Urap
A Javanese salad from street stalls and ceremonial tables: briefly blanched vegetables — green beans, cabbage, bean sprouts, spinach, carrot — tossed with grated coconut spiced with a paste of shallot, garlic, chilli and galangal. Coconut instead of a dressing is what sets it apart: it brings sweetness, richness and a slight crunch. It is fully plant-based. Two rules: the coconut must be toasted or steamed with the paste so the spices meld, and the vegetables are blanched briefly so they stay crisp.
Your own work in that: 5 min.
- Spice paste 10 min
- Toasting the coconut 10 min
- Blanching the vegetables 15 min
- Combining 5 min
Step by step
0 / 8 donePound the spice paste
In a mortar or small blender pound the shallots, garlic, chilli, galangal, palm sugar and salt into a smooth paste. A mortar gives the best aroma, as it crushes rather than cuts.
Ingredients: 80 g desiccated coconut · 4 tbsp hot water · 2 pcs shallots · 2 cloves garlic · 2 pcs red chillies · 10 g galangal or ginger · 2 pcs kaffir lime leaves · 1 tbsp palm sugar · ½ pcs lime, juice · ¾ tsp salt
A mortar crushes — the aroma is fuller.Moisten the coconut
Sprinkle the desiccated coconut with the hot water and stir so it takes on moisture, like the freshly grated coconut used in Indonesia.
Ingredients: 80 g desiccated coconut · 4 tbsp hot water · 2 pcs shallots · 2 cloves garlic · 2 pcs red chillies · 10 g galangal or ginger · 2 pcs kaffir lime leaves · 1 tbsp palm sugar · ½ pcs lime, juice · ¾ tsp salt
Toast the coconut with the paste
Mix the coconut with the paste and finely shredded lime leaves and toast in a dry pan or wok 6–8 minutes, stirring, until fragrant and lightly golden. Traditionally the mixture is steamed — toasting gives a similar result, plus crunch.
Ingredients: 80 g desiccated coconut · 4 tbsp hot water · 2 pcs shallots · 2 cloves garlic · 2 pcs red chillies · 10 g galangal or ginger · 2 pcs kaffir lime leaves · 1 tbsp palm sugar · ½ pcs lime, juice · ¾ tsp salt
Until fragrant — the spices meld with the coconut.Blanch beans and carrot
Bring salted water to the boil. Cut the beans into 3 cm pieces and the carrot into sticks and blanch together 3 minutes. Lift out with a slotted spoon into cold water.
Ingredients: 150 g green beans · 150 g white cabbage · 100 g mung bean sprouts · 100 g spinach · 1 pcs carrot
Blanch cabbage, sprouts and spinach
In the same water blanch the sliced cabbage 2 minutes, the sprouts 30 seconds and the spinach 10–15 seconds. Transfer to cold water.
Ingredients: 150 g green beans · 150 g white cabbage · 100 g mung bean sprouts · 100 g spinach · 1 pcs carrot
Briefly — the vegetables should stay crisp.Squeeze the vegetables
Drain the vegetables and squeeze them thoroughly, especially the spinach and cabbage. Wet vegetables make the coconut soggy and the salad mushy.
Ingredients: 150 g green beans · 150 g white cabbage · 100 g mung bean sprouts · 100 g spinach · 1 pcs carrot
Toss with the coconut
Toss the vegetables with the spiced coconut, add the lime juice and taste. Urap should be sweet-hot, slightly tangy and fragrant.
Ingredients: 80 g desiccated coconut · 4 tbsp hot water · 2 pcs shallots · 2 cloves garlic · 2 pcs red chillies · 10 g galangal or ginger · 2 pcs kaffir lime leaves · 1 tbsp palm sugar · ½ pcs lime, juice · ¾ tsp salt
Serve at once
Serve at once, alongside rice, tempeh or grilled chicken. In Java urap is also served around tumpeng — a cone of rice prepared for celebrations.
Ingredients: 150 g green beans · 150 g white cabbage · 100 g mung bean sprouts · 100 g spinach · 1 pcs carrot
Before you start
Fresh coconut
The best urap is made with freshly grated coconut flesh. If you have a coconut, grate 150 g of flesh and skip the moistening water.
Kencur
The traditional urap paste often includes kencur (aromatic ginger, Kaempferia galanga), a rhizome with a camphor-like scent. It is hard to find outside Asia; galangal or ginger is a good substitute.
Storage
The spiced coconut keeps 2 days in the fridge, the blanched vegetables a day. Combine them just before serving, as the salad softens quickly.
