Semur Tahu Telor: Dutch-Indonesian Braised Tofu & Egg Stew
Semur is a sweet and savoury stew, whose name derives from the Dutch word smoor, or “to braise”. It can be made with a variety of proteins, in various regional styles. For this recipe, we’ve chosen to make Betawi-style semur with tofu and eggs.
- Prep time
- 30 min
- Cook time
- 1 hr
- Yield
- 4 servings
- Difficulty
- HARD
Ingredients
Quantities are shown as originally provided.
- 2 square blocks of firm tofu
- 4 hard boiled eggs, peeled
- 6 small shallots
- 2 cloves garlic
- 2 candlenuts
- 3 cm fresh ginger, peeled and sliced
- 1 stalk lemongrass, bruised and knotted
- 1 Indonesian bay leaf (daun salam)
- 0.5 tsp white pepper powder
- 0.5 tsp coriander powder
- ¼ tsp cumin
- ¼ grated nutmeg
- 2 star anise
- 2 cloves
- 3 cm cinnamon stick
- Salt to taste
- 1 big red tomato, cut into small pieces
- 0.5 lt water
- 3 tbsp vegetable oil
- 5 tbsp sweet soy sauce
Instructions
- 1
Cut each tofu in half. Deep fry and set aside.
- 2
Using a blender or food processor, blend into a smooth paste the shallots, garlic and candlenut.
- 3
Heat the water in a medium-sized cooking pan.
- 4
Heat the oil in a small frying pan, and sauté the blended spices until fragrant, around 3 minutes.
- 5
Transfer the sautéed spices to the pan of water.
- 6
Add the lemongrass, ginger and bay leaf.
- 7
When the water boils, add the white pepper powder, cumin, coriander, nutmeg, star anise, cinnamon, cloves and salt.
- 8
After cooking for 5 minutes, add the tofu and sweet soy sauce.
- 9
Add the tomatoes.
- 10
Add the boiled eggs.
- 11
Cook for another 30 minutes or until the sauce thickens.