Home > Telur Bumbu Bali (Hard Boiled Egg in Balinese Spices)

Telur Bumbu Bali (Hard Boiled Egg in Balinese Spices)

Posting Date: 03/31/19

Telur Bumbu Bali (Hard Boiled Egg in Balinese Spices) is very easy to make and a one-pot meal. You will need a food processor, though to make the spice paste. Telur or telor means egg while bumbu means spices. In Indonesia, there are many bumbu (spices). Bumbu is an integral part of Indonesian cooking because most Indonesian dishes use specific bumbu to make them. Most of Indonesian spices use shallots, garlic, and red chili peppers. The rests could be ginger, turmeric, coriander, galangal, etc. depending on the dish. Telur Bumbu Bali is the hard boiled egg version of Ayam Bumbu Bali (Chicken in Balinese Spices). You can use tofu, instead of hard boiled egg or chicken. Telur Bumbu Bali can be made vegetarian by omitting shrimp paste (sambal terasi). Even if you are not a vegetarian, you can skip shrimp paste if you didn't grow up eating it since some people may find it too strong. I grew up eating sambal terasi but my taste bud has changed over the years because I sometimes find it too strong in some dishes. I also don't like the strong aroma coming off it when cooking with it. So, I have started reducing the amount used or skipping it altogether. The dish is normally served with warm rice by itself or with other dishes.

The recipe serves 3-6 people.

Ingredients:

For spice paste: 4 small or 1 large size shallot, quartered
For spice paste: 2 cloves of garlic, halved
For spice paste: 1/2" ginger, peeled and sliced
For spice paste: 2 candlenuts, halved. You can substitute candlenuts with macadamia nuts if you cannot find them in Asian stores.
For spice paste: 1 tablespoon sambal oelek or to taste. You can use 3 red chili peppers or more if you can find them in Asian stores.
For spice paste: 1 Roma tomato or small tomato, diced
For spice paste: Optional: 1/2 teaspoon toasted shrimp paste (called sambal terasi in Indonesia). Make sure it has been toasted. If you buy the one that has not been toasted, you can bake it in the oven first for about 15 min. Skip shrimp paste if you are vegetarian.
6 hard boiled eggs
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 kaffir lime leaves, torn slightly on the edge to release the oil. You can substitute with lime zest if you cannot find them in Asian stores.
2 bay leaves
1 lemongrass, white part smashed with the back of the knife and yellow part discarded
1/4 teaspoon salt or to taste
1.5 teaspoon palm sugar or to taste. You can substitute with brown sugar.
1 tablespoon water or more depending on consistency of the sauce you want

Methods:

Place all the ingredients for the spice paste into a food processor. Pulse the food processor until the spices become smooth paste.
Peel the hard boiled eggs and patted them dry with paper towel. Pour 2 tablespoons vegetable oil on a frying pan. Heat the oil over medium heat. You may want to use splatter screen to prevent splattering when frying the eggs. Fry the eggs until they become brown on bottom side. The egg will look like it has brown crispy skin. Turn them over to fry the other side until they become brown. Once all sides have become brown, remove them with slotted spoon and place them on a plate lined with paper towel.
Using the same pan used to fry the egg, add 1 more tablespoon of vegetable oil to the pan. Heat it over medium high heat. Add the spice paste into the pan along with lemongrass, bay leaves, and kaffir lime leaves. Saute the spice paste until it is fragrant and the shallots are fully cooked. Add fried hard boiled eggs, salt, palm sugar, and 1 tablespoon water into the pan. Stir to combine so that the eggs are coated with spice paste. If the sauce is too thick to your preference, you can add more water to thin it down. Taste it and add more sugar or salt if needed. Remove from the heat.
Serve it warm with rice.

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