Lontong sayur

Lontong sayur is an Indonesian soup of sliced compressed rice cake served in a warm coconut milk broth with vegetables. It is eaten as a light breakfast or a main meal, most often in Java and Sumatra.

What it really is

Lontong is rice that has been cooked and pressed inside banana leaf or a cloth until it sets into a firm cake, then sliced into pieces. For the sayur, the broth is built from coconut milk simmered with shallot, garlic, chilli, turmeric, galangal and lemongrass, with tamarind adding sourness. Common vegetables are long beans, chayote, cabbage, bean sprouts, and sometimes tofu or tempeh and boiled egg; the vegetables are cooked until just tender in the broth.

The dish is distinct from ketupat sayur, which uses rice packed in woven palm-leaf pouches, and from gado-gado, which is a salad served with peanut sauce rather than a soup. The soft, cut rice cake sits in the bowl and is not cooked in the broth itself.

How it's served

• Sliced lontong is placed in a bowl and the hot coconut broth and vegetables are ladled over it.
• It is usually eaten with a spoon, often with a side of sambal or sambal goreng-style chilli condiment.
• Fried shallots, emping crackers or a wedge of lime are common additions.
• It is served warm as breakfast or a main course, often at roadside stalls and in households.

How to write it on the menu

• Write as Lontong sayur, and name the coconut milk broth, the rice cake and the main vegetables such as long beans and chayote.
• Flag that the broth contains coconut and that tofu, tempeh or egg are added if served.
• State the chilli level and whether sambal is served separately.
• Common variants include versions with tofu, tempeh or boiled egg, and a more sour or less rich broth.