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Overview

Sayur Asem

Sayur asam, Sundanese tamarind vegetable soup

This sayur asem recipe is the Sundanese tamarind vegetable soup of West Java: sweetcorn, chayote, long beans and peanuts simmered in a clear, tangy tamarind broth with shallots, garlic and a little palm sugar. It is light, sour and refreshing, and it is made for eating with a mound of steamed rice. One serving is about 500 g.

Sayur asem is a Sundanese dish from West Java, Banten and the Jakarta region, where it is part of the everyday diet. Its name simply describes it: vegetables in a sour, tamarind-based broth. Corn only joined the pot after the 16th century, when it reached the Indonesian archipelago, and the soup is still eaten the same way today — hot, with steamed rice and sambal, often beside fried fish or chicken.

Pairs well with: Serve hot with steamed rice, fried fish or chicken, and a spoonful of sambal on the side.

Provenance

Indonesia flag Indonesia

Sundanese Home Cooking

East & South Asia

Time Dedication

55m

20m prep • 35m cook

Batch Yield

4 Servings

231 kcal per serving

1 serving ≈ 500 g

Technical Skill

Intermediate

Easy (One Pot)

Meal Timing & Digestive Fit

Breakfast

Not Advised

Lunch

Prime Metabolic Fit

Dinner

Ideal Hearty Main

Snack & Tea

Inappropriate

Soups & Broths Occasions: Everyday family lunches, hot-weather meals, Indonesian-themed dinners, light vegetarian lunches Cost: Low — about $2–3 per serving at home
Tags: Vegetables Sour Savory Vegetarian Soup
A bowl of sayur asem with sweetcorn, chayote, long beans and melinjo nuts in a light tamarind broth

Sundanese Home Cooking

Photo: Sakurai Midori, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

The Heritage Formulary

Measured Ingredients

Estimated cost: Low — about $2–3 per serving at home (USD)

A good sayur asem is judged by its broth: clear, golden and unmistakably sour, with vegetables that are tender but still hold their shape.

Execution Methodology & Culinary Technique

Step-by-Step Cooking Guide

Active 55m
P

Prep Stage: Tamarind, Vegetables & Spice Paste

20 Mins

Soak the tamarind pulp in 120 ml hot water. While it soaks, cut the corn into rounds, peel and cube the chayote, cut the long beans, and pound or blend the shallots, garlic, chillies and galangal into a coarse paste with a splash of water.

Maestro Tip: Make the spice paste coarse, not smooth: the little flecks of shallot and chilli are part of the soup's character.

  1. 1

    Soak the Tamarind

    10 Mins 100°C (212°F)

    Put the tamarind pulp in a small bowl with 120 ml of just-boiled water. Leave it for 10 minutes, then squeeze the pulp with your fingers and strain the brown liquid through a sieve into a jug. Throw the fibres away.

    Squeeze firmly: most of the sourness is in the pulp, and weak tamarind water makes a flat soup.

    Done when: The liquid is cloudy brown and sharply sour to the taste.

  2. 2

    Simmer the Corn and Peanuts

    10 Mins 100°C (212°F)

    Put the 1.2 litres of water in a large pot and bring it to a rolling boil over high heat. Add the corn rounds, peanuts and bay leaves, then turn the heat down so the water simmers gently.

    Start with the hardest ingredients: corn and peanuts need the longest, and adding them first keeps everything else from turning to mush.

    Done when: The water is simmering steadily with small bubbles breaking the surface.

  3. 3

    Add the Vegetables and Spice Paste

    15 Mins 95°C (203°F)

    Stir in the spice paste, then add the chayote and long beans. Simmer for 15 minutes, until the chayote is tender enough to pierce easily with a fork and the beans are bright green and just tender.

    Do not boil hard after adding the paste: a fierce boil makes the broth cloudy and dulls the fresh chilli flavour.

    Done when: The chayote yields to a fork and the beans bend without snapping.

  4. 4

    Sour, Sweeten and Season

    10 Mins 95°C (203°F)

    Pour in the tamarind water, add the palm sugar and salt, and simmer for 10 minutes more. Taste and adjust: it should be clearly sour first, with a gentle sweetness behind it. Fish out the bay leaves.

    Add the tamarind near the end so its sourness stays bright; a longer boil flattens it.

    Done when: The broth tastes sour, then faintly sweet, with the vegetables tender throughout.

  5. 5

    Rest and Serve

    5 Mins 80°C (175°F)

    Take the pot off the heat and rest for 5 minutes so the flavours settle. Ladle into bowls, making sure each bowl gets corn, chayote, beans and peanuts, and serve hot with steamed rice.

    Serve the vegetables, not just the broth: the mix of sweet corn, soft chayote and nutty peanuts is the point of the dish.

    Done when: The soup is steaming hot, the broth clear and golden, and the vegetables tender.

Finishing Touches & Plating

Ladle the sayur asem hot into bowls with a good mix of vegetables in each, and set it on the table with steamed rice and sambal so everyone can balance the sour soup against the rice themselves.

