Sayur Asem: Sour Tamarind Soup with Vegetables and Beef Trimmings
Sayur asem is a very common sour vegetable soup with a refreshing tamarind broth, originally from the Jakarta area. This recipe gives the classic soup a twist by adding beef trimmings, which can be ommitted.
- Prep time
- 30 min
- Cook time
- 50 min
- Yield
- 4 servings
- Difficulty
- HARD
Ingredients
Quantities are shown as originally provided.
- 250 gr beef trimmings (optional)
- 1 corn cob, cut into 4
- 50 gr raw peanuts (optional)
- 150 gr young jackfruit (optional), cut into bite-sized pieces
- 0.5 chayotte, peeled, cut into bite-sized pieces
- 3 long beans, cut into 4 cm pieces.
- 5 shallots, peeled and chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
- 2 candlenuts, chopped
- 0.5 tsp roasted shrimp paste (optional)
- 2 red chillies (optional)
- 2 cm galangal, bruised
- 2 Indonesian bay leaves (salam leaves)
- Salt to taste
- Sugar to taste
- 1 tsp tamarind pulp
- 2 lt water
Instructions
- 1
Knead the tamarind pulp with 4tbsp of water to make tamarind juice.
- 2
Using a blender or food processor, blend into a fine paste the shallots, garlic, candlenuts, chillies and roasted shrimp paste.
- 3
Put the beef trimming in a medium-sized pot, then add the water.
- 4
Cook over high heat until the soup boils.
- 5
Add the corn pieces, young jackfruit and peanuts.
- 6
Bring the soup to boil again, then reduce the heat to medium low.
- 7
Add the spice paste to the soup.
- 8
Add the galangal, salam leaves, salt, sugar and tamarind juice.
- 9
Cook for about 30 minutes. During the 30 minutes, you can correct the flavour and add salt, sugar or tamarind according to your taste.
- 10
Add the chayote and long beans, and continue cooking for another 5 minutes.
- 11
Turn off the heat and let the soup rest for a while before serving.