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Ketoprak / Vermicelli tofu salad and peanut dressing

written by Marvellina Updated: March 4, 2024
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This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.

Vermicelli rice noodles are piled with fresh cucumber, crispy tofu, dressed with delicious peanut dressing, Indonesian kecap manis and crispy shallots! Utterly delicious!

Ketoprak / Vermicelli tofu salad and peanut dressing

I’ve mentioned before in my other post about the short 1 year of time that I spent in Jakarta. How much I missed home and everything! At the same time, I had a small group of friends from the same high school I graduated from and other Medanese friends that truly made my days so much more bearable and less homesick.

Ketoprak / Vermicelli tofu salad and peanut dressing

Few of the basic of the ingredients I like to have in my Ketoprak

I was forever grateful that some of us lived so close together during that time. It’s nice to be able to have dinner together with familiar faces instead of eating alone. One of the unforgettable moments to me was this Ketoprak. It was (still is) one of my favorite foods. We don’t have Ketoprak in Medan, so when I discovered this popular street food in Jakarta, it was my frequent choice for dinner! So yummy and fulfilling not to mention inexpensive (remember poor college kid?). They guy was selling Ketoprak in a push cart just right in front of the house we rented.

Ketoprak / Vermicelli tofu salad and peanut dressing

Love this peanut dressing! You can use it for other salad or rolls too!

Ketoprak usually consists of rice stick noodles, bean sprouts, fried tofu, some serve with lontong (rice cake steamed in banana leaves), peanut sauce and crackers.

Ketoprak / Vermicelli tofu salad and peanut dressing

Before I pour in all that sauce and toppings

It’s a heavy salad if you ask me. It’s a complete meal on its own. Even without any tofu and hard-boiled eggs, the peanut dressing has good source of protein on its own!

Ketoprak / Vermicelli tofu salad and peanut dressing

If you ever heard of Indonesian popular Gado Gado, don’t be mistaken with Ketoprak. Both are served with peanut dressing, but gado gado usually has more vegetables and to me, it must have boiled potato slices in there. Ketoprak doesn’t have potatoes and it has vermicelli rice noodles that gado gado doesn’t have. The dressing in gado gado is a bit richer with the addition of coconut milk too. I like both of them!

Ketoprak / Vermicelli tofu salad and peanut dressing

Indonesian food often calls for Kecap Manis 😉 That’s few of the things that my mom packed for me when I first moved to Minnesota 7.5 years ago. What if there’s no kecap manis there? It’s a valid concern y’all! Indonesians can’t live without kecap manis 🙂

Ketoprak / Vermicelli tofu salad and peanut dressing

And another thing that I can’t survive without is the bawang goreng (crispy fried shallots). My sister in law in Medan made the BEST bawang goreng ever! I wish I could replicate that here, but it’s impossible to find the right shallots to do so here. Whenever someone comes or goes back for a visit, 2 big boxes of bawang goreng are always part of the trip!

Ketoprak / Vermicelli tofu salad and peanut dressing

Ketoprak / Vermicelli tofu salad and peanut dressing

Ketoprak / Vermicelli tofu salad and peanut dressing

Prep Time 20 minutes mins
Cook Time 15 minutes mins
Total Time 35 minutes mins
Servings 4 servings
Please rate the recipe if you have tried it!
REVIEW & RATE PRINT

Ingredients

  • 1 block of firm tofu
  • 2 cups fresh bean sprouts
  • 250 gr dry rice stick noodles / bee hoon

Peanut dressing:

  • 3 cloves garlic
  • 6 red chilis more if you like it spicier
  • 100 gr roasted peanuts see notes
  • 1 Tbsp brown sugar
  • 2-inch block of tamarind paste
  • 200 ml warm water
  • 2-3 Thai chili more if you like it spicier

Garnishes:

  • Indonesian sweet soy sauce
  • Fried shallots
  • Prawn crackers or whatever crackers you like
  • 2 hard-boiled eggs quartered
  • 1 large cucumber

