Gudeg Jogja is an Indonesian jackfruit stew from the city of Yogyakarta. At the core of the dish is young, unripe jackfruit, which is slow-cooked together with palm sugar and coconut milk until all of the liquid has been absorbed. It is known for its rich sweet flavour, but I’ve taken the freedom to reduce the amount of palm sugar to accustom it to a more Western palette.
It is known for its rich sweet flavour, but I’ve taken the freedom to reduce the amount of palm sugar to accustom it to a more Western palette.
Usually, giant teak leaves are added to the pan along with the other ingredients, which give the stew a dark red colour. They can be difficult to find outside of Asia, but using a couple of black tea bags will darken the stew while also flavouring it. Most of the other ingredients are available in Asian food stores and you can find Indonesian bay leaves online. They are quite different to Mediterranean bay leaves, so if you can’t get hold of them, simply leave them out.
It is also common to add hard-boiled eggs towards the end of the cooking process. To keep this vegan, I’d recommend serving the stew alongside the popular Indonesian side dish Tahu Tempe Bacem, a mix of braised tofu and tempeh that are fried before serving. Lastly, the sweet and rich flavours beg for something tangy. Below is a slightly adjusted recipe for sambal that will add spicy and bright notes to the dish, but you can of course also use a good-quality store-bought sambal along with a few wedges of lime.
You might be surprised by the small portion size at the end. The stew is commonly served alongside other dishes (like the Tahu Tempe Bacem) as well as steamed rice. If you’re planning to serve it with rice only, beware that it will only be enough for two.
serves 4
Ingredients
-
6 round shallots (100g)
-
5 garlic cloves
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10 candlenuts (or macadamia nuts)
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2 tsp coriander seeds
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40g galangal
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2 sticks of lemongrass
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2 tins of young jackfruit (800g tinned weight)
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4 Indonesian bay leaves (daun salam)
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6 kaffir lime leaves
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2 black tea bags
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30g palm sugar
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1 tin coconut milk
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Banana leaves to serve on (optional)
-
Rice for serving
Method
Peel the shallots and garlic cloves and add them to a small food processor. In a small frying pan, toast the candlenuts until lightly golden and add them to the food processor. Then toast the coriander seeds until aromatic, use a spice grinder or pestle and mortar to crush them into a fine powder and add to the food processor as well. Then grind everything into a spice paste.
Peel the skin of the galangal with a vegetable peeler, then use a rolling pin or something heavy to bruise the galangal and lemongrass and add both to a casserole. Drain the liquid from tins of jackfruit and tip the flesh into the casserole along with the spice paste, Indonesian bay leaves, kaffir lime leaves, black tea bags, palm sugar and coconut milk. Fill the empty coconut tin with water and pour it into the casserole along with 2 tsp salt. Make sure that everything is covered with liquid, otherwise, top it up with a bit more water. Bring it to a boil, then reduce to a simmer, cover with a lid and cook for an hour. Now remove the lid and continue cooking until the jackfruit has absorbed all of the liquid (1 – 2 hours), stirring every 30 minutes so that it doesn’t burn. Remove the galangal, lemongrass, bay leaves, lime leaves and tea bags and serve the stew on the banana leaves alongside some steamed rice and the Tahu Tempe Bacem and Sambal below.
Tahu Tempe Bacem (Braised Tofu & Tempeh)
Ingredients
-
3 round shallots (50g)
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3 garlic cloves
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20g galangal
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2 tsp coriander seeds
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450g firm tofu
-
400g tempeh
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2 tbsp soy sauce
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30g palm sugar
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1 tbsp tamarind paste
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1l coconut water
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2 Indonesian bay leaves (daun salam)
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1l vegetable oil for deep frying
Method
Peel the shallots and garlic cloves and add them to a small food processor along with the galangal and 1 tsp salt. Toast the coriander seeds until fragrant, grind them into a fine powder and add to the food processor as well, then blend everything into a paste.
Cut the tofu into 8 pieces and the tempeh into 8 triangles. Transfer them to a casserole and add the spice paste, soy sauce, palm sugar, tamarind paste, coconut water and Indonesian bay leaves. Make sure the tofu and tempeh are covered with liquid, otherwise add a little water. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer, cover with a lid and cook for an hour. Now remove the lid and continue cooking until the tofu and tempeh have absorbed all of the liquid (1-2 hours).
Heat the vegetable oil to 170°C in a saucepan and fry the tofu and tempeh pieces until golden brown, then transfer them to a rack lined with kitchen paper to remove any excess oil. Serve warm.
Sambal
Ingredients
-
4 large red chillies red chillis (100g)
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20 red Thai chillies
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1 small tomato (80g)
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70g shallots
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8 garlic cloves
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1 lemongrass
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20g galangal
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5 tbsp groundnut oil
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30g palm sugar
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Juice of 1 lime
Method
Trim, half and de-seed the red chillis, then simply trim the Thai chillies. If you want it less spicy, you can remove the seeds of the Thai chillies as well. Cut the tomato in half and remove the stem. Peel the shallots and garlic. Trim the lemongrass, remove and discard the outer layer and finely slice the rest. Peel the galangal with a vegetable peeler, then add the chillis, tomato, shallots, garlic, lemongrass and galangal to a frying pan and toast for 5 minutes until the chillis have softened a little. Add everything to a food processor with 1 tsp salt and pulse into a coarse paste.
