Rujak recipe encompasses a fresh fruit and veggie salad dressed in a sweet and spicy shrimp and tamarind sauce. Cooked veggies can also be added. This simple salad is made with a cooked dressing that is garnished with roasted and crushed peanuts.
Origin:
Salads have a long and varied history. Derived from the Latin ‘sal’ meaning salt, they usually involve fresh seasonal produce and can be composed of herbs, fruits, vegetables, meats, or seafood. While the simplest dressings tend to be oils and salt, the dressings which liven the flavors can become complex and complicated affairs making the salad extremely rich.
Rujak in Indonesian or Rojak in Malay has a complex medley of flavors that belie humble and simple beginnings. Rojak in Malay literally means ‘mixed’ so the name is conveniently apropos for so many reasons. While local folklore attributes the origin of the Rujak to 9th century Java, the admixture of Indian, Chinese, Thai, and traditional Malay cuisines has made this spectacular salad a world-beater. While it seems that each vendor has his or her own unique twist, the essential cohesion of the recipe for the Rujak is based on its diverse multicultural heritage.
My first introduction to Rojak was when I visited my friend in Selangor, Malaysia. Sitting in her verandah one balmy evening, I was distracted by the persistent ringing of a bicycle bell. My friend jumped up and ran to the front gate and started waving. I followed her and was bemused by a small Malay man dismounting from a bicycle. At the back was a little plastic stall. “Dua,” she cried. I had no idea what was happening. And right in front of me, the wizened old man started dicing up the fruits and vegetables. He sliced cucumbers, pineapples, jicama; he threw in some crushed peanuts and small puffs of tofu. He put these together in a small plastic basin and ladled on some thick paste. Three minutes later, he was spooning the salad into small plastic bags, accoutered with a bamboo skewer.
The harmonious explosion of complex and contrasting flavors and textures etched a memory that I would not revisit for a decade. The next time I would have Rojak was in Singapore. The ingredients were a far cry from the humble dish served from the back of a bicycle. It was then that I realized that Rojak meant something different in Singapore than in Malaysia, even though both countries had a rich and symbiotic history. As I further explored the recipe for the Indonesian Rujak, I was surprised (and I’m still not sure why) to find that there were many variations in composition and flavor as there were towns and villages. From Bandung in Indonesia to Butterworth in Malaysia, people used tamarind, chili, peanut sauce, and dried shrimp to dress jicama, prawn crackers, pineapples, and green mangoes, and many other tropical fruits to make Rujak.
How to make Rujak using my recipe:
1. How to make the dressing:
- Grind the dried red chili, dried shrimp and galangal that was soaked in 2 tablespoons of water to a fine paste. Heat a pan with the oil and sauté the spice paste for 2 minutes.
- Add the tamarind pulp and the other ingredients and turn off the heat.
- Mix well and pour into a bowl.
2. How to assemble the Rujak for this recipe:
- Peel and slice the fruits and vegetables and arrange them on a platter. Drizzle the tamarind dressing on top and garnish with crushed peanuts.
1. Cool the dressing before drizzling on the sliced fruits and veggies.
2. Prepare the dressing first and then slice the fruits and veggies for a fresh taste.
3. For the dressing, sauté the spice paste until aromatic.
Storing:
The dressing can be refrigerated for a week in an airtight container or frozen for a couple of months.
Other Indonesian salads that might interest you:
Rujak Recipe
Equipment
- pan, stovetop
Ingredients
For the salad:
- 1 jicama
- 1 pineapple
- 1 cucumber
- 1 mango
- 1 strawberry papaya
- 1 apple
For the dressing:
- 4 dried shrimp
- 3 dried red chili
- ½ tsp galangal
- 4 tbsp tamarind pulp
- 5 tbsp peanut crushed
- ⅙ tsp salt
- ¼ cup coconut palm sugar
- 1 tbsp dark brown sugar
- 1 tsp peanut oil
Instructions
How to make the dressing:
- Grind the dried red chili, dried shrimp and galangal that was soaked in 2 tablespoons of water to a fine paste. Heat a pan with the oil and sauté the spice paste for 2 minutes.
- Add the tamarind pulp and the other ingredients and turn off the heat.
- Mix well and pour into a bowl.
How to assemble the Rujak:
- Peel and slice the fruits and vegetables and arrange them on a platter. Drizzle the tamarind dressing on top and garnish with crushed peanuts.
Notes
- Use 2 tablespoons of seedless tamarind soaked in 4 tablespoons of water for 10 minutes and strain to make the tamarind pulp.
- Omit the dried shrimp in the spice paste to make it vegan.
- Adjust the sugar according to your preference by adding more or less than the quantity in my recipe.
- Feel free to use other tropical fruits as well.
Nutrition
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