Serundeng
I’ve been looking forward to this: homemade serundeng. Serundeng is roasted grated coconut with 8 different spices and is eaten as a condiment or side dish. Like Indonesian fried onions, serundeng is used as extra seasoning. The amount in Beb her recipe is enough for one big preserving jar. Check!
I marvel at the many spices, but the proces of making is not so bad. Be sure to take the time to properly rub the spices and onions. It needs to be a smooth paste to cover the coconut completely later in the pan.
It’s raining outside and the house smells like roasted coconut and peanuts …. Hello 😉 weekend.
Ready in 45 minutes, enough for one big preserving jar.
You can watch the video how to make serundeng or read the complete recipe down below.
Serundeng #84 translated from Beb Vuyk’s Groot Indonesisch kookboek, page 97.
Ingredients
200 grams (2 cups) of grated coconut
3 to 4 tablespoons of peanuts
6 tablespoons of chopped onions
2 cloves of chopped garlic
2 teaspoons of laos powder (galangal)
4 teaspoons of coriander powder (ketumbar)
2 teaspoons of cumin powder (jinten)
1 teaspoon of salt
2 teaspoons of Javanese sugar
asem the size of two walnuts (tamarind)
1/2 teaspoon Kaempferia galanga (kencur)
2 jeruk purut leaves (lemon leaves)
4 salam leaves (Asian bay leave)
1 stalk of lemon grass
3 tablespoons of oil
Rub onion, garlic, galangal, coriander, cumin, Kaempferia galanga, salt and sugar together into a paste. Mix the tamarind with 2 tablespoons of warm water and add to the paste. Heat up the hot oil in a cooking pan or wadjan. Fry the peanuts until they turn yellow. Remove the pan from the heat and take the peanuts out, leave them to cool.
Fry in the leftover oil the spice mixture until the onions are light yellow. Now add the coconut flour. Lower the heat and when you cook on gas, use an asbestos plate under the pan. Mix the spices well with the coconut. Continue until the coconut turns yellow. Slide with a spoon – a ‘sodet’ is very suitable for this purpose – from the middle of the pan vigorously over the bottom in the direction of the edge. Add the salam leaves and lemongrass and roast it just a little bit longer.
Make sure the mixture does not stick to the pan. If that is the case, remove the pan from the heat. Stir in the roasted peanuts when your mixture is evenly light brown in color.
Let your serundeng not cool in the pan, but immediately place your serundeng, when it has the desired color, on a plate on top of a paper towel. Let it cool and fill up an air tight jar. Leave the leaves and lemongrass in it.
Serundeng stays fresh for months if stored away dry. It gets even better over time. Instead of peanuts you can also use small pieces of sweet fried Dendeng.
Don’t let it put you off; this array of herbs and spices. You can get most of the herbs from your local grocery store (depending on where you live ofcourse). American residents can order on Amazon.
The leaves (salam and jeruk purut) can be a problem. You have to go to a specialised Asian shop. If you find them pop a bag or two in the freezer. It stays good for months and you can use whenever you please.
I get by the way ordinary, unsalted, extra large peanuts for my serundeng from the supermarket.
Rub the spice mixture well, in that way it is easier to cover all the grated coconut later in the pan. The paste is very dark in color because of the coriander powder. But that’s right, that’s good ;-).
The cumin (jinten) gives it that specific smell. Delicious! Now this paste can be fried. I turn the heat on medium and let the onions calmly changes color.
Then add the grated coconut. It’s quite a job to cover the coconut completely with the paste. At one point I do not believe it will ever work, but no worries it will work eventually. Keep moving and mixing your coconut throught he paste on low heat. Do not burn your coconut, that will be bitter in taste.
If your serundeng almost has the desired color you can add the roasted peanuts. When the color of your dish is evenly light brown, move the serundeng immediately out of the pan and place it on a kitchen towel or a piece of parchment paper.
It looks so beautiful with all the spices sticking out of it. I love the fact that you can leave the spices in the jar. The taste will be beter over time, Beb states. Let your serundeng cool en dry out completely before you fill up a jar. If I make serundeng in the evening I let it dry all night.
Great to have some home made serundeng on a shelf. Along with homemade sambal and your Indonesian dinner will be something special.
This serundeng is much less sweet than the ones I buy in jars in the supermarket. The flavor of the herbs come through lovely. This will be a great gift too!
Beb Vuyk, best known for her Groot Indonesisch Kookboek (Great Indonesian Cook Book), was much more than a great cook. She belongs to the most important Dutch-Indonesian (Indo) writers and journalists of her time. Check this out.
