Vesak Day Table: Vegetarian Sambal Goreng
a hearty Malay dish, made ENTIRELY plant-based!
our recent experience of volunteering at The Buddhist Union @ Jalan Senyum, Singapore was a fruitful one. we got to learn so much, from formulating vegetarian versions of local Malay dishes to planning meals for a larger crowd.
on that day, Aunty Geraldine, a Peranakan mother who volunteers as a head chef at the temple invited us over to the temple kitchen to assist with the tasks of preparing food for 70 people, including congregants, monks, nuns & volunteers. as part of kitchen team, we got to learn Geraldine’s recipes for the vegetarian dishes she often serves at the temple.
we were amazed to learn how Geraldine was able to tweak recipes for the Malay dishes that she made, to not include any forms of meat and seafood and also onion & garlic. take for example, her delicious Sambal Goreng which we ended up serving with Nasi Lemak.
this recipe shows Aunty’s resourcefulness & creative thinking, using the base of serunding for the Sambal Goreng for a toasty flavour and substantial body. we were also collectively inspired by her team’s spirit of volunteerism and community service by selflessly coming together to make food the temple.
check out our other vegetarian recipes to try out this Vesak Day weekend!:
Vegetarian Abacus Seeds (算盘子)
taking up big challenges of making dish requests has always been fun for me - I guess it kinda pushes me into exploring as many different cuisines as possible while exploring the food heritage and dishes centred around communities outside of my own.