• Home
  • RECIPE INDEX
  • EASY RECIPES
    • Easy Dinner
    • One-pot
    • Instant Pot
  • BY CUISINE
    • Asian Fusion
    • Chinese
    • Peranakan/Nyonya
    • CAMBODIA
    • LAOS
    • INDONESIAN
    • Indonesian Chinese
    • MALAYSIA
    • MYANMAR
    • SINGAPORE
    • Singapore Hawker Food
    • THAILAND
    • VIETNAM
  • BY COURSE
    • Breakfast
    • Dim Sum
    • Main Course
    • Soups/Stews
    • Salad
    • Sides
    • Condiments
    • Snacks
    • Desserts
  • INGREDIENTS
    • Rice & Grains
    • Noodles
    • Eggs
    • Tofu & Tempeh
    • Poultry
    • Red Meats
    • Pork
    • Seafood
  • SOURDOUGH
    • Sourdough Bread Recipes
    • Recipes Using Sourdough Discard
  • BREAD & BUNS
    • Steamed Buns
    • Bread with Yeast
    • No-Knead Bread
    • Quick Bread
  • CAKES/COOKIES/PASTRIES
    • Cakes
    • Chiffon Cakes
    • Sponge Cakes
    • Pastries
    • Cookies
    • Kue/Kueh
    • No-Bake Dessert
  • DIETARY
    • Gluten-free
    • Vegan
    • VEGETARIAN
    • CONFINEMENT
  • celebrate
    • Chinese New Year
    • Easter
    • Hari Raya
    • Dragon Boat Festival
    • Mooncake Festival
    • Thanksgiving
    • Winter Solstice
    • Christmas Cooking
    • Christmas Baking
What To Cook Today
  • ABOUT ME
    • CONTACT
  • Pantry
  • Shop
  • subscribe
  • Home
  • RECIPE INDEX
  • EASY RECIPES
    • Easy Dinner
    • One-pot
    • Instant Pot
  • BY CUISINE
    • Asian Fusion
    • Chinese
    • Peranakan/Nyonya
    • CAMBODIA
    • LAOS
    • INDONESIAN
    • Indonesian Chinese
    • MALAYSIA
    • MYANMAR
    • SINGAPORE
    • Singapore Hawker Food
    • THAILAND
    • VIETNAM
  • BY COURSE
    • Breakfast
    • Dim Sum
    • Main Course
    • Soups/Stews
    • Salad
    • Sides
    • Condiments
    • Snacks
    • Desserts
  • INGREDIENTS
    • Rice & Grains
    • Noodles
    • Eggs
    • Tofu & Tempeh
    • Poultry
    • Red Meats
    • Pork
    • Seafood
  • SOURDOUGH
    • Sourdough Bread Recipes
    • Recipes Using Sourdough Discard
  • BREAD & BUNS
    • Steamed Buns
    • Bread with Yeast
    • No-Knead Bread
    • Quick Bread
  • CAKES/COOKIES/PASTRIES
    • Cakes
    • Chiffon Cakes
    • Sponge Cakes
    • Pastries
    • Cookies
    • Kue/Kueh
    • No-Bake Dessert
  • DIETARY
    • Gluten-free
    • Vegan
    • VEGETARIAN
    • CONFINEMENT
  • celebrate
    • Chinese New Year
    • Easter
    • Hari Raya
    • Dragon Boat Festival
    • Mooncake Festival
    • Thanksgiving
    • Winter Solstice
    • Christmas Cooking
    • Christmas Baking
What To Cook Today
What To Cook Today
  • Home
  • ABOUT ME
    • CONTACT
  • SHOP
  • SUBSCRIBE
  • RECIPE INDEX
  • easy recipes
    • Easy Dinner
    • One-pot
    • Instant Pot
  • by course
    • Breakfast
    • Dim Sum
    • Main Course
    • Soups/Stews
    • Salad
    • Sides
    • Condiments
    • Snacks
    • Desserts
  • ingredients
    • Rice & Grains
    • Noodles
    • Eggs
    • Tofu & Tempeh
    • Poultry
    • Red Meats
    • Pork
    • Seafood
  • sourdough
    • Sourdough Bread Recipes
    • Recipes Using Sourdough Discard
  • bread & buns
    • Steamed Buns
    • Bread with Yeast
    • No-Knead Bread
    • Quick Bread
  • cakes/cookies/pastries
    • Cakes
    • Pastries
    • Chiffon Cakes
    • Sponge Cakes
    • Cookies
    • No-Bake Dessert
    • Kue/Kueh
  • dietary
    • Gluten-free
    • Vegan
    • VEGETARIAN
    • CONFINEMENT
  • celebrate
    • Chinese New Year
    • Easter
    • Hari Raya
    • Dragon Boat Festival
    • Mooncake Festival
    • Thanksgiving
    • Winter Solstice
    • Christmas Baking
    • Christmas Cooking

Sayur Lodeh (Vegetables in coconut milk)

written by Marvellina Updated: March 14, 2025
10.3K
PIN RECIPE COMMENTS VIEW RECIPE
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.

