Sweet as soy

If you have to wonder about the point of making your own kecap manis, you probably have easy access to the condiment, or else have no idea how wonderful it is. I can not imagine anyone not falling in love with it after the first try, even if it challenges one’s idea of what soy sauce should taste like.

Kecap manis is more sweet than salty (manis is Indonesian for “sweet”). It is treacly in appearance as well, dark and viscous as molasses, unlike the watery consistency of regular soy sauce, which, in case you are not aware, a Bisaya refers to as patis instead of toyo (a source of much confusion and consternation in our household — and just in case you’re wondering, yes, fish sauce is toyo hereabouts). A few years ago, Unilever Phils. carried the Bango brand; I saw it on local grocery shelves once, and then never again. So unless you are a kecap manis connoisseur, or willing to shell out ₱500 for a liter of the stuff (like one I found online), your only choice is to make it from scratch.

My bottle (Indofood-brand) lists the following ingredients: sugar, water, salt, wheat, soya bean, citric acid (E330), lemongrass, yeast extract, and sodium benzoate (E211). Except for citric (also known as ascorbic) acid (a preservative and flavor/color enhancer), it’s pretty much the same cocktail that makes up regular dark soy sauce. And that is reason enough for me to make my own kecap manis: there are concerns that citric acid combined with sodium benzoate produces benzene, a known carcinogen. Of course, you could argue that soy, yeast, and salt (the iodized kind) are all acidic, so what’s one more? (Sea salt, on the hand, is an alkaline, and so is the citrusy lemongrass.) Besides, most citric acid these days is derived from corn or soy, so there’s the aspect of genetic modification as well.

Are you worried yet? I hope not, because I intend to feature more recipes featuring kecap manis in the coming days (I have already featured one for nasi goreng). For now, let’s start with a recipe for our common ingredient.

Kecap Manis (Indonesian Sweet Soy Sauce)

If you have light soy sauce like Kikkoman, use that instead and omit the water. Brown sugar can be substituted for muscovado, but you may have to lessen the amount of white sugar (depends on how sweet you want the sauce, really). The spices you can put in whole or pureé with the liquid for stronger flavor.

• 1 cup dark soy sauce
• ¾ cup water
• ¾ cup muscovado sugar
• ¼ cup white sugar


• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons minced ginger
• 2 tablespoons minced turmeric
• 2 lemongrass bulbs, bruised

1. Combine all ingredients. If using the spices whole, proceed to next step. Otherwise, use a blender or food processor to pureé.
2. Pour mixture into a saucepan and cook over low heat. Stir occasionally until the consistency of maple or pancake syrup, about 30 minutes. Strain out solids and let sauce cool completely before storing in sterilized bottle. Keep refrigerated.