A Betawi favourite of jengkol — the strong-smelling seed of the dogfruit tree — braised slowly in a sweet-soy semur until soft, dark and mellow. The beans are first boiled, then crushed flat and simmered in a paste of shallot, garlic, chilli, candlenut and coriander, finished with sweet soy sauce, nutmeg and clove. The long cook tames the bean's pungency and lets it drink up the gravy. Pungently iconic, it is the kind of dish Jakartans either crave or avoid, and is classically eaten with nasi uduk.
Semur itself is an Indonesian braise in sweet soy sauce whose name and technique trace to the Dutch colonial period, an adaptation of European stewing onto local ingredients and kecap manis. Jengkol — the seed of Archidendron pauciflorum, native to Southeast Asia — is widely eaten across western Indonesia, and the semur treatment of it is most strongly associated with the Betawi of Jakarta, who serve it as an everyday dish. Beyond flavour, jengkol carries a working-class, homespun reputation, and semur jengkol is firmly part of the Betawi home and warung table.
Braised long enough, jengkol turns soft and almost potato-like, with a dense, slightly waxy bite. The gravy is dark and glossy, sweet from kecap manis and warm from nutmeg and clove, and it has soaked all the way into the bean. The famous pungency is still there in the background — earthy, sulphurous, distinctive — but rounded and far gentler than the raw bean. It is rich and savoury-sweet, and a mound of coconut nasi uduk is the natural partner, with sambal on the side for heat.
Jengkol owes its smell to djenkolic acid, a sulphur-rich amino acid; long cooking and a preliminary boil break down and disperse these volatile compounds, which is why slow-braised jengkol is far milder than the raw seed. The boiled beans are pounded or pressed flat (gepuk) to open up their structure so the gravy can penetrate. The semur gravy works on browning and reduction: the fried spice paste and the kecap manis carry sugars that caramelise as the liquid cooks down, building the dark colour and the sweet-savoury depth, while the slow simmer softens the dense bean and marries it with the sauce.
Variations
Some versions keep it brothier, others reduce the gravy almost dry. The same jengkol can be cooked balado-style in a red chilli paste instead of semur, or served simply fried (jengkol goreng). Cooks who want a milder result boil the beans longer or soak them beforehand. The closely related petai (stink bean) gets similar treatments, and rendang jengkol — braising the beans in a Padang-style spice base — is another well-known way with the bean.
On the Palate
Where Semur Jengkol sits in the Indonesian flavor cloud
Ingredients
Serves 4
How it's made
8 steps · 30 min
- 160 min
Boil the jengkol beans until tender, draining and changing the water once or twice to reduce the smell.
Watch outBoil the jengkol beans tender, changing the water once or twice; the sulphur compounds behind the smell break down and disperse with cooking, so this is what tames the raw seed.
- 210 min
Drain the beans and crush each one flat with the side of a knife or a pestle so the gravy can soak in.
Watch outCrush each boiled bean flat with the side of a knife; opening up its dense structure is what lets the dark gravy soak in.
- 310 min
Pound or blend shallot, garlic, candlenut, coriander seed and chilli into a paste.
- 48 min
Fry the spice paste in oil over medium heat until fragrant and the oil separates, adding bruised lemongrass and bay leaf.
- 53 min
Add the flattened beans and toss to coat in the fried spices.
- 65 min
Pour in sweet soy sauce, a little water, nutmeg and clove, and season with salt and palm sugar.
- 760 min
Braise gently, partly covered, until the beans are very soft and the gravy is dark and thick.
Watch outBraise gently until the beans are very soft and the gravy is dark and thick; the kecap manis sugars caramelize down into that sweet-savory depth.
- 85 min
Serve with nasi uduk or steamed rice, topped with fried shallots and sambal alongside.
