Rojak Bandung Recipe
Rojak Bandung is a vibrant Malaysian/Indonesian salad featuring blanched seafood, vegetables, and tofu. It is dressed in a complex sauce combining sweet, sour, spicy, and savory elements from chili, tamarind, palm sugar, shrimp paste, and peanuts. A flavorful and texturally rich dish.
Equipment
- 1 Blender or Food Processor For making the chili-garlic paste
- 1 Medium Saucepan For cooking the Rojak sauce
- 1 Large Mixing Bowl For combining salad ingredients and sauce
- 1 Cutting Board For preparing vegetables, squid, and tofu
- 1 Sharp Knife For slicing and chopping
Ingredients
Main
- * 15 dried chilie de seeded and soaked in a bowl of hot water for 10
- minute
- * 7 clove of garlic
- * 900 ml water
- * 1 bottle tomato ketchup
- * 60g palm sugar if not available, substitute with brown sugar
- * 50g tamarind paste
- * 5 tbsp shrimp paste
- * 1 cup peanut roasted and chopped grind coarsely
- * 1/4 cup sesame seed roasted
- * 1/2 tsp salt
- for the salad:
- * 500g squid cleaned and
- * 1 bunch of water convolvulu kangkong -
- * 6 tofu puff or 2 fresh tofu
- * 1 cucumber
Instructions
- Soak dried chilies in hot water for at least 10 minutes; deseed if less heat is desired.
- Drain chilies and blend with garlic into a smooth paste.
- In a saucepan, cook the chili-garlic paste with water until slightly reduced.
- Stir in tomato ketchup, palm sugar, tamarind paste, shrimp paste, and salt; simmer until the sauce thickens to desired consistency.
- Add coarsely ground roasted peanuts and roasted sesame seeds to the sauce and cook for a few more minutes.
- Clean and prepare salad ingredients: Slice cucumber and tofu.
- Blanch water convolvulus (kangkong) briefly in boiling water, then refresh in cold water.
- Cook squid by boiling or blanching until just cooked; slice if necessary.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the blanched kangkong, squid, cucumber, and tofu.
- Pour the warm Rojak sauce over the salad ingredients and toss gently to coat before serving.
Notes
Ensure chilies are fully rehydrated before blending. Adjust the amount of chili and shrimp paste to taste for desired heat and funkiness. Don't overcook the squid or kangkong; blanching briefly is key to keep them tender and crisp. Toasting the peanuts and sesame seeds before grinding/chopping enhances their flavor depth significantly. The sauce should be thick enough to coat the ingredients but still pourable.