Sambel Goreng

Sambel  Goreng  Boncis Dengan Udang - Javanese Cooking
(Hot and Spicy Braised Green Beans with Prawns)

Sambel goreng is a famous and typical dish from central Java.  It is a hot and spicy dish, which is braised in coconut milk.

There are varieties of sambal goreng.  From vegetables, eggs to meat and seafood.  Sambel goreng udang ( hot and spicy braised prawns), the main ingredient is the prawns then garnished with some sweet peas.

Sambel goreng boncis dengan udang ( braised green beans and prawns) is my favourite. The ingredients are mainly green beans and some prawns only.   The taste of the creamy prawns is neutralised by the freshness of the seeds.  It's the cooking for today.  Green beans which are cut in a specific way, the spices,  green prawns, braised in coconut milk.

Traditionally sambal goreng has a pungent taste, using a lot of fresh red chillies. Sweet chilli and red capsicum are the keys for the spicy elements. However, because I will enjoy it better if the dish is not too hot.  I use red capsicum paste to get the new red colour, the flavour is excellent, and the look is much more vibrant that gives the impression that the dish is fired hot, but actually, it is not.

The Green Beans-Cut Slanting or Diagonally and Thinly.

Approximately 525 g fresh green beans

These are the spices for Sambel Goreng: chillies and red capsicum, garlic, shallots, galangal, salt, sugar, petai, and the 'daun salam' and one red tomato-chopped.  Some oil to cook them.

The spices cut finely, accept the galangal, daun salam, petai, and of course the sugar and salt.

The Preparation and Cooking

The spices cut finely accept the galangal, daun salam & fresh prawns

with head intact for the taste of sweetness.

Coconut milk of a tin, you need 200 mils and 200 mil stock or hot water

palm sugar about 2 teaspoons

Sauté the spices until fragrant with 2 tablespoon oil, add in chopped tomatoes stock, cook for 2 minutes covered. Add in the prawns, cook for 2 minutes

take the prawns out, place in a bowl,  keep aside

Add the beans in stir and stir cook for 2 minutes uncovered. Add the capsicum

paste and continue cooking.

Stir the capsicum paste and continue cooking for 2 minutes, stir in the coconut

milk to braise the beans, uncovered 

Put the prawns back, stir into the sauce and cook for 3 minutes uncovered

Turn the heat off, then cover the pot or the wok until serving time.

Spoon/ladle the sambal goreng, the sauce should be thick/creamy

the beans and the prawns are coated well with the sauce, they are not

swimming in a broth

To serve: discard the galangal and the daun salam.

Delicious for daily family meals, an authentic and honest home cooking.

We travel a little if I cook Javanese meals, beautiful sweet memories, and I say thank you to my mother and grandmother and all the good cooks in Java.

The sambel goreng that I cooked, one ingredient was missing:  petai-aromatic beans that give a distinctive flavour for the dish.  But that was an excellent sambal goreng, the family loved it.

Have a great weekend to you all.

Until next post
Susy