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Lalapan with sambal tomat
Raw vegetables with tomato sambal
Lalapan (Sundanese raw vegetable platter): crisp leaves and vegetables with a fresh tomato sambal
In Sundanese homes and warung across West Java, from Bandung to Bogor, lalapan sits on the table at nearly every rice meal: a plate of raw cucumber, cabbage, long beans, Thai basil, lettuce and sometimes small green aubergines, dipped one by one into fiery sambal. It is about freshness and crunch more than cooking. The usual sambal terasi uses shrimp paste, so here it is a vegetarian sambal tomat of fried chilli, shallot, garlic and tomato, ground with palm sugar and lime. A portion gives only about 3 g of protein, so pair it with fried tofu or tempeh and rice for a full meal. The most common mistake is serving limp vegetables: wash them, then crisp them in iced water and dry them well. Chef's tip: fry the sambal ingredients until the tomato skins split and the shallots catch at the edges; that charring gives the depth shrimp paste usually brings.
- Total time
- 25 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
For the vegetables
- 1 cucumbercut into thick batons
- ¼ white cabbagesmall head, cut into wedges
- 3 ½ oz long beanscut into 10 cm lengths
- 4 small green or pea aubergines (optional)optional, halved
For the sambal tomat
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 3 bird's-eye chilliesor to taste
- 4 shallotspeeled
- 2 cloves garlic
- 2 tomatoeshalved
- 1 tbsp palm sugargrated
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ limejuiced
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Method
0/4 doneStep 1: Put 1 cucumber, ¼ white cabbage, 3 ½ oz long beans, 8 lettuce leaves, 6 Thai basil sprigs and 4 small green or pea aubergines in a bowl of iced water for 10 minutes so they crisp up, then drain and pat dry.
10 minStep 2: Heat 2 tbsp vegetable oil in a frying pan over a medium heat. Fry 4 red chillies, 3 bird's-eye chillies, 4 shallots, 2 cloves garlic and 2 tomatoes, turning, until the tomato skins split and the shallots are soft and browned at the edges.
7 minStep 3: Tip everything into a mortar with 1 tbsp palm sugar and ½ tsp salt and pound to a rough, glossy sambal (or pulse briefly in a blender). Stir in ½ lime and taste for salt and heat.
Step 4: Arrange the vegetables on a platter around a bowl of sambal and eat with rice, dipping each piece as you go.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 90 kcal
- Protein
- 3 g
- Carbs
- 12 g
- Fat
- 4 g
- Fibre
- 4 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does lalapan with sambal tomat take?
- About 25 minutes in total: 15 minutes to prepare and 10 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegan?
- Yes. It has no meat, fish, dairy or eggs.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- Is it very spicy?
- It has some heat. Use less chilli for a milder version, or more if you like it hot.
- What can I use instead of cucumber?
- Courgette, same weight (in salads, use young ones).
- What can I use instead of white cabbage?
- Savoy or spring greens, same weight.
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