Vanilla ice cream with sauce. Photo: Getty
While I enjoy baking, my favorite kinds of desserts are effortless and impactful. I first came across the combination of kicap manis (sweet, syrupy dark soy sauce) and chocolate when I visited BEAU Bakery in Jakarta, where I had the most glorious salty, sweet, umami-tinged chocolate éclair; so thank you chef Talita Setyadi for your inspiration!
For the simplest and most crowd-pleasing dessert, create a classic chocolate ganache by combining equal parts bittersweet chocolate and cream, sugar to taste, and a few swirls of kicap manis. Melt gently over a low flame until everything is incorporated, and you have a silky smooth chocolate sauce. Taste and adjust the sugar and kicap manis to your liking. Spoon the ganache over 2 scoops of good quality vanilla ice cream and top with crushed ginger snap cookies. Perfection.
Happy Holidays, and may your Christmas dinner be full of flavor and inspiration!
Related: Enjoy Holiday Feasts from These Home-Based Businesses in Jakarta
Debbie Wong is self-taught cook and classically trained actor based in Hong Kong. She is the host of Food Wars Asia, Kitchen Quickies, and her ongoing international culinary series on YouTube -Debbie Wong’s Wok and Gong. Follow her on all socials @ms.debbiewong.
For more delicious recommendations and recipes for Christmas, see our Festive Feasts page.