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Translating to "shaved salad" in Bahasa Indonesia, Rujak Serut is a lovely little salad with shredded jicama, sweet potato, green mango, pomegranate, and pineapple, all brought together with tart tamarind. This fool-proof recipe is a great way to add fresh flavors to your favey grilled foods.
Recipe tips tailored to what matters most to you:
Not a speck of wheat in here. Fruit, jicama, sweet potato and a tamarind dressing, so make it exactly as written.
Skip the julienne and shred everything on a box grater instead. The julienne is purely for looks, and this way you're done in 7 minutes.
Canned diced pineapple works fine and costs less than a whole fresh one. The pomegranate seeds are optional, so leave them out when they're pricey.
Bulk it out with extra jicama and sweet potato and go easy on the palm sugar, the fruit already brings plenty of sweetness on its own.
Green mango hard to find? Apples, pears or green papaya all work. Serrano or jalapeño covers the bird's eye chilies, and brown sugar covers the palm sugar.
Take your time with the julienned or grated vegetables. The easiest way to do this is by using a mandoline. Please be extra careful, they are silly-dangerous!
Toss thoroughly. If your pineapple isn't super ripe and soft, don't be afraid to give the salad a little squeezing and massaging by hand.
Raw mango (as in the hard, unripe kind) contributes a burst of acidity to balance the sweetness.
Oodles more tips, step-by-step recipe photos, info on weird ingredients, and FAQs are all still here. I just tucked 'em out of the way so you can start cooking sooner.
This beloved street food showcases how Indonesians are always skyrocketing flavor in things as simple as fruit salad! It's the same special magic that turns simple shallots into the perfect flavor of sambal matah, green mango into asninan buah, and peppers are turned into Sambal Dabu Dabu.
Grab a mixing bowl and see how this recipe turns boring ol' sweet potatoes into legendary Indonesian street food. Let's dive in!
Jump to:
- Recipe tips tailored to what matters most to you:
- 🥰Why you'll adore this rujak buah recipe
- 🍠 Ingredients for Indonesian jicama potato salad
- 🤯Variations
- 📖 How to make rujak serut
- 💡Serving Ideas
- 👉Top tips
- 🤷♀️Recipe FAQs
- ✌️My faves to serve with this rujak serut recipe:
- Rujak Serut (Indonesian Sweet Potato Salad)
🥰Why you'll adore this rujak buah recipe
✊ Vegan AF and GF: Like all of my Indonesian recipes, this sweet potato slaw is completely plant-based. It just happens to be completely gluten-free too!
🔥The prettiest darned rojak you ever did see: While you can get away making this the "quick and dirty" way by just shredding the veggies, I'm gonna show you how to do it with a julienne cut, which keeps the whole thing looking gorgeous!
🍍 Piney Power: The inclusion of diced pineapple isn't just about sweetness - it adds a tangy twist that complements the other ingredients perfectly. You can use fresh pineapple like I do, or canned diced pineapple if that's your thing. Pineapple is good for you and fun, but if you hate having fun and eating pineapple, you can leave it out and look at boring ol' spreadsheets all day if that's your thing!
Tested and Approved Worldwide: Like all of my vegan recipes, this salad has undergone rigorous testing across kitchens worldwide. The meticulous adjustments guarantee consistent success, making it a reliable go-to for anyone, anywhere.
I'm on my knees staring weirdly into your eyes, asking you in a soothing voice to be my taste-testing partner in crime. Sign up for the recipe testing crew and get early access to new recipes before they're published.
🍠 Ingredients for Indonesian jicama potato salad
Sweet Potato (Ubi Jalar)
Ubiquitous in Indonesian cuisine, sweet potatoes bring a delightful sweetness and vibrant orange hue to dishes like biji salak, and mee rebus.
Green Mango (Mangga Muda)
Raw mango (as in the hard, unripe kind) contributes a burst of acidity to balance the sweetness. I'd recommend using green mangos for making mango pickle, banh trang tron, and ensaladang talong.
Pomegranate Seeds (Biji Delima)
For a burst of color and antioxidants, add optional pomegranate seeds. My shakarkandi ki chaat recipe has a detailed walk through for you to follow to efficiently remove the seeds from the fruit, which you can use in this Rujak Serut, and my mutabal, and kisir recipe.
Tamarind Concentrate (Asam Jawa)
Asam Jawa, or tamarind, lends a tangy depth to everything from tom yum paste and Indonesian dishes like sambal goreng and asinan sayur. Substitute with tamarind pulp blended with a little water or lime juice for a slightly different vibe.
Palm Sugar (Gula Jawa)
Palm sugar is a low glycemic sweetener made from palm sap, and is used in SO MANY Indonesian desserts, like klepon, kuih dadar, and bubur sumsum. Use coconut or brown sugar as substitutes. There isn't a TON of added sugar in this recipe, because the fruits and veggies provide some of their own sweetness, but it is there to offset the tanginess of the tamarind.
