Rempejek Katjang (Indo-Dutch Peanut Fritters)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Wok or heavy deep frying pan, 28 to 32cm
• •Deep-fry thermometer
• •Small ladle
• •Wire rack set over a tray

Instructions

1. 1

   Toast and grind

   Put the coriander seeds and candlenuts in a dry small pan over medium heat and toast for 2 to 3 minutes, until the coriander smells warm and the candlenuts show pale golden patches. Grind them with the garlic, kencur if using, turmeric, salt, and sugar to a rough paste. Candlenuts should never be eaten raw; the toasting and later frying take care of them, and the flavour becomes round instead of waxy.

2. 2

   Whisk the batter

   Whisk the rice flour and tapioca starch in a bowl. Add the spice paste, beaten egg, coconut milk, and cold water, then whisk until smooth and thin, like single cream. Stir in the shredded lime leaves and rest the batter for 15 minutes. Do not add the peanuts yet; they sink, sulk, and make clumsy fritters.

3. 3

   Heat the oil

   Pour the oil into a wok or heavy pan to a depth of about 4cm, never more than halfway up the pan. Heat to 170C. If you have no thermometer, a small drop of batter should sink briefly, rise, and lace at the edges without turning brown at once. Set a wire rack over a tray before you begin, because hot fritters wait for no scholar.

4. 4

   Ladle against pan

   Stir the batter, then put about 2 tablespoons of batter into a small ladle with 6 to 8 peanuts. Tip it against the inner wall of the wok just above the oil so the batter runs down in a thin fan. It should cling for a few seconds, set, then release and float into the oil. If you use a straight-sided pan, pour a very thin oval directly into the oil with a spoon; less pretty, still honest.

   The first fritter is the truth-teller. If it fries thick and heavy, thin the batter with a spoonful of water. If it breaks into crumbs, whisk in a teaspoon more rice flour.
5. 5

   Fry until crisp

   Fry each rempejek for 2 to 3 minutes, turning once, until pale gold, firm, and quieting in the oil. The peanuts should smell toasted, not dark. If the fritters brown before they harden, the oil is too hot; if they drink oil and stay soft, the oil is too cool or the batter is too thick. Drain on the rack and repeat, stirring the batter before every ladle because rice flour settles like an archivist guarding a footnote.

6. 6

   Cool and keep

   Let the fritters cool completely before serving or storing. Crispness arrives as the last moisture leaves, so closing the tin too soon traps damp and ruins your patience. Serve at room temperature beside rijsttafel, with rice, braises, sambal, and acar, or pass them as a snack with drinks before the meal.

Chef Tips

• •Use raw, unsalted peanuts. Roasted peanuts brown too quickly in the oil and taste tired by the time the rice batter has crisped.
• •Makrut lime leaves are not decoration here. Slice them as fine as thread so their oils perfume the batter without leaving tough green strips between your teeth.
• •Candlenuts, kemiri, give the old Indo cookbooks their rounded richness. If you cannot find them, macadamias stand in honestly; substitute the ingredient, never the standard.
• •Store rempejek in a real airtight tin once fully cool. A plastic box that breathes will soften them by morning, and then the rijsttafel loses its punctuation mark.

Advance Preparation

• •Fry the rempejek up to 3 days ahead, cool completely, and store at room temperature in an airtight tin. Do not refrigerate; the cold box is damp and unkind to crisp things.
• •If humidity softens them, re-crisp in a 150C oven for 6 to 8 minutes, then cool uncovered before closing the tin again.
• •The batter can be mixed 2 hours ahead and kept covered at cool room temperature. Whisk well before frying, and add the peanuts only to each ladleful.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 28g)