Sayur Asem is an Indonesian vegetable soup known for its light, tangy broth flavored with tamarind. This version combines corn, long beans, cabbage, carrots, and tomato, with a small amount of palm or brown sugar to balance the soup’s sour flavor.
Serve Sayur Asem hot with steamed rice for a light meal or alongside other Indonesian-inspired dishes. The tamarind should give the broth a noticeable sourness without overpowering the vegetables.
Start with the Vegetable Cooking Guide:
https://letsveg.com/vegetable-cooking-guide
Video
Sayur Asem (Indonesian Tamarind Vegetable Soup)
Sayur Asem is a tangy Indonesian vegetable soup made with tamarind, corn, long beans, cabbage, carrots, and tomato. Serve this light, sour-sweet soup with steamed rice.
Ingredients
Equipment
small soup pot
soup bowl
Cooking Instructions
- Bring water to a boil in a pot.
- Add onion and garlic; simmer for 5 minutes.
- Stir in tamarind paste, sugar, and salt.
- Add corn and carrot; simmer for 10 minutes.
- Add green beans and cabbage; cook 8-10 minutes until vegetables are tender.
- Add tomato and cook 2-3 minutes more.
- Taste and adjust sourness, salt, or sweetness.
- Serve hot with steamed rice.
Nutrition
Notes
• Tamarind paste varies in strength and acidity, so start with less and add more after tasting the broth.
• The finished soup should have a noticeable sour flavor balanced by a small amount of sweetness and salt.
• Add the firmer vegetables, such as corn and carrots, before the cabbage and green beans so the vegetables finish cooking at roughly the same time.
• Long beans are a good choice when available, but regular green beans can be used as a substitute.
• Chayote, peanuts, or galangal can be added for additional texture and flavor.
• Serve the soup fresh and hot with steamed rice.