I am excited to be sharing with you one of my favorite childhood meals and Indonesian recipe, Tahu Telur. It didn’t even occur to me that this was a vegetarian recipe until I started writing it! Most of the Indonesian dishes I ate were meat based, so this is a great meal for my vegetarian friends who wants to try Indonesian food.
While it is a vegetarian dish, Tahu telur gives you plenty of protein from its two main ingredients – tofu and egg.
Tahu in Indonesian translates directly to tofu and Telur means egg. “Tofu Omelet” is how I usually describe this dish to my non-Indonesian friends. I think that’s pretty accurate – instead of using bacon or spinach, for the “filling” you use tofu!
Simply dice tofu into tiny cubes and mix it with the whisked eggs. Then, you simply fry it as if you’re frying an omelet. I know, I didn’t even realize it was THAT easy until I started trying it out myself.
There are different types of Tahu Telur but I am sharing my favorite one which comes from my mom’s hometown in Surabaya, Indonesia.
Surabaya’s Tahu Telur is served with peanut sauce, which I personally think the best part of this dish. You can use peanut butter with water but I love the aroma of roasted ground nuts so I always make the peanut sauce from scratch.
If you got ground nuts with the skin still on, you can roast them for 5 minutes at 350F. Here is a great video on how you can get rid of peanut skin quickly. The skin will be so much easier to peel and you’ll get to eat your Tahu Telur much faster 😉
Although garnish is optional, I highly recommend eating your tahu telur with the following toppings:
- Fried red onion – you can find these at your local Asian grocery store or you can chop and deep fry red onions yourself! Be careful not to burn them though. You can find a helpful guide to making this yourself here.
- Bean sprouts – Want more crunch or more veggies in? Bean sprouts add a fun texture that you will enjoy with your Tahu Telur.
- Kerupuk (shrimp crackers) – Nothing beats the smell of a freshly deep-fried shrimp crackers.
And of course, don’t forget to drizzle in that kecap manis (sweet soy sauce). Enjoy your tahu telur!
ingredients
TAHU TELUR
- 1 firm tofu pack
- 4 large eggs, whisked
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
- 1 cup cooking oil
PEANUT SAUCE
- 100g ground peanut (without skin)
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- ½ tsp salt
- 2 tbsp lime juice
- 1 tbsp red onion, minced
- 6 tbsp sweet soy sauce (kecap manis)
- 1 cup Water
- 5 thai chili (optional)
GARNISH (OPTIONAL)
- Fried red onion
- Bean sprouts
- Kerupuk (shrimp crackers)
steps:
- First, make the peanut sauce by chopping the ground peanut. Then, use a food processor or a mortar and pestle to combine the chopped peanut with garlic, salt, lime juice, and red onion. If you want the sauce to be spicy, add the thai chili as well. You will end up with a paste-like texture.
- Add water to the peanut paste and mix to dilute it. Add kecap manis (sweet soy sauce) and mix. Then, set the sauce aside.
- Next, dice the tofu into 1 inch cubes and then combine it on a bowl with the whisked eggs. Make sure that the tofu cubes are mixed evenly with the egg and mix minced garlic in.
- In a wok or pan, heat up the cooking oil at medium-high heat. Once the oil is warm, pour the tofu-egg mixture at once and let it fry until the bottom is cooked. You will most likely see bubbles forming on the edge of the egg.
- Once the bottom no longer sticks to the pan, flip the egg and cook for another 1 minute.
- Finally, once the tofu-egg is cooked, take it off the heat and place it on a plate. Pour the peanut sauce over and garnish with fried red onions, bean sprouts and/or kerupuk. Drizzle more kecap manis to your liking. Enjoy!
Want more authentic Asian recipes? Check out our other recipes:
Tahu Telur - Indonesian Dish
Ingredients
Tahu Telur
- 1 pack firm tofu
- 4 large eggs whisked
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1 cup cooking oil
Peanut Sauce
- 100 gram ground peanut without skin
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1/2 tsp garlic
- 2 tbsp lime juice
- 1 tbsp red onion chopped
- 6 tbsp soy sauce kecap manis
- 1 cup water
- 5 thai chili optional
Optional Garnish
- Fried red onion
- Bean Sprouts
- Kerupuk shrimp cracker
Instructions
- First, make the peanut sauce by chopping the ground peanut. Then, use a food processor or a mortar and pestle to combine the chopped peanut with garlic, salt, lime juice, and red onion. If you want the sauce to be spicy, add the thai chili as well. You will end up with a paste-like texture.
- Add water to the peanut paste and mix to dilute it. Add kecap manis (sweet soy sauce) and mix. Then, set the sauce aside.
- Next, dice the tofu into 1 inch cubes and then combine it on a bowl with the whisked eggs. Make sure that the tofu cubes are mixed evenly with the egg and mix minced garlic in.
- In a wok or pan, heat up the cooking oil at medium-high heat. Once the oil is warm, pour the tofu-egg mixture at once and let it fry until the bottom is cooked. You will most likely see bubbles forming on the edge of the egg.
- Once the bottom no longer sticks to the pan, flip the egg and cook for another 1 minute.
- Finally, once the tofu-egg is cooked, take it off the heat and place it on a plate. Pour the peanut sauce over and garnish with fried red onions, bean sprouts and/or kerupuk. Drizzle more kecap manis to your liking. Enjoy!
