Jangan Blendrang: The Flavor That Gets Better
A big pot of veggies in coconut milk that gets better over time! Perfect for a Sahur (Suhoor) meal this Ramadan, one-pot dinner, make-ahead breakfast, or lunch! PS: Sambal Rebon recipe as bonus.
After having awkward conversations with my aunts and some guests, I usually just smiled and excused myself to the kitchen. Answering the same questions they had asked me since I enrolled in college had no point; they would forget about it and ask again in the next Lebaran.
“Have you graduated?”
“What major did you take?”
“Any man yet? Any kids yet?”
“You work as…what?”
“Oh, I thought you’re just traveling? Jalan-jalan*?”
“Why don’t you work in a state-owned company so you can support your parents more? My son has worked in _#$#%$#% for over 3 years”.
When I stepped into the kitchen, I’d forget about their questions. I joined the neighbors who lived around my grandparents’ house and two aunts who shared their love of cooking with me. We cooked rice, lontong, Sambal Goreng Ati, and Urap. We steamed some vegetables; chopped some more shallots, garlic, and chilies for more sambal, and boiled water for tea and coffee for the guests and big family. There was no gossiping with them. There was not a single unnecessary question. We sat on a dingklik, a low stool where you kind of squat because it’s very low, and did our own job. When the job was done, we took a rest, made tea or coffee for ourselves, and had the same menu for our lunch: Jangan Blendrang.
In East and Central Java, Jangan Blendrang is a coconut-milk-based vegetable soup that has been heated several times over a couple of days. In Javanese and Cirebon language, Jangan means vegetable, Blendrang is a soup you heat over and over. To simplify, it’s Lodeh that you heat so many times until the color turns darker, the fat of coconut milk thickens, and the flavor turns a little salty with a gentle sour after-taste.
Lodeh is a vegetable in coconut milk soup, served as part of everyday meals in Java. The vegetables are seasonal and local; so it depends on the time (dry season or rainy season) and the area (coastal or inland). Lodeh Tewel with green jackfruit, Lodeh Tuntut Gedang with Banana Heart, Lodeh Koro with Jackbean (Koro), Lodeh with Manisah or Jipang (Chayote), Lodeh Rebung with Bamboo Shoots, Lodeh Tempe Tahu (Tempe and Tofu), and Lodeh Terong (Eggplant). You can put more than one vegetable; long beans, green beans, or squash. It really depends on what’s harvested during the season in your local area. It’s very versatile and not intimidating at all.
Lodeh Manisah - Tahu, cooked using Mexican Chayote.
Lodeh Tewel with Parsnip and Green Beans.
We did not cook Jangan Blendrang for the break. Usually one day before the three to seven days of Unjung-Unjung (visiting and family gathering), we made big pots of Lodeh. We knew that the Unjung - Unjung would not be done in one or two days and we had to feed whoever came to visit our house because my grandfather was the oldest amongst his siblings. We would not have any time to cook for our lunch break and we couldn’t eat the same food as the guests because the food served for them should be the freshly cooked ones; Pecel, Lodeh, and Urap. So we intentionally made two huge pots of Lodeh that we would eat for 2 or 3 days as Jangan Blendrang.
Cooking as a rewang* is probably my dearest moment for Lebaran; with my two aunts who love both cooking and eating like me and who don’t care about the family gossip. We ate in our little stools, catching up on our life, talking about the rising price of chilies (99% guaranteed that it happens in every Lebaran), and enjoying the fatty sultry Jangan Blendrang with the salty Sambal Gerih; salted fish mashed together with sambal, that just level up the whole Lodeh game!
Pawon (kitchen) in my grandparents’ house in Madiun.
Whenever I make extra Lodeh preserve as Jangan Blendrang; whenever I heat up this tasty coconut milk soup, I always remember them. They’re the simplest of all aunts; the ones not fussing about putting Micin* or not in cooking, the ones sharing a sack of sugar or detergents from the factories their husbands worked at, and the ones who wouldn’t mind doing the hard work and not eating the celebratory food. But who wouldn’t give up for Jangan Blendrang, anyway? Each day, the flavor develops and opens up a whole new flavour and texture unlike the day before. You could never know how Jangan Blendrang tastes like after one or two days. But one thing for sure, it’s super good. A BOMB of flavor; sour, salty, sweet, bitter, and savory. ALL AT ONCE.
