sayur lodeh

Sayur lodeh is an Indonesian vegetable dish, that's somewhere inbetween a curry and a soup. Like any sayur it's served as part of a meal, with rice and usually a curry or other meat dish. It's also good as part of a rijsttafel.

For one serving, you need:

• different vegetables, like green beans, white or chinese cabbage, red (bell) pepper, bamboo shoots... whatever you like or whatever lurks in the fridge, as long as the total weighs about 200 g.
• 3 peteh beans
• 1/8 of a block of santen, about 25 g
• 2 green chili peppers
• 2 tablespoons of chopped onion
• 1 clove garlic, chopped
• 2 kemiri nuts
• 1 teaspoon laos
• 1 salam or bay leaf

Cut all the vegetables into bitesize pieces - not too small or they will get soggy. Cut the chili peppers in half, remove the seeds, and cut them into small pieces. Cut the peteh beans into small strips.

Bring 300 ml of water to a boil. Crush the kemiri and make them into a paste together with the onion, garlic and laos. Add the mixture to the water, as well as the salam and the peteh beans. Cook for about five minutes. Then add the beans and santen. When the beans are halfway cooked, add the rest of the vegetables and cook for another ten minutes. Add salt to taste.