Kecap Manis Recipe (Indonesian Sweet Soy Sauce)

What is Kecap Manis?

This dark sweet soy sauce is pure magic for transforming plain rice or noodle dishes into something seriously legendary. 

Pronounced sorta like "Kah-Chop Mah-Nies," this sauce is actually the ancestor of our modern ketchup (see the similarity in the name?)… But WTF is up with that you might ask? Well, both salt (present in soy sauce) and sugar have the ability to preserve stuff. I mean, it’s only been a tiny portion of time in human history that we have been able to preserve food through refrigeration, and  an even slightly shorter time in Southeast Asia.

So, in Indonesia, the original sweet-salty sauce, sometimes also spelled ketjap manis, was a staple for preserving fish and meats. That is why there are still some modern manufactured kecap manis brands that use fish ingredients in them. Of course, if you are vegetarian, there is always the ABC brand that makes kecap manis (both in regular, and more mild sweetness) in its now iconic red- or yellow-topped bottles, or, you can follow my recipe to easily make the stuff at home in better quality for less money.

🍶Ingredients in Kecap Manis

Soy Sauce 

In Indonesia, soy sauce is made from fermented soybeans, wheat, salt, and sometimes sugar. You can use regular ol’ soy sauce for this recipe, nama shoyu for a richer taste, or tamari to make it completely gluten free (tamari isn’t processed with wheat in it).

Molasses

Not everyone uses molasses in their kecap manis recipes, but after a lot of testing and tweaking I found that a small amount helps to give the sauce a deeper flavor and darker color. Actually, one of my recipe testers who learned to cook in Indonesia told me that in poorer communities in Indonesia, it's common for people to make kecap manis only with molasses and soy sauce, and nothing else. If you don’t have molasses, you can still make this recipe without it.

Star Anise

Native to China and Vietnam, star anise is a star-shaped spice with a licorice-like flavor. I use these pretty stars in all sorts of stuff from my chili garlic sauce recipe to madras curry powder, and sometimes as an addition to my vegan Thai tea and bandrek, the sweet, spiced Indonesian tea my family is addicted to.

If you don’t have star anise, you can substitute a tiny sprinkle of anise seeds (the tiny little seeds you might use to make recipes like Peruvian picarones).

📖 How to make kecap manis

Make this Indonesian sweet soy sauce perfectly on your first shot by following these step-by-step photos with helpful tips. Or scroll down to the bottom of this page for the easy-to-print recipe card.

Step One

Prep the Pot: 

Stir together the soy sauce of your choice, palm sugar (or coconut or brown sugar), molasses, star anise, ginger, peppercorns, and cloves in a saucepan.

Step Two

That Caramel Goodness:

Place the saucepan over medium heat and bring the mixture to a rolling boil.

Step Three

Simmer to Perfection: 

As soon as the pot is boiling, reduce heat to low and simmer gently for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Step Four

Strain and Cool: 

Pour the hot sauce through a fine mesh strainer into a jar to remove whole spices.

Step Five

Chill Out: 

Allow the kecap manis to cool to room temperature, then refrigerate for long-term storage.

💡Serving Ideas

Kecap manis is necessary for making Indonesian fried noodles like bihun goreng and it's also pretty fantastic in mi xao xi dau. Some folks use it in making one of Indonesia’s best-known dishes, sambal goreng tempeh too!

But the stuff is also just great to use as a dipping sauce for rice dumplings, Filipino lumpiang Shanghai (either pan fried or cooked in an air fryer), or to drizzle into Vietnamese bánh bao chay.

Want to sweeten up your vegan bánh mì? Kecap manis is the easy answer.

Want to darken your Vietnamese peanut sauce? Kecap manis!

Heck its balance as sweet and salty even makes it nice to dip pisang goreng (Indonesian crispy fried bananas), and turon (Filipino jackfruit and saba banana spring rolls) into!