Recipe and Photos by Natali F. Sitaniapessy
Sayur Asem is one of the most popular soup in Indonesia , particularly in Java Island. It is a tamarind based vegetable soup with various Asian vegetables such as chayote squash, Chinese long beans, raw peanut, unripe jackfruit, belinjo fruits and leaves (seeds and leaves of Gnetum Gnemon). The broth is seasoned with spices such as galangal, bay leaves, candlenut, red hot chili and shrimp paste.
Sayur asem is best served with steamed rice, fried salty fish or traditional fried chicken, raw salad, fried tofu, fried tempe and sambal (chili sauce/paste). This soup is easy to cook and you can enjoy it in any occasion, but Indonesians usually serve it in mid day.
There are two variants of sayur asem: sayur asem Sunda (Sundanese, West Java) and sayur asem Betawi (Jakarta syle). Sundanese sayur asem has clear broth compare to Jakarta style sayur asem.
Here is the sayur asem of Jakarta Style. I prefer non vegetarian version, use beef broth instead of water. :)
WHAT U NEED:
75 grams melinjo
10 pieces of fresh tamarind/tamarind pulp, crushed.
2 pieces of green pepper, cut lengthwise
2 cm galangal, crushed
2 bay leaves
3 ½ teaspoon salt
½ tablespoon granulated sugar
75 grams of raw peanuts (if not, you may use red beans)
150 grams young/unripe jackfruit, cut into pieces, boiled
100 grams of raw papaya, cut into pieces
2 pieces of sweet corn, cut into 3 cm
½ chayote squash, diced
10 chinese long beans, cut
25 grams of melinjo leaves
3 liters of water
Spice paste (grind all the ingredients below to form a paste):
10 Asian shallot
3 cloves of garlic
5pieces of curly red chili
4pieces of candlenuts
1/2 tsp terasi (shrimp paste)
HOW TO MAKE:
Soak the tamarind in one glass of warm water, put aside for sometimes. Take the water only by filtering them. Set aside. Keep the tamarind as you may need it again to adjust the taste.
Boil water then add the spice paste, raw peanuts, tamarind water, green chili, galangal and bay leaves. Cook until fragrant.
Add salt and sugar. Stir well. Enter the sweet corn and melinjo. Cook until tender.
Add papaya, chayote squash, and jackfruit. Cook briefly.
Add melinjo leaves and chinese long beans, stir well. Taste and adjust the flavors if necessary. Add salt, sugar, or tamarind water. Serve warm.
Some ingredients for making Sayur Asem:
