A spicy, tomato-rich Indonesian stir-fry of long beans and tempeh in a fragrant sambal sauce.
Sambal goreng is a broad category of Indonesian dishes united by one technique: a paste of chilies, shallots, and garlic fried in oil until fragrant and deeply red, then used to coat whatever main ingredient is being cooked. This version uses long beans and cubes of tempeh, simmered with tomato until the sauce clings and the beans stay just crisp-tender. The key technique is frying the sambal paste properly -- it needs real time in hot oil, often 8-10 minutes, until the raw chili smell disappears and the paste turns a deep brick-red and smells sweet rather than sharp. Skipping this step is the most common reason home versions taste flat. Tomatoes are added after the paste is fully cooked, breaking down into the sauce to add body and a gentle acidity. This is everyday home cooking in Indonesia, the kind of dish that shows up alongside rice and a fried egg on a weeknight table. It keeps well and, like many sambal-based dishes, some cooks think it tastes even better the next day once the flavors settle.
Serves 4
Blend shallots, garlic, chilies, and candlenuts into a coarse paste.
Shallow-fry tempeh cubes until golden and crisp, about 4 minutes. Drain and set aside.
Heat oil and fry the chili paste with bay leaf and galangal over medium-low heat, stirring often, until deep red and fragrant, 8-10 minutes.
Stir in chopped tomatoes and cook until they break down into a thick sauce, about 5 minutes.
Add long beans, water, salt, and palm sugar. Simmer 6-8 minutes until beans are crisp-tender.
Fold in the fried tempeh, simmer 2 more minutes to coat, then taste and adjust salt and sugar before serving with rice.
Fry the chili paste low and slow -- rushing this step is the number one reason sambal goreng tastes raw or sharp.
Fry tempeh until genuinely golden and firm so it holds its shape in the sauce rather than crumbling.
Add a splash of water gradually if the paste starts sticking to the pan while frying.
Add shrimp or hard-boiled eggs along with or instead of the tempeh.
Use green beans if long beans aren't available -- reduce simmer time by 2-3 minutes.
Make it milder by using fewer chilies and adding a spoonful of tomato paste for color instead.
Keeps well in the fridge for up to 3 days and reheats nicely on the stove -- the flavor often deepens overnight. Freeze for up to 1 month.
Sambal goreng dishes are a cornerstone of everyday Javanese and Sundanese home cooking, built on the archipelago-wide technique of frying a chili-shallot-garlic paste as the flavor base for vegetables, proteins, or tempeh.
Regular green beans or snap peas work as a substitute, though cook them slightly less since they're more delicate.
It already is, as written, as long as you skip any shrimp paste in the sambal base -- use salt instead.
The paste likely burned rather than fried gently -- keep the heat at medium-low and stir frequently.
Per serving (231g / 8.1 oz) · 4 servings total
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