Hello, everyone.
Back to the kitchen and let me introduce you to another delicious Indonesian food.
It's still a few mere days from Lebaran so it's only appropriate if I share some of our traditional lebaran day culinaries.
I know perhaps you're familiar with rendang, opor or sambal goreng ati. I shared some of those recipes here before. But one that we cannot miss is the soup.
 |
| Sayur Labu for you :) |
This time, I have sayur labu - or as I freely translated as spicy Chayote soup with coconut milk.
 |
| Chayote cut in half.. |
Have you tried chayote before?
By trying I mean trying to cook and eat it.
Chayote is one-of-a-kind veggie that belong to the gourd family. Its exquisite cruncy taste makes it perfect for Indonesian typical spicy, heartie soup. Although I read that it's known as Mexican origin, but I have known it back home in Indobesia since I was a little. Be it sautéd with cruncy carrots, simply steamed, mixed with sweet and sour soup a la Indonesia or sayur asem, and sayur labu, the one that I am about to share with you, chayote has become a familiar sight on our table.
 |
| some ingredients we will need :) |
Here in the US, I can easily find chayote in oriental market. Perhaps not many of us know what to do with it as whenever I buy it, there will always be a question from a lady queuing up behind me asking what I can do with that vegetable!
 |
| it's good to steam it as well. |
For Lebaran day, we usually have sayur labu accompanying ketupat or rice cake. With or without ketupat, sayur labu is tasty. Wanna try?
Here are the ingredients for it:
Chayote - 1-2 pieces, clean and take out the core and cut into rectangular shape
Carrots - peel and cut into rectangular shape as well
Tomatoes - cut in halves
Shallots - thinly sliced
Fresh shrimps - clean and cut the tails
Chilies - hoarsely ground
Garlic - 2 cloves, minced
Coconut milk - 1 can
Lemongrass - 1 piece, cut, slightly pressed
Galangal - clean and slightly pressed
Salt and sugar - as needed
Vegetable oil - 1 spoonful, for sautéing
How to cook
Clean and take out the core of chayote,?then wash it with salty water. You will find that it might be a bit slimy but it washes off easily. Then prepare the cooking pot, put 1 spoonful vegetable oil and sauté chilies, shallots and garlic for a while until fragrant. Put the shrimps, cook it for a while, then add the clean and cut chayote and carrots as well as lemongrass and galangal, sauté it for approximately 5 minutes. Add water, salt and sugar as well as tomatoes then bring it to boil. Add the coconut milk and bring it to boil while stirring the soup to ensure that coconut milk is well mixed. Once it's boiled and chayote as well as carrots are soft and well cooked, your sayur labu is ready.
 |
| hearty soup we got here :) |
Eat it together with rice cake or a bowl of steamed rice, sprinkle with fried onion.
Hmmmm...
Bon appetit!
