Kuah Kacang & Ketupat
*
Good Afternoon, dear friends 
Here is the recipe for my Peanut Sauce (Kuah Kacang) which was served with ketupat (compressed rice in coconut leaf casings). This sauce is very easy to prepare, the only thing that was a bit tedious was the toasting and skinning of peanuts. Alternatively, when I was living in the US, I used bottled chunky peanut butter instead. I remember some supermarkets there allow you to make your own peanut butter from the bulk foods section. 
Kuah Kacang (Peanut Sauce)
( for 10 persons)
1 kg peanuts - dry roasted in a pan or wok, remove skin (READ HERE for shortcut), and ground to consistency like sand in the dry mill of your blender (you can have it chunkier if you like)
Ingredients to be blended together :-
* 3 stalks lemon grass, use bottom 1-inch only
* 1 inch ginger
* 1 inch galangal or lengkuas (if don’t have this, replace with ginger)
* 1 inch fresh turmeric or 1 tbsp turmeric powder
* 4 – 5 tbsps of brown sugar (I like my sauce sweet, but you can lessen the sugar)
* 4 – 5 tbsps palm sugar
* 15 dried chillies, soaked in hot water, remove from water (or use 6 tbsps chilli boh)
* 20 shallots or small onions (or 4 large onions) – more onions will impart more flavour
* 6 cloves garlic
* 1 inch piece belacan or shrimp paste (optional)
Additional ingredients :-
* Milk from 2 coconuts or 2 cans/boxes of coconut milk plus enough water to reach your preferred consistency
* 5 tbsps of asam jawa or tamarind paste, mix with 2 cups water, throw away the seeds (if don’t have this, then use juice of 1 lemon)
* salt to taste
* 3 tbsps of cooking oil
Method :-
1) Put all blended ingredients into a heated wok or pan. Stir until the liquid has dried up a bit.
2) Add in the cooking oil, and keep stirring the ingredients to fry then until fragrant and aromatic….about 5 minutes.
3) Add in the coconut milk and tamarind water or lemon juice. Bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer for 5 minutes.
4) Add in the ground peanuts and simmer until there is oil coming to the surface. The longer the time, the more oil is produced.
5) Check for consistency – the sauce should not be too watery or runny but should be thick so that you can dip your ketupat or satay or cucumber into it and the sauce is thick enough to stick on. If too watery, then simmer a bit longer. If too thick, then add a little bit of water.
6) Add about 1 tbsp of salt and the sugar to taste. I like mine a bit sweeter. Remove from heat and serve it hot or cold.
* Note – if you simmer it longer, there will be more chili red oil floating on top and this gives a nice sheen and look to the Peanut Sauce. The oil comes from the peanuts and coconut milk.
This Peanut Sauce can be served with lightly steamed vegetables a la Indonesian style – Gado Gado (long beans, bean sprouts, fresh cucumbers, fried tofu) or with barbequed skewered meats called satay. Yummy!
Bon Appetit!
choesf
How To Remove The Skins Of
Roasted Peanuts In a Jiffy
aiziah said,
November 14, 2007 @ 10:52 AM
maner nak cari history die
happyhomemaker88 said,
November 14, 2007 @ 12:42 PM
Selamat tengah hari, Aiziah
You cuba baca link di bawah ni -
1) http://infopedia.nlb.gov.sg/articles/SIP_888_2005-01-10.html
2) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peanut_sauce
Have a wonderful day today!
choesf
doraemon said,
July 13, 2008 @ 9:09 PM
I found the same pic of ur peanut sauce in the website stated above.
Who took the original one???
doraemon said,
July 13, 2008 @ 9:17 PM
ww.myresipi.com/top/detail/642
the link was discarded by the settings.. add a w to the address and take a look at it.
happyhomemaker88 said,
July 14, 2008 @ 3:21 PM
Hi there, dear doraemon
I cooked my Kuah Kacang from an old resipi which I had forgotten where I got it from, tigether with the picture. Best to learn Malay cooking from the Malays. Thanks for pointing out the link.
