Masakan Nusantara · The Spice Islands Table

Indonesian Cooking Without Vegetable Oil

Step into the wet markets and home kitchens of the archipelago, where a spice paste blooms slowly in coconut oil, satay smokes over live coals, and a pot of rendang is never rushed off the stove. Honest ingredients and patient heat, the way the islands have always cooked.

Explore the Recipes
Minyak Kelapa✶ Ghee✶ Santan
A richly spiced Indonesian dish plated on a dark table
✶ Rendang Daging
From the recipe collection
Kelapa

Coconut Oil First

The archipelago pantry runs on coconut, pressed for its oil and simmered for its cream. Every fry, braise, and dressing in this collection begins there, or with ghee, never with a refined seed oil.

Perlahan

Bumbu, Slow Bloomed

A spice paste is only ready when it has fried long enough to darken and let go of the oil at its edges. We cook the village way, over patient heat, letting the bumbu do the work.

Tanpa

Never Vegetable Oil

No seed oils, no shortcuts. Only the traditional fats that market stalls and family kitchens across the islands have trusted for generations.

✶
From Our Kitchen

Indonesian Recipes

Six beloved dishes from across the archipelago, each cooked with the honest fats that bring out the best in every spice.

Dapur Nasi goreng, Indonesian fried rice with a fried egg and crisp shallots

Nasi Goreng Kampung

Village style fried rice

35 min·4 servings·Easy

The dish every Indonesian kitchen knows by heart. Day old rice fried hard and fast in a well seasoned wok with a fragrant shallot and chili paste, coconut oil standing in for the vegetable oil most modern kitchens reach for.

Ingredients

  • 4 cups cooked, cold day old jasmine rice, grains separated
  • 3 tbsp coconut oil
  • 4 shallots, thinly sliced
  • 4 garlic cloves, minced
  • 3 red chilies, finely chopped (or to taste)
  • 1 tsp shrimp paste (terasi), toasted
  • 2 tbsp kecap manis (sweet soy sauce)
  • 1 tbsp regular soy sauce
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 spring onions, sliced, plus sliced cucumber and crisp fried shallots to serve

Instructions

  1. Pound or blend the shallots, garlic, chilies, and toasted shrimp paste into a coarse paste.
  2. Heat 2 tbsp of the coconut oil in a hot wok and fry the paste for 2 to 3 minutes until fragrant and darkened at the edges.
  3. Push the paste aside, add the remaining coconut oil, crack in the eggs, scramble briefly, and break into small curds.
  4. Add the cold rice, breaking up any clumps with the back of the spatula, and toss until every grain is coated in the paste.
  5. Pour in the kecap manis and soy sauce and keep the rice moving over high heat until it turns a deep caramel color with light char at the edges.
  6. Scatter over the spring onions and toss once more.
  7. Serve hot, topped with crisp fried shallots and cucumber slices.
Bakaran Sate ayam, grilled chicken skewers with a rich peanut sauce

Sate Ayam

Chicken satay with peanut sauce

1 hr 10 min·4 servings·Medium

Skewers of marinated chicken thigh grilled over live coals until charred at the edges, served with a rich peanut sauce warmed through with coconut oil in place of the usual seed oil.

Ingredients

  • 700 g boneless chicken thigh, cut into small cubes
  • 4 tbsp coconut oil, divided, plus extra for basting
  • 2 tbsp kecap manis
  • 2 garlic cloves, crushed, plus 1 more for the sauce
  • 1 tsp ground coriander and 1 tsp turmeric
  • 200 g roasted peanuts, finely ground
  • 2 red chilies and 2 shallots, for the sauce paste
  • 200 ml coconut milk
  • 1 tbsp tamarind water and 2 tbsp kecap manis, for the sauce
  • Salt to taste, bamboo skewers soaked in water

