I cooked: Lodeh Siam with Prawns

One of the dishes that really captivated me at Chef Ismail's cooking demo was the lodeh siam. Don't get me wrong, I loved the ayam rendang Rembau and ayam masak merah but they're not everyday dishes that I could prepare since the cooking time is quite long.

Sayur Lodeh is a vegetable dish originating from Indonesia. Chef Ismail gave it a Thai twist, using tom yum cubes and spices. It is best to blend your own fresh ingredients to make the paste for the sauce, but if you are really stuck for time, you can also substitute with 2-3 tbsp of instant tom yum paste. The rich, creamy sauce with the spiciness from the tom yum really hit the spot for me.

For this dish, usually cabbage and long beans are used, along with optional ingredients such as tempeh, deep fried tofu, or beancurd skin (fu chuk). I made this at home using fu chuk (since my mum loves them) as well as some king prawns since I got some fresh ones from the market that morning. Strictly speaking, this is a vegetarian dish but since I'm serving it at home, I get to put in what I like :D

If you love tom yum, you will most definitely like this. We all enjoyed it very much, even Baby C had a few sips of the sauce. I would happily eat this dish alone with a bowl of white rice (drenched in the tom yum sauce!). Btw, my lodeh siam sauce wasn't as thick as Chef Ismail's (but still yummy!), I think it's due to the coconut milk used.. next time I'll have to use fresh coconut milk.

Lodeh Siam
Recipe adapted from Chef Ismail (with several additions)
Preparation time: 15-20 minutes
Cooking time: 30 minutes
Serves 6


100g QBB Ghee (I substituted with 3 tbsp of cooking oil)
800ml - 1l water
200ml coconut milk
1 tsp anchovies powder (optional)
Salt, to taste
Sugar, to taste
1 tbsp lime juice
1/2 cabbage, coarsely sliced, blanched
350g long bean, cut into 2 inch long, blanched
100g beancurd skin (fu chuk) (optional)
10-12 prawns, shelled and deveined with head intact (optional)

Blended ingredients
15 Red cili padi
5 cloves shallot
4 cloves garlic
1 sprig Thai basil
2 sprig coriander
2 stalks lemongrass, sliced
3cm turmeric, sliced
3cm lengkuas, sliced
3cm old ginger, sliced
2 tsp dried chilli paste (cili giling)
50ml water

1. Blend the ingredients to a paste. Heat the oil/ghee in a large wok, and add the blended ingredients and saute until fragrant.

2. Add water, and bring to the boil. Add in coconut milk and stir continuously until thicken.

3. Add in tom yum cube, anchovies powder, and season with salt and sugar.

4. Stir and boil for 15 minutes, then add in the lime juice.

5. Add in blanched vegetables and beancurd and stir well. Finally, add in the prawns and cook for 1 minute or until the prawns change to a orange hue. Serve immediately.

*Recipe courtesy of Chef Ismail of Restoran Rebung with slight amendments. You can read more about the cooking demo by Chef Dato' Ismail that I attended here.

*This recipe was featured on Asian Food Channel's Facebook page on 16 August 2012.