Resepi Sayur Asem

My Simple Sayur Asem Recipe

(Untuk Bahasa Malaysia, sila skrol ke bawah)

Sayur Asem is an indonesian vegetable soup dish that my dad and I love even though we are not indonesians :p hence please do not expect the traditional ingredients like melinjo fruit / leaves in my sayur asem recipe. I just wing it with whatever ingredients that I have in hand. Usually people will add melinjo leaves, cabbages, squash and string beans in the soup but I don't like string beans in soups and I didn't have with me melinjo leaves, cabbages and squash in the kitchen so I used whatever leafy greens I had (that being pucuk keledek i.e. sweet potato leaves) It was also by chance I had extra peanuts on hand (disaster in the kitchen the day before while attempting to cook Mee Rebus Singapore style) and also corn (cos I wanted to try bakwan jagung i.e. indonesian corn fritter but the corn has been sitting in the fridge for a week and I thought let's just make sayur asem) OK.. is it really obvious that I am missing some of my mum's ex-helpers cooking :p

I don't really have all the ingredients required but I felt that the soup came out quite decent. The original recipe from my mum's cookbook (the writer is this famous Indonesian chinese lady who married a Eurasian I think, but I can't recall her name) was:

Ingredients: 

1 squash - diced

1 aubergine - sliced and soak in water

1 packet melinjo fruit

1 bouquet of melinjo leaves

50 gm peanuts - soak in water

5 string beans (cut 1cm in length)

1 ear of sweet corn (cut into 3 or 4)

2cm galangal - bruised

3 bay leaves

1 piece tamarind slice

1 teaspoon sugar

1 liter water

Blended ingredients:

5 small shallots 

1 teaspoon shrimp paste

2 red chillies

1/2 teaspoon salt.

What I used instead was:

2 small shallots

1 tablespoon shrimp paste

1 red chilli

1 piece tamarind slice

1 tablespoon sugar

water as needed

sweet potato leaves 

1 ear of sweet corn

a handful of peanuts 

some slices of sweet potatoes

1 tomato - slices

some slices of carrots

How to cook sayur asem:

1. Blend the shallots, shrimp paste and chilli, heat up the pan, add in water, the blended ingredients and tamarind slice. 

2. Add in the sweet potatoes slices, peanuts,corn and carrots, cover till all are cooked. (it doesn't matter if the water does not fully cover the corn cos if you cover the pan, the steam will still cook the corn).

3. Add in your greens, tomatoes, sugar and salt to taste. 

If you are following the original recipe, just bear in mind to add in the vegetables in the sequence of how long it takes to cook them, so you might put in the peanuts and corn first then the aubergine then the string beans and so on and so forth. (I've never cooked melinjo leaves before so I don't know how long it takes to cook it).

I love this dish! the nuttiness of the peanuts, the sweetness of the corn and the sour taste of the soup just make it a perfect vegetable dish for me.. too bad hubby don't like green soupy vegetables :(  

Bahasa Melayu:

Sayur Asem adalah sup sayur indonesia yang digemari aku dan bapaku walaupun kami bukan warga Indonesia :p oleh itu tolong jangan jangkakan bahan-bahan tradisional seperti daun / buah melinjo dalam resepi sayur asam ku. I main bedal je apa yang ada  di dapur. Selalunya sayur asem menggunakan daun melinjo, kobis, labu cina dan kacang panjang tapi I tak suka kacang panjang dalam sup dan saya tak ada daun melinjo, kobis dan juga labu cina so.. I guna je lah apa yang ada (which is pucuk keledek). Ada juga sikit kacang tanah (hari sebelumnya tu cuba buat Mee Rebus Singapore tak menjadi.. ) dan ada juga jagung (Sebab ingat nak buat bakwan jagung tapi dah seminggu beli jagung pun tak buat2) So.. buat je lah sayur asem ye dari membazir jagung :p

I tak cukup bahan tapi  I rasa sayur asem dia menjadi lah jugak. Resepi asal dari buku resepi mak saya (penulisnya wanita Indonesia berbangsa cina yang famous, dia berkahwin dengan Mat Salleh tak silap tapi I tak ingat nama dia...) 

Resepi Sayur Asem asal adalah:

Bahan-bahan:

1 labu cina - didadu

1 terung - dihiris dan direndam dalam air

1 peket buah melinjo

1 ikat daun melinjo 

50gm kacang tanah - direndam dalam air

5 tangkai kacang panjang (potong panjang 1cm)

1 tongkol jagung (potong 3 atau 4)

2cm lengkuas - diketuk

3 helai daun salam

1 keping asam gelugor

1 sudu teh gula

1 liter air

Bahan kisar:

5 biji bawang merah

1 sudu teh belacan

2 lada merah

1/2 sudu teh garam

Resepi sayur asem I pulak:

2 biji bawang merah

1 sudu makan belacan

1 lada merah

1 keping asam gelugor

1 sudu makan gula

air sebanyak perlu

pucuk keledek

1 biji tomato - dipotong 6

sedikit hiris lobak merah

1 tongkol jagung manis

1 genggam kacang tanah

sedikit hirisan keledek

Cara-cara masak sayur asem:

1. Kisar bawang merah, belacan dan cili, panaskan periuk, masukkan air, bahan kisar dan asam gelugor.

2. Masukkan keledek, kacang tanah,jagung dan lobak merah, tutup periuk sampai semua empuk (tak apa kalau jagung tak ditutup air  sebab wap panas akan menjadikan jagung masak.

3. Masukkan sayur, tomato dan perasakan dengan gula dan garam.

Jika anda mengikuti resepi asal, masukkan sayur mengikut urutan masa memasak, jadi masukkan kacang tanah dan jagung dahulu, kemudian terung kemudian kacang panjang dsbnya. I tak pernah masak daun melinjo, jadi I tak tahu daun melinjo cepat masak atau tidak.

I love this dish! rasa kacang tanah , jagung yang manis dan sup yang masam adalah kombinasi yang sangat enak bagi saya.. so sad.. suami I tak suka sup sayur :(