Chef Joost
Acar Ketimun (Indo-Dutch Cucumber Pickle)
Acar means pickle, ketimun means cucumber, and this little bowl of sweet vinegar, chilli, and crunch is the cool note that lets an Indo-Dutch rijsttafel keep its balance.
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Sajoer Boontjes
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The name is half Indonesian and half Dutch, which is exactly the point: green beans softened in santen, shallot, and laos, quiet enough to sit beside every sambal on the table.
Side Dishes
Dutch
Dinner Party
Weeknight
Special Occasion
15 min
Active Time
20 min cook•35 min total
Yield4 servings
The name already tells you the whole journey, if you let it speak. Sajoer is the old Dutch spelling of Indonesian sayur, a vegetable dish or vegetable broth, and boontjes are little beans. There it is in one breath: an Indonesian kitchen term carrying a Dutch diminutive, landing on the Indo-Dutch table as naturally as rice beside sambal.
But let me tell you a secret. This is not the loud dish in the rijsttafel. It doesn't ask for the first spoonful. It waits beside the rendang, the eggs, the pickles, the sambals, and then does the work every table needs done: softness, green sweetness, coconut, a little laos, and calm. History and cookery, they cannot be separated, and here the history is domestic rather than grand. Families carried this dish home after empire, loss, migration, and adaptation, and it stayed because it fed weeknights as well as company.
The method is simple, but simple is not skipped. Fry the bumbu, the ground seasoning paste, until it smells cooked rather than raw; then let the beans soften in santen, coconut milk, until they bend but don't collapse. Hou het altijd simpel. The broth should be mild enough to cool a sharp sambal and rich enough that nobody calls it plain.
Sajoer boontjes belongs to the Indo-Dutch table that formed under Dutch colonial rule in Indonesia and continued in the Netherlands after Indonesian independence in 1949, especially through repatriated Indo-European families. The spelling sajoer preserves older Dutch renderings of Indonesian sayur, while boontjes is Dutch for little beans, making the name itself a record of a household cuisine spoken between languages. In the rijsttafel tradition it serves as a mild vegetable counterpoint to sharper sambals, richer meats, and pickled accompaniments.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
green beans
Quantity
500g
trimmed and halved
neutral oil
Quantity
2 tablespoons
shallots
Quantity
3
finely chopped
garlic cloves
Quantity
2
minced
fresh laos (galangal)
Quantity
1 teaspoon
grated, or 1/2 teaspoon ground laos
lemongrass
Quantity
1 stalk
bruised
daun salam leaves
Quantity
2
or 1 small bay leaf if unavailable
coconut milk or santen mixed with water
Quantity
250ml
water
Quantity
100ml
palm sugar or light brown sugar
Quantity
1 teaspoon
fine salt
Quantity
3/4 teaspoon
plus more to taste
lime juice or tamarind water (optional)
Quantity
1 teaspoon
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| green beanstrimmed and halved | 500g |
| neutral oil | 2 tablespoons |
| shallotsfinely chopped | 3 |
| garlic clovesminced | 2 |
| fresh laos (galangal)grated, or 1/2 teaspoon ground laos | 1 teaspoon |
| lemongrassbruised | 1 stalk |
| daun salam leavesor 1 small bay leaf if unavailable | 2 |
| coconut milk or santen mixed with water | 250ml |
| water | 100ml |
| palm sugar or light brown sugar | 1 teaspoon |
| fine saltplus more to taste | 3/4 teaspoon |
| lime juice or tamarind water (optional) | 1 teaspoon |
Equipment Needed
- •Wide saute pan or shallow braadpan with lid
- •Sharp knife
- •Wooden spoon
Instructions
- 1
Trim the beans
Trim the beans and cut them in half on the diagonal if they are long. If they are very mature, pull away any string from the seam; coconut will forgive many things, but not a bean that fights back under the tooth.
- 2
Cook the bumbu
Warm the oil in a wide pan over medium heat. Add the shallots, garlic, and laos, and fry for three to four minutes until the shallot turns glossy and sweet-smelling. This is the important minute. Raw garlic in coconut milk tastes thin and impatient; cooked bumbu gives the broth its back.
- 3
Add the aromatics
Add the bruised lemongrass and daun salam, stirring them through the fragrant oil for one minute. They are not garnish, they are quiet seasoning, and they should perfume the pan before the liquid goes in.
Daun salam is often called Indonesian bay leaf, but it is not the same as Mediterranean bay. Use it if you can find it; if not, one small bay leaf is an honest home-kitchen substitute. - 4
Simmer the beans
Add the green beans, coconut milk, water, sugar, and salt. Bring to a gentle bubble, then lower the heat and simmer uncovered for twelve to fifteen minutes, stirring now and then, until the beans are tender and the broth lightly coats them. You want softness, not surrender.
- 5
Balance and serve
Taste the broth. Add a little more salt if the coconut tastes flat, and a teaspoon of lime juice or tamarind water if it needs brightness. Remove the lemongrass and daun salam before serving. Spoon the beans into a shallow bowl with some of the santen broth, because the rice will want it.
Chef Tips
- •Use fresh summer green beans when they are slender and sweet. In winter, good frozen beans are better than tired imported beans; the calendar has opinions, and it is usually right.
- •Santen can mean pressed coconut cream sold in a block or thick coconut milk in Indo-Dutch shops. Either works here, but keep the heat gentle so the broth stays smooth.
- •Keep this mild if it is part of a rijsttafel. The sambal is already waiting on the table; this dish earns its place by cooling the mouth between sharper bites.
Advance Preparation
- •The beans can be trimmed up to one day ahead and kept covered in the refrigerator.
- •The finished dish keeps two days refrigerated. Reheat gently with a splash of water or coconut milk, because hard boiling can split the santen.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 215g)
Calories
240 calories
Total Fat
21 g
Saturated Fat
13 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
7 g
Cholesterol
0 mg
Sodium
450 mg
Total Carbohydrates
13 g
Dietary Fiber
4 g
Sugars
6 g
Protein
4 g
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