Lontong Sayur

Lontong sayur brings rice cakes together with vegetables and gravy in this Indonesian plate. Marvellina’s Medan version places sayur lodeh at the centre and offers additional meat, seafood, egg and potato dishes around the rice cakes.

This version starts with prepared lontong from the recipe’s easy rice-cooker option. Four or five pieces go onto the plate, followed by sayur lodeh and its gravy.

Rendang sapi and tauco udang are optional main-dish additions. The plate can also include sambal telur and sambal ikan teri, along with kering kentang, perkedel kentang and a sprinkling of serundeng.

The author’s assembly order starts with rice cakes, then vegetables, then protein dishes and the smaller additions. These components share one plate, with the vegetable gravy ladled over the lontong before the other dishes are arranged.

Marvellina remembers eating lontong sayur for breakfast while growing up in Medan. Her mother also made it in large batches for family and friends, serving a collection of dishes around the rice cakes rather than a single topping.