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Story of Tangerang's sweet soy sauce
When visiting Pasar Lama in Tangerang, Banten, take your time to see what sweet soy sauce brand is used by almost all of the street food vendors there. You'll likely notice Kecap Benteng Cap SH (Benteng SH soy sauce).
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Sweet soy sauce is often used in Indonesian cuisine, either as seasoning or part of dipping sauce. (Shutterstock/File)
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hen visiting Pasar Lama in Tangerang, Banten, take your time to see what sweet soy sauce brand is used by almost all of the street food vendors there. You'll likely notice "Kecap Benteng Cap SH" (Benteng SH soy sauce).
Akiong, one of the pork satay vendors near the Boen Tek Bio temple, said Benteng SH soy sauce was different compared to other popular brands. “It doesn’t taste too sweet and doesn’t directly make my satay burnt,” he stated, adding that the soy sauce also helps the satay perfectly caramelized.
Kecap Benteng SH is among the soy sauce brands produced in Tangerang. Walk a little bit from the hustle and bustle of Pasar Lama to Jl. Saham and you will find its factory. Established in 1920 by Lo Tjit Siong, the factory still operates and is managed by his fourth generation.
Read also: Halal soy sauce being developed with help of Muslim students
Moreover, the soy sauce’s sales have expanded to other cities outside Tangerang, such as Jakarta and Bogor in West Java. Kecap Benteng Cap SH offers its product in a plastic or glass bottle or a sachet, ranging from 2,000 milliliters in large bottles to 140 ml in smaller ones. It also produces its own kecap asin (salty soy sauce). Visitors can directly buy the soy sauce at the factory or other local department stores in Tangerang. The price is relatively affordable—two 300 ml bottles and one 140 ml bottle cost only Rp 25,000 (US$1).
However, Kecap Benteng Cap SH is not the oldest soy sauce brand in the area. Robi, one of the guides at Benteng Heritage Museum, said to be the first Chinese-Indonesia heritage museum in the country, stated that the oldest soy sauce brand in Tangerang is Kecap Benteng, established in 1882. According to kompas.com, it is owned by Teng Giok Seng.
Packed in a glass bottle, Kecap Benteng also has another name, Kecap Cap Istana. Robi explained that it is related to the New Order era when they were encouraged to change Chinese names to be more Indonesian. Kecap Benteng still operates until now and uses glass bottles to preserve its taste. (wen)
