Lontong with Sayur Lodeh - a hearty breakfast vegetable stew

who says eating vegetables is boring?

in Singapore, we do breakfast like no one else! other than our beloved kaya toast, there’s a plethora of breakfast options that one can get from hawkers/coffeshops in the early hours of the morning, from a simple but delectable wanton mee to the doughy and delicious prata with curry!

a favourite MUST HAVE of local Malay breakfast/brunch stalls would be Lontong, made with a ton of vegetables, cooked into a stew of coconut milk (sayur lodeh) and served with rice cakes (lontong).

while thepantryboy’s version showcases a simpler recipe, feel free to load on as much or as little variety of vegetables as you want! if you can’t get lontong, sayur lodeh also goes perfectly well with regular steamed rice!

@nomies.cothanks to @thepantryboy taking over our kitchen, @azfarrocious can finally go on a holiday 🥹 #singapore #sgfoodie #lontong #malayfood #indonesianfood

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Lontong Sayur Lodeh (Rice Cakes with Vegetable Stew)

Ingredients

spice paste:

• 8 shallots, peeled

• 4 cloves garlic, peeled

• 3 red chillies

• 20g turmeric root, peeled

• 3 candlenuts, soaked

• 30 g ginger, peeled

• 1/4 cup dried shrimp (haebee), soaked in hot water for 30 mins

• 1 tbsp coriander powder

• 2 tsp fennel powder

• 5 Indonesian bay leaf (daun salam)

• 1 turmeric leaf

• 2 lemongrass, bruised

• 30g galangal, bruised

• 1/2 cup oil

• 2 cups coconut milk

• 1.5 litres water

• Salt, to taste
  

• 200g jicama (turnip), cut into matchsticks (optional)

• 150g carrots, cut into matchsticks

• 300g cabbage, diced

• 5-7 long beans, cut to 1 inch pieces

• 300g young unripe jackfruit, washed an parboiled until soft (optional)

• 2 blocks tempeh, cubed (optional)

• 2 blocks tau kwa (firm tofu), cubed and pre-fried

• 100g dried beancurd skin (fuchok), soaked briefly

• 150g bean vermicelli, soaked briefly
  

  to assemble:

• 4 eggs, boiled and peeled

• 1 log of lontong, cubed and steamed for 10 minutes to soften

• 1 cup serunding kelapa (spiced coconut floss)

• 1 cup sambal tumis
  

  directions:

• blend the spice paste ingredients until fine. heat a pot with oil. sauté the lemongrass, galangal, and spice paste until fragrant and the oil starts to separate.

• add the water and half of the coconut milk. add the bay leaves and turmeric leaf and bring the gravy to a boil.

• add the vegetables which take a longer time to cook i.e. jicama and carrots. then, add the other vegetables, tempeh and tau kwa and simmer until fully cooked. add in the rest of the coconut milk, season with salt and bring it back to a boil. stir in the dried beancurd skin and bean vermicelli and turn off heat.

• to serve, assemble the lontong cubes in a bowl, pour over the vegetable stew (lodeh) and garnish with a boiled egg, serunding and sambal. enjoy!