Sayur Lodeh is a well-known Indonesian dish originated from Java and made of various of vegetables. It is a perfect side dish to accompany rice or lontong/ketupat.

Vegetables in coconut milk (Sayur lodeh)

I remember how often my mom made this. My mom loved to make rice cakes wrapped in banana leaves and this sayur lodeh is one of the must dishes to accompany the lontong (rice cakes). A few vegetables that I like to put in my sayur lodeh are chayote (labu), cabbage, carrots, green beans, and baby corns. You can pretty much put whatever you like in there, but to me having those kinda represent sayur lodeh better 🙂

This sayur lodeh calls for spices and herbs such as turmeric (kunyit), galangal (lengkuas), candlenuts (kemiri), and bay leaves (daun salam). All these are very commonly seen in Indonesian culinary. Candlenuts are very difficult (or impossible) to find here in Minnesota. I have some because my mom brought me some from Indonesia. The closest nuts you can use to substitute is macadamia. Pretty neutral in taste, but have roughly about the same oil content. Candlenuts are widely used not only for cooking, but also for hair and skincare in Indonesia.

Vegetables in coconut milk (Sayur lodeh)

My mom usually grind huge bulk of coriander, turmeric, galangal, and candlenuts into paste and store them in the jars and freeze them for future use. This helps to cut down of prep time because I hate to be grinding just a small amount and I still need to wash the same amount of dishes whether I make large or small batch.

This sayur lodeh taste pretty light despite there is coconut milk. My mom usually doesn’t make this very spicy because we usually pair it with other spicy dishes like rendang sapi Padang, sambal goreng kentang, sambal goreng tempeh, etc. I believe if you give this sayur lodeh a chance, you might find yourself liking it.

Vegetables in coconut milk (Sayur lodeh)

Vegetables in coconut milk (Sayur lodeh)

WHAT TO SERVE WITH SAYUR LODEH

Sayur lodeh is very commonly serve with rice as part of a multi-course meal. It is an excellent base to serve with lontong cap go meh, lontong sayur medan, nasi sayur, and really pretty much other side dishes and entrees.

Vegetables in coconut milk (Sayur lodeh)

DID YOU MAKE THIS SAYUR LODEH RECIPE?

I love it when you guys snap a photo and tag to show me what you’ve made 🙂 Simply tag me @WhatToCookToday #WhatToCookToday on Instagram and I’ll be sure to stop by and take a peek for real!
Vegetables in coconut milk (Sayur lodeh)

Vegetables in coconut milk (Sayur lodeh)

Sayur Lodeh (Vegetables in Coconut Milk)

Prep Time 15 minutes mins
Cook Time 20 minutes mins
Total Time 35 minutes mins
Servings 6 sesrvings
4.8 from 4 reviews
REVIEW & RATE PRINT

Ingredients

  • 2 cups coconut milk shake the can before using
  • 4 cups chicken broth
  • 1 Tbsp cooking oil

Vegetables:

  • ½ head of cabbage roughly chopped into about 2-inch pieces
  • 2 large chayote peeled and diced into 2-inch pieces
  • 100 gr canned baby corn drain off liquid
  • 200 gr green beans cut into 2-inch length
  • 1 large carrot peeled and diced

Herb:

  • 3 bay leaves

Powdered Spices:

  • 1 Tbsp galangal powder
  • 1 tsp coriander powder
  • 1 tsp turmeric powder

Seasonings:

  • 1 Tbsp Better-than -bouillon chicken base or use 1 cube chicken bouillon
  • Salt and sugar to taste

Spices to grind:

  • 5 candlenuts substitute with macadamia nuts
  • 5 shallots peeled
  • 5 cloves garlic peeled
  • 3 cayenne peppers or use 1 Tbsp sambal oelek or more to your taste

Instructions
 

  • Preheat a large pot with cooking oil. Add in the ground spices followed by powdered spices and bay leaves. Saute for about 5 minutes until fragrant. Add the chicken broth and better-than-chicken bouillon. Bring to a boil and then add in all the vegetables except for baby corns. Lower the heat to a gentle simmer. Cover and let the vegetables cooked until soft but not mushy
  • When vegetables are cooked, add the baby corn, and coconut milk. Once you add in the coconut milk, take care not to let it boil as it will "break" the coconut and make it frothy. Cook for another 5 minutes. Have a taste and season with salt and small pinch of sugar to your taste. Serve as part of a multi-course meal

Marv's Recipe Notes

You can add in whatever vegetables you want. I sometimes add in egg plants and cabbage too.

