Sayur Lodeh (Vegetables in Coconut Milk)

Ingredients

• 1 small eggplant, cut into chunks
• 100g long beans, cut into 3-4 cm pieces
• 1 small chayote, peeled and cut into chunks
• 50g young jackfruit (nangka muda), cut into pieces (optional)
• 1 handful melinjo leaves (daun melinjo)
• 1 handful melinjo nuts (biji melinjo) (optional)
• 2-3 cups thin coconut milk
• 1 cup thick coconut milk
• 1 block (approx. 2 tbsp) palm sugar (gula merah/gula jawa), grated or finely chopped
• 1 tsp salt, or to taste
• 2-3 tbsp cooking oil
• Water as needed

Spice Paste (Halus Bumbu)

• 8-10 shallots
• 4 cloves garlic
• 3-5 red chilies (keriting), adjust to preferred spiciness
• 2 candlenuts, roasted or fried
• 1 cm fresh turmeric, peeled (optional, for color)
• 1 cm kencur (aromatic ginger), peeled (optional)
• 1/2 tsp coriander powder (ketumbar bubuk)

Aromatics

• 2 cm galangal (lengkuas), bruised
• 1 stalk lemongrass (serai), bruised
• 3-4 bay leaves (daun salam)

Instructions

1. Prepare all vegetables by washing and cutting them into appropriate sizes.
2. To make the spice paste, grind or blend all spice paste ingredients until smooth.
3. Heat cooking oil in a large pot or wok over medium heat. Sauté the ground spice paste until fragrant and cooked through, about 5-7 minutes.
4. Add the bruised galangal, lemongrass, and bay leaves to the pot. Stir-fry for another 1-2 minutes until their aroma is released.
5. Pour in the thin coconut milk and about 1-2 cups of water (or enough to cover the vegetables). Bring to a boil, then add the harder vegetables first (e.g., young jackfruit, melinjo nuts).
6. Simmer until the harder vegetables are half-cooked, then add the remaining vegetables (eggplant, chayote, long beans). Cook until all vegetables are tender.
7. Stir in the thick coconut milk, palm sugar, and salt. Reduce heat to low.
8. Continue to simmer gently, stirring constantly to prevent the coconut milk from curdling, until the Sayur Lodeh is well combined and heated through. Do not let it boil vigorously after adding thick coconut milk.
9. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary.
10. Remove from heat and serve hot with steamed rice.