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Babi Ketjap
Babi Ketjap (kecap) is a typically Indonesian dish: pork simmered in a sweet soy sauce. You can cook this with various types of pork. Whatever you have in your freezer is fair game: pork belly, pork legs, pork steaks. Choices, choices!
This recipe belongs to my grandma. Back in those days it was hard (at least in the Netherlands) to get your hands on ingredients like fresh ginger, that’s one of the main reasons my recipe uses ginger confit; to me it’s the real Babi Ketjap, but it can easily be replaced.
What I like best about this recipe—other than that it’s a major trip down memory lane—is that it’s exotic enough to feel like you’re eating something special, but so simple it borders on cupboard cooking.
Ingredients:
1 1/2 pound pork steaks
1 large onion (or 2 small ones)
3 garlic cloves
1/2 to 1 chili pepper
2 pieces ginger confit (or a thumb size piece fresh ginger, grated)
1/2 cup ketjap (sweet soy sauce)
6 tbsp chicken broth
2 tbsp brown sugar
2 tsp tamarind paste
2 tbsp lime juice
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1/4 tsp ground cumin
2 tbsp peanut oil
1/2 tsp kosher salt
pinch of pepper
Directions:
These little balls are the ginger confit I was talking about. I use two of them. Feel free to replace them with fresh ginger.
Finely mince the ginger confit, onion, chill pepper (I used half) and garlic cloves.
Grab a big bowl and combine the ketjap with the tamarind paste.
Add the lime juice, brown sugar, chicken broth and stir until the sugar has dissolved.
I opted for pork steaks.
Coarsely slice them.
And season them with the salt, pepper, ground ginger, cumin and coriander. Do the hustle… and let it soak up the flavours.
You need to be able to keep all the liquid and moisture inside the pan, so it’s best to use a Dutch oven. Or any kind of thick-bottomed pan with a tight-fitting lid.
Heat the oil and quickly brown the pork. And I mean quickly.
Add the onion and cook it for 2 minutes before adding the chill pepper, ginger and garlic. Give it one more minute.
There should be some serious flavours going on in your kitchen now. The kind that will stop people dead in their tracks and make them take a whiff.
Pour in the ketjap mixture and, well, that was about all the hard labor there is in making this.
Bring it to a boil and simmer the pork over very low heat for 30 minutes. Keep an eye on the liquid, we need sauce!
The ketjap will turn the pork beautifully brown.
See, all the liquid is still in there. I add a tbsp cornstarch that I mixed with 2 tbsp broth, stir it in and let it simmer for 2 more minutes.
Spoon some rice in a pretty bowl. Top with steamed paksoi, Chinese cabbage or whatever makes your skirt fly up.
Spoon some of the sauce on top of the pork…
Garnish with thinly sliced chill pepper and spring onions. It looks fun.
There. Sweet porky love in a bowl.
(Let me save you an email: bought the cute bowls at Foodelicious)
| Babi Ketjap | |||||||||
| Ingredients |
1 large onion (or 2 small ones) 3 garlic cloves 1/2 to 1 chili pepper 2 pieces ginger confit (or a thumb size piece fresh ginger, grated) 1/2 cup ketjap (sweet soy sauce) 6 tbsp chicken broth 2 tbsp brown sugar 2 tsp tamarind paste 2 tbsp lime juice 1/2 tsp ground ginger 1/2 tsp ground coriander 1/4 tsp ground cumin 2 tbsp peanut oil 1/2 tsp kosher salt pinch of pepper Directions |
|
In a bowl you combine the ketjap, tamarind paste, lime juice, brown sugar and chicken broth. Stir until the sugar has dissolved. Coarsely slice the pork steaks and season them with the kosher salt, pepper, ground ginger, ground cumin and ground coriander. You need to be able to keep all the liquid and moisture inside the pan, so it’s best to use a Dutch oven. Or any kind of thick-bottomed pan with a tight-fitting lid. Heat the oil and quickly brown the pork. Add the onion, cook for 2 minutes and add the chill pepper, garlic and ginger. Give it another minute before pouring in the ketjap mixture. Bring it to a boil and simmer the pork over very low heat for 30 minutes. Keep an eye on the liquid! Mix 1 tbsp cornstarch with 2 tbsp broth, stir well and pour it into the cooking liquid. Simmer for 2 more minutes. Serve with white rice and steamed paksoi or cabbage. Meal type: |
Main course, Pork, Indonesian |
Servings: |
4 |
Copyright: |
© kayotickitchen.com |
|
24 Comments »
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I have always stuck to my mom’s recipe, but I am definitely going to try this version.
