Ketoprak is a vegetarian dish from Jakarta, Indonesia, consists of tofu, vegetables and rice cake, rice vermicelli served in peanut sauce.Ketoprak consists of sliced fried tofu, steamed rice cake (lontong or ketupat) wrapped in banana leaves, sliced cabbage and cucumber, bihun (thin rice vermicelli), bean sprouts, served in peanut sauce, topped with krupuk and fried shallots. The fried tofu can be considered as the centerpiece of the dish, since it is freshly fried directly after customer placed their order, to ensure its freshness and hotness.The peanut sauce is made from ground peanut and palm sugar made into a thick paste, mixed with garlic, chili pepper, salt and also kecap manis (sweet soy sauce).Ketoprak is a typical street-food. It was originally popular around the Jakarta area but has spread throughout Java. The seller prepares the ingredients at home and mixes them in front of the customers as they place their orders. It is sold in individual portions from small stalls or carts along the street. Customers may request that the dish be mild, medium or spicy. The price range is about IDR 8.000 to 15.000 according to outlets and ingredients included. Sometimes, hard boiled egg might be added. Ketoprak is nearly similar to lotek and karedok from West Java, gado-gado from Jakarta and also pecel from Central Java, although the ingredients in the peanut sauces are slightly different. Gado-gado and karedok use only brown sugar for sweetening, but in ketoprak sweet soy sauce is used for additional sweetener, and ground garlic is added. There is also a similar dish from neighboring Singapore called Satay bee hoon.