Have a nice day!
choesf
The Momster’s Kitchen » Blog Archive » Peanut Sauce @ Kuah Kacang said,
October 25, 2008 @ 8:25 PM
[...] was blog hopping and came across this easy Kuah Kacang or Peanut Sauce from this blog – HappyHomemaker88. Remember in my post about the Satay Celup. I cooked the Kuah Kacang using her recipe and it turned [...]
puritzy said,
December 31, 2008 @ 11:04 PM
hello there choesf,
i tried ur ‘kuah kacang’ recipe and it taste great. but mine looks more yellowish than the actual colour of the real kuah kacang. i guess it must be because of too much of coconut milk. but the taste is superb. thanks for ur recipe. hope ur having a wonderful life.
happyhomemaker88 said,
December 31, 2008 @ 11:31 PM
Hello and welcome, dear puritzy
Thank you for trying out my Kuah Kacang recipe. The Kuah Kacang that is served at Satay stalls has a more reddish tinge because a lot of oil is used in frying the chili and spice paste, hence the oil surfaces to the top, giving it a red colour. If you cook your kuah for a longer time, the coconut milk will also produce some oil. In my case, I prefer lesser oil in my Kuah Kacang.
Happy New Year from Kuala Lumpur!
With peace and prosperity,
choesf
My Best Ever, Delicious Beef & Chicken Rendang Recipe For Hari Raya 2009 « Welcome to Happyhomemaker88’s Virtual Home said,
September 23, 2009 @ 3:49 PM
[...] READ HERE for my Kuah Kacang Recipe, and for instructions on how to cook the Ketupat, READ HERE. [...]
SandyFoodie said,
March 13, 2010 @ 12:21 PM
I just found your website today and I already got a lot of ideas and recipes from it. I am an Asian living in the US and I crave the flavors that I grew up with. Thanks for your generosity.
You mentioned that you can use chunky peanut butter for this recipe. Could you please let me know how you modified the recipe to use peanut butter? I’d like to try this dish but I don’t have the patience to use real peanuts.
Thank you very much.
happyhomemaker88 said,
March 13, 2010 @ 12:53 PM
Hi there and welcome, dear SandyFoodie
I’m glad you found my site here useful. When I was living in the US back in the 80′s, I was homesick for Malaysian food and I picked up my cooking skills there with some modifications to some recipes.
When using chunky peanut butter, you just add in enough of it to your preferred “peanutty” taste and add in water/coconut milk very gradually to get the desired consistency. For the recipe here, I think I would use a whole bottle of peanut butter. Add in the peanut butter at the stage the freshly roasted peanut is called for in the recipe.
Hope you like this peanut sauce.
With best wishes,
choesf
Sandyfoodie said,
April 28, 2010 @ 9:24 PM
Thanks a lot. I’ll try it soon.
happyhomemaker88 said,
May 1, 2010 @ 7:21 PM
Hi there and welcome, dear Sandyfoodie
Hope you like this recipe – remember to adjust the sugar to your preferred taste.
Do have a lovely weekend!
With best wishes,
choesf
dewa rasa said,
July 31, 2011 @ 12:23 AM
no cumin at all?
happyhomemaker88 said,
July 31, 2011 @ 2:34 PM
Hi there and welcome, dear Dewa
No, I didn’t use cumin in this recipe. However, you can add cumin or other spices, if you like.
Do have a wonderful weekend!
With best wishes,
choesf
Aishah said,
August 29, 2011 @ 2:31 AM
Hi, I’m just wondering about the serving size for this particular recipe. Thank you!
PS: I’m a student in the US now and am craving for Kuah Kacang.
happyhomemaker88 said,
August 29, 2011 @ 12:22 PM
Hi there and welcome, dear Aishah
Selamat Hari Raya to you in the US!
This Kuah Kacang portion can serve 10 to 15 people, depending on how much of the kuah they like to have. You can dilute the kuah to make more, if necessary.
Today, I am preparing my Hari Raya 2011 Feast as my husband has invited his friends over for Rendang and Ketupat tomorrow. I bought 1 1/2 kilos of peanuts for roasting today to make Kuah Kacang, 2 1/2 kilos of beef and 2 large chickens for rendang.
With best wishes,
choesf