Heat the groundnut oil in a frying pan, add the chilli paste and cook it for 10 minutes until the raw flavours have cooked out. Add the palm sugar and lime juice and cook for another 5 minutes until the paste has thickened a little and turned a shade darker. Turn off that heat, transfer the paste to a jar and top it with groundnut oil to store covered with a lid in the fridge.
Gudeg Jogja (Indonesian Jackfruit Stew)
Ingredients
- 6 round shallots (100g)
- 5 garlic cloves
- 10 candlenuts (or macadamia nuts)
- 2 tsp coriander seeds
- 40 g galangal
- 6 round shallots 100g
- 5 garlic cloves
- 10 candlenuts or macadamia nuts
- 2 tsp coriander seeds
- 40 g galangal
- 2 sticks of lemongrass
- 2 tins of young jackfruit 800g tinned weight
- 4 Indonesian bay leaves daun salam
- 6 kaffir lime leaves
- 2 black tea bags
- 30 g palm sugar
- 1 tin coconut milk
- banana leaves to serve on optional
- rice for serving
Tahu Tempe Bacem (Braised Tofu & Tempeh)
- 3 round shallots 50g
- 3 garlic cloves
- 20 g galangal
- 2 tsp coriander seeds
- 450 g firm tofu
- 400 g tempeh
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 30 g palm sugar
- 1 tbsp tamarind paste
- 1 l coconut water
- 2 Indonesian bay leaves daun salam
- 1 l vegetable oil for deep frying
Sambal
- 4 large red chillies red chillis 100g
- 20 red Thai chilies
- 1 small tomato 80g
- 70 g shallots
- 8 garlic cloves
- 1 lemongrass
- 20 g galangal
- 5 tbsp groundnut oil
- 30 g palm sugar
- Juice of 1 lime
Instructions
- Peel the shallots and garlic cloves and add them to a small food processor. In a small frying pan, toast the candlenuts until lightly golden and add them to the food processor. Then toast the coriander seeds until aromatic, use a spice grinder or pestle and mortar to crush them into a fine powder and add to the food processor as well. Then grind everything into a spice paste.
- Peel the skin of the galangal with a vegetable peeler, then use a rolling pin or something heavy to bruise the galangal and lemongrass and add both to a casserole. Drain the liquid from tins of jackfruit and tip the flesh into the casserole along with the spice paste, Indonesian bay leaves, kaffir lime leaves, black tea bags, palm sugar and coconut milk. Fill the empty coconut tin with water and pour it into the casserole along with 2 tsp salt. Make sure that everything is covered with liquid, otherwise top it up with a bit more water. Bring it to a boil, then reduce to a simmer, cover with a lid and cook for an hour. Now remove the lid and continue cooking until the jackfruit has absorbed all of the liquid (1 - 2 hours), stirring every 30 minutes so that it doesn’t burn. Remove the galangal, lemongrass, bay leaves, lime leaves and tea bags and serve the stew on the banana leaves alongside some steamed rice and the Tahu Tempe Bacem and Sambal below.
Tahu Tempe Bacem (Braised Tofu & Tempeh)
- Peel the shallots and garlic cloves and add them to a small food processor along with the galangal and 1 tsp salt. Toast the coriander seeds until fragrant, grind them into a fine powder and add to the food processor as well, then blend everything into a paste.
- Cut the tofu into 8 pieces and the tempeh into 8 triangles. Transfer them to a casserole and add the spice paste, soy sauce, palm sugar, tamarind paste, coconut water and Indonesian bay leaves. Make sure the tofu and tempeh are covered with liquid, otherwise add a little water. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer, cover with a lid and cook for an hour. Now remove the lid and continue cooking until the tofu and tempeh have absorbed all of the liquid (1-2 hours).
- Heat the vegetable oil to 170°C in a sauce pan and fry the tofu and tempeh pieces until golden brown, then transfer them to a rack lined with kitchen paper to remove any excess oil. Serve warm.
Sambal
- Trim, half and de-seed the red chillis, then simply trim the Thai chillies. If you want it less spicy, you can remove the seeds of the Thai chillies as well. Cut the tomato in half and remove the stem. Peel the shallots and garlic. Trim the lemongrass, remove and discard the outer layer and finely slice the rest. Peel the galangal with a vegetable peeler, then add the chillis, tomato, shallots, garlic, lemongrass and galangal to a frying pan and toast for 5 minutes until the chillis have softened a little. Add everything to a food processor with 1 tsp salt and pusle into a coarse paste.
- Heat the groundnut oil in a frying pan, add the chilli paste and cook it for 10 minutes until the raw flavours have cooked out. Add the palm sugar and lime juice and cook for another 5 minutes until the paste has thickened a little and turned a shade darker. Turn off that heat, transfer the paste to a jar and top it with groundnut oil to store covered with a lid in the fridge.
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