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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Sambal Goreng Tempeh
Created by
Fermented soybean tempeh, fried crisp and lacquered with sweet chili, ketjap, and coconut, carries the Indo-Dutch table's most practical wisdom: make it ahead, then pass it generously.
Side Dishes
Dutch
Dinner Party
Special Occasion
Make Ahead
20 min
Active Time
25 min cook•45 min total
Yield6 servings as a side
Some dishes arrive in the Netherlands by ship, and then refuse to leave the family table. Sambal goreng tempeh is one of them: Indonesian in origin, Indo-Dutch in its Dutch afterlife, the kind of small dish that sits among the bowls of a rijsttafel and quietly steals the meal. But let me tell you a secret. The best rijsttafel dishes are not the grand ones. They are the ones people reach for twice.
The name already tells you the method, without asking us to invent romance for it. Sambal is the chili relish and goreng means fried; tempeh is the fermented soybean cake from Java, nutty, firm, and far more interesting than its pale reputation abroad. First you fry it until the edges turn crisp, then you tumble it through a sticky sauce of shallot, garlic, chili, ketjap manis, and santen, coconut cream. Crispness first, gloss second. Reverse that order and you have soft cubes wearing a good sauce badly.
History and cookery, they cannot be separated, especially at this table. Dutch households carried these dishes home through colonial history, migration, memory, and the weekly toko, the Indonesian grocer that became part of ordinary Dutch shopping. I prefer to keep it a bit more relaxed, in the Dutch way: one pan for frying, one pan for the sauce, and enough restraint to stop stirring once the tempeh is coated. Serve it warm, at room temperature, or tomorrow. It was made to wait for company.
Tempeh is strongly associated with Java and appears in Javanese food records by at least the early nineteenth century, though the fermentation practice is older in household cooking. Sambal goreng tempeh entered Dutch home cooking through the Indo-Dutch table after centuries of colonial contact and, especially, after Indonesian independence in 1945, when Indo families brought recipes, tastes, and rijsttafel habits to the Netherlands. The dish's staying power comes from its practicality: fried tempeh keeps its bite, the sweet chili sauce improves as it rests, and a small bowl can season an entire table.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
tempeh
Quantity
400g
cut into small batons or cubes
neutral oil for frying
Quantity
500ml, or enough for 2cm depth
neutral oil for the sauce
Quantity
3 tablespoons
shallots
Quantity
4
thinly sliced
garlic cloves
Quantity
3
finely chopped
red chilies
Quantity
2
thinly sliced
sambal oelek
Quantity
1 tablespoon
galangal
Quantity
2cm piece
bruised
Indonesian bay leaves (daun salam) (optional)
Quantity
2
makrut lime leaf (optional)
Quantity
1
ketjap manis
Quantity
2 tablespoons
tamarind water or lime juice
Quantity
1 tablespoon
palm sugar or dark brown sugar
Quantity
1 teaspoon
santen or thick coconut cream
Quantity
80ml
salt
Quantity
1/2 teaspoon, plus more to taste
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| tempehcut into small batons or cubes | 400g |
| neutral oil for frying | 500ml, or enough for 2cm depth |
| neutral oil for the sauce | 3 tablespoons |
| shallotsthinly sliced | 4 |
| garlic clovesfinely chopped | 3 |
| red chiliesthinly sliced | 2 |
| sambal oelek | 1 tablespoon |
| galangalbruised | 2cm piece |
| Indonesian bay leaves (daun salam) (optional) | 2 |
| makrut lime leaf (optional) | 1 |
| ketjap manis | 2 tablespoons |
| tamarind water or lime juice | 1 tablespoon |
| palm sugar or dark brown sugar | 1 teaspoon |
| santen or thick coconut cream | 80ml |
| salt | 1/2 teaspoon, plus more to taste |
Equipment Needed
- •Wide frying pan or wok
- •Slotted spoon
- •Paper towels for draining
- •Small bowl for mixing sauce ingredients
Instructions
- 1
Cut the tempeh
Cut the tempeh into small batons or cubes, roughly 1cm thick. Keep the pieces even so they fry at the same pace; tempeh is fermented and firm, not a sponge, and it rewards a clean cut with crisp edges.
- 2
Fry until crisp
Heat 2cm of neutral oil in a wide pan to 170C. Fry the tempeh in batches until golden and crisp at the edges, about 4 to 5 minutes per batch, then drain on paper. Do not crowd the pan. If the oil cools, the tempeh drinks instead of crisps, and that is a dull bargain.
No thermometer? Drop in one small piece. It should bubble steadily at once, not sink quietly and not darken in a fury. - 3
Build the sambal
Pour off the frying oil and wipe the pan, or use a clean second pan. Warm 3 tablespoons oil over medium heat and fry the shallots for 4 minutes until soft and lightly golden. Add the garlic, sliced chilies, sambal oelek, galangal, daun salam, and makrut lime leaf, and cook for another 2 minutes until the oil turns red and fragrant.
- 4
Make it glossy
Stir in the ketjap manis, tamarind water or lime juice, sugar, santen, and salt. Let the sauce bubble gently for 3 to 4 minutes until thick, shiny, and reduced enough to cling to a spoon. Taste now: it should be sweet first, chili-warm second, with a small sour note keeping order.
- 5
Coat and rest
Add the fried tempeh and toss quickly until every piece is lacquered. Stop once coated; too much stirring breaks the crisp edges you worked for. Remove the galangal and leaves before serving, or leave them in and warn the table in the old household way: fragrant, not for eating.
Chef Tips
- •Buy fresh tempeh from a toko if you can. It should smell nutty and faintly mushroomy, never sour or ammoniac. A dish made from the true thing, clumsily, still tells the true story.
- •Ketjap manis is not ordinary soy sauce. It is dark, sweet, and syrupy; if you replace it with soy sauce, add palm sugar and reduce it until it shines.
- •Santen is concentrated coconut cream, sold in blocks or thick cartons in Dutch and Indonesian shops. If using a block, shave off about 40g and dissolve it in a little hot water to make roughly 80ml thick coconut cream.
- •Make it a few hours ahead for a dinner party. The sauce settles into the tempeh while the fried edges keep some bite, which is exactly why this dish belongs on a rijsttafel.
Advance Preparation
- •The tempeh can be fried up to one day ahead and kept covered at room temperature; toss it with the sauce the day you serve it.
- •The finished dish keeps two to three days refrigerated. Serve at room temperature or warm gently in a pan with a spoonful of water to loosen the sauce.
- •For the cleanest texture at a party, make the sauce ahead, fry the tempeh earlier in the day, and combine them shortly before guests arrive.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 115g)
Calories
365 calories
Total Fat
27 g
Saturated Fat
7 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
20 g
Cholesterol
0 mg
Sodium
480 mg
Total Carbohydrates
16 g
Dietary Fiber
5 g
Sugars
7 g
Protein
15 g
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