Kecap Manis is something I wasn't aware of until I read about it in an issue of Saveur magazine, and intrigued me. It was not available in my part of Washington State, and it would be months before I could buy a bottle, but I did.
Kecap Manis is a sweet soy sauce popular in Indonesia, and since the Saveur article reviewed the one made by the Bango brand, that's what I looked for. I grew up with different types of shoyu (soy sauce), specifically the Aloha, Kikkoman, and Chun King brands. I've stayed within my shoyu boundaries, not really getting adventurous and trying those fish shoyus I see at some stores, but kecap manis was a "sweet" one so I was curious to how it was, especially since it was said some people used it as a dipping sauce for French fries.
I ordered it from IndoMerchant.com, based out of California, and the kecap manis was in a plastic bottle (although Bango, an Indonesian company, also makes a version in a bag not unlike a bag of Capri Sun). I bought some fries for the occasion and it tasted a lot like teriyaki sauce, even had the same consistency. Teriyaki does have a sweetness, those who like their teriyaki a bit more tangy may thing this is somewhat on the light side. I tried it with some beef, and it still tasted a lot like teriyaki. A few articles online say the sweetness is more on the molasses side of things, so I'll have to try it again to find out if that's what I'm tasting.
As for the name, Wikipedia says Indonesians call soy sauce "kecap" (ketjap), and it is the word "kecap" that would evolve into the English word "ketchup".
While most regular soy sauces are generally low in calories, kecap manis is high in carbs due to the sugar content: 3 tablespoons of it equals to 38 grams of carbs. Add to that the high sodium, and it may become more potent than beer for some people.
I do like the flavor and I can see coming up with some recipes that could use this, or as a simple dipping sauce.
I had never heard of this until I went to Oktoberfest last week in Leavenworth, Washington. I grew up eating food with a good share of ketchup, and my mom raised me on some of the best Hawaiian-style curry, but a combination of the two? I never placed ketchup on my bowl of curry, but there it was in a cheese store with wines, crackers, and a sample of this curry ketchup. I tried it with a pretzel and I was surprised that I liked it. I bought a bottle ($5.99) and looked forward to having some when I got home. However, lunch was calling so I had a bratwurst and some french fries, and decided to use the Curry Ketchup on the fries. Ono.