Sayur Asem - Vegetables in Tamarind Soup
Experience the greatest Indonesian soup! The broth is light and infused with tamarind, lemongrass, and shrimp paste. You won't stop until you lick the bowl clean.
- Prep time
- 30 min
- Cook time
- 2 hr
- Yield
- 8 servings
- Difficulty
- MEDIUM
Ingredients
Quantities are shown as originally provided.
- 1/2 cup dry red skin peanuts, or 1 cup fresh melinjo nuts (Indonesian: buah melinjo)
- 20 gram tamarind (Indonesian: asam Jawa)
- 6 cup (1½ liter) water
- 2 lemongrass (Indonesian: sereh), bruised
- 8 daun salam (Indonesian bay leaves)
- 60 gram coconut palm sugar (Indonesian: gula Jawa)
- 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper
- 500 gram cabbage, cored and cut into bite sizes
- 500 gram zucchini, or chayote (Indonesian: labu siam), 1-inch pieces
- 100 gram green beans, or snake bean (Indonesian: kacang panjang), cut into 2-inch pieces
- 1 corn (Indonesian: jagung), cut into 1 inch sections
- 100 gram kale, or melinjo leaves (Indonesian: daun melinjo)
- 2 tomatoes, quartered
- 10 red chilies
- 75 gram shallots
- 3 cloves garlic
- 5 candlenuts (Indonesian: kemiri), or macadamia nuts
- 1 inch (25 gram) ginger
- 1 inch (25 gram) galangal (Indonesian: lengkuas)
- 10 gram (about ½ tablespoon) terasi/belacan/shrimp paste, toasted (Note 1)
Instructions
- 1
Boil peanuts: Boil dry peanuts topped with 2 inches of water in a pot. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for 1 hour, or until peanuts are soft. Drain and set aside.
- 2
Make tamarind juice: Mix tamarind with half a cup of hot water. Stir to mix and when cool enough to handle, use fingers to massage the tamarind in the hot water to make tamarind paste/juice. Strain to remove pulps and seeds.
- 3
Prepare tamarind broth: Boil water in a soup pot over medium-high heat. Add spice paste, tamarind juice, lemongrass, daun salam, coconut palm sugar, turmeric, salt, and ground white pepper. Cook until fragrant, about 5 minutes.
- 4
Add boiled peanuts. Reduce heat to a medium, cover the pot, and cook for 10 minutes.
- 5
Add cabbage, corn, zucchini, and green beans. Cook, covered, for another 15 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender.
- 6
Add kale and tomatoes. Cook until kale is wilted and the tomatoes are just starting to become soft, about 5 minutes.
- 7
Turn off the heat, taste test, and add more salt if needed. Serve the soup immediately with steamed white rice.