Telur Bumbu Bali - Eggs in Balinese Sauce

There are many hard-boiled egg dishes in Indonesian cuisine, and my favorite ones always have chili sauce coat the eggs. The top two popular chili sauce egg dishes are Telur Balado and Telur Bumbu Bali.

We usually serve the eggs as a side dish for steamed rice. A typical Indonesian rice meal has a main protein such as chicken or beef, a secondary protein such as egg, tofu, and/or tempeh, a vegetable side, and sambal (chili sauce).

I have shared a Telur Balado recipe before, and today I will share how to cook Telur Bumbu Bali in your kitchen.

Ingredients for Telur Bumbu Bali

• hard-boiled eggs
• lemongrass
• kaffir lime leaves
• Indonesian bay leaves (Indonesian: daun salam)
• tamarind
• shallot
• garlic
• red bird-eye chilies
• red Fresno/cayenne chilies, or cayenne/chili powder
• candlenuts, or macadamia nuts
• ginger
• galangal
• shrimp paste (Indonesian: terasi)
• salt
• palm sugar
• Indonesian sweet soy sauce (Indonesian: kecap manis)

Shrimp paste, spice paste, and tamarind juice

Toast shrimp paste

Let’s start by toasting some shrimp paste. Terasi (shrimp paste) comes in a block and looks very similar to a block of chocolate.

Use a sharp knife to cut the amount you want, then put it in a microwave-proof bowl. Cook in the microwave for 30 seconds to toast the shrimp paste. If you don’t have a microwave, you can also dry fry the shrimp paste on a frying pan.

Once toasted, the shrimp paste looks drier, and the color turns lighter. You can even crush toasted shrimp paste with the back of a spoon.

Puree spice paste

To prepare spice paste, use a food processor to puree shallot, garlic, chilies, cayenne/chili powder (if using), candlenuts, ginger, galangal, and toasted shrimp paste.

If the paste is too chunky, you can add 1-2 tablespoons of water and grind again until the paste is smooth.

Make tamarind juice

I usually buy a packet of wet tamarind from my Asian market and make tamarind juice as necessary. A pack of tamarind can last a long time, even for people who cook regularly with tamarind, so it is more economical than tamarind concentrate.

To make tamarind juice, use a spoon to scoop the necessary amount. Place tamarind and water in a small bowl. Use your hand to massage the tamarind with the water to make tamarind juice. Once you think all the meat has dissolved with the water, strain to remove the seeds and pulp.

How to cook Telur Bumbu Bali

1. Heat oil in a wok and sauté spice paste, lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves, and Indonesian bay leaves for 3 minutes or until fragrant.

2. Add tamarind juice, salt, and palm sugar. Mix well.

3. Add hard-boiled eggs and sweet soy sauce, mix well, and cook for 1 minute or until the liquid is thick and coats the eggs.

4. Turn off the heat, and discard the lemongrass, bay leaves, and kaffir lime leaves.

5. Transfer the eggs to a serving plate and serve with steamed white rice.

Other Indonesian Egg Recipes

If you love serving eggs with your Indonesian rice meal, you will love these Indonesian egg recipes:

• Telur Balado
• Sambal Telur
• Sambal Goreng Telur
• Telur Pindang
• Gulai Telur Padang
• Opor Telur
• Telur Bumbu Kemangi