Ketoprak — Jakarta, Indonesia

Ketoprak is a vegetarian dish built on tofu, blanched vegetables, sliced lontong (compressed rice cake), and rice vermicelli, all coated in a thick, spicy peanut sauce. It is treated as a casual, filling street food rather than a formal meal, usually eaten seated at a cart or taken away in a wrapped portion. It is closely tied to Jakarta and its Betawi street-food scene, sold from carts and small stalls around the city rather than served in sit-down restaurants. It sits alongside other peanut-sauced dishes in Jakarta's street food repertoire, though it is kept meat-free. To prepare it, a sauce is ground from roasted peanuts, chili, garlic, palm sugar, and a little tamarind or lime for sourness, then loosened with water to a thick, pourable consistency. Tofu is fried until golden, the lontong is sliced into small pieces, rice vermicelli is softened, and vegetables such as bean sprouts and cucumber are blanched or served raw. Everything is arranged in a bowl or on a plate, the peanut sauce is poured generously over the top, and the dish is finished with crisp fried shallots and crackers. Vendors differ mainly in how thick and how spicy they make the peanut sauce, and in the exact mix of vegetables used. A boiled egg is sometimes added on top for extra substance, and the balance between the fried tofu, the soft lontong, and the crunch of the fresh vegetables is what most distinguishes one seller's version from another's.