Urap Sayur — Indonesian Spiced Grated Coconut with Vegetables

Ingredients

Contains tree-nut. Cooking for an allergy? Check the label on every packet you use — brands differ, and we can only tell you what the recipe calls for.

Method

1. 1

   Wash and prepare the vegetables: trim and halve the green beans, thinly slice the cabbage, roughly chop the spinach and rinse the bean sprouts.

2. 2

   Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil and add a pinch of salt.

3. 3

   Blanch the green beans and cabbage in the boiling water until just tender-crisp, about 3 minutes, then transfer them to a bowl of ice water to stop cooking.

   3 min
4. 4

   Quickly blanch the spinach and bean sprouts in the same boiling water for 30–45 seconds, then add to the ice bath.

   1 min
5. 5

   Drain all vegetables well and gently squeeze or pat them dry with a clean towel; set aside.

6. 6

   Make the spice paste: in a mortar and pestle or small food processor, pound or blend the shallots, garlic, red chili, salt, palm sugar and ground coriander into a coarse paste.

7. 7

   Warm the oil in a wide skillet over medium heat, add the spice paste and sauté, stirring, until fragrant and the raw onion smell is gone.

   4 min
8. 8

   Add the grated coconut and shredded kaffir lime leaf (or lime zest) to the skillet and continue to sauté, stirring frequently, until the coconut is toasted lightly and feels drier, about 5 minutes.

   5 min
9. 9

   Taste the spiced coconut and adjust seasoning with more salt or a pinch more sugar if needed.

10. 10

    Transfer the warm spiced coconut to a large mixing bowl, add the drained vegetables and toss gently with your hands or tongs until the coconut coats the vegetables evenly.

11. 11

    Squeeze the lime juice over the tossed vegetables and coconut and mix briefly.

12. 12

    Let the urap rest for 10 minutes at room temperature to allow flavors to meld before serving.

    10 min
13. 13

    Serve warm or at room temperature, garnished with fried shallots if using.