Drinks
Bir Pletok Betawi (Betawi Spiced Ginger "Beer")
Prep
10 min
Cook
25 min
Servings
4
Level
Easy
Bir pletok is a traditional Betawi drink that's completely NON-alcoholic! It gets its red color from secang wood, and its flavor is warm, spiced, and refreshing. Can be enjoyed hot or cold.
🧂 Ingredients
🍽️ Servings: 4
Adjust the servings and the ingredient amounts & nutrition below update automatically.
- 600ml water
- 3 tbsp shaved secang wood (sappan wood)
- 5cm mature ginger, smashed
- 3cm galangal, smashed
- 2 stalks lemongrass, smashed
- 2 sticks cinnamon sticks
- 5 cloves
- 2 leaves pandan leaves
- 3 cardamom pods
- 100g granulated sugar
- 1/4 tsp salt
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👩🍳 Instructions
- 1 Bring the water to a boil in a pot
- 2 Add all the spices: ginger, galangal, lemongrass, cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, pandan leaves, and secang wood
- 3 Lower the heat and simmer for 20-25 minutes until the water turns a deep red
- 4 Add the sugar and salt, and stir until dissolved
- 5 Turn off the heat and cover tightly
- 6 Let it sit for 10 minutes so all the spices can fully infuse
- 7 Strain through a fine strainer
- 8 Hot version: pour directly into glasses
- 9 Cold version: chill in the fridge, then serve with ice cubes
- 10 The color will be a beautiful red with a fragrant spiced aroma
💡 Tips
• It's called "beer" but contains absolutely NO alcohol — safe for everyone
• Use enough secang wood so the red color turns out rich and beautiful
• The cold version is amazing for hot afternoons
📊 Nutrition Facts / serving
130
Calories (kcal)
1g
Fat
32g
Carbs
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