Lalab with Cucumber
This lalab with cucumber recipe is a funny one, because it sounds too simple to write down in a cookbook. But if you look deeper, I understand the beauty of it now.
Sambal is an important sauce in Indonesian cuisine. I think that is the reason why Beb Vuyk describes so beautifully how the cucumber should be dipped in the sambal. It is delicious.
Finger food tips by Beb Vuyk: how to eat cucumber sambal.
Lalab Cucumber I, translated from Beb Vuyk’s Groot Indonesisch Kookboek, page 354.
Ingredients
- 1 cucumber
- sambal ulek or sambal terasi (shrimp paste)
- Peel a cucumber, cut in half lengthwise and remove the seeds.
- Cut each half again lengthwise, and then divide the long strips in pieces of +/- 4 to 6 cm length. This lalab tastes the best with very young cucumbers, they are still seedless.
- Stack the pieces of cucumber on a dish and serve separately with the sambal. The best combination is with sambal oelek or sambal terasi.
- Place a spoonful of sambal on the edge of the plate and wipe the end of the cucumber through the sambal; bite a piece off and use the remaining part to do it again.
The sambal is a strong component in this recipe of lalab with cucumber :-). I love sambal terasi (trassi), so I opted for that variant.
Homemade sambal
But I believe with sambal petai, also called peteh, it is close to perfection. These bright green beans are amazing. They are strong flavored and are great in Indonesian vegetable dishes and especially in a sambal petai. Want to check out how I make sambal petai? I have loads of sambal recipes on this blog. So check these links.