Nutritional Physiology & Benefits

Nutrition

Energy

231

kcal / serving

Protein

8g

Complete AA

Carbs

36g

Complex

Fats

6g

Healthy

Per serving (4 servings · 1 serving ≈ 500 g)
Energy231 kcal
Protein8 g
Carbohydrates36 g
Fat6 g
Fibre5.9 g
Sugar17.0 g
Sodium507 mg
Per 100g
Energy46 kcal
Protein1.5 g
Carbohydrates7.1 g
Fat1.3 g
Fibre1.2 g
Sugar3.4 g
Sodium101 mg

Nutrition values are estimated — calculated from USDA FoodData Central values for the listed ingredients.

Vitamins & minerals: Vitamin C and folate (corn and long beans), vitamin A (chillies), potassium and magnesium (chayote and peanuts). Nutrition values are estimated.

Light but Filling

A 500 g bowl gives about 231 kcal with 7.7 g of protein and plenty of vegetables, so it fills you up without feeling heavy.

Five Vegetables in One Bowl

Corn, chayote, long beans, peanuts and chillies bring fibre, folate, vitamin C and potassium in a single pot.

No Frying, No Coconut Milk

Everything is simmered in water with tamarind, so the soup stays light and clear, unlike coconut-based vegetable soups.

Food Pairings

What to Eat With

To optimize nutrient absorption and elevate the sensory depth, pair with these authentic accompaniments:

Sides

Steamed Rice

Plain steamed rice is the essential partner: its mild, starchy calm soaks up the sour broth and balances the tamarind.

Fried Fish or Chicken

A piece of fried fish or chicken adds crisp, savoury richness that plays against the soup's sourness, exactly how it is eaten in West Java.

Sauces

Sambal

A spoonful of sambal on the side lets each person add heat to taste without changing the soup itself.

Drinks

Iced Tea

Unsweetened iced tea is cool and clean against the warm, sour broth and the chilli heat.

Complete menu

Serve a bowl of sayur asem with steamed rice, a piece of fried fish or chicken, and sambal on the side.

Digestive Guardrails

What NOT to Combine

To prevent digestive distress, sluggishness, or palate clash, avoid pairing the dish with these elements:

Very Salty Side Dishes

The soup already has salt and a sour edge, so pairing it with heavily salted fish or soy-heavy dishes can push the salt load too high. Keep salty sides small. This is general information, not medical advice.

Coconut Milk in This Soup

Coconut milk belongs in sayur lodeh, not sayur asem: it clouds the broth, hides the tamarind sourness and turns a light soup rich and heavy.

General information only, not medical advice — consult a doctor for personal dietary decisions.

Who Should Eat It

Who Should Eat

  • General adultsA light, vegetable-rich lunch that suits most adults, especially with rice and a protein side.
  • ChildrenChildren usually like the sweet corn and peanuts; serve a mild version with the chillies left whole or left out.
  • ElderlySoft, well-cooked vegetables are easy to chew; keep the chilli mild and the portion modest.
  • Pregnant womenA vegetable soup with no meat or egg; wash the vegetables well and eat it freshly cooked and hot. Ask your clinician if you have concerns about any ingredient.
  • Breastfeeding womenA light, hydrating lunch with vegetables and fibre; eat it with rice and a protein food to stay full.
  • AthletesLow in calories for its size, so pair it with rice and a protein side after training rather than eating the soup alone.
  • Weight gainAt about 231 kcal a bowl it will not add much energy on its own; eat it with rice and a richer side.
  • Weight lossA large, filling bowl for few calories, with fibre and vegetables; the palm sugar is modest but worth noting.

Health Conditions — Adjust or Avoid

Conditions

  • DiabetesThe soup is low in fat and the palm sugar is only 15 g for the whole pot; keep the rice portion modest and ask your clinician about portions.
  • High blood pressureSalt is modest at about 507 mg of sodium per bowl, but salty side dishes add up fast; ask your clinician if you need to limit sodium.
  • Kidney diseaseVegetables, peanuts and a little salt; people with kidney disease should watch the peanut portion and ask their clinician.
  • GoutPeanuts are a purine-containing food and the soup is light otherwise; keep the peanut portion modest and ask your clinician.
  • Stomach issuesThe tamarind sourness can bother a sensitive stomach; eat a small bowl with rice and skip the chillies if your stomach is sensitive.
  • Cardiovascular diseaseLow in saturated fat and rich in vegetables, which suits a heart-friendly pattern; the salt is modest. Ask your clinician about overall portions.
  • Fatty liverLight, low in fat and vegetable-based, which fits well with a liver-friendly pattern; keep the rice portion modest and ask your clinician.
  • Food allergiesContains peanuts, a major allergen. The soup is otherwise free of egg, milk, fish and gluten. If you have any food allergy, check every ingredient and ask your clinician.
  • Special therapeutic dietsNot suitable as a low-potassium or low-fibre therapeutic diet without changes; discuss adaptations with your clinician or dietitian.

If you have a medical condition, consult your doctor before changing your diet.

Storage & Use

Storage & Use

How to store
Cool quickly and store in a covered container in the fridge.
In the fridge
Up to 3 days; the vegetables soften a little but the flavour holds.
In the freezer
Up to 1 month; freeze the broth and vegetables together, though the chayote softens on thawing.
How to reheat
Reheat gently on the stove until steaming hot throughout, to 74°C (165°F); add a splash of water if the broth has thickened.
Freezing recommended
Yes for the broth, with some softening of the vegetables.
Signs it has spoiled
Sour or off smell beyond the normal tamarind tang, slimy vegetables, or mould on the surface.

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