Singapore Rojak Recipe

Last Updated on January 12, 2017 by Ed Joven

How to cook Singapore Rojak (Spicy Fruit & Vegetable Salad)

Rojak Recipe is a fruit and vegetable salad dish which is very popular in Singapore. Fresh vegetables, such as “water convulvus” or kangkong and “beansprout” or togue, are blanched. Others, such as the cucumber and the Chinese turnip are sliced in an angled fashion to add crunch.

Sour, tangy flavours come from added ingredients such as sliced pineapple although sometimes starfruit, young mangoes or unripe rose apples (jambu) are also added. Chinese rojak include yu tiao, a crispy length of deep fried flour cut bite-sized while others add toasted beancurd.

The mark of a good rojak is in its sauce, and in particular the “prawn paste” or hay ko used. The sticky paste is mixed with a little water, lime juice and a lot of sugar. Chilli paste or freshly pounded chillies may be added for some spice. A dusting of ground peanuts gives further texture.

The paste is then mixed thoroughly, traditionally in a large wooden bowl with a wooden spoon. Only when the sauce is complete are the mixed vegetables and ingredients added and thoroughly covered with the paste. Finally, the mixture is garnished with a dash of finely cut ginger flower.

• ½ cucumber, sliced
• 1 small Singkamas, peeled, quartered and cut into thick slices
• 200 g (7 oz) kangkong, cut into lengths and blanched in boiling water for 1 minute
• 1 square firm tofu or tokwa (pressed tofu), shallow-fried until golden brown, then sliced into 8 pieces
• 60 g (11/4 cups) bean sprouts, blanched for 10 seconds, rinsed and drained
• 2 slices pineapple, cubed
• 1 unripe green mango, peeled and sliced
• 1-2 yu tiao (Chinese crullers), cut into 6-8 pieces(optional)
• 1 wild ginger bud, sliced (optional)

Rojak Sauce:

• 2-3 large red finger-length chillies, de-seeded and sliced 1 tablespoon shaved gula melaka (palm sugar) or brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon Ginamos (dried shrimp paste), toasted
• 2 tablespoons tamarind pulp, soaked in 125 ml (½ cup) water, squeezed and strained to obtain juice
• 1 tablespoon hay koh (black prawn paste) ½ teaspoon salt
• 75 g (½ cup) raw peanuts, dry-roasted and coarsely crushed in a blender.

• To make the Sauce, grind the chillies, gula melaka and belachan, tamarind juice, hay koh, and salt to a smooth paste in a blender.
• Transfer to a bowl, add the peanuts, stir and set aside.
• Place the rest of the ingredients into a serving dish.
• Drizzle the Sauce on top and toss to mix.
• Serve immediately.