Sayur Bening (Indonesian Spinach Soup)

Hello 😊

What does rainy days equal to? Soup. Soup and lotsa soups 😁 Chili and soup season has commenced 😁

This following Indonesian soup is actually superb for Summer as well. Back home, my family would serve it either freshly cooked, still warm, or at room temperature. It gives that cooling feeling for tropical weather. Rice, this soup, followed with fried tempeh, tofu, fish, or chicken, my goodness. Yummo!

My husband likes to have his as is tho, without rice. My boys, like to have theirs in a separate bowl, not mixed with their rice. So differ from us in Indonesia. I don’t mind, as long as they finish their soup 😁 However, due to that, I like adding as many as ingredients into the soup. In Indonesia, it could be just spinach, liquid, onion and garlic plus seasoning, that is it, is fine, as again, we would serve it with rice and sides. That would be the simplest tho, however, regardless with rice and sides, Indonesians would also add pumpkin, corn cob, corn kernels, tomatoes and whatnot.

1 bunch of spinach
1 can sweet corn kernels
1 block firm tofu
8 rainbow organic carrots
4 garlic
1-2 tbsp thinly sliced sweet onion (if you use shallot, 1 shallot is good enough)
2 L water (more or less according to how much soup/liquid you’d like to have for the soup – adjusting to your veggies/add-ons as well)
Sugar and salt, to taste
MSG for umami, if you like

Slice rinse spinach, set to side

Peel, wash, and slice carrots, set to side

Cube tofu, set to side

Slice thinly garlic, set to side

Bring water to boil, add in carrots, cook covered until tender

Add in tofu and carrots, cook for 5 mins, then drop in spinach

Stir in sliced garlic and onion, season, cook for 2 mins

Serve and enjoy 😊