Instructions
 

  • Blanch the rice stick noodles briefly in hot water until it softens but not mushy. Drain and then refresh with cold water. Set aside. You can also blanch the raw garlic briefly if you don't like the raw taste of it
  • Peel the cucumber and then half lengthwise. Use a spoon to scoop the seeds out. Cut into 1-inch slices

Making the peanut dressing:

  • Mix the tamarind paste with warm water. Once it softens, use the back of the spoon to mash the tamarind and then discard the solid. In a food processor, blend the peanuts, garlic, chilis, tamarind juice,  and sugar. Process into a thick but pourable consistency. You can add a bit more water if it's too thick. Season with salt to your taste

Preparing the tofu:

  • I place the block of tofu on an absorbent paper towel and then another layer of paper towel on top of the tofu. Place a heavy object like cast iron pot or pan on top of the tofu for about 15 minutes to press all the extra liquid out. Cut the tofu into 2-inch chunks.  You can deep fry the tofu or pan fry it with a little bit of oil on the pan until all sides are golden brown. Set aside
  • Assembling:
  • In a large serving plate, place the noodles, cucumber slices, bean sprouts, fried tofu, and egg pieces. Pour sauce over and garnish with fried shallots, a drizzle of kecap manis. Serve with prawn crackers

Marv's Recipe Notes

You can sub the roasted peanuts with creamy/chunky peanut butter. It's up to you. You may need to play with the amount of liquid so that it's thick but still somewhat pourable
Did you make this recipe?Let me know how you like this recipe and consider rating it! Tag me @whattocooktoday I'd love to see your photos/videos on Instagram

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Mie Hokkian Medan / Hokkian Noodle
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Slow-Cooked Lemongrass Pork with Coconut Rice

9 comments

Elizabeth Higgins February 24, 2018 - 6:53 am

I have a lot of Indonesian friends but little knowledge about making Indonesian food. So thank you for sharing this, Marvellina. I love spicy food; however, is there any other substitute for Thai chili, in case it is difficult to find? Also, is there a wide difference in taste if we use fried yellow or white onions or red Spanish onions in place of shallots?

Reply
Marvellina February 24, 2018 - 1:07 pm

Hi Elizabeth,

You can use serrano peppers, it won’t be an equal substitution, but they have some heat too. You can use other fried onions besides shallots, they have that taste similarity 🙂

Reply
Tirza December 16, 2017 - 8:48 pm

Looking at your photos and just how easy it looks, make me want to cook some Indo food! 🙂 living overseas not easy at times but this make it possible. Thank you!

Reply
Marvellina December 17, 2017 - 3:38 pm

Hi Tirza. Yes, I agree it’s hard to find some of the ingredients. Sometime I have to make do with what we have available. Thank you for stopping by 🙂

Reply
Adina October 18, 2017 - 8:49 am

What a delicious looking plate of food! Never heard of ketoprak, but I would love to make it.

Reply
Marvellina October 18, 2017 - 12:28 pm

I think you will like it if you give it a try. It’s meatless but very satisfying and filling

Reply
Milena | Craft Beering October 10, 2017 - 1:16 pm

I am learning so much about Indonesian food from you! Almost like actually going to travel across Indonesia with a local guide well versed in the cuisine and ingredients. Now I am really curious about what bawang goreng properly prepared taste like…

Reply
Marvellina October 11, 2017 - 2:53 pm

Hi Milena,

When I run out of the bawang goreng my SIL made, I just got some from the Asian grocery store, though I’ve found one that I think it’s pretty good compare to the others, it’s just not the same! I wish I could let you taste it!

Reply
Ben Myhre October 7, 2017 - 9:11 am

This looks really good. I am usually a fan of anything that has a nice peanut sauce with it. Fried tofu is on the menu for us tonight, but I am serving it with a soy glazed brussels sprouts. YUM

Reply

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