Instructions

  1. Marinate the chicken cubes in kecap manis, 2 tbsp melted coconut oil, crushed garlic, coriander, and turmeric for at least 30 minutes.
  2. Thread the chicken onto the soaked skewers, several pieces per stick.
  3. Blend the chilies, shallots, and remaining garlic into a smooth paste, then fry it in the remaining coconut oil until fragrant.
  4. Stir the ground peanuts, coconut milk, kecap manis, and tamarind water into the paste and simmer gently until thickened, then season with salt.
  5. Grill the skewers over hot charcoal, or a very hot ridged pan, turning often and basting with coconut oil, until charred and cooked through, about 8 to 10 minutes.
  6. Rest the skewers briefly.
  7. Serve hot with the warm peanut sauce, extra kecap manis, and sliced shallots on the side.
Kuah Soto ayam, a golden turmeric chicken soup with vermicelli and egg

Soto Ayam

Turmeric chicken soup

1 hr 20 min·6 servings·Medium

A golden, turmeric scented chicken broth built by blooming a fragrant spice paste in ghee before it simmers with the bird, finished with vermicelli, egg, and a squeeze of lime.

Ingredients

  • 1 whole chicken (about 1.5 kg), jointed
  • 2.5 liters water
  • 3 tbsp ghee
  • 6 shallots, 4 garlic cloves, 4 candlenuts, 3 cm turmeric, 2 cm galangal, blended into a paste
  • 2 lemongrass stalks, bruised
  • 4 kaffir lime leaves and 2 bay leaves
  • Salt and white pepper, to taste
  • 200 g dried vermicelli noodles, soaked
  • 2 boiled eggs and a handful of bean sprouts, to serve
  • Fried shallots, chopped celery leaves, and lime wedges, to serve

Instructions

  1. Blend the shallots, garlic, candlenuts, turmeric, and galangal into a smooth paste.
  2. Melt the ghee in a large pot and fry the paste over medium heat for 5 minutes until deeply fragrant.
  3. Add the lemongrass and lime leaves, then nestle in the chicken pieces and pour over the water.
  4. Bring to a boil, skim well, then lower the heat and simmer gently for 45 minutes until the chicken is tender.
  5. Lift out the chicken, shred the meat off the bone, and season the broth with salt and white pepper.
  6. Divide the vermicelli, shredded chicken, and bean sprouts among bowls.
  7. Ladle over the hot broth and top with boiled egg, fried shallots, celery leaves, and a squeeze of lime.
Padang Beef rendang, dark and richly spiced beef simmered in coconut milk

Rendang Daging

Slow simmered beef in coconut milk

3 hr 30 min·6 servings·Hard

Beef simmered low and slow in coconut milk and a deeply spiced paste, fried first in coconut oil, until the liquid reduces to a dark sauce that clings to every piece of meat.

Ingredients

  • 1 kg beef chuck or shin, cut into large chunks
  • 3 tbsp coconut oil
  • 800 ml coconut milk and 200 ml thick coconut cream
  • 10 shallots, 6 garlic cloves, and 6 dried red chilies, soaked, for the paste
  • 4 cm ginger, 4 cm galangal, and 3 cm turmeric, for the paste
  • 3 lemongrass stalks, bruised and tied
  • 5 kaffir lime leaves
  • 2 tbsp toasted grated coconut (kerisik), ground to a paste
  • 1 tbsp tamarind water
  • Salt and palm sugar, to taste

Instructions

  1. Blend the shallots, garlic, chilies, ginger, galangal, and turmeric into a fine paste.
  2. Heat the coconut oil in a heavy pot and fry the paste over medium heat for about 10 minutes until fragrant and the oil separates at the edges.
  3. Add the beef and turn it in the paste until well coated and lightly seared.
  4. Pour in the coconut milk and coconut cream, add the lemongrass and lime leaves, and bring to a gentle simmer.
  5. Cook uncovered over low heat, stirring occasionally, for 2.5 to 3 hours, as the liquid slowly reduces around the meat.
  6. Once the sauce has thickened and started to darken, stir in the kerisik paste and tamarind water.
  7. Continue cooking, stirring more often near the end, until the rendang turns deep brown and the oil glistens on the surface, then season with salt and palm sugar.
Warung Gado gado, a composed vegetable salad with peanut dressing

Gado Gado

Vegetable salad with peanut dressing

40 min·4 servings·Easy

A composed plate of blanched and raw vegetables, boiled egg, tofu, and tempeh, brought together under a warm peanut dressing built without any seed oil.

