''Babi kecap'' is an

Indonesian Indonesian is anything of, from, or related to Indonesia, an archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. It may refer to: * Indonesians, citizens of Indonesia ** Native Indonesians, diverse groups of local inhabitants of the archipelago ** Indonesian ...

braised Braising (from the French word ''braiser'') is a combination-cooking method that uses both wet and dry heats: typically, the food is first browned at a high temperature, then simmered in a covered pot in cooking liquid (such as wine, broth, coco ...

pork Pork is the culinary name for the meat of the domestic pig (''Sus domesticus''). It is the most commonly consumed meat worldwide, with evidence of pig husbandry dating back to 5000 BCE. Pork is eaten both freshly cooked and preserved; ...

with sweet soy sauce (''

kecap manis Sweet soy sauce ( id, kecap manis) is a sweetened aromatic soy sauce, originating in Indonesia, which has a darker color, a viscous syrupy consistency and a molasses-like flavor due to the generous addition of palm sugar or jaggery. ''Kecap manis ...

''). It is a

Chinese Indonesian Chinese Indonesians ( id, Orang Tionghoa Indonesia) and colloquially Chindo or just Tionghoa are Indonesians whose ancestors arrived from China at some stage in the last eight centuries. Chinese people and their Indonesian descendants have ...

classic, due to its simplicity and popularity among

households. It is also popular among non-Muslim Indonesians, such as the Balinese, Ambonese,

Batak Batak is a collective term used to identify a number of closely related Austronesian ethnic groups predominantly found in North Sumatra, Indonesia, who speak Batak languages. The term is used to include the Karo, Pakpak, Simalungun, Toba, ...

Minahasan The Minahasans (alternative spelling: Minahassa) are an ethnic group native to the North Sulawesi province of Indonesia, formerly known as North Celebes. The Minahasa people sometimes refer to themselves as Manado people. Although the Minahasan p ...

s, Dayaks, and in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

among the Indo-Dutch, where it is known as ''babi ketjap'', owing to colonial ties with Indonesia. In the Netherlands, the dish might also be served within an opulent ''

rijsttafel ( , ), a Dutch word that literally translates to "rice table", is an Indonesian elaborate meal adapted by the Dutch following the ''hidang'' presentation of ''nasi padang'' from the Padang region of West Sumatra. It consists of many (forty is ...

'' banquet. The dish is believed to be based on Southern Chinese braised pork in soy sauce know in Indonesia as ''babi taotjo'' without the '' taotjo'' because of it's unavailability in the past. However, it is more Indonesian in nature, because of the mild sweetness introduced by Indonesian ''kecap manis'' (sweet soy sauce). It is sometimes prepared with a sweet chili sauce. In

Bali Bali () is a province of Indonesia and the westernmost of the Lesser Sunda Islands. East of Java and west of Lombok, the province includes the island of Bali and a few smaller neighbouring islands, notably Nusa Penida, Nusa Lembongan, and Nu ...

, ''babi kecap'' is consumed at festivals such as

Galungan Galungan is a Balinese holiday celebrating the victory of ''dharma'' over ''adharma''.Eiseman (1989) p353 It marks the time when the ancestral spirits visit the Earth. The last day of the celebration is Kuningan, when they return. The date is calc ...

and

Nyepi Nyepi is a Balinese "Day of Silence" that is commemorated every ''Isakawarsa'' (Saka new year) according to the Balinese calendar (in 2023, it falls on March 22). It is a Balinese celebration mainly celebrated in Bali, Indonesia. Nyepi, a publi ...

Ingredients

The basic recipe, commonly used by Chinese Indonesians in their households, usually requires cuts of pork belly simmered with sweet soy sauce, spiced with garlic, shallot or onion, and a dash of salt. The popular recipes employed elsewhere — from restaurants in Chinatown in Indonesia, to Bali and the Netherlands, may include additional ingredients, such as

lemongrass ''Cymbopogon'', also known as lemongrass, barbed wire grass, silky heads, Cochin grass, Malabar grass, oily heads, citronella grass or fever grass, is a genus of Asian, African, Australian, and tropical island plants in the grass family. Some ...

ginger Ginger (''Zingiber officinale'') is a flowering plant whose rhizome, ginger root or ginger, is widely used as a spice A spice is a seed, fruit, root, bark, or other plant substance primarily used for flavoring or coloring food. Spices ...