*Nutrition facts are just estimates and calculated using online tools*

Nutrition Facts
Sayur Lodeh (Vegetables in Coconut Milk)
Serving Size
 
1 serving
Amount per Serving
Calories
263
% Daily Value*
Fat
 
20
g
31
%
Saturated Fat
 
15
g
94
%
Trans Fat
 
0.01
g
Polyunsaturated Fat
 
1
g
Monounsaturated Fat
 
2
g
Cholesterol
 
3
mg
1
%
Sodium
 
845
mg
37
%
Potassium
 
603
mg
17
%
Carbohydrates
 
20
g
7
%
Fiber
 
5
g
21
%
Sugar
 
8
g
9
%
Protein
 
6
g
12
%
Vitamin A
 
2349
IU
47
%
Vitamin C
 
35
mg
42
%
Calcium
 
86
mg
9
%
Iron
 
4
mg
22
%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Did you make this recipe?Let me know how you like this recipe and consider rating it! Tag me @whattocooktoday I'd love to see your photos/videos on Instagram
previous post
The ultimate cheesy corned beef hash scones
next post
Apple pie with pecans and raspberry sauce in a jar

4 comments

Amirah December 12, 2022 - 6:30 am

Hi, I want to make a vegetarian version. Can I just replace the chicken broth with vegetable broth?

Reply
Marvellina December 12, 2022 - 8:58 pm

Hi Amirah, absolutely. This recipe is very forgiving and versatile! The vegetarian version will be just as delicious!

Reply
Elizabeth July 7, 2020 - 4:26 pm

Thank you for this deliciously filling vegetable soup! My husband and I absolutely loved it. We served the sambal oelek on the side, but even so it was a tougher sell to my children. They ate it and enjoyed it, but weren’t begging for more as I was expecting them to. More leftovers for me!

Reply
Marsha | Marsha's Baking Addiction March 2, 2016 - 1:43 pm

Vegetables in coconut milk… this sounds and looks so delicious!

Reply
4.75 from 4 votes (4 ratings without comment)

Leave a Comment Cancel Reply

Please feel free to ask questions here or leave your comments and ratings if you have tried the recipe! Your Email address will not be published!




Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Hello! I'm Marvellina!

I’m passionate about food—especially bold, comforting Asian flavors—and I love sharing approachable recipes and creative bakes with an Asian twist. So glad you’re here! LEARN MORE...

Our Favorites

  • How To Make Soft and Fluffy Pandan Chiffon Cake (Complete Guide)

  • How to Make Basic Asian Rice Porridge (Congee)

  • Soft Fluffy Steamed Bao Buns Recipe (Baozi/Mantou)

  • The Easiest Crispy Roast Pork Belly (Siu Yuk – Sio Bak)

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Youtube

©2025 - What To Cook Today. All Rights Reserved.
Privacy & Disclosure Policy


Back To Top
  • Home
  • ABOUT ME
    • CONTACT
  • SHOP
  • SUBSCRIBE
  • RECIPE INDEX
  • easy recipes
    • Easy Dinner
    • One-pot
    • Instant Pot
  • by course
    • Breakfast
    • Dim Sum
    • Main Course
    • Soups/Stews
    • Salad
    • Sides
    • Condiments
    • Snacks
    • Desserts
  • ingredients
    • Rice & Grains
    • Noodles
    • Eggs
    • Tofu & Tempeh
    • Poultry
    • Red Meats
    • Pork
    • Seafood
  • sourdough
    • Sourdough Bread Recipes
    • Recipes Using Sourdough Discard
  • bread & buns
    • Steamed Buns
    • Bread with Yeast
    • No-Knead Bread
    • Quick Bread
  • cakes/cookies/pastries
    • Cakes
    • Pastries
    • Chiffon Cakes
    • Sponge Cakes
    • Cookies
    • No-Bake Dessert
    • Kue/Kueh
  • dietary
    • Gluten-free
    • Vegan
    • VEGETARIAN
    • CONFINEMENT
  • celebrate
    • Chinese New Year
    • Easter
    • Hari Raya
    • Dragon Boat Festival
    • Mooncake Festival
    • Thanksgiving
    • Winter Solstice
    • Christmas Baking
    • Christmas Cooking

Let me know how you like the recipe and consider rating it!

Your vote:




A rating is required
A name is required
An email is required

Recipe Ratings without Comment

Something went wrong. Please try again.