The market · Seasonings and ferments · Southeast Asia
Palm sugar
Sugar boiled down from the sap of palm trees — caramel, a little smoky, less sweet than cane.
caramel · smoky
What to do with it
JavaneseGudegYoung jackfruit simmered for hours in coconut milk and palm sugar until brown, sweet and tender, served with rice, chicken, egg and a hot stew of cow's skin.No one here has made it yetJavaneseSate MaduraSmall skewers of chicken, glazed in kecap manis and grilled over charcoal, under a peanut sauce with lontong and raw shallot.No one here has made it yetJavaneseGado-gadoBlanched vegetables, potato, tofu, tempeh, egg and lontong under a thick peanut sauce, with prawn crackers on top.No one here has made it yetJavaneseTempeh bacemTempeh (and often tofu) simmered in coconut water, palm sugar and spice until the liquid is gone, then fried until dark and sticky.No one here has made it yetJavanesePecelBlanched greens and sprouts under a hot peanut sauce scented with kencur and lime leaf, with rice and a crisp peanut cracker.No one here has made it yetSundaneseKaredokRaw vegetables — long beans, cucumber, sprouts, cabbage, small aubergines and lemon basil — in a peanut sauce sharp with kencur.No one here has made it yetSundaneseBatagorFried fish dumplings and fish-stuffed tofu, cut up under a peanut sauce with kecap manis, chilli and lime.No one here has made it yetSundaneseSiomay BandungSteamed fish dumplings with cabbage, potato, bitter gourd, tofu and egg, all steamed together and drowned in peanut sauce.No one here has made it yetSundaneseLalapan and sambal terasiRaw leaves and vegetables — cucumber, cabbage, lemon basil, long beans, small aubergines — with a sambal of chilli, toasted shrimp paste and tomato.No one here has made it yetBalineseSate lilitMinced fish or pork mixed with grated coconut, base genep and lime leaf, pressed around lemongrass or flat bamboo and grilled.No one here has made it yetBalineseBase genepThe complete Balinese spice paste: shallot, garlic, four rhizomes, chilli, candlenut, shrimp paste and warm spices, ground together.No one here has made it yet
ThaiSom tamShredded green papaya pounded with chilli, garlic, lime, fish sauce and palm sugar, with tomatoes, long beans and peanuts.No one here has made it yet
ThaiPad thaiThin rice noodles stir-fried with tamarind, fish sauce and palm sugar, egg, tofu and prawns, with beansprouts, chives and crushed peanuts.No one here has made it yetThaiKhao soiEgg noodles in a coconut curry broth with chicken or beef, under a tangle of crisp fried noodles, with pickled mustard greens, shallot and lime on the side.No one here has made it yetThaiMassaman curryA rich, mild coconut curry fragrant with cardamom, cinnamon and clove, with beef or chicken, potatoes and peanuts, sweet and sour with palm sugar and tamarind.No one here has made it yetMalaysianSataySkewers of turmeric-marinated meat grilled over charcoal, with a sweet, spicy peanut sauce, rice cakes, cucumber and onion.No one here has made it yetMalaysianAyam pongtehA Nyonya braise of chicken and potato with fermented soybean paste, shallots, garlic and gula melaka — salty, sweet and dark.No one here has made it yetMalaysianCendolGreen strands of pandan rice-flour jelly in coconut milk and gula melaka syrup, over shaved ice, often with red beans.No one here has made it yet
ThaiSom tamShredded green papaya pounded with chilli, garlic, lime, fish sauce and palm sugar, with tomatoes, long beans and peanuts.No one here has made it yetThaiPad thaiThin rice noodles stir-fried with tamarind, fish sauce and palm sugar, egg, tofu and prawns, with beansprouts, chives and crushed peanuts.No one here has made it yetThaiKhao soiEgg noodles in a coconut curry broth with chicken or beef, under a tangle of crisp fried noodles, with pickled mustard greens, shallot and lime on the side.No one here has made it yetThaiMassaman curryA rich, mild coconut curry fragrant with cardamom, cinnamon and clove, with beef or chicken, potatoes and peanuts, sweet and sour with palm sugar and tamarind.No one here has made it yetMalaysianSataySkewers of turmeric-marinated meat grilled over charcoal, with a sweet, spicy peanut sauce, rice cakes, cucumber and onion.No one here has made it yetMalaysianAyam pongtehA Nyonya braise of chicken and potato with fermented soybean paste, shallots, garlic and gula melaka — salty, sweet and dark.No one here has made it yetMalaysianCendolGreen strands of pandan rice-flour jelly in coconut milk and gula melaka syrup, over shaved ice, often with red beans.No one here has made it yetIf you can't find it
Asian grocers, in cakes, cylinders or tubs — gula melaka is the dark one.
- The same weightYou lose little.
- 2Dark brown sugarThe same weightYou lose the butterscotch-and-smoke depth.Gets some back a drop of maple syrup.
Goes with
Knowing it
- Where to buy
- Southeast Asian grocers, in cakes or tubs. Shave or pound it before using.
Kitchens that keep it in
West Java, IndonesiaSundaneseThe cooking of West Java's highlands: raw vegetables and fresh sambal, pond fish wrapped in banana leaf, rice packed hot in a leaf, and Bandung's street snacks.8 classicsBali, IndonesiaBalineseThe cooking of Hindu Bali: pork roasted whole, duck slow-cooked in spice, lawar chopped for the temple feast, and base genep, the paste behind nearly everything.9 classicsThailandThaiA cooking of balance, tasted and adjusted at every step: sour, sweet, salty and hot in the same mouthful, sharpened with herbs.11 classics