This tofu tempeh with roedjak spices makes a delicious vegan dish. The creamy, slightly spicy flavor is wonderful. It’s also very easy to make and ready in 40 minutes. This recipe serves 2-3 people.

Tofu Tempeh with Rujak Spices

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Tofu-Tempeh with rujak spices (Tahu Bumu Rujak – Wonosobo) #366 | Translated Beb Vuyk’s Groot Indonesische Kookboek, page 302.

Ingredients

• 1/2 block tofu
• 1/2 slice tempeh
• 1/4 block santen
• 2 tablespoons oil
• 3 dl water

Spices

• 3 tablespoons chopped onions
• 2 chopped garlic cloves
• 1 teaspoon sambal oelek
• 4 roasted candlenuts
• 1 teaspoon galangal
• 2 teaspoons Javanese sugar
• 2 stalks lemongrass
• 2 salam leaves
• Salt

1. Cut the tofu into slices and quarter each slice.
2. Also cut the tempeh into equal-sized pieces.
3. Boil them for a few minutes in salted water.
4. Make santen from the water and a little salt.
5. Grind the onions, garlic, sambal ulek, galangal, and sugar into a paste and cook it with the santen, lemongrass, and salam.
6. Then add the tofu and tempeh and cook, stirring occasionally, until the santen thickens and the oil rises to the surface.

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I often have a lot of fresh galangal in the freezer. I think galangal is one of the tastiest spices in Asian cuisine. Santen is coconut cream. You can buy it in blocks or as a liquid. You can get a block of santen at Asian food stores. Beb recommends using a quarter of it. That’s about 50 grams of santen. If you’d like to learn more about Indonesian spices, check out this link.

The idea is to first cook the equally cut slices of tempeh and tofu in salt. I use half a teaspoon of salt. I make sure the slices are just (but not) covered and let them boil briefly. I make sure my water is already hot and then bring them to a boil for 2 minutes.

Once cooked, scoop out the cubes and let the santen dissolve in the water. Tempe gives a slightly sour flavor; perfect for this bumbu rudjak.

Meanwhile, I finely chop my onions and garlic and roast the candlenuts. Everything, along with the galangal, sambal, and gula Jawa (sugar), goes into the mortar. I add a quarter teaspoon of salt.

The candlenuts make everything nice and creamy and stick together well.

In the water with the santen, this bumbu can now be added. I also immediately add the cooked tempeh and tofu, along with the lemongrass (sereh) and salam leaf. Salam leaf is really delicious. It’s the Asian bay leaf, but it tastes more like cinnamon. It has a wonderfully warm flavor. I only had a few leftovers. No large leaves.

I let this mixture simmer very gently until the sauce has thickened nicely (about 15 minutes). Then I turn off the heat and let it sit for a while. This way, the sauce will thicken a bit more. Selamat makan!

Looking for other recipes with tofu or tempeh? Look here.
To see more recipes with rujak, click here.