The first thing anyone notices about rawon is the color. The broth is black, properly black, like strong coffee, and it comes from keluak, the seed of a tall tropical tree that has been fermented until its kernel turns dark, oily and rich. Pounded with shallot, garlic, candlenut, turmeric, ginger and coriander and simmered with beef, lemongrass, galangal and lime leaves, it gives a soup that tastes earthy, nutty and faintly bittersweet, a little like dark chocolate and a little like truffle, without being quite either.

Rawon belongs to East Java, where it is eaten everywhere from Surabaya to Malang, and it is very old: Indonesian historians trace the name to an early tenth century Javanese inscription that lists a dish called rarawwan. It is served with white rice, a tangle of short, crunchy bean sprouts, a halved salted duck egg, shrimp crackers, fried shallots and a fierce sambal. The food guide TasteAtlas recently ranked it the best rated soup in the world, and Indonesia received the news with the calm of a country that had known all along.

It is a slow, patient dish that rewards being made a day ahead, and it is an excellent introduction to the deep, layered flavors of Javanese cooking. A big pot of it on a race weekend feeds a crowd with very little last minute fuss.

The black spice paste

Ingredients

• 6 processed keluak nuts
• 8 shallots
• 5 garlic cloves
• 4 candlenuts
• 1 1/2 teaspoons coriander seeds
• 1 inch (2.5 cm) piece fresh turmeric
• 1 inch (2.5 cm) piece fresh ginger
• 2 long red chilies
• 1 teaspoon (5 g) terasi (shrimp paste)
• 3 tablespoons (45 ml) neutral oil

Method

1. Rinse the keluak. Crack each shell along its seam with the nutcracker or a firm tap of a small hammer, then pry it open and scoop out the kernel with a teaspoon into the small bowl. Pour over 3 tablespoons of hot water and leave for 10 minutes to soften.
2. Toast the coriander seeds in the small dry frying pan over medium heat for 1 to 2 minutes, shaking the pan, then tip them out. Wrap the terasi in a small piece of foil and toast it in the same pan for 1 minute on each side.
3. Put the keluak and its soaking water, shallots, garlic, candlenuts, toasted coriander, turmeric, ginger, chilies, terasi and oil into the blender. Blend for 2 minutes, scraping down the sides, until completely smooth.
4. Heat the large frying pan over medium heat and add the paste. Cook, stirring constantly, for 8 to 10 minutes, lowering the heat if it starts to stick.

The soup

Ingredients

• 2 lb (900 g) beef brisket
• 10 cups (2.4 liters) water
• 2 lemongrass stalks
• 1 inch (2.5 cm) piece galangal
• 5 makrut lime leaves
• 3 salam leaves
• 2 teaspoons fine salt
• 2 teaspoons (8 g) palm sugar or brown sugar
• 2 scallions

Method

1. Put the beef in the large pot, cover it with cold water and bring to a boil over high heat. Boil for 3 minutes, then drain in a colander and rinse the beef under running water. Rinse out the pot.
2. Return the beef to the pot with the 10 cups of fresh water, the lemongrass, galangal, lime leaves and salam leaves. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat so it simmers gently.
3. Scrape all the fried paste into the pot. Spoon a ladle of the broth into the frying pan, swirl it to collect every bit of paste and pour it back in. Stir in the salt and sugar.
4. Partly cover the pot and simmer gently for 2 hours, stirring now and then and skimming off any foam. Add a little hot water if it reduces below the meat.
5. Taste and add salt a pinch at a time; rawon should be well seasoned and savory, with only a hint of sweetness. Fish out the lemongrass and galangal before serving, and scatter over the scallions.

Sambal and garnishes

Ingredients

• 6 red bird's eye chilies
• 1 long red chili
• 1/2 teaspoon (3 g) terasi
• 1/4 teaspoon fine salt
• 1 teaspoon lime juice
• 2 cups (150 g) short bean sprouts
• 3 salted duck eggs
• 1/3 cup (20 g) fried shallots
• 1 bag (about 3 oz / 85 g) shrimp crackers
• 2 limes
• 2 cups (400 g) jasmine rice

Method

1. Pound the chilies, toasted terasi and salt together in the mortar until you have a rough paste, or pulse them in the small food processor. Stir in the lime juice.
2. Rinse the rice until the water runs nearly clear. Put it in the saucepan with the water, bring to a boil, then cover, turn the heat to its lowest and cook for 15 minutes. Rest it, covered, for 10 minutes, then fluff with a fork.
3. Bring the small saucepan of water to a boil, drop in the bean sprouts for 15 seconds, then drain and rinse under cold water. In East Java they are often served raw; blanching softens their raw taste.
4. Ladle the hot soup and beef into deep bowls. Top each with a small heap of bean sprouts and fried shallots. Put the rice, salted eggs, crackers, lime wedges and sambal on the table for everyone to help themselves.

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