Sauces, pastes & condiments · Soy & fermented sauces
Kecap manis (sweet soy sauce)
Thick, syrupy Indonesian sweet soy sauce with palm sugar, for nasi goreng, satay and glazes.
Also called: sweet soy sauce, kicap manis, ketjap manis, kecap
Around the world: kecap manis (id) · kicap manis (ms)
Photo: 국립국어원, via Wikimedia Commons (CC-BY-SA-2.0)
What it is
An Indonesian soy sauce sweetened heavily with palm sugar and sometimes spiced with star anise or galangal. It is almost as thick as molasses and much sweeter than regular or dark soy sauce. Indonesians also use kecap asin (salty soy) for the standard kind.
How it’s used
- Nasi goreng and mie goreng
- Satay marinade and peanut sauce
- Glazing grilled chicken (ayam bakar) and tempeh
- Dipping sauce with chilli and shallot
- Sweetening stir-fries
Characteristics
- Taste
- Sweet, salty and caramel-like.
- Texture
- Thick and syrupy.
- Appearance
- Glossy, nearly black.
- When cooked
- Caramelises quickly; glazes and chars easily on the grill.
- Sold as
- liquid, fermented
- Cooking uses
- Mainly a seasoning, Commonly cooked, Suitable for grilling
- Common in
- Indonesian, Malaysian, Singaporean, Dutch
Storage
Pantry-stable. Keep sealed in a cool cupboard; refrigerate after opening in hot climates.
Diet, allergens and safety
Contains Soy, Wheat, Gluten.
- Vegetarian
- Vegan
- Dairy-free
- Egg-free
- Gluten-free
- Nut-free
- Soy-free
- Caffeine-free
- Contains soy and usually wheat (gluten). High in sugar.
Nutrition per 100 g
- Energy
- 220 kcal
- Protein
- 3.31 g
- Carbohydrate
- 44.08 g
- Fat
- 3.39 g
- Fibre
- 2.8 g
- Sugars
- 27.26 g
USDA FoodData Central: Sauce, hoisin, ready-to-serve (a close stand-in).
Substitutes
Optional — what works if you don’t have it, and how it changes the dish.
- Soy sauce — Simmer equal parts soy sauce and brown or palm sugar until syrupy.
Related ingredients
Recipes with kecap manis (sweet soy sauce)
See all 13
Ayam bakar
Indonesian · 1 h 15 min · 716 kcal
Bakso
Indonesian · 1 h · 700 kcalBumbu kacang (peanut satay sauce)
Indonesian · 30 min · 164 kcal · Vegan
Char kway teow
Malaysian · 35 min · 886 kcal
Fried carrot cake (chai tow kway)
Singaporean · 4 h 20 min · 408 kcal
Gado-gado
Indonesian · 55 min · 682 kcal · Contains egg
Mee goreng mamak
Malaysian · 32 min · 714 kcal
Nasi goreng
Indonesian · 22 min · 705 kcal
Pad see ew
Thai · 35 min · 856 kcalSambal kecap
Indonesian · 5 min · 56 kcal · Vegan
Sate ayam (chicken satay)
Indonesian · 1 h 50 min · 473 kcalTempe bacem
Indonesian · 55 min · 413 kcal · Vegan
1 more
- Thai basil eggplant stir-fry · Thai
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