Urap Sayur (Indonesian Vegetable Salad with Spiced Coconut)

About This Recipe

Urap sayur relies on kelapa urap, grated coconut seasoned with a paste of chile, garlic, galangal and kaffir lime leaf, then briefly steamed or toasted to release its aroma before being tossed with blanched vegetables. Green beans, cabbage, bean sprouts and spinach are each blanched separately and only briefly, keeping their individual textures and bright color intact before they're combined with the fragrant coconut mixture. Served at room temperature, urap sayur is a refreshing, textural salad that appears alongside rice and other Indonesian dishes, its combination of steamed vegetables and spiced coconut offering both freshness and real depth of flavor.

Ingredients

Serves 4

• 2 cupsgreen beans(trimmed and blanched)
• 2 cupscabbage(shredded and blanched)
• 1 cupbean sprouts(blanched)
• 2 cupsspinach(blanched)
• 1.5 cupsfreshly grated coconut
• 3red chiles(for spice paste)
• 2 clovesgarlic(for spice paste)
• 1 tspfresh galangal(for spice paste)
• 2kaffir lime leaves(thinly sliced)
• 1 tspsalt
• 1 tspsugar

Instructions

1. 1

   Blanch the vegetables

   Blanch the green beans, cabbage, bean sprouts and spinach separately in boiling water until just tender-crisp; drain and cool.

2. 2

   Make the spice paste

   Blend chiles, garlic and galangal into a smooth paste.

3. 3

   Season the coconut

   Mix the grated coconut with the spice paste, sliced kaffir lime leaves, salt and sugar.

4. 4

   Steam the coconut

   Steam the seasoned coconut for 5-8 minutes until fragrant and slightly dried out.

   Steaming the seasoned coconut briefly releases its aroma and softens the raw edge of the spice paste.

5. 5

   Combine

   Toss the blanched vegetables with the steamed spiced coconut until well combined.

6. 6

   Serve

   Serve at room temperature.

Variations

• •

  Adding cooked long beans or winged beans gives extra variety and crunch.

• •

  A version with tempeh crumbles mixed in makes for a heartier, more substantial salad.

• •

  Some regions add a bit of shrimp paste (terasi) to the spice paste for extra umami depth.

Storage

Refrigerate up to 2 days in an airtight container; the coconut can dry out somewhat, so add a splash of water if reheating or refreshing leftovers.

Frequently Asked Questions