Balinese coconut lawar salad (Lawar buncis Bali)

A lawar salad is the most essential dish in Balinese culture. Some form of this salad is made almost every day, but it is the highlight of festivals and religious ceremonies. Every part of Bali has its own version of this salad based on local ingredients and traditions. According to Australian food writer Maya Kerthyasa, it is not just the ingredients but the colours that matter: “In it [the salad], the three main colours represent three different deities. For Shiva, the destroyer god, there’s red, from pig’s or duck’s blood, that is added to coconut. For Vishnu, the preserver, the colour is green from fern tips, snake beans and jackfruit. Finally, for Brahma, the creator, it’s white from fresh grated coconut and chicken.

This version is a completely vegan version of this salad without blood of any kind. I used green beans and red peppers, as I could not find sugar snap peas and edamame. The list of ingredients is long, and there is some prep work for this salad; don’t let that put you off. The salad is just over-the-top delicious. The fresh and slightly blanched vegetables have tons of crunch, the sambal dressing pops with flavour, the coconut adds a mellow sweetness and creaminess to the salad and the chillies a pop of heat. Watch out; you can eat a whole bowl of this salad very quickly, and it is addictive. This is a beautiful new cookbook on Indonesian cuisine. The dishes are wonderful and flavorful, and the recipes are very well written. This book brings a diversity of cuisine to my kitchen and table. It is a great book for those who want to learn about this cuisine and culture.

For more delicious recipes from this cookbook, click here.

Ingredients:

1 red chili, halved, deseeded, and cut into thin slices on the diagonal

2 cups tender green beans, cut into 1 inch pieces

3/4 cup edamame

3/4 cup sugar snap peas, cut into very thin matchsticks

1 red pepper, cut into very thin 1 inch slices (optional)

2 kaffir lime leaves, very finely minced

1 lemongrass stalk, very tender parts, finely minced

1/2 cup desiccate coconut

6 shallots, finely sliced

12-15 garlic pods, finely sliced

1/2 cup cilantro, minced

Zest and juice of 2-3 kaffir limes or limes

1 teaspoon jaggery or palm sugar

Salt to taste

Coconut oil

For the sambal paste:

1 tablespoon ginger paste

1 tablespoon galangal, or substitute 1/4 the amount of ginger paste instead. If using dried galangal, soak it in water overnight to soften

3 garlic cloves, sliced

1-2 red chillies, or to taste, cut and deseeded

4 shallots, sliced

2 teaspoons ground coriander

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1/4 teaspoon turmeric

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

Salt to taste

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1/4 teaspoon white pepper

2 tablespoons oil

To make the sambas paste:

Add all the ingredients for the paste, except oil, in a small blender and purée till very smooth. This may take time if you are using dried galangal. Add as little water as possible, just enough to allow the mixture to slide down the sides of the blender and get puréed. You do not want a runny paste.

Add the oil to a shallow pan, add the paste, and cook on a medium flame until it is cooked down and fragrant. Stir often and scrape down the bottom of the pan with a spatula so the bottom does not burn. The final sauce should be quite thick, and the oil should begin to show at the edges. Taste and adjust salt and seasonings. Set aside.

To make the salad:

Blanche the beans in boiling salted water for 1-1 1/2 minutes until just cooked but still very crunchy. I like to leave the vegetables quite raw, so blanche according to your liking. Alternatively, put the beans in a bowl and cook in the microwave with a sprinkling of water for 1 1/2 minutes. Set aside. The beans should be bright and vibrant green.

Blanch the sugar snap peas for 30 seconds or to your liking, again taking care to leave them bright green. You can also blanch them in the microwave for 1 minute.

The red pepper is not cooked.

The red chilli is added to a pan with a teaspoon of oil and fried until soft. Set aside. I also chose to leave this raw.

In a very small pot fry the garlic till lightly browned. Drain on paper towels and set aside.

In the same pot and oil, fry the shallots till browned and crisp. Drain on paper towels and set aside.

The author suggested mixing all the vegetables and ingredients with the spice paste before serving. However, I prefer to serve a more decorative dish, especially since I have spent so much time on it.

Arrange the sambal paste in the centre. If it is too runny, use a small bowl to hold it in place. Arrange the vegetables around the samba in concentric circles, alternating the colours and shapes to make it enjoyable. Grate the lime zest onto the salad and squeeze the lime juice all over. Sprinkle the kaffir lime leaves, lemongrass, fried shallots and garlic on top, followed by the cilantro and desiccated coconut. Do not overcrowd the top; you should still be able to see the vegetables below. Arrange the chillies as the final pop of colour.

Serve and mix at the table before serving after your guests have enjoyed the dish.

NOTE: When I make a salad like this, I always have extra vegetables or stuff that does not fit into a beautiful display. I have learned to set those aside separately in a bowl in the kitchen. After your guests have seen the dish and taken Instagram photos, I will take the dish back to the kitchen, where I will mix the salad for serving. At this point, I will add all the remaining vegetables and extras. This way, you have a beautiful dish AND enough food for everyone.