Gula Merah (Palm Sugar)

Gula Merah (Palm Sugar)is extracted from thesap of the Arenga pinata sugar palm which grows abundantly in Indonesia. There are many varietest but the distinctions hardly matter to the novice who will find any kind of palm sugar preferably to plain old white sugar. If you can't find Indonesian palm sugar you might locate a similar product from Mexico in Hispanic grocery stores. There is also a bottled brand from Thailand that resembles honey.

In most cases, brown sugar will work as a substitute. However, if the dish relies on the special charms of gula merah, you can fake it by combining equal parts brown sugar and maple syrup.