The joy of cooking in the garden. My only wish is to have a proper blazing hot wok burner for outdoor use.

The name simply means: softly boiled (lodeh) vegetables (sayur) in Indonesian. This dish is typical for Java and therefore ubiquitous in Dutch Indonesian restaurants. The dish breaks down in three elements: the spice paste, coconut milk and vegetables plus a protein.

To make the spice paste pound together:

Garlic.
Onion (preferable small Indonesian shallot).
Kentjoer.
Trassi.
Fresh chilli peper for heat. Rawit are small and hot.
Kemeri nuts.
Ketoembar (coriander seeds).
A few shavings of palm or coconut sugar (sold as a solid stick).
Salt.

Quantities according to taste. Fresh yellow root (kunyit) can be added for a different color. Below a version with some fresh jeruk (kaffir lime) leaves, salam (bay leaf) leaves and kentjoer (Kaempferia galanga).

Reserve a piece of galangal to simmer in the stew. Smash the galangal to open up the fibres.

The choice of vegetables is really up to what you can get. I like to use as many typical Asians vegetables. This time I used:

One chayote (imported to Asia from Middle America) cut in chunks.
A carrot cut in rough matchsticks.
Green beans (yardlong bean would be perfect but can be expensive).
Half a oxheart cabbage (spitskool).
Collard greens. I used po choy also known as Chinese spinach.
Tempeh as in: fermented soy bean cake.

Once everything is prepared the cooking is simple: fry the spice paste in hot oil for about 4 minutes until fragrant. Add the can of coconut milk and bring to a boil. Add vegetables and extra water so the vegetables are covered. Add the smashed galangal.

Simmer until the vegetables are cooked. Add the collard greens in the last 5 minutes. Turn the heat off and let it stand for a couple of hours before reheating and serving.