Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Kupat Tahu Bandung (rice cake with yellow tofu)

Instead of having lunch at a Sundanese (West Java cuisine) restaurant together with my ex-colleagues, the food street vendors in front of the restaurant attracted me more thus I decided to eat "Kupat Tahu" for my lunch.


Kupat is another word for Ketupat which is rice cake - usually it's boiled in young coconut leaves for 4 to 5 hours.
Tahu Bandung or yellow tofu is tofu being soaked in salty turmeric water.
The preparation to make a plate of Kupat Tahu Bandung:

Slices of kupat (rice cake).

Slices of fried tahu Bandung (yellow tofu).
Blanched beansprout.
According to the vendor, the ingredients of the peanut sauce are ground roasted peanut, coconut milk, brown sugar, tamarind juice, kaempferia galanga, shallot, garlic, and salt.
Drizzled some sweet soy sauce.

Shrimp crackers on the side.
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38 comments:

  1. tutiNovember 4, 2009 at 11:19 AM

    a bit like gado gado here.
    street food can be so much tastier than restaurants' sometimes.

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  2. AnonymousNovember 4, 2009 at 11:24 AM

    like our satay sauce here in Malaysia ya?!

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  3. HoustonWokNovember 4, 2009 at 11:44 AM

    I love the authenticity of street vendor food! Yet I am a bit apprehensive about which vendors I chose to eat with while abroad. The rice cake is very unique topped off w/the pnut sauce looked nice. Hmm yes shrimp chips are great w/just about anything. Looks fun!

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  4. Angie's RecipesNovember 4, 2009 at 1:57 PM

    I love the street vendor food too! The rice cake with rich peanut sauce is something that I simply can't resist!

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  5. SelbaNovember 4, 2009 at 3:25 PM

    tuti: Hehehe... like gado-gado without veggies :D

    SG: But no meat at all, instead it's just tofu and beansprout ;)

    HW: My advice for eating street food, you need always to have a look whether it's clean or not because you don't want to get food poisoning :) Oh yeah, shrimp crackers are great!

    AR: Hehehe.. exactly! That's why I resisted to eat at the Sundanese restaurant :D

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  6. Rebecca SawNovember 4, 2009 at 3:42 PM

    hhehe..atr similiar dish to Msia too!
    I must research a bit di..how come our food have so many similarities!

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  7. SelbaNovember 4, 2009 at 3:52 PM

    TNG: Uhmmm... because we are neighboring countries? LOL

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  8. BitsNovember 4, 2009 at 4:46 PM

    Bandung is a shopping heaven as I know! But the food is heaven too! This tahu looks so yummy!

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  9. aawilliamNovember 4, 2009 at 5:32 PM

    Mmmmmmmmm,drooling in Malaysia.SLurppppp.

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  10. SelbaNovember 4, 2009 at 5:42 PM

    BoT: Yes, you are right! Hehehe... Have you been to Bandung?

    aawilliam: hi there, long time no see! how are you?

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  11. JoNovember 4, 2009 at 7:39 PM

    This looks like our version of tahu rojak with satay sauce.

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  12. SelbaNovember 4, 2009 at 7:49 PM

    jo: oh.. that must be interesting! Btw, this kupat tahu peanut sauce doesn't taste like satay sauce :)

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  13. HealthyRainbow.netNovember 4, 2009 at 8:15 PM

    Oh my selby !!
    You're just the best at taking such thorough pics, feels like I'm actually there watching the guy prepare the whole thing.
    I'm always amazed at how street vendors can have everything on their carts. :)
    You are now making me crave for Kupat tahu !!! and Ketoprak as well hohohoo :D

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  14. CK LamNovember 4, 2009 at 8:58 PM

    A very simple yet delicious snack.

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  15. MicaNovember 4, 2009 at 9:21 PM

    Yummmm! I'm a big fan of rice cake because it's so chewy! Mmm. And the sauce sounds tasty too.

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  16. 3 hungry tummiesNovember 4, 2009 at 10:03 PM

    This dish is to die for, oh how I have missed it!!

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  17. Katherine Roberts AucoinNovember 5, 2009 at 12:03 AM

    This really looks good. I wish there was a place here that had Indonesian food! You have me drooling.

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  18. Mary BergfeldNovember 5, 2009 at 12:34 AM

    I'm trying to determine if this is the like the rice cake I use for sizzling rice soup. This looks and sounds delicious.

