Bumbu kacang (peanut satay sauce)
Vegetarian
Bumbu kacang
Indonesian peanut sauce: roasted peanuts ground with a fried paste of shallot, garlic and chilli, simmered with palm sugar, tamarind and sweet soy until thick and spoonable.
Bumbu kacang (peanut satay sauce) is an Indonesian sauce, ready in about 30 minutes and made with roasted peanuts, shallot and garlic. It serves 10 and is rated easy to cook.
No licensed photograph of this dish yet.
- Prep
- 15 min
- Cook
- 15 min
- Total
- 30 min
- Serves
- 10
- Level
- Easy
- Calories
- 164
Method
Step 1
Grind the peanuts in a food processor (opens in a new tab) until fine but still slightly gritty; tip out.
Step 2
Blend the shallots (opens in a new tab), garlic (opens in a new tab) and soaked chillies to a paste. Fry it in the oil in a saucepan (opens in a new tab) until fragrant and no longer raw-smelling.
- 5 min
- medium heat
- Saucepan (opens in a new tab)
Step 3
Add the ground peanuts, water, palm sugar (opens in a new tab), tamarind, kecap manis (opens in a new tab), salt and lime leaves. Simmer, stirring often, until thick and the oil begins to separate at the edges.
- 10 min
- low heat
It catches easily — scrape the bottom as you stir.
Step 4
Remove the lime leaves and adjust with water to the thickness you want: thicker for satay, looser for gado-gado.
- 1 min
About this dish
- Origin
- Indonesia · Commonly attributedPeanut sauces are central to Indonesian satay, gado-gado and pecel; similar sauces are made in Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand.Also popular in Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, NetherlandsMore food from Indonesia
- Dish
- Lunch · Dinner · Sauces · Dips & spreads
- Cooking method
- Blended, Simmered
- Taste
- nutty, sweet & savoury, spicy (chilli heat), rich
- Diet
- Vegan · Dairy-free · Keto-style · Low-carbWorked out from the ingredients. How labels work
All labels
Vegan · Plant-based · Vegetarian (lacto-ovo) · Eggetarian · Lacto-vegetarian · Ovo-vegetarian · Pescatarian · Flexitarian-friendly · Dairy-free · Egg-free · Alcohol-free · Pork-free · Beef-free · Keto-style · Low-carb · DASH-style - Good for
- Make-ahead · Freezer-friendly · Child-friendly
- Cook more with
- Roasted peanuts · Shallot · Garlic · Jaggery / palm sugar · Dried whole chillies · Tamarind paste
- Techniques
- Simmering · Wet grinding · Emulsification
Allergens
- Contains: Peanutsfrom roasted peanuts
- Contains: Wheatfrom kecap manis (sweet soy sauce)
- Contains: Glutenfrom kecap manis (sweet soy sauce)
- Contains: Soyfrom kecap manis (sweet soy sauce)
Based on typical versions of these ingredients and not verified allergen-free. Brands differ and cross-contact happens, so always check labels. For severe allergies, follow your clinician’s advice.
Nutrition
164 kcal per serving
Estimated1 serving ≈ 52 g · recipe makes 10
Where the energy comes from
- Protein 12%
- Carbohydrate 28%
- Fat 59%
| Nutrient | Per serving | Per 100 g |
|---|---|---|
| Energy | 164 kcal | 315 kcal |
| Protein | 5.4 g | 10.5 g |
| Carbohydrate | 12.3 g | 23.7 g |
| Net carbohydrate | 10 g | 19.1 g |
| Sugars | 6.3 g | 12.2 g |
| Added sugars | 4.8 g | 9.3 g |
| Fibre | 2.4 g | 4.5 g |
| Fat | 11.5 g | 22.1 g |
| Saturated fat | 1.7 g | 3.2 g |
| Trans fat | — | — |
| Cholesterol | 0 mg | 0 mg |
| Sodium | 183 mg | 353 mg |
| Salt equivalent | 0.5 g | 0.9 g |
Vitamins & minerals per serving
- Potassium
- 201 mg
- Calcium
- 26 mg
- Iron
- 0.6 mg
- Magnesium
- 42 mg
- Vitamin A (RAE)
- 8 µg
- Vitamin C
- 1 mg
- Vitamin D
- 0 µg
- Vitamin B12
- 0 µg
- Folate (DFE)
- 24 µg
How these numbers were made
- Calculated from USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy) per-100 g values and the listed quantities.
- Optional ingredients are not included: makrut lime leaves.
- Jaggery / palm sugar: Brown sugar (FDC 168833) used as a stand-in for unrefined cane jaggery and palm sugar.
- Tamarind paste: Raw tamarind pulp (FDC 167763). Commercial concentrates vary in water content.
- Kecap manis (sweet soy sauce): Hoisin sauce (FDC 172886) used as a stand-in for this thick palm-sugar-sweetened soy sauce; sugar and sodium differ by brand.
- “—” means the value isn’t known for enough of the ingredients; it is never zero by default.
- Values are estimates for guidance, not for medical dosing. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. fdc.nal.usda.gov.
Good to know
Tips
- Roast raw peanuts yourself in a dry pan until golden for the most fragrant sauce.
Common mistakes
- Grinding peanuts too long so they turn to butter — a little texture is characteristic.
Serve with
- Over chicken or beef satay with sliced shallots and a little sambal kecap.
- Dressing for gado-gado, pecel or lontong.
Storage
- Refrigerate for up to 5 days or freeze for 3 months.
Reheating
- Reheat gently with water, stirring, as it thickens a lot when cold.
Original editorial recipe · FriendsPantry editorial · Not yet independently reviewed · Added · Updated
Goes with
Recipe DNA
How this dish is built
Grouped by each ingredient’s role in the dish. Each band’s width is its share of the dish by weight. Choose a component to see what it does.
Make it milder, swap ingredients for your diet, change the batch size or thickness — the original stays as it is.
Customise in Sauce & DrizzleReviews & corrections
Reviews come from signed-in cooks and appear after a moderator checks them. We never show made-up ratings.
You might also like
Sambal kecap
Indonesian · 5 min · 56 kcal · Vegan
Gado-gado
Indonesian · 55 min · 682 kcal · Contains egg
Sate ayam (chicken satay)
Indonesian · 1 h 50 min · 473 kcal
Ayam bakar
Indonesian · 1 h 15 min · 716 kcal