed by tofu, red crackers, garlic and Thai chilies. The tofu takes on a light golden colour, while the crackers puff as they fry.

Bean sprouts blanch in a pot of boiling water and are lifted out. The softened vermicelli then blanches in that pot before being drained and set aside.

The fried peanuts, garlic and chilies are ground with palm sugar and salt into a thick paste. Drinking water loosens the paste into the sauce served with the salad.

Vermicelli and cucumber form the first layer, followed by tofu, bean sprouts, crackers and fried shallots. Sweet soy sauce is drizzled over them, and the peanut sauce is mixed through just before eating.