Great vegetable salad, from Javanese cuisine. It uses freshly grated coconut simmered with spices paste till the coconut soaked up the rich paste. Chilies and turmeric give the coconut that rich color. This dish is known as “Urap Sayur“ – urap refers to shredded coconut cooked with spices and sayur refers to vegetables.

The accompanying vegetables are usually blanched. For nice colors and presentation, use vegetables of all textures and colors. Leafy vegetables for greens, cucumbers and beansprouts for whites, carrots for orange. The other common condiments served are hard boiled eggs and tapioca-based white and red crackers.

If the coconut is thoroughly cooked for more than 15 minutes, the salad can last for more than one day, refrigerated. If not, it is meant to be consumed on the same day. It is advisable to not mix the vegetables and coconut before serving.

Vegetable Salad with Coconut, Urap Sayur

Makes 6 servings

Ingredients:

For coconut mixture

30 g (11) red chilies
5 g (8) thai's bird eye chilies
1/4 tsp shrimp paste
50 g (9) shallots
20 g (3) garlic cloves
35 g fresh turmeric, washed and peeled
50 g palm sugar, shaved
1/2 tbsp tamarind pulp
2 cups water
1/4 cup cooking oil
4 kaffir lime leaves
300 g freshly shredded coconut

For salad
100 g cabbage, blanched
100 g long beans, blanched
300 g (1) cucumber, peeled and sliced
100 g beansprouts, blanched
Alternatively, the following vegetables can be used : spinach, cassava leaves, papaya leaves, velvetleaf ("genjer")
3 eggs, hard-boiled and halved
Red and white crackers

Directions:

Blend chilies, garlic, shallots, shrimp paste and turmeric using electric blender or pound using mortar and pestle till very fine

Mix water, tamarind pulp and palm sugar in a bowl. Stir till shaved sugar melt. Break pulp with spoon or fingers till no lumps. Strain the liquid and remove excess tamarind peel, seed, etc

Heat cooking oil over high heat on a wok till smokey. Stir fry the chili paste and kaffir lime leaves for 5 minutes. till slightly brown

Add sugar mixture to the wok and cook till it boils

Add shredded coconut and mix well. Lower heat and cook till the liquid dries up, continually stirring, for 10 minutes

Remove kaffir lime leaves and keep the coconut in dry container

Mix a portion of all vegetables in a bowl, add 1/4 cup coconut and mix well with a fork and spoon. Serve with sliced cucumber, boiled eggs and steamed rice

Notes:
For 2 cups of vegetables, 1/4 cup of coconut would be the ideal amount
Decrease the amount of chilies called for if less hot urap is preferred
If freshly grated coconut is not available, use commercially packed shredded coconut and add 1/4 cup coconut cream to every 1 cup shredded coconut

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