Ketoprak (food)

Ketoprak

Ketoprak sold in Jakarta
Course	main and snack
Place of origin	Indonesia
Region or state	Jakarta and West Java
Serving temperature	hot (for fried tofu), and room temperature (other ingredients)
Main ingredients	fried tofu, steamed rice cake (lontong or ketupat), bean sprouts, rice vermicelli, cucumber, served in peanut sauce and sweet soy sauce, topped with krupuk and fried shallots

Ketoprak is a vegetarian dish from Jakarta, Indonesia, consists of tofu, vegetables and rice cake, rice vermicelli served in peanut sauce.

The etymology of the name ketoprak is unknown, and its name similarity to the Javanese folk-drama is peculiar. However, according to popular Betawi tradition, ketoprak was actually derived from the acronym of its ingredients; which are ket from ketupat, to from tahu and toge, and prak from digeprak (Betawi for: "mashed" or "crushed"), which describes the method on grounding garlic, chili pepper and peanut granules together to create the peanut sauce.

Although today ketoprak is often associated with Jakarta, as the dish is more easily available in this city compared to others. There is a suggestion that the dish might be originated from elsewhere. In Jakarta, majority of ketoprak street vendors hailed from the West Javan city of Cirebon. In Cirebon, an area famous for its ketoprak is in Pasuketan area. Ketoprak might be derived from a popular Javanese-Sundanese dish kupat tahu (tofu and ketupat), with addition of bihun (rice vermicelli), beansprouts, cucumber and sweet soy sauce.

Ketoprak consists of sliced fried tofu, steamed rice cake (lontong or ketupat), 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.