andrejthechef
IndonesiaSoupDinnerGluten-freeDairy-free

Rawon Surabaya

A beef soup with a nearly black broth, colored by kluwek nuts, served with short bean sprouts, rice and sambal. East Java's dark, earthy classic.

prep
30 min
cook
2 h
total
2 h 30 min
serves
6
level
medium
Rawon Surabaya, a dish from Surabaya, East Java

Rawon gets its color from kluwek, a fermented black nut that also shows up, under a different name, in Peranakan cooking in Singapore and Malaysia. Here it colors an entire pot of beef broth nearly black, with a flavor that is savory and faintly earthy rather than bitter.

Fry the spice paste properly before the broth goes back together. That step, more than the beef itself, is what gives rawon its reputation, deep color and real depth of flavor instead of a soup that just looks dark.

Part of our 20 best Indonesian recipes list.

method

  1. Simmer the beef in the water for 1 hour, skimming the foam, until starting to turn tender. Keep the beef and broth together.

  2. Blend the kluwek flesh, shallots, garlic, candlenuts, galangal, ginger and chilies into a smooth, dark paste.

  3. Fry the paste in the oil over medium heat for 8 to 10 minutes, until deeply fragrant and the oil separates at the edges.

  4. Add the fried paste, lemongrass and bay leaf to the pot with the beef and broth. Simmer, partly covered, for another 45 minutes to 1 hour, until the beef is fully tender and the broth has turned a deep, near-black brown.

  5. Season with salt. The broth should taste savory and faintly bitter-earthy from the kluwek, not sweet.

  6. Serve hot over rice, with a handful of briefly blanched bean sprouts, a salted egg half if using, and sambal on the side.

chef's tips

  • Kluwek, also called keluak or kepayang, is the same family of nut used in Singapore's Peranakan cooking. Buy it already cleaned and prepared from an Indonesian or Peranakan grocer; raw nuts need careful handling to remove a natural toxin.
  • The broth should end up genuinely dark, closer to black coffee than brown gravy. If the paste has not browned and separated properly before it goes into the pot, the color stays flatter.
  • Short bean sprouts, barely sprouted, are specifically preferred here for their crunch against the soft beef. Regular bean sprouts work fine as a substitute.
  • Rawon is one of the dishes that genuinely improves on day two, once the kluwek flavor has had time to settle into the broth.