Tempeh penyet (smashed tempeh with sambal)

This traditional Indonesian dish features fried tempeh that's smashed and mixed with spicy sambal. It's typically served with rice, vegetables and krupuk (deep-fried crackers made from starch and seafood or vegetables).

Credit: Beyond Bali with Lara Lee

• serves

  4

• prep

  10 minutes

• cook

  45 minutes

• difficulty

  Mid

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Ingredients

• 4 garlic cloves, crushed
• 2 tsp ground coriander
• 1¼ tsp fine sea salt, divided
• 400 g tempeh, cut into ½ cm x 5 cm slices
• ¼ cup (60 ml) neutral cooking oil (e.g. canola oil), plus more as needed
• 1 lime, juiced (makrut lime, calamansi or key lime), plus extra lime wedges to serve
• 1-2 tbsp kecap manis
• 500 g steamed jasmine rice, to serve
• 1 cucumber, thinly sliced, to serve

For the sambal

• ¼ cup (60 ml) neutral cooking oil (e.g. canola oil)
• 7 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• 350 g eschallots, sliced (around 7 medium eschallots or 2 cups sliced eschallots)
• 10 long red chillies, deseeded, thinly sliced
• 4 tomatoes, halved, thinly sliced (around 420 g)
• ¼ tsp fine sea salt

Instructions

1. Combine the garlic, ground coriander, 1 teaspoon salt and 200 ml water in a large bowl or plastic ziplock bag. Add the tempeh and massage the marinade into the pieces, then set aside while you make the sambal.
   
2. To make the sambal, heat ¼ cup oil in a large frying pan. Once the oil is shimmering, add the garlic, eschallots, chillies and tomato. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 20 minutes. After about 15 minutes and when the eschallots begin to brown, reduce the heat to medium. The sambal is ready when it has caramelised and reduced and the tomato has softened, with a few crispy, browned bits. The sambal should not be burned, however, so adjust the heat as required. Remove from the heat and stir through ¼ teaspoon of salt. If preparing the sambal in advance, it will keep in the fridge for up to 1 week.
   
3. Meanwhile, while the sambal is cooking, pan-fry the tempeh. Heat ¼ cup oil in a large frying pan over a high heat. When the oil is hot, but not smoking, carefully remove the tempeh from the marinade and let excess water drip off each piece before adding it to the pan in a single layer using tongs. Be careful, as the oil will spit from of the water in the marinade. Fry for 2-3 minutes on each side, or until golden and crispy all over. You may need to fry in batches, so add a little extra oil as needed. Transfer the tempeh to a paper towel-lined tray to drain excess oil, and sprinkle with the remaining ¼ teaspoon of salt.
   
4. To serve, transfer the sambal to serving plates. Lay the tempeh on top of the sambal. Using a pestle, rolling pin or wooden spoon, gently flatten each piece of tempeh, massaging it into the sambal. The idea is to gently create small cracks and crevices where the tempeh meets the sambal so they can combine, rather than completely destroying the tempeh. Squeeze lime juice over the tempeh pieces, and then drizzle with kecap manis. Serve with steamed white rice, sliced cucumber and extra wedges of lime.

Watch how to make this recipe on Episode 6 of Beyond Bali with Lara Lee.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.

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