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1
Blend the Peanut Sauce
10 Mins
Medium heat, ~90°C (195°F)
Blend the ground peanuts with the soaked chillies, toasted belacan, palm sugar, tamarind paste and soy sauce, adding the water a little at a time until the sauce is thick but pourable. Tip into a pan, simmer gently for 5 minutes, and season with salt. Keep warm.
Taste and balance it: sweet from the palm sugar, sour from the tamarind, hot from the chilli.
Done when: A glossy, brick-red sauce that falls slowly off a spoon.
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2
Boil the Potatoes, Sweet Potatoes & Eggs
15 Mins
Boiling, 100°C (212°F)
Boil the potatoes and sweet potatoes in their skins for about 15 minutes until just tender, and boil the eggs for 9 minutes in the same pot. Drain, cool slightly, peel the potatoes and eggs, and cut the potatoes into chunks.
Cook them just tender — soft potatoes collapse under the sauce.
Done when: Potatoes that a knife enters easily but that still hold their shape.
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3
Mix the Prawn Fritter Batter
5 Mins
Room temperature, ~20°C (68°F)
Whisk the flour, baking powder and turmeric with 60 ml cold water until smooth, then fold in the chopped shrimp and half the bean sprouts. Rest the batter for 10 minutes.
Cold water keeps the batter light; warm water makes heavy fritters.
Done when: A thick batter that drops slowly off the spoon, studded with shrimp.
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4
Fry the Tofu, Tempeh & Fritters
12 Mins
Medium-high heat, ~175°C (350°F)
Heat the oil until it shimmers. Fry the tofu and tempeh in batches for 2–3 minutes per side until golden and crisp, and drain on a rack. Then drop spoonfuls of batter into the oil and fry for 3 minutes per side until deep golden. The shrimp inside must be opaque and cooked through.
Fry in small batches so the oil stays hot and the fritters stay crisp.
Done when: Golden fritters, tofu and tempeh, crisp outside and steaming inside.
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5
Cut and Assemble the Plate
8 Mins
Room temperature, ~20°C (68°F)
Cut the fried tofu, tempeh and fritters into bite-sized pieces. Pile them on a wide plate with the potato chunks, cucumber, remaining bean sprouts, red onion rings and green chillies. Halve the eggs and tuck them around the edge.
Cut everything to a similar size so each forkful gets a bit of everything.
Done when: A colourful mound of golden fritters, white tofu, orange sweet potato and green cucumber.
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6
Sauce and Serve
5 Mins
Room temperature, ~20°C (68°F)
Spoon the warm peanut sauce generously over the whole plate, or serve it in a small bowl on the side for dipping. Serve at once while the fritters are still crisp.
Sauce at the table keeps the fritters crisp for people who like to dip.
Done when: A glossy, red-brown sauce coating the fritters, with onion and chilli showing through.
auto_awesome Finishing Touches & Plating
Serve pasembur the moment the sauce goes on — the contrast between crisp fritters and warm, sweet-spicy sauce is the whole point. Put extra sauce, lime wedges and sliced chillies on the table so everyone can tune their own plate.
Malaysia
1h 10m
