White granulated sugar lacks the depth of flavor needed for this recipe, so your best choices are brown sugar, palm sugar, or molasses.  Palm sugar (also called Indonesian palm sugar, gula jawa, or gula merah) is the most authentic but it is harder to find in standard grocery stores. This is the preferred option if you're able to find it, and you can use it in either granulated or liquid form. Brown sugar and molasses are both good substitutes for palm sugar, so you should use whichever you prefer or have available. You can even mix-and-match by adding 1/2 cup (125 ml) brown sugar and 1/2 cup (125 ml) molasses. You can create a flavor similar to the taste of real kecap manis by using nothing but soy sauce, sugar, and water, but using additional seasonings can enhance the flavor and make it even more authentic.  Note that this recipe recommends a combination of ginger (or galangal root), garlic, and star anise. Other spice options can include fresh curry leaves, cinnamon, and red chili pepper. The ginger must be peeled and grated. The garlic should be minced or crushed.  Use a vegetable peeler to shave the skin off the ginger or galangal root. After peeling the vegetable, drag it across the surface of a box grater to tear it into large shreds. Alternatively, you can cut the ginger or galangal root into discs that are 1/4 inch (6 mm) thick.  Quickly smash the garlic clove with a cutting board or the side of a broad kitchen knife. Remove the loosened skin and use the crushed garlic as it is or mince it with a sharp, smooth knife. Fill a large bowl with cold water and drop four to six ice cubes inside. Set this bowl of ice water aside until later.  Note that this step is only necessary if you plan on using the stovetop cooking method. You do not need to prepare any ice water if you plan on making the kecap manis in your microwave. Select a bowl that is large enough to hold the saucepan you'll be using if you plan on using the stovetop cooking method instead of the microwave cooking method. Only fill the bowl halfway with water and ice. Do not fill it to the top. Keep the bowl near your stove as you proceed.
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One-sentence summary -- Pick a sweetener. Consider some different seasoning options. Prepare your desired seasoning ingredients. Prepare a bowl of ice water.


As teens frequently have little experience beyond their high school education, include a section outlining our education on the top of your resume.  Start with your most recent school and work your way back. However, you should not go all the way back to elementary school. Just list your college, if you're enrolled, and your high school education.  If you've accrued any honors during high school or college, it's a good idea to list them. Things like the honors roll, honors college, or Dean's list speak to a strong work ethic. If you have a particularly high GPA, you might want to list that too. Oftentimes, teens have yet to have a real job or their work experience is very limited. However, there are ways to creatively present work experience in a way that displays a strong skill set even if work experience is limited.  List formal or informal volunteer work, babysitting, or any gardening, dog walking, or other chores you may have done for relatives or neighbors for money. Even if these are not highly formal jobs that require a large skill set, the fact you performed them on a somewhat regular basis speaks to a strong work ethic and good time management skills.  Low wage, part time jobs may not seem like much, but mentioning things like waitressing or retail work can look good if you highlight how such jobs helped you with interpersonal communication. Focus on how you talked to and assisted customers and the vast amount of information you had to manage. Make use of resume "buzz words" when you list the jobs you have held. Buzz words are words used on resumes to make work experience appear impressive to help catch an employer's eye.  Online, you can find lists of resume buzzwords that will help up your chances of getting the job you want. Things like classified, analyzed, facilitated, collected, assessed, calculated, trained, and designed are just a small example of the kinds of words that look great on a resume. Using buzzwords can make jobs seem impressive and emphasize the transferable skills you gained from basic labor jobs. If you waitress on the weekend in high school, a good bullet point for your job description might be "Interacted politely with multiple customers on a nightly basis, maintaining a positive public image for the business." Specifics are also important. Employers love it when tasks are quantified. Say you're a junior in high school and spent the summer tutoring middle school students in math. Instead of saying "Tutored students each week," can be worded in a more impressive manner and in a way that quantifies your work. For example, "Tutored a rotating group of 6 to 7 students on a bi-weekly basis, conveying concepts of basic algebra and geometry in an age-appropriate manner." While you may be spotty on actual job experience, having a section titled something like "Achievements and Honors" can help you highlight impressive non-work related information.  If you've ever won any contests or excelled in an extracurricular activity, this would be a great thing to add in a resume.  Being the captain of a team, playing a sport, having a band, or operating a blog with appropriate content are all things that are impressive to employers as they show a capacity for leadership and initiative.  If you're a college student, list any scholarships you received. Putting emphasis on high grades and good study skills shows that you're a hard worker and would apply yourself to a job if hired.
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One-sentence summary --
Include your educational level. Add work experience creatively. Use your words wisely. List any special skills or achievements.