Ingredients

  • 200 g green beans, trimmed
  • 200 g cabbage, shredded, and 150 g bean sprouts
  • 2 potatoes, boiled and sliced, plus 1 cucumber, sliced
  • 2 boiled eggs, halved
  • 200 g firm tofu and 200 g tempeh, cut into cubes
  • 4 tbsp coconut oil, divided, for frying
  • 200 g roasted peanuts, ground
  • 2 red chilies and 2 garlic cloves, for the dressing paste
  • 1 tbsp palm sugar and 1 tbsp tamarind water
  • Salt and kecap manis, to taste, prawn crackers to serve

Instructions

  1. Blanch the green beans, cabbage, and bean sprouts separately in boiling water until just tender, then drain well.
  2. Fry the tofu and tempeh cubes in half the coconut oil until golden on all sides and set aside.
  3. Blend the chilies and garlic into a paste, then fry briefly in the remaining coconut oil until fragrant.
  4. Stir in the ground peanuts, palm sugar, tamarind water, and a splash of hot water, simmering until the dressing is thick and pourable, then season with salt.
  5. Arrange the blanched vegetables, cucumber, potatoes, tofu, tempeh, and boiled eggs on a platter.
  6. Spoon the warm peanut dressing generously over the top.
  7. Finish with a drizzle of kecap manis and serve with prawn crackers alongside.
Pasar Klepon, pandan rice balls rolled in grated coconut

Klepon

Pandan rice balls with palm sugar

45 min·4 servings·Medium

Small pandan scented glutinous rice balls hiding a molten core of palm sugar, boiled until they float, then rolled in fresh grated coconut.

Ingredients

  • 200 g glutinous rice flour and 1 tbsp regular rice flour
  • 150 ml pandan juice (blended pandan leaves and water, strained)
  • A pinch of salt, plus a pinch more for the coconut coating
  • 100 g palm sugar (gula jawa), finely chopped
  • 1 fresh coconut, grated, or unsweetened desiccated coconut, moistened
  • 1 pandan leaf, torn and knotted, for the coconut
  • 1 more pandan leaf, knotted, for the boiling water
  • Water, for boiling
  • A little coconut oil, for greasing hands while shaping
  • Extra water, as needed, to adjust the dough

Instructions

  1. Warm the grated coconut with a pinch of salt and the knotted pandan leaf for a few minutes, then set aside.
  2. Mix the glutinous rice flour, rice flour, and salt, then gradually add the pandan juice, kneading to a smooth, soft dough that holds together without cracking.
  3. Lightly grease your hands with coconut oil, pinch off small pieces of dough, flatten each into a disc, and place a small pinch of chopped palm sugar in the center.
  4. Seal the dough completely around the sugar and roll into a smooth ball, taking care no sugar peeks through.
  5. Bring a pot of water to a boil with the second knotted pandan leaf, then drop in the balls and cook until they float to the surface, about 2 to 3 minutes more.
  6. Lift out with a slotted spoon and drain briefly.
  7. While still warm, roll each ball in the warmed grated coconut until fully coated, and serve the same day.
A warm table set with home cooked archipelago dishes
Our Kitchen

The Kitchen Behind Rensvr

Rensvr is a small home kitchen devoted to the cooking of the Indonesian archipelago, from the spice paste traditions of Sumatra and Java to the coconut heavy kitchens of Bali and Sulawesi. We write these recipes down the way they are still cooked at home and in the neighborhood warung, patiently, precisely, and with a generous hand on the coconut oil.

Our only house rule is an old one: coconut oil pressed the traditional way, ghee clarified slowly, thick santan simmered down, and nothing else. Vegetable oil never comes through our door, because it never sat in the woks and clay pots we learned from.

Selamat makan, and may your table be full.