Rujak Recipe (Indonesian Fruit Salad)
This rujak recipe is highly flavorful fruit salad from Indonesia with a slightly spicy twist. It's perfect as a side dish, party platter or dessert! Super tasty.
Prep Time15 minutes mins
Cook Time15 minutes mins
Course: Appetizer, Side Dish
Cuisine: American, Indonesian
Keyword: bird's eye peppers, fruit, pineapple, recipe, spicy
Servings: 8
Calories: 108kcal
- ½ pineapple fruit peeled, cored and sliced
- 1 unripe mango peeled and sliced
- 1 small cucumber peeled, deseeded and sliced
- 1 green apple sliced
- ½ small papaya peeled, deseeded and sliced
FOR THE SAMBAL RUJAK (RUJAK SAUCE)
- ½ cup palm sugar or use brown sugar
- 1 cup water divided
- ¼ cup tamarind juice or use lime juice
- 1 teaspoon belacan dried shrimp paste, dry roasted – See NOTES for substitutes.
- 3-6 bird’s eye peppers or more, as desired
- Salt to taste
Add all of the fruit to a large bowl.
For the Sambal Rujak (Rujak Sauce), add the sugar and ½ cup water to a saucepan. Bring to a boil, the reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes to make a simple syrup.
Stir in the remaining ingredients (water, tamarind juice, roasted belacan, whole peppers, salt).
Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer 5 more minutes. Remove from heat and cool.
Strain, the pour over the fruit. Toss the fruit to cover it in the Rujak sauce.
Serve!
Makes 1 cup of Sambal Rujak. Dish makes about 4-5 cups.
Other Fruits and Vegetables. There are many other popular fruits and also vegetables for making Rujak. The possibilities are truly endless. Some commonly used fruits include starfruit (belimbing), water apple (jambu air), ambarella (kedondong), pomelo (jeruk Bali), jicama (bengkuang), guava (jambu merah), and many, many others.
Substitutes for Belacan. If you are unable to find belecan, use dried shrimp, but use double the amount. You can also use salted shrimp. Anther option is 2-3 mashed anchovies with oil. For a vegetarian substitute, try chopped or ground shiitake mushrooms.
Heat Factor. You'll get some decent heat from the bird's eye peppers, though not much using only 3 of them. You can easily add in more to your own heat preference. Or, skip them if you'd prefer milder heat.
Calories: 108kcal | Carbohydrates: 27g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 7mg | Sodium: 47mg | Potassium: 215mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 21g | Vitamin A: 546IU | Vitamin C: 54mg | Calcium: 23mg | Iron: 1mg