Crispy rempeyek fresh from oven

Popular snack deep-fried then baked for crunchy goodness

Rempeyek is a deep-fried cracker made with rice flour that is popular in Indonesia and Malaysia.

It is most commonly made with peanuts, but may also contain dried anchovies or dried shrimps.

Who doesn’t enjoy the sound of a crisp cracker breaking?

It is this sound from which its name “peyek” is derived – its Javanese onomatopoeia.

These crackers are often served together with other dishes in a Javanese meal and are especially popular to accompany pecel, the Javanese version of gado-gado.

The basic batter is a combination of rice flour, cornstarch and coconut milk, with spices such as coriander seeds, fennel seeds and cumin.

The spices may be powdered but are usually left whole so that when bitten into, they provide bursts of flavour.

This recipe is taken from the Kuali archives, where chef Safura Atan shares her insights on perfecting this beloved snack.

Combine rice flour, cornstarch, cumin, fennel, ground coriander, minced garlic, egg, coconut milk and water into a smooth batter.

In her video tutorial, she unveils an alternative method to achieve the desired crispiness without the need for double-frying.

The traditional method of crisping up rempeyek is to fry at medium heat to set the batter, then remove from heat to allow the moisture to evaporate and cool down.

It is then fried again at higher temperature to drive off excess oil and any surface moisture to become exceptionally crispy.

Safura’s alternative is to bake the fried batter in the oven so that the rempeyek becomes evenly golden and crispy without having to add more oil into the pan.

Fry each ladleful of rempeyek individually with a sprinkle of peanuts.

Although she says baking gives the same result as double-frying, it does take longer.

You can also experiment with an air-fryer.

To ensure each cracker is generously adorned with peanuts, Safura says sprinkle peanuts into each ladleful of batter that goes into the frying pan.

This will be easier than mixing peanuts into the batch and then searching for them with a ladle for frying.

Drain on paper towels to remove excess oil.

She advises that if you are double-frying, be sure to pick out peanut remnants so that they don’t burn in the oil thus making the next batch bitter.

Rempeyek is often eaten on its own as a snack, but you may also make a dipping sauce for it by blending green chillies with soy sauce and sugar.

Or if you have any leftover satay sauce, serve them with rempeyek reminiscent of the Javanese culinary tradition of pecel.

Rempeyek kacang

Ingredients

150g rice flour

50g cornstarch

1 tsp coriander seeds

1 tsp fennel seeds

1 tsp cumin

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

2 tsp salt to taste

1 egg

200ml coconut milk

150ml water

1 cup cooking oil

100g peanuts

Method

Sift rice flour with cornstarch and salt into a bowl, then add in the spices.

Stir in egg, coconut milk and water, then whisk into a smooth batter.

Heat oil in a frying pan on medium heat.

Scoop up the batter in a small ladle and sprinkle a few peanuts into the ladle before pouring into the heated oil.

Bake fried rempeyek in the oven to get a crispy finish without infusing more oil.

Fry until set, flip over to continue frying, then remove from the pan.

Drain excess oil on paper towels and repeat until batter is finished.

Place fried rempeyek on a wire rack and bake in oven preheated at 150°C for 30 minutes until evenly golden and crispy.

Allow to cool completely before serving.