Indonesian Coconut Salad

This salad is traditionally known as Urap.

I recreated my own version of this dish with accessible ingredients in Berlin because I longed to taste it again.

As a side dish, this recipe makes about 3–4 servings.

Ingredients

Use any 400g vegetables of your choice

200 g spinach

100 g carrot (ribboned)

100 g sliced Romano beans

1000g water with 10g salt (or 1%)

(After boiling and squeezing, vegetables should weigh about 300 g)

Coconut Mix

35 g coconut flakes

½ tsp coriander seeds

Spice Paste

2 defrosted lime leaves, veins removed

2 tsp garlic

2 tsp ginger

1 defrosted red chili

1 tsp raw cane sugar

½ tsp salt

1 defrosted lemongrass, finely chopped (about 2 tbsp)

Method

1. Prepare the vegetables

   Bring 1% salted water to a rolling boil. Add the spinach stems and sliced Romano beans first. After about 2 minutes, add the spinach leaves and ribboned carrot, cooking just until wilted and tender. Drain and squeeze well.The vegetables should weigh about 300 g after squeezing.

   

2. Toast the coconut and coriander

   In a dry pan over medium heat, toast the coconut flakes and coriander seeds until fragrant and lightly golden.Remove from heat and let cool slightly.

   

   
3. 
   

   Make the coconut spice paste

   Using a mortar and pestle, grind the toasted coconut and coriander seeds together.Add the lime leaves, garlic, ginger, red chili, raw cane sugar, salt, and chopped lemongrass.Grind until a coarse but well-combined aromatic paste forms.

   

   

   

   

4. Assemble the urap

   In a large bowl, mix the coconut spice paste thoroughly with the squeezed vegetables until evenly coated.

   

5. Serve at room temperature as a side dish or as a topping of noodles :)