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  19. AnonymousNovember 5, 2009 at 2:11 AM

    Sounds really good with peanut sauce, would love to try this!

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  20. FaithNovember 5, 2009 at 3:26 AM

    This is new for me, but I would love to try it! It looks so flavorful!

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  21. SelbaNovember 5, 2009 at 7:07 AM

    HR: Hehehe... glad that you like my pics! Where do you usually eat Kupat Tahu in Jakarta? Ah.. now, you are making me crave of ketoprak :D

    ck lam: it is indeed.

    mica: yes, the yummy part of rice cake is the chewiness :D

    3 HT: hehehe... yup, I even prefer to eat this rather than eating at the restaurant :)

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  22. SelbaNovember 5, 2009 at 7:09 AM

    KA: It would be so great if there's an Indonesian around your place, so you can try Indonesian cuisine :)

    5 SF: Everything with peanut sauce, are usually delicious ;)

    faith: hope that you'll be able to try it someday :)

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  23. Donna-FFWNovember 5, 2009 at 7:11 AM

    The peanut sauce with coconut flavor sounds so delicious!

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  24. SelbaNovember 5, 2009 at 7:21 AM

    donna-ffw: yes, it's a good rich mixture of peanut sauce with the coconut milk :)

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  25. AdamNovember 5, 2009 at 9:28 AM

    Yeah I'm joining the peanut sauce train over here. It could go on anything and I'd eat it.

    But then again, I think bean sprouts by themselves are good too... hmmm so many flavors so little time :)

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  26. HoustonWokNovember 5, 2009 at 12:57 PM

    Selby u are right! Cleanliness is key, oh man I hate when the vendors leave their food open and allow flies but so far I have been lucky because I have been picky. Oh yeah, sorry, i forgot to thank you for your compliment the other day on my PSA. A new anchorman? Really? that made me smile.!

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  27. Little InboxNovember 5, 2009 at 1:32 PM

    Definitely something different to try!

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  28. SelbaNovember 5, 2009 at 1:43 PM

    adam: yes, beansprouts are good, not just the crunchy juicy taste but also, it has a lot of vitamin E :)

    HW: fyi, lately... the weather is very hot these days and a lot of people who like to buy food on the street got sick from food poisoning (vomiting & diarrhea), incld. me :P
    Hehehe.. well, have you think to be an anchorman? ;)

    LI: Hope you will get the chance to try it :)

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  29. J2KfmNovember 5, 2009 at 2:31 PM

    a light snack that might just be a simpler lunch on those days when you dont feel like indulging.

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  30. SelbaNovember 5, 2009 at 7:17 PM

    j2kfm: well, actually sparing my tummy for more yummy stuff ;)

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  31. ~~louise~~November 6, 2009 at 2:26 AM

    I just can't get past the yellow tofu. Can that be made at home. I adore tofu and this looks most interesting...Actually Selba, once again you have managed to make me hungry again!!! It all looks too good to be true. Thank you so much for sharing but next time, could you please send some in the mail too!!!

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  32. SelbaNovember 6, 2009 at 7:37 AM

    louise: Yes, you can make it your own yellow tofu, Louise :) It's very simple, you just need to grind a fresh turmeric (or if not, you can use turmeric powder), mix it with water and a pinch of salt then soak the tofu for awhile until it becomes yellow. You can either fry it or boil it and it tasted so yummy :) And if you need a condiment of it, I usually make my own fresh chili sauce, grind fresh garlic with red bird-eye chili, add water, vinegar and sugar. Hope that you can give it a try :)

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  33. pisang goreng 115,NFNovember 8, 2009 at 1:23 PM

    that is awesome tofu.....
    i will ask my mum try to made it since it look simple to make

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  34. SelbaNovember 8, 2009 at 7:24 PM

    PG: Hope you will like it :)

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  35. AnonymousNovember 9, 2009 at 3:07 PM

    Another dish I have to try, it looks so yummy.

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  36. SelbaNovember 9, 2009 at 8:56 PM

    laveena: Make sure when you visit Indonesia again, you'll give it a try ;)

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  37. My Little SpaceNovember 13, 2009 at 7:20 PM

    Sounds like 'rojak' time for me! haha... So delicious!

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  38. SelbaNovember 13, 2009 at 7:34 PM

    MLS: like rojak? but without fruits, ya? :)

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