Soak the Tamarind (skip if using shop bought paste)

• Put the kettle on and place the tamarind pulp in a bowl.
  2 Tbsp tamarind pulp
• Pour about 60 ml (¼ cup) boiling water over the pulp and cover with a saucer. Leave to soak while you get the other ingredients going.
  60 ml water

Prep Work

• Cut up the tofu and tempeh into 2.5 cm (1 in) cubes.
  200 g tofu, 200 g tempeh
• Slice the beans into 5 cm (2 in) lengths.
  200 g long beans
• Peel, then quarter the onion. Drop into your chopper.
  1 small onion
• Halve or roughly chop the chillies and add to the chopper. If using really small birds eye, just detach the end, no need to chop.
  10 red chillies (you can use less, if you like)
• Peel the garlic and add to the chopper.
  1 medium clove garlic
• Lemongrass – you have 2. One, we'll be using whole, the other is going in the paste. Slice off the tough bottom end (the root end) of both the lemongrass. And cut off the top part, leaving about 10 cm/4 inches of stalk. Peel off the top layer, if it's particularly dry or dirty, or looking a little yellow. If not, leave it alone. Rinse your lemongrass and dry.

  Whole – place your lemongrass on a chopping board and bash hard on the thick end with the back of your knife. This is called bruising your lemongrass. Set aside until cooking time.

  Second lemongrass – slice into thin rings and add to the chopper.

  You can read more about how to prepare lemongrass for use in this post.
  1 stalk lemongrass (to be used whole), 1 stalk lemongrass
• Cut off the tough outer layer of the galangal and discard. Slice the galangal into thin rounds and drop into the chopper. Skip if you can't find galangal.

  If using shop-bought paste, just add 1 tsp to the chopper.
  2.5 cm galangal OR 1 tsp paste
• Now, chop all the ingredients in the chopper to a fine paste. Add a tiny amount of water if you need it.

Let's Cook our Sambal Goreng

Fry the Tofu and Tempeh

• Heat 2 Tbsp of the oil in a wok or frying pan on medium-high heat. Fry the tofu for 2 minutes, flipping and stirring as you go along. You want to brown the tofu pieces, so don't worry about brown ends.

  Tip out onto a plate lined with kitchen paper. A slotted spoon would work very well here, especially if you're using more oil than what I've listed.
  5 Tbsp vegetable oil
• Heat 2 more Tbsp of oil and brown the tempeh, still on medium-high heat. 2-3 minutes should do. Tip out onto the plate with the tofu.

Cooking the whole thing together

• Add the last Tbsp of oil into your wok/pan and fry the paste, the bruised lemongrass and the chilli powder for 2 minutes.
  ½ tsp chilli powder
• Mash the tamarind with your fingers (it should be cool enough now). Then fish out the seeds and pulp, discard, and pour everything else into your wok/frying pan. Or use a sieve with a large mesh. Stir to mix.
• Tip the fried tofu and tempeh and the green beans and give it a good stir to mix.
• Now add everything else and bring it up to a simmer. Leave to cook, uncovered, for 5 minutes until the beans are done. If you fancy a drier sambal goreng, cook a little bit longer.

  Check seasoning and add more salt if you want.
  125 ml coconut milk, ½ tsp salt, 1 tsp sugar
• Serve immediately, as described above. Will keep in the fridge, covered, for 2 days. Can also be frozen for up to a month.