There is a really common nasi bungkus (wrapped rice) in Indonesia called nasi rames which is basically steamed white rice + labu siam tumis + meat/egg of your choice. Of course the one with egg is cheaper than the one with meat (usually chicken). The literal translation to tumis is stir fry, but I don’t think it is really appropriate for this dish since it is so wet and has lots of sauce, more like broth or stew than a stir fry. So, though most people lovingly called this dish labu siam tumis, I am going to translate this dish to chayote in spicy coconut milk. Note the spicy part, and be warned that this dish is super fiery hot! Just the perfect accompaniment for steamed white rice. ♥
Labu Siam Tumis - Chayote in Spicy Coconut Milk
Author: Daily Cooking Quest
Cuisine: Indonesian
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 6
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoon oil
- 2 bay leaves
- 4 red anaheim chilies (Indonesian: cabe merah besar), sliced diagonally
- 1 chayote (Indonesian: labu siam), about 300 to 400 gram, peeled and cut into match sticks
- 2 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoon palm sugar (Indonesian: gula Jawa)
- 500 ml coconut milk (Indonesian: santan)
- 1 block of firm tofu (Indonesian: tahu putih), about 300 gram, cut into ½ inch cubes
Grind the following into spice paste
- 6 shallots (Indonesian: bawang merah)
- 4 cloves garlic (Indonesian: bawang putih)
- 8 red cayenne chilies (Indonesian: cabe keriting merah)
- 2 red anaheim chilies (Indonesian: cabe besar merah)
- 4 candlenuts (Indonesian: kemiri)
- 1 inch galangal (Indonesian: lengkuas)
Instructions
- Heat oil and sauté spice paste and bay leaves until fragrant, about 4 to 5 minutes.
- Add sliced anaheim chilies and cook until slightly wilted, about 2 minutes.
- Add chayote, season with salt and palm sugar. Stir so everything is mixed well.
- Pour coconut milk, stir, and cook on medium heat until boiling. Stir every 2 minutes or so, this is to prevent the coconut milk from curdling.
- Once the chayote is cooked, make sure it is still slightly crunchy, add the tofu, mix well, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 3 minutes. Turn off heat and serve immediately.
I really miss Nasi Rames since I now live in DC! I’m really excited to try out this recipe and am so glad to have stumbled upon your blog!
I shall certainly be visiting your site again!
Just stumbled across this recipe! So excited to try it out, I love labu but never made it before. Wish me luck! Haha
Hi Dominique, have fun trying out the recipe 🙂