Bird's Eye Chilies
Cabe Rawit, or bird's eye chilies, bring the heat to the dressing. Be cautious - a little goes a long way. These chilies are also used in classics like tempe mendoan, bihun goreng, and tom yum fried rice. Substitute with serrano or jalapeños for a milder kick if you prefer less heat.
*See the recipe card at the bottom of the page for exact quantities, nutritional info, and detailed cooking directions.
🤯Variations
Balinese Rojak Lontong
Give your Rujak Serut a Balinese flair by incorporating shredded young coconut and a teaspoon of Bumbu Bali spice paste. Garnish with homemade lontong rice cakes and roasted peanuts.
Javanese Rujak Buah Recipe
For a Javanese-inspired version, add fried tofu cubes that have been tossed in nuoc cham or nam prik pao to the salad. The tofu soaks up the delicious dressing and provides a hearty and protein-packed element. Finish with a sprinkle of crispy fried shallots.
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📖 How to make rujak serut
Nail this perfectly on your first shot by following these step-by-step instructions with important tips. Or you can follow along with the easy-to-print recipe card towards the bottom of this page.
Step One
Assemble the Salad:
Mix julienned/grated jicama, sweet potato, green mango, diced pineapple, and optional pomegranate seeds in a large bowl.
Step Two
Craft the Dressing:
In another bowl, blend tamarind concentrate, lime juice, your preferred sugar, sliced bird's eye chilies, and salt. Stir until sugar dissolves.
Step Three
Coat with Dressing:
Pour the dressing over the salad, ensuring an even coating.
Step Four
Dress it up real pretty like:
If desired, top with mint leaves and cilantro leaves for a refreshing final touch. It goes great alongside other Indonesian salads such as urap sayur, or something crispy and fried like bakwan sayur.
💡Serving Ideas
Pair this vibrant Rujak Serut with traditional Indonesian delights like sayur lodeh with lontong, bami goreng, mie goreng, or mie rebus.
Serve some alongside vegan fried chicken smothered in Korean Barbecue sauce over nasi uduk, nasi kunyit, or nasi minyak, the trisect of traditional Indonesian rice dishes!
Don't forget dessert, or my wife will cry (because dessert is like her main thing in life). Smash some steamed Putu Ayu, cekodok pisang, martabak manis, or bubur cha cha.
👉Top tips
- Precision in Julienned Cuts: Take your time with the julienned or grated vegetables, ensuring uniform cuts. Consistent sizes guarantee an even distribution of flavors and textures, elevating the overall quality of the salad. The easiest way to do this is by using a mandoline. Please promise me you will be extra careful with that because they are silly-dangerous!
- Thorough Tossing Technique: When combining the dressing with the salad, toss thoroughly. If your pineapple isn't super ripe and soft, don't be afraid to give the salad a little squeezing and massaging by hand, which will help the flavors of the dressing to penetrate the fruits and veggies.
🤷♀️Recipe FAQs
Rujak is the Indonesian spelling and Rojak is the Malay spelling for a salad dish with Javanese roots. The dish typically includes fruits and vegetables, usually in a tangy (from tamarind or citrus juice), sweet (from palm sugar), and sometimes spicy dressing, is eaten throughout Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore.
Rujak Serut is inherently vegan. However, non-vegetarian variations exist, and it's essential to be mindful of certain additions, such as shrimp paste (terasi) in the dressing, which is not vegan if you are eating out.
While the classic recipe features jicama, sweet potato, green mango, and pineapple, feel free to experiment with other fruits like apples, pears, or green papaya, which you might otherwise use to make Filipino Achara.
If stored in a sanitized container, with a tight-fitting lid under refrigeration, this Indonesian sweet potato slaw can last up to three days.
✌️My faves to serve with this rujak serut recipe:
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Rujak Serut (Indonesian Sweet Potato Salad)
Ingredients
- 1 cup jicama peeled and julienne cut
- 1 cup sweet potato peeled and julienne cut, or grated
- 1 cup green mango peeled and julienne cut
- 1 cup pineapple
skinned and diced small
- ½ cup pomegranate seeds (optional)
Dressing:
- 2 tablespoons tamarind concentrate
- 1 tablespoon lime juice
- 1 tablespoon palm sugar coconut sugar, or brown sugar
- 3 bird's eye chilies thinly sliced
- ½ teaspoon salt
Optional Garnishes:
- Mint leaves
- Cilantro leaves
Instructions
- Combine the julienned or grated jicama, sweet potato, green mango, diced pineapple, and optional pomegranate seeds in a large bowl to create the salad.
- Prepare the dressing in a separate bowl by mixing tamarind concentrate, lime juice, palm sugar, coconut sugar, brown sugar, thinly sliced bird's eye chilies, and salt. Stir until the sugar is completely dissolved.
- Pour the dressing over the salad and toss thoroughly to ensure an even coating.
- If desired, garnish with mint leaves and cilantro leaves.
Notes
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