Sambal

 

Sambal is a chili sauce or paste, typically made from a mixture of a variety of chili peppers with secondary ingredients such as shrimp paste, garlic, ginger, shallot, scallion, palm sugar, and lime juice. Sambal is an Indonesian loan-word of Javanese and Sundanese origin (sambel). It originated from the culinary traditions of Indonesia, and is also an integral part of the cuisines of Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Brunei and Singapore. It has also spread through overseas Indonesian populations to the Netherlands and Suriname.

Various recipes of sambals usually are served as hot and spicy condiments for dishes, such as lalab (raw vegetables), ikan bakar (grilled fish), ikan goreng (fried fish), ayam goreng (fried chicken), ayam penyet (smashed chicken), iga penyet (ribs) and various soto soup. There are 212 variants of sambal in Indonesia, with most of them originated from Java.

 

 

What you need:

- two cups of oil

- 10-15 roughly chopped fresh red peppers (lombok) 

- 4 cloves of garlic

- half red onion or a few shallots

- handful of dried red peppers (to make it more spicy) and cut in half;

- 4 or 5 kemiri nuts

- handful of dried anchovies

- 2 lime leaves (from freezer)

- pinch of salt

- 1 tbps of sugar (cristal- or palm sugar)

 

To prepare it:

- heat the oil on medium heat and put in the red peppers, garlic and onion for two - three minutes;

- add the dried red peppers, kemiri nuts, anchovies, lime leaves and fry for another two minutes or until the onions and fresh red peppers are softened (don't burn the ingredients);

- take from the heat and put in a blender and make it in puree and - if necessary of if you desire - finish in a mortar;

- put the sambal back into the heated pan with the oil, add the salt and sugar and heat for a few minutes (at consistency you like the best):

- don't worry about the quantity of the oil. You will need it to cover the sambal in the put. It helps conserving the sambal;

Tip: My favorite is the dried, salted anchovies (teri nasi). But you can also use dried shrimps or shrimp paste (trasi) to add extra taste to the homemade sambal.

Steamed Salmon with Red Rice and Pak Choi

This easy light tasted Thai recipe is full of flavours.

What you need:

• small bunch of coriander, washed
  
• 15 mint leaves, washed
• ½ tsp of salt
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 2 green chillies, de-seeded and chopped
• 3 tbsp fresh lime juice
• 1 tbsp golden caster sugar
• 1 tsp peeled and chopped ginger
• 1 tbsp fish sauce (nam pla)
• 4 x 125g salmon fillets
• 4 heads pak choi
• 1 clove garlic, finely chopped
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 2 tbsp honey
• 5cm piece ginger, finely chopped
• 200ml chicken stock
• Thai red rice 
  

How to prepare it:

1. Wash the red rice very well and put in cold water for 20 miniutes. Then put the rice in a pan with boiling water and cook until the grains are tender, but stil with a good bite. 
2. In a food processor blend together the coriander leaves and stalks, mint leaves, salt, garlic and chillies to make a rough paste. Add the lime juice, caster sugar, ginger and fish sauce and process until fairly smooth.
3. Spoon the sauce into a heat-proof bowl and combine with the salmon, then marinate for 20 minutes. For that you can pack the salmon and marinade each in kitchen foil.
4. Boil some water in the bottom half of a steamer.
5. Place the packed and marinated salmon in the steamer for 6-8 minutes.
6. Blanch the pak choi and rice noodles for 1-2 minutes in boiling salted water, then drain and place in bowl.
7. Add the garlic, soy sauce, honey, ginger and chicken stock and toss to combine.
8. Serve the steamed salmon with the pak choi and lovely red rice.

Fried Tofu in a Spicy Sauce (Pindang Tahu)

A lovely sidedish with nasi goreng (together with for example the eggs in yellow sauce)

What you need:

• 400 gr. tofu
• 1 dl. oil 
• 2 onions (finely cut)
• 2 cloves of garlic (finely cut)
• 2 red lombok chillies (finely cut)
• 1 slice of laos
• 1 laurel
• 2 tbsp ketjap manis
• salt to taste

How to prepare it:

1. Cut the tofu in 2 cm blocks
2. Heat the oil and fry the tofu golden brown and place them on a papertowel. 
3. Leave one tbsp of oil in the frying pan and heat it again. Slowly cook the sliced garlic and onions. Add the laos.
4. Add the ketjap, laurel, chillies and the salt and cook the sauce for a short period. 
5. Add the tofu and stew for a while.

This dish is to be served with different other gravies and rice,

South Italian Pasta with Prawns

This is a delicious and easy to make recipe form the south of Italy.

What you need: 

• 350 g dried spaghetti
  
• sea salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic , peeled and finely chopped
• 2 dried red chillie, crumbled
• 400 g tiger prawns
• 1 dl white wine
• 3 tbsp tomato puree
• 1 lemon, juice and zest 
• 2 handfuls rocket salad, roughly chopped
  How to prepare it:
  1. Cook your spaghetti in a large pan of salted boiling water.
  2. Meanwhile, heat 3 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil in a large frying pan and toss in the garlic and chilli. As the garlic begins to colour, add the prawns and sauté them for a minute. 
  3. Add the white wine and the tomato purée and simmer for a couple of minutes. 
  4. When the pasta is ready, drain it in a colander, reserving a little of the cooking water. 
  5. Toss the spaghetti with the sauce, squeeze in the lemon juice, add half the chopped rocket, adding a little of the reserved cooking water if you want to loosen the sauce a bit, and correct the seasoning. 
  6. Divide between 4 plates and sprinkle with the grated lemon zest and the rest of the rocket leaves.
  (after Jamie Oliver)

Chicken Miso Soup

Miso is a traditional Japanese seasoning produced by fermenting soybeans with salt and the fungus Aspergillus oryzae, known in Japanese as kōji (麹), and sometimes rice, barley, or other ingredients. The result is a thick paste used for sauces and spreads, pickling vegetables or meats, and mixing with dashi soup stock to serve as miso soup called misoshiru (味噌汁), a Japanese culinary staple. High in protein and rich in vitamins and minerals, miso played an important nutritional role in feudal Japan. Miso is still widely used in Japan, both in traditional and modern cooking, and has been gaining worldwide interest.
Miso is typically salty, but its flavor and aroma depend on various factors in the ingredients and fermentation process. Different varieties of miso have been described as salty, sweet, earthy, fruity, and savory. The traditional Chinese analogue of miso is known as dòujiàng (豆酱).

 

What you need:

• 5cm piece fresh root ginger, chopped
  
• 3 garlic cloves, crushed
• pinch of crushed chillies
• 3 tbsp red miso paste
• 2 tbsp lime juice
• 200g fine egg or rice noodles
• 250 gr chicken thighs, thinly sliced
• 125g shiitake mushrooms, sliced
• 70g baby sweetcorn, chopped
• 200g sugar-snap peas

How to prepare it:

1. Make the saucepan greacy with oil and heat over a medium heat. Add the ginger, garlic and chillies and stir-fry for 1 minute.
2. Add 1,7 litres boiling water and bring to a simmer. Stir in the miso paste, lime juice and noodles and cook for 1 minute. Cover and set aside.
3. Greace a large wok with oil and stir-fry the chicken, mushrooms and sