Sayur Asem (Sweet & Sour Vegetable Soup)

 

Ingredients:
3 - 4 sweet corns
Long beans (can be replaced with green beans)
1 chayote (labu siyem)*
Eggplants/terong (optional)
3 diced tomatoes
5 chopped shallots
5 candle nuts/kemiri (can be substituted with macadamia nuts)
2 cut green mild chillies
Ground paste red chillies/sambal oelek (optional)
3 - 5 Tbs of granulates sugar (depends how sweet you like)
1/4 cup of tamarind juice (can be substituted with lemon juice)
2 Tbs of vinegar
Pinch of salt
1 teaspoon of shrimp paste (terasi)
1 teaspoon of galangal (lengkuas)
4 - 5 cups of water

How to make:
1. Cut the sweet corns and the long beans into shorter pieces. Cut the eggplant. Peel the chayote and cut it into small cubes.
2. In a food processor; put diced tomatoes, shallots, candle nuts, sugar, salt, tamarind juice, vinegar, galangal and shrimp paste.
3. In a pot; boil the water. Add sweet corns, long beans, chayote cubes, eggplant, red & green chillies and the mixture from the food processor. Cook them on medium heat until all the ingredients soften and absorb the seasonings.
4. Ready to serve.

 *For those who do not know how the Chayote looks like, above is the picture attached.