Let’s Get Real

I Just Don’t Care I Was Bored And Hungry. When it’s raining outside, it makes your belly growl and that feeling of diving into TikTok without an explanation? That’s exactly how when I found @hulyatirfani’s video. In there was that bright red, spicy broth hitting the crispy white cireng pieces, and I wanted so much to eat it. Need.

And here’s the thing I am not a chef. Half the time I attempt to fry “aci” (tapioca dough), I end up with a sticky mess that sounds more like a science experiment run amuck than real food. But this Cireng Kuah Pedas seemed good, so I was willing to go ahead with it.

When you’re tired of boring snacks and want something that happens and that actually makes your tongue tingle and your heart happy, stay around. That is not an organized TV cooking show guide and this is just me, my mess kitchen and chili.

The “Aci” Problem is Very Real. Before we go to the heat, let’s talk about cireng itself. If you have ever worked with tapioca flour in the lab, you know that it’s like a diva. One second it’s powder, then it’s literal cement and then suddenly it’s a liquid. It’s a non-Newtonian fluid trying to ruin your day.

For this recipe, you must perform that kind of “biang” technique. It is the secret sauce! Without it your cireng will only be one hard rock that’ll break your teeth. And nobody wants that. The crispy outside and the “mochi-like” chewing on the inside we want.

What You’ll Want (Don’t Overthink It). I hate recipes for which you need 50 different spices— and all of them can be used once. We’re street. A lot of this is already shoved in an empty fridge and cupboard at home.

The Dough (The Cireng Part):

Tapioca Flour: Get a big bag. You will make a mess in at least one case.

One of these things is water. Just plain old tap water.

Salt /Micin: Look, let’s be honest. You can’t cireng without a little MSG or mushroom bouillon, but don’t be so shy with seasoning.

Garlic: Crushed up real good.

The “Kuah” (that Spicy, Spicy Soup):

Chilies: A mix of big red ones (for the color) and the small “rawit” ones (for the pain).

Shallots and Garlic; the holy trinity of Indonesian cooking.

An Egg: That’s what keeps things creamy and “rich” feeling.

Green Onions: For a feeling that you’re doing.

Step 1

Making the glue (The Biang). First thing’s first. Put two tablespoons of that tapioca flour in a pan and add half a cup of water before going to the heat. Salt you up with your salt, maybe add your garlic to taste (that might be the first thing you use).

Now turn the stove to low, and just stir. Don’t browse your feed notifications. Just stir. It might change from all white milk to this goo so murky it will taste strange — but goo that will only get sticky, even though it’s dry. And that’s what’s called “biang.” Once clear, open up and it comes to its boiling point, turn the heat off immediately.

Step 2

The Messy Part. In a bowl full of dry tapioca flour and with that hot goo you add hot goo into.

There’s little kneading going on, like a bread dough. But then you are making a bouncy ball through not just to eat. Just lightly “pinch” the dry flour in the wet. You want it to appear kind of shaggy and messy. And we all know if you fry them very well with the temperature they all turn to something so crispy and burnt, they will eat the fat.

And then flip them and make little discs. They do not have to be perfect circles. The word we are aiming for here is “rustic,” just a pretty word for “it seems weird but tastes good.”

Step 3

Frying Without the Drama. Heat up your oil. Not too hot— you do not want those things boiling. Drop them into gently. If they start puffing and look like little white clouds, then you have it really, really well done. Get them just a little bit golden, pull them out. Let them drain on some paper towels. If I actually eat one or two right now it goes wrong; when I don’t have any sort of control over myself I’m doing things like that.

Step 4

Making the “Seblak-Style” Broth. Now, the magic is in place. Get your chilies, shallots and garlic in the blender and mash them manually if it feels aggressive.

For chili paste, add oil and it smells like heaven all over the kitchen and you begin sneezing from it. As soon as you have enough, pour in water.

When boiling at boil, crack the egg up right at the middle and wave it around. It creates little, tiny ribbons of egg which thicken the whole soup. We’ve said that the TikTok video does this exactly for you with the same look so easy to observe, and you have to do it right at home. Salt, you add a little sugar (keeping it on the cooler side) and these green onions.

The Moment of Truth: Putting it Together. Pick a bowl. Put in those crispy cireng. And pour that red, steaming, spicy broth over them!

In the sound it sounds makes; that soft little sizzle as the hot soup hits the fried dough? The sound of success.

Great part of Cireng Kuah Pedas is that contrast to the texture. You want that cireng only to be slightly soaked in the soup and how soft and spicy and yet still have that little bit of crunch that you like until it is slightly trolled. If you let it sit out for twenty minutes it’ll just be a bowl of spicy mush. All tasty though you miss your experience.

That’s why This Recipe Hits Different: I might come back to these kinds of recipes when they come out ( TikTok while I’m half asleep, and then again to see it later). It’s not for perfection. It’s just that one bit that makes you say ‘Whoa, that’s spicy.’

So making Cireng Kuah Pedas doesn’t just mean the food. You work on the process and I know I’m pretty gross I have flour on my forehead and my nose is running from the chilies; but I’m grateful of that. It’s cheap, it’s messy, I’m sure it’s a comfort food and actually one of the best comfort foods on the planet.

And if you’re making this for friends of yours, they’ll realize you’re a genius. They don’t need to take into account it was just a matter of fifteen minutes and a couple of bags of flour.

Some final thoughts (A Non-Expert opinion). Drop the small chilies if you’re afraid of spices. You know, that’s no shame. And if your cireng comes over a bit too chewy? Just call it “extra authentic.”

Cooking should always be enjoyable, fun not a chore. This recipe from @hulyatirfani is just proof that you do, for some simple flour and water it is really a high-end snack like we see that with any shop bought snack.

So, go ahead. Get your kitchen messy. Burn your tongue a little bit. It’s worth every bite.