Something sour for a side dish? Of course there is something other than lemon. Since I was little, I have known this sour ingredient to make food delicious.
Take a guess. What is that ingredient? Yep, it's tamarind! Have you ever heard of tamarind? Maybe some people only know tamarind for delicious sweet and sour candy.
In Indonesia, there are many dishes that use tamarind ingredients to make food delicious. For example, soup dishes.
But besides making food delicious, I usually find tamarind trees on the streets. As a shade for the road, unfortunately now I often see other trees planted on the road whose trunks will have a higher selling value. Meanwhile, tamarind is only used for food and herbs.
What I like about tamarind is that it is not too sour like lemon but gives a distinctive fresh sour taste.
If for cooking, tamarind is usually sold without the skin and the soft flesh looks like paste. Meanwhile, there are still tamarind seeds.
I usually make tamarind for tamarind vegetable soup. The broth is slightly sour but combined with chili makes the overall broth delicious.
As for the chili, here I use a type of red chili that is not too spicy compared to cayenne pepper.
For the vegetable filling, I use mung bean sprouts, also green beans, corn, and carrots.
Mung bean sprouts also have a good source of protein and I like to mix this type of sprouts in side dishes. You can also use microgreens for toppings.
THE INGREDIENTS
- 50 grams of mung bean sprouts
- 20 grams of tamarind, with 100 ml of water
- 1 corn cob
- 1 carrot
- 5 cloves of shallots
- 5 cloves of garlic
- 5 red chilies
- 1 tbsp of salt
- 1 tbsp of sugar
- 1 liter of water
COOKING INSTRUCTIONS
Cut Veggies Into Pieces
I don't know why I always like to cut carrots into flower shapes even though I don't have a special knife, ehehe. I just do it manually, making 4 cuts on the side of the carrot so that it will form a flower when the carrot is sliced thinly.
I also cut green beans. You can replace them with long beans.
For the corn, I didn't throw away the corn cob. I cut it into circles following the shape of the corn cob.
Blend Onions and Chilies
I used a traditional pestle and mortar that is usually used to make chili paste.
I pureed the red chilies, garlic, and shallots. Of course I used a blender but I don't have one.
Mix Tamarind With Water
Prepare boiling water, then pour the boiling water into the tamarind to get a good tamarind solution. Later the seeds will separate from the soft flesh. Meanwhile the flesh will mix with the boiling water.
Stir-fry The Seasoning
I heated a little oil in a cooking pan, then I added the chili paste with onion that I had made earlier. Cook until fragrant.
Add Water
After the seasoning smells fragrant which means it is cooked, then I add 1 liter of water. Then stir well and let them boil.
Add Veggies Except Sprouts
I also add corn pieces, carrot slices, and green beans pieces. Cook for about 10 minutes or until the corn is cooked.
Add Tamarind Water With Seasoning
I add tamarind water, also with sugar and salt. Stir well.
Add Mung Bean Sprouts
Before removing, add mung bean sprouts. Stir well, then remove. And the tamarind vegetable soup can be served while warm.
THE RESULTS
I serve tamarind vegetable soup with rice as my and my husband's dinner.
For me, the taste is just right! Not too sour. Not too spicy either. The color of the soup looks appetizing.
Warm, but also refreshingly sour. I like it! Would you like a bowl of this tamarind soup?
Best Regards,
Anggrek Lestari
Anggrek Lestari is an Indonesian fiction writer who has published two major books. Now She is a full-time content creator. She has a goal to share life, poem, and food content that makes others happy and can get inspiration.
Contact Person: authoranggreklestari@gmail.com
Discord: anggreklestari#3009