Since it’s not a fancy meal, Jangan Blendrang is perfect for any day and any time of the day. For a busy day, for weekdays, for a lazy weekend, for a quick breakfast, for another one-pot dinner, and even for Suhoor (Sahur). My version here comes with Eggplant, with some handfuls of beans of choice (I choose Black beans), served with the umami Sambal Rebon.
JANGAN BLENDRANG TERONG BLACKBEANS
for 8 - 12 meals
2 American eggplants / 8 Asian Eggplants / 6 Italian Eggplants. (chopped)
500 - 750 grams of Beans of choice (overnight soaked Beans or canned Beans, both work)
1 can of full-fat coconut milk
water
three tablespoons of oil
1 - 2 lemongrass, lightly crushed
8cm galangal, lightly crushed (or 1 heaping teaspoon of Galangal Powder)
3 Daun Salam (or substitute with Bay Leaves)
salt, pepper, sugar.
Bumbu Halus (Mashed/Crushed Bumbu)*
*Lodeh uses Bumbu Putih as the basic Bumbu Halus (check more the meals you can cook with Bumbu Putih here)
5 cloves of peeled garlic
9 - 11 cloves of peeled Asian shallots or 2 banana shallots
5 candlenuts (substitute with 15 almonds or 5 macadamia nuts)
A handful of coriander seeds or 2 teaspoons of coriander seeds powder.
salt and sugar.
Almond to substitute Candlenut. It doesn’t have the same oil as Candlenut, however, it’s a good substitute. I have candlenut in my pantry, but I save it by combining it and almond in cooking. I mean, you could never go against nature. Working with the local ingredients around you is not a sin.
Put all ingredients for Bumbu Putih in a blender, food processor, or Cobek. Then, mash until it becomes like a smooth paste.
If you use Cobek, it’d be easier to mash garlic, shallots, coriander seeds/powder, and a pinch of salt first, as the water from the salt helps to bind the ingredients together. When it turns into paste, put the nuts in and a pinch of sugar, mash again until it turns into paste. (There is no pressure that it has to be smooth)
Heat up the oil in a big pot, then scrape the Bumbu Putih into the pot, then put the lemongrass, galangal, and bay leaves.
Lightly fry it until the oil blends together with the Bumbu and you can start to smell a refreshing astringent fragrance of lemongrass and galangal.
Put the beans into the pot along with coconut milk.
Add water until it covers the beans or even slightly more and let it boil with the lid off.
After the beans are tender (the time depends on whether you use soaked beans or canned beans), put the chopped eggplant in and maybe more water if it’s needed.
Cook until the beans and eggplants are tender.
Taste it, add salt, sugar, and pepper to suit your personal taste!
Jangan Blendrang day 4SAMBAL REBON
for a jar of sambal
7 - 15 chilies, please do as you like!
7 cloves of garlic
4 medium-sized tomatoes or 20 grape tomatoes.
5 - 6 pinches of Rebon (dried shrimps)
oil
salt
1 - 2 teaspoons of sugar
Heat some oil in the pan
Fry the rest of the ingredients until they start to look tender.
Frying the ingredients before mashing them into sambal helps to open up the pores of the chilies, tomatoes, and shrimps. ,Making the sambal richer in flavor and well-rounded, without needing to add more chilies and shrimps.
Put into a food processor along with a pinch of salt and 1 - 2 teaspoons of sugar, (or Cobek, whichever you like), push the button, and blend until it turns into paste! The sugar here helps to balance the saltiness of the shrimp and the pungent taste of garlic. So don’t worry about putting in more sugar.
Taste it, add some salt and sugar to suit your personal taste!
Keep in the fridge to preserve longer. (1 or 2 weeks, or only a couple of days if you put a dollop of sambal in every meal!)
There you go. You got a big pot of Lodeh that you can turn into Jangan Blendrang. You can keep it in the pot, on the counter, for 2 days by heating it for 5 - 10 minutes every day. After 2 days, it’s started to get sour, if you like, you can still keep it on the counter or you can keep it in containers in the fridge. I keep it in the fridge after 3 days. I simply heat it in a pot every time I want to have a quick full meal!
Perfect for Sahur, Lunch, Dinner, Breakfast, any meal, any day.
Monggo Sakeca’aken*!