Sweet Corn, Green Beans, and Cabbage in Tamarind Soup

(My version of sayur asem)

Sweet Corn, Green Beans, and Cabbage in Tamarind Soup
Sweet Corn, Green Beans, and Cabbage in Tamarind Soup

Here’s another favorite, Indonesia-origin, vegetable dish in our home. Though its main ingredient is tamarind, a sour fruit typically used in many Southeast Asian cuisines, this soup has a lot more to offer than just a tangy flavor. It has a good balance of sweet, sour, and spicy. The vegetable selections of corn, green beans, and cabbage give crunchy texture to the dish, while a little bit of hot peppers adds a nice punch.

Here’s my take on this East Java version of sayur asem or the vegetables sour soup:

List of things we need:

  • 1 small bag of frozen sweet corn
  • 1 cup of green beans cut into shorter lengths (traditionally Indonesians use Yardlong Beans instead of green beans).
  • 1 small cabbage (remove wilted outer leaves, halve, remove the stem, and slice). If you can’t find a smaller cabbage, use ½ of the regular size.
  • 1 inch cube cut of seedless wet tamarind/ tamarind block
  • 4 shallots
  • 3 garlic
  • 4 Candlenuts
  • A pinch of shrimp paste
  • 2-3 Thai peppers
  • Salt
  • ½ inch cut of Galangal root for the aroma

Cooking steps:

  • Fill 1/3 of a large pot with water over medium heat
  • Chop and mix shallots, garlic, Candlenuts, shrimp paste, Thai peppers in a food processor
  • Add the mixture into the pot along with tamarind, Galangal root and a little bit of salt. Bring to boil, reduce the heat a little bit, and let the broth cooks for another 20-30 minutes or until the tamarind dissolves.
  • Remove galangal root and tamarind pulp, before adding the vegetables into the broth, using a food colander or strainer and a big bowl. (Strain the broth using a colander or a food strainer into the big bowl and then return the broth back to the pot.)
  • Add the vegetables into the pot and bring to boil.
  • Turn of the heat and cover the pot with a lid. I let the vegetable soup rest for half hour to an hour before serving. That way the vegetables have some time to absorb all of the wonderful flavors. It taste even better the next day too!

Serve 4-6.

Harini Riana4 Comments

Savory Pastry with Turkey and Vegetables

Inspired by Indonesian’s pastel goreng, a savory treat similar to empanadas, I made this easy pastry recently. The wonderful smell of ground turkey, peas, carrots, garlic, and onions baking inside of a pie crust in the oven filled the apartment. Hmm…delicious!  This flaky and savory pastry makes a great appetizer.

Here’s a list of things we’ll need:

  • 2 sheets of pie crust
  • 1 tablespoon of canola or vegetable oil
  • 1 pound of ground turkey (or beef)
  • 1 bag of thawed frozen (mix) peas and carrots
  • 4 garlic (chopped)
  • 1 sweet onion (chopped)
  • Salt
  • Pepper
  • A dash of curry powder

Steps:

  • Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
  • Heat up a medium pan and add the oil.
  • Add garlic and onion. Cook for two minutes.
  • Add ground beef and let it brown.
  • Mix in the peas and carrots, salt, pepper, and curry powder.
  • Following Paula Dean’s direction on her empanada recipe: I cut out rounds from the pie crust using a small cookie cutter (3-inch), place a bit of cooked turkey and veggies in the middle of the crust, brush the edges with water, fold, and repeat. Place the pastries on a baking tray and bake in the oven for 10-15 minutes until they turn golden brown.

Harini Riana2 Comments

Easy Apple Tart

I love fruit pastry. In fact, a lot of the baking recipes I’ve blogged involve fruits. Jeff and I would have these baked goods for breakfast with our coffee or as a snack with hot tea at night. So when I saw this recipe from Ina Garten, I couldn’t wait to try it. It’s unbelievably easy and delicious. All you need are apples, puff pastry sheets, a little bit of sugar, and unsalted butter.

As usual, I do a little tweak to the original recipe:

  • Instead of Granny Smith apples, I use Honey Crisp apples (since these tend to be sweeter than Granny Smith)
  • I put the pastries in the oven for about 30 minutes instead of 40. I think my oven gets super hot and I try to avoid charring the bottom parts of the apple tart.
  • I also prefer to go without using the apricot jelly and Calvados. I think the apple tart taste great as it is.

The warm, buttery, flaky, light, sweet and tart, and refreshing qualities make these apple tarts so inviting. What a nice fall treat!

Have a great weekend!

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