, tomato,

shrimp paste Shrimp paste or prawn sauce is a fermented condiment commonly used in Southeast Asian and Southern Chinese cuisines. It is primarily made from finely crushed shrimp or krill mixed with salt, and then fermented for several weeks. They are eithe ...

, ''salam'' leaf (Indonesian bay leaf), white pepper and red chilies. If sweet soy sauce is not available, it can be substituted with normal soy sauce mixed with ground

palm sugar Palm sugar is a sweetener derived from any variety of palm tree. Palm sugar is sometimes qualified by the type of palm, as in coconut palm sugar. While sugars from different palms may have slightly different compositions, all are processed s ...

or brown sugar. The less hot and spicy

sweet pepper The bell pepper (also known as paprika, sweet pepper, pepper, or capsicum ) is the fruit of plants in the Grossum Group of the species ''Capsicum annuum''. Cultivars of the plant produce fruits in different colors, including red, yellow, orange ...

may be used to replace red chilies.

Variations

Pork belly Pork belly or belly pork is a boneless and fatty cut of meat from the belly of a pig. Pork belly is particularly popular in Hispanic, Chinese, Danish, Norwegian, Korean, Thai and Filipino cuisine. Regional dishes France In Alsatian ...

is usually the preferred cut of pork meat for ''babi kecap''. However, other cuts of pork meat or offal may also be used in similar soy sauce-based recipes. Derivatives of this recipe which substitute the use of pork belly include ''sengkel babi kecap'', which uses

pig trotters A pig's trotter, also known as a pettitoe, or sometimes known as a pig's foot, is the culinary term for the foot of a Domestic pig, pig. The cuts are used in various dishes around the world, and experienced a resurgence in the late 2000s. Descri ...

, and ''

sekba Sekba or sometimes called bektim is a Chinese Indonesian pork offal stewed in a mild soy sauce-based soup. The stew tastes mildly sweet and salty, made from soy sauce, garlic, and Chinese herbs. It is a popular fare street food in Indonesian ...

'', which is a Chinese Indonesian pork

offal Offal (), also called variety meats, pluck or organ meats, is the organs of a butchered animal. The word does not refer to a particular list of edible organs, which varies by culture and region, but usually excludes muscle. Offal may also refe ...

stew that may also include pork liver, nose, tongue, ear, tripe and intestines.

Similar dishes

It is very similar to another Indonesian favorite called '' semur daging'', although ''semur'' is usually made of

beef Beef is the culinary name for meat from cattle (''Bos taurus''). In prehistoric times, humankind hunted aurochs and later domesticated them. Since that time, numerous breeds of cattle have been bred specifically for the quality or quantity ...

and potatoes with slightly different spices. The chicken variant is called ''

ayam kecap Ayam kecap or ayam masak kicap is an Indonesian Javanese chicken dish poached or simmered in sweet soy sauce (''kecap manis'') commonly found in Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore. History and origin Fried chicken in sweet soy sauce is a ty ...

'' ore Kip Smoor in Dutch. The word semur is a corruption of the dutch word smoor (smoren is to braise in Dutch). Originally Indonesian semur dishesKitab masak masakan India, 1845, Page 33, Batavia, Lange & Co are heated in butter instead of oil hinting a Dutch origine. Smoor can also be found in formar Dutch colonies

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

and

Malacca Malacca ( ms, Melaka) is a state in Malaysia located in the southern region of the Malay Peninsula, next to the Strait of Malacca. Its capital is Malacca City, dubbed the Historic City, which has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site si ...

References

External links

Various ''Babi Kecap'' recipes
(in Indonesian) {{Dutch cuisine Balinese cuisine Batak cuisine Indonesian Chinese cuisine Manado cuisine Indonesian fusion cuisine Dutch fusion cuisine Pork dishes

Ingredients

Variations

Similar dishes

See also

References

External links