Same for me. When it comes to Indonesian food, I always stick to the family recipes.
Good one Kay! I’ll put it on my ‘to cook’ list :)
Kay…………good memories from when I lived in Hong Kong and ate at many Indonesian restaurants.
BTW what English speaking country had you lived in before Holland. Your English is very good to be your second language.
This will go on the dinner menu some evening this week. Joe
Ah, I have these bowls (or, at least the one with the green pattern). Couldn’t resist when I came across them at the Urban Outfitter store in Berlin :).
Anyways, I love your Indonesian recipes, and thank you for another one. Will try soon.
Delicious
Ooo, I can’t wait to try this! I just got some pork on sale, and I was wondering what to do with it – now I know!
(LOVE your blog, by the way!)
Yum! This definitely reminds me of home.
If I make this the meat is always dry and not tender. How do I get tender meat. I use Gammon steak.
I have absolutely no idea what gammon steak is. Hope someone else can help you, but maybe you’re just overcooking it?
I thought that Gammon steaks are hamlappen sorry my mistake. I don’t think i overcook the meat. I simmer it for just about 30 minutes on low heat.
It depends on how long you brown them. It even depends on where you buy them, I buy them only at the butcher shop with the rind on and have no problems whatsoever, they become tender and succulent. If I buy at them at the supermarket they dry out in no time.
I think you are right. I have not made this for a long time but next time i will buy the pork at the butcher instead of the supermarket. It will make a whole lot of diffrence.
I made your sauerkraut/sausage/potato recipe, delicious. It reminded my husband of weiners and sauerkraut his Mom used to make when he was a kid, but better!
Regarding ketjap: I am in Bonaire and we have all the Dutch products at the store. Do you know if ketjap contains gluten? I have celiac disease and have to eat gluten free. Most soy sauce in the U.S. contain wheat.
Also, what is tamarind paste called in Dutch?
kathy Tamarind is called tamarinde(almost de same) in Dutch. If you can find it under that name maybe you can find it under the Indonesian name. In Indonesie they call it asem.
This looks amazing!!!!
That looks tasty! I have been meaning to try ketjap!
Have made your recipe and blogged about it.
It was a great success!
http://www.family-oosten.com/blog/2013/02/01/kayleighs-babi-ketjap/
I made this dish and I have to confess that I over-cooked the pork while browning it. (Kay, when you said “Quickly brown the pork. And I mean quickly”, you certainly did!). When you brown pork pieces there is a point soon reached when the pieces look swollen and juicy and you do not want to fry them any longer because three seconds later the juice is out of the pork pieces and in the pan, and you end up stewing the pork, not frying it. However, the sauce was nothing short of sensational so I am going to try this recipe again, and get the pork right!
I know that exact point you’re talking about. I like pork, a lot, but it’s so unforgiving because it’s way too easy to overcook it.
This recipe and website look greet. I’m going to give this one a try this week. Thanks for sharing
Why can’t we pin the images on your site? It would bring a lot of new visitors to your site, because your recipes and photos are great!
You can. There’s a ‘pin this’ button right below every recipe.
Hello Kay,
What a great site! I love it. It must be the combination of your passion,good recipes and beautiful pictures that does the trick. I’ve made this recipe yesterday with porkbelly and it was a succes!
Groetjes uit Den Haag,
Ment