Indonesian lemper with tuna
I have a confession to make; I completely forgot all about the foodblog swap. Not because I never cook anything from the blog of Esmee, but simply because I was busy and did not think about it at all. Now the coincidence is that I got assigned the blog of my friend Esmee. So it wasn’t really an unknown blog at all for me. Even better; we cook together on a regular basis and sometimes that is with an Indonesian twist (since Es is partially Indonesian) and sometimes things like cheesecake or anything else realy. If we can cook together life is good… 😉
And so that was my saving thing for this month’s foodblog swap because (confession number two coming up) I used a recipe I had already made a few months ago together with Es, but didn’t blog about yet. Saved by the bell! What this is? It’s a glutinous rice roll with good filling. Also known under the name lemper. Not sure if that is used in English as well though. We chose to fill it with tuna this time, but you can also fill it with chicken or anything else really. I can imagine it would also be good with something sweet now that I think about it.
And as another coincidence I also happened to have some how-to photos this time. I almost forgot I made them but here they are! And if you don’t know Es’ blog yet it’s about time you went there and had a look for yourself. If you’re wondering why we have almost the same photos on the lemper post, than that is – obviously – because we made them together!
Roll tightly with the plastic wrap
Lemper with tuna
Ingredients
- 500 gram glutinous rice soaked overnight
- 3 kaffir lime leaves
- 2 cans of tuna drained (nett weight of around 280 gr)
- 2 onion finely chopped
- 4 to matoes finely chopped
- 1 small leek finely chopped
- 5 fresh red chili peppers crushed and very finely cut. If you want it spicy leave the seeds in.
- 1/2 tsp lemongrass ground
- 1/2 tsp djahe ginger
- 75 gram santen or some coconut milk
- 1/2 tsp salt
- oil for frying
- Place the rice with the kaffir lime leaves in a big pot and add as much water that it is under by two fingers thick . Bring to the boil and let it cook for about 20 minutes or until done. Drain and set aside to cool.
- Fry the onion until they are soft in the oil. Add all the other ingredients and bake until most of the moisture is gone.
- Remove the kaffir lime leaves from the rice.
- Place a sheet of wrapping foil on the kitchen counter and ad about 4 tablespoons of the rice on top. Make it into a rectangle of around 12 by 8 centimeters.
- Now place a small tablespoon of the filling in the middle. See photo above.
- Fold the rice around it so the filling is in the middle using the wrap to guide it along. Make a tight roll of the rice and twist the ends closed.
- Continue until you've used everything.
- Place the ricerolls in the fridge and leave to cool. Cut in pieces if you want or eat as a snack. you can also heat them in the microwave prior to serving.
Disclaimer
The nutritional values above are calculated per portion. The details are based on standard nutritional tables and do not constitute a professional nutritional advice.
7 comments on “Indonesian lemper with tuna”
Leave a comment »Leave a Reply
This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
These look terrific. My mind is racing with all the things I could stuff in the glutinous rice!
O so much Maureen! In fact I am thinking of making a sweet version really soon as I have rice left.. 😉
I’ve never made anything with glutinous rice for some reason. I really need to play with it. This looks terrific — thanks.
Thanks John! I tasted it for the first time when we were in Thailand and thought it was rather good. We did have the sweet version baked in bamboo at the time but still pretty good, so I’ve been hooked ever since!
WOW! it’s been ages since I had this – we used to have this as an afternoon snack as a kid (mum is of Javanese descent) and thanks for taking me back to fond childhood memories and this recipe that I’m going to try!
Dear Simone,
I have been making the Lemper filled with Tuna and extra chilly for many years, since my daughter-in-law doesn’t eat meat at all. She does eat fish. I have also made it with Cornet Beef out of a Can and that is delicious as well…!
O thanks for the tip Peggy! I might try that another time!