Pasembur Recipe

Blanch bean sprouts

Bring a pot of boiling water to a rapid boil. Add bean sprouts and blanch for 20–30 seconds until bright and slightly tender. Drain in a colander and rinse with cold water to stop cooking; drain well and set aside.

Shred and arrange vegetables

Thinly shred the cabbage and carrot and julienne the cucumber. Place shredded cabbage as the base on a large serving platter or individual plates. Arrange cucumber, carrot, and blanched bean sprouts in sections on top of the cabbage.

Prepare proteins

If prawns are raw, bring a small pot of water to a simmer, add a pinch of salt, cook prawns 1–2 minutes until pink and opaque, then drain. Slice fried tofu into strips and fried fish cake into bite-size slices if not already prepared. Halve the hard-boiled eggs and set all proteins aside for plating.

Toast and soak chilies: In a small dry skillet over medium heat, toast the dried red chilies for 1–2 minutes until fragrant (watch not to burn). Remove from heat and soak toasted dried chilies in 1/4 cup hot water for 10 minutes to soften. If using fresh chili, seed and slice and add later.

Grind peanuts: Pulse the roasted peanuts in a food processor until mostly smooth but with some texture (or place in a blender). Don't over-process to a paste unless you prefer a very smooth sauce. Transfer to a bowl.

Sauté aromatics: Heat 1 tablespoon vegetable oil in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add crushed garlic and optional dried shrimp powder (belacan substitute) and sauté briefly until fragrant, about 30 seconds.

Combine and simmer: Add softened chilies (with their soaking liquid), ground peanuts, tamarind paste, palm sugar, soy sauce and 3/4 cup water to the saucepan. Stir to combine. Bring to a gentle simmer, then reduce heat and simmer 4–6 minutes, stirring frequently so sauce doesn’t stick. Add more water by tablespoonfuls if sauce becomes too thick — it should be thick but pourable.

Adjust seasoning and finish: Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and additional sugar or tamarind to balance sweet, salty, sour. If you prefer more heat, stir in the fresh red chili or chili flakes. Remove from heat and let cool slightly; sauce will thicken as it cools.

Plate vegetables: On each plate or on the serving platter, make a bed of the shredded cabbage and arrange the cucumber, carrot and bean sprouts neatly.

Add proteins: Arrange cooked prawns, fried tofu strips, fried fish cake slices and halved eggs over the vegetables. Slice or quarter the deep-fried fritters and tuck them into the arrangement so they remain crisp.

Dress with peanut sauce: Spoon generous amounts of warm (or room-temperature) peanut sauce over each portion, covering the proteins and vegetables as desired. Pasembur is meant to be saucy—use about 1/4–1/3 cup sauce per serving or more to taste.

Garnish and serve: Scatter fresh coriander leaves and crispy fried shallots over the dressed salad. Serve immediately with lime wedges and extra chili on the side for squeezing or adding heat.