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Sekoteng
Sekoteng: hot ginger syrup poured over peanuts, mung beans, sago pearls and bread, from a night cart
After dark in Semarang, Solo and the towns of Central Java, the sekoteng seller pushes his cart round the kampung, a copper pot of ginger water steaming on a charcoal stove and little jars of toppings lined up beside it. You get a bowl of roasted peanuts, soft mung beans, chewy pink pacar cina pearls and cubes of white bread, drowned in sweet, fiery ginger broth; on rainy nights, people say, it warms you down to the feet. The bread soaks up syrup and turns soft at the edges, the peanuts stay crunchy and the ginger bites. The common mistake is cooking the sago pearls in the ginger water: they release starch and make the broth gluey and cloudy. Boil them separately, rinse, and add to each bowl. The broth is ready when it is pale gold, clear and hot enough to make you cough a little. Pacar cina are small red sago pearls; plain small tapioca pearls coloured with a drop of red food colouring or beet juice work. Some sellers add condensed milk; this version stays dairy-free. Chef's tip: roast the ginger before simmering for a deeper, rounder heat.
- Total time
- 60 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
For the ginger broth
- 4 oz fresh gingerunpeeled
- 3 pandan leavesknotted
- 5 cups water
- 5 ½ oz sugar
- 1 pinch salt
For the toppings
- 2 ⅛ oz dried mung beanssoaked 2 hours
- 1 ⅜ oz red sago pearls (pacar cina)or small tapioca pearls
- 2 ⅛ oz roasted peanuts, skins off
- 2 slices white bread, crusts offcheck it is egg- and milk-free
- 2 ⅞ oz kolang-kaling (palm fruit), sliced (optional)
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What you'll need
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Method
0/9 doneStep 1: Drain the 2 ⅛ oz dried mung beans, cover with fresh water in a small pan and simmer over medium heat until the beans are soft but whole, then drain.
25 minStep 2: Bring a small pan of water to the boil, add 1 ⅜ oz red sago pearls (pacar cina) and boil, stirring now and then, until only a tiny white dot is left in the centre.
12 minStep 3: Turn off the heat, cover and leave the pearls 5 minutes until fully clear, then rinse in cold water and drain.
5 minStep 4: Char 4 oz fresh ginger over a gas flame or in a dry pan over high heat until blackened in spots, then smash it with a pestle.
5 minStep 5: Put the ginger, bruised 2 lemongrass stalks and 3 pandan leaves in a pot with 5 cups water. Bring to a boil over high heat, then simmer over low heat until fragrant and spicy.
20 minStep 7: Cut 2 slices white bread, crusts off into 1.5 cm cubes. Toast them in a dry pan over medium heat if you like them firmer.
3 minStep 8: Divide mung beans, pearls, 2 ⅛ oz roasted peanuts, skins off, bread cubes and 2 ⅞ oz kolang-kaling (palm fruit), sliced if using between four bowls.
2 minStep 9: Ladle the very hot ginger broth over the toppings and serve with a spoon straight away, while the bread is still holding its shape.
1 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 290 kcal
- Protein
- 8 g
- Carbs
- 52 g
- Fat
- 7 g
- Fibre
- 4 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does sekoteng take?
- About 60 minutes in total: 15 minutes to prepare and 45 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegan?
- Yes. It has no meat, fish, dairy or eggs.
- What can I use instead of fresh ginger?
- ¼ tsp ground ginger per tbsp fresh (add it with the spices).
- What can I use instead of sugar?
- Caster sugar, same amount.
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