Tamarind Soup (Sayur Asem)

It is another request from my good friend to publish this recipe. I like to modify it as what people normally made in Pati, Central Java. It is quite different than Sayur Asem Jakarta, especially because this one has meat in it and use shrimp paste (Indonesian-terasi) as one of essential spices.
The taste is a combination of spicy-salty-sweet and sour. Very rich!

Ingredients:
- 400gr beef and bones
- 3 corn on cob, cut into 4 each
- 2 chayote (Indonesian-labu siam), peel, wash, discard the seed, cut into small pieces
- 200 gr long beans (Indonesian-kacang panjang), but this time I used string beans (Indonesian-kacang buncis), wash and cut into 4cm in length
- chili paddy/bird's eye chili, as many as you like
- 5 cloves of garlic
- 5 cloves of small red onion
- 5 candle nuts
- 1 tsp shrimp paste
- 2 tsp tamarind paste
- 1/2 tomato
- salt
- sugar
- water

In a pot boil the beef and bones in water until tender. While boiling the meat, prepare the spices. In a blender put garlic, onion, candle nuts, chili, shrimp paste and tomato, grind until smooth. Put it aside. When the meat is tender enough, take it out and cut into small pieces. Put it back. Add corn, continue to boil until cooked. Add the chayote and string beans, cook for 3minutes until they are cooked (not overcooked). Add the smooth spices. Add salt and sugar and adjust the taste.

Note: serve with steam rice and fried dish, for examples: fried fish, potato fritter, vegetable fritter (Indonesian-bakwan sayur), fried tempeh-tofu, etc.