Sayur Lodeh

a gentle Javanese stew of mixed vegetables simmered in a fragrant coconut-milk broth scented with daun salam, lemongrass, and galangal, the comforting everyday sayur of the Indonesian table

Origin: Indonesia

From the journey of Bay Leaf.

Sayur lodeh is one of the great everyday vegetable dishes of Java, a soupy, gently spiced stew of mixed vegetables simmered in coconut milk, and a fine example of daun salam, the Indonesian bay leaf, in its quiet, foundational role. A soft spice paste of shallot, garlic, candlenut, and a little chilli is fried until fragrant, then loosened with coconut milk into a thin, fragrant broth, and into it go the aromatics that define so much Indonesian cooking: lemongrass, galangal, and the leaves, daun salam above all. A medley of vegetables follows, whatever the market or garden offers, long beans, chayote, aubergine, cabbage, young jackfruit, tempeh, and the whole is simmered until tender and the broth is rich and savoury. The salam leaf steeps through the pot, lending its gentle, herbal, faintly sour note beneath the sweetness of the coconut, exactly as a bay leaf underpins a European stew. Comforting, frugal, and infinitely variable, sayur lodeh is eaten with rice at the family table across Java, and it shows the Indonesian bay as the indispensable background aromatic of the islands' cooking.

Ingredients

The Spice Paste

5 shallots, peeled
3 cloves garlic
3 candlenuts (or macadamia/cashew)
2 red chillies (adjust to taste)
1 tsp ground coriander

The Aromatics

3 daun salam (Indonesian bay leaves)
2 stalks lemongrass, bruised
3 slices galangal

The Broth

600 ml coconut milk
200 ml water or vegetable stock

The Vegetables

500 g mixed vegetables (long beans, chayote, aubergine, cabbage, carrot), cut into chunks
150 g tempeh or firm tofu, cubed

To Season

2 tsp palm sugar
salt, to taste

Method

Grind the shallots, garlic, candlenuts, chillies, and ground coriander to a smooth paste in a mortar or blender, with a splash of water if needed.
Fry the spice paste in a little oil over a medium heat until fragrant and the raw smell has gone, 4 to 5 minutes. Add the daun salam, lemongrass, and galangal and fry a minute more.
Pour in the coconut milk and water, add the firmer vegetables (carrot, long beans, chayote) and the tempeh, and bring to a gentle simmer. Stir often.
Simmer for about 10 minutes, then add the quicker-cooking vegetables (cabbage, aubergine) and cook until all are tender, another 8 to 10 minutes.
Season with the palm sugar and salt, simmer a few minutes more to marry the flavours, and remove the lemongrass and galangal (and salam, if you like) before serving with rice.

Notes

The vegetables are endlessly variable; use whatever is good and to hand, often including young jackfruit (nangka), melinjo leaves, or chokoes. Daun salam is the authentic leaf and is not the same as Mediterranean bay, though a bay leaf is a fair stand-in for fragrance. Keep it vegan with tempeh and tofu, or add prawns or chicken. Serve with steamed rice and sambal.

The Gastrographer

Name: Sayur Lodeh
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 55 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Indonesia
Ingredients: 5 shallots, peeled; 3 cloves garlic; 3 candlenuts (or macadamia/cashew); 2 red chillies (adjust to taste); 1 tsp ground coriander; 3 daun salam (Indonesian bay leaves); 2 stalks lemongrass, bruised; 3 slices galangal; 600 ml coconut milk; 200 ml water or vegetable stock; 500 g mixed vegetables (long beans, chayote, aubergine, cabbage, carrot), cut into chunks; 150 g tempeh or firm tofu, cubed; 2 tsp palm sugar; salt, to taste

Mapping Culinary History

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Journey Point Map Key

Ingredient originTrade or transit route

Became a culinary stapleColonial / trade control