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Sayur bening
Clear spinach and corn soup
Sayur bening: Javanese clear spinach and sweetcorn soup
Sayur bening, 'clear vegetables', is the light soup that sits beside almost every everyday meal in Central and East Java, eaten at lunch and supper with rice, fried tempe and sambal. Spinach (or amaranth) and sweetcorn are simmered briefly in water scented with shallot, garlic and fingerroot, so the broth stays clear and tastes sweet and green. The common mistake is boiling the spinach for too long: add it last and take the pan off the heat as soon as the leaves collapse. Chef's tip: if you can find fingerroot (temu kunci) in an Asian grocer, bruise one finger into the pot; it gives the authentic peppery-citrus note, but the soup is still good without it.
- Total time
- 13 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
- 4 ¼ cups water
- 3 shallotsthinly sliced
- 2 garlic clovesthinly sliced
- 1 fingerroot (temu kunci) (optional)bruised
- 1 sweetcorn cobcut into 2 cm rounds, or 150 g kernels
- 9 oz spinach or amaranth leaveswashed
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp sugar
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Method
0/4 doneStep 1: Bring 4 ¼ cups water to the boil in a pan over a high heat (use a just-boiled kettle to save time) with 3 shallots, 2 garlic cloves and 1 fingerroot (temu kunci) if using.
2 minStep 2: Add 1 sweetcorn cob and simmer for 5 minutes, until the kernels are tender and bright yellow.
5 minStep 3: Season with 1 tsp salt and 1 tsp sugar, add 9 oz spinach or amaranth leaves and cook for 1 minute, just until the leaves collapse and turn deep green.
1 minStep 4: Take off the heat straight away and serve hot with rice, fried tempe and sambal.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 60 kcal
- Protein
- 3 g
- Carbs
- 10 g
- Fat
- 1 g
- Fibre
- 3 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does sayur bening take?
- About 13 minutes in total: 5 minutes to prepare and 8 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.
- What can I use instead of shallots?
- Half an onion per 2 shallots.
- What can I use instead of garlic cloves?
- ½ tsp garlic paste or ⅛ tsp garlic powder per clove.
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