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Bandrek
Spiced ginger drink
Bandrek: West Java's hot spiced ginger drink with cinnamon, clove and coconut slivers
Up in the cool tea highlands around Bandung and Garut, bandrek warms people through damp nights; vendors carry it in big kettles to night markets and football matches. It starts like wedang jahe but goes further, with cinnamon, cloves, pepper and lemongrass, and Sundanese sellers often float slivers of young coconut in each glass. The flavour is sweet, spicy and lingering. Chef's tip: simmer the whole spices, don't boil them hard; a fierce boil draws out bitterness from the clove.
- Total time
- 20 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
- 2 ⅞ oz fresh gingercharred, then bruised
- 4 cloves
- ½ tsp black peppercornslightly crushed
- 1 stalk lemongrassbruised
- 3 ⅛ oz palm sugarchopped
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 litre water
- 1 ¾ oz young coconut flesh (optional)cut into slivers
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Method
0/3 doneStep 1: Put 2 ⅞ oz fresh ginger, 1 cinnamon stick, 4 cloves, ½ tsp black peppercorns, 1 stalk lemongrass, 3 ⅛ oz palm sugar and 1 pinch salt in a pan with 1 litre water.
Step 2: Bring to the boil, then lower the heat and simmer gently until the drink is a deep amber and smells of clove and cinnamon.
12 minStep 3: Strain into glasses, add a few slivers of 1 ¾ oz young coconut flesh to each if you like, and serve hot.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 95 kcal
- Protein
- 0 g
- Carbs
- 24 g
- Fat
- 0 g
- Fibre
- 0 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does bandrek take?
- About 20 minutes in total: 5 minutes to prepare and 15 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegan?
- Yes. It has no meat, fish, dairy or eggs.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- What can I use instead of fresh ginger?
- ¼ tsp ground ginger per tbsp fresh (add it with the spices).
- What can I use instead of cinnamon stick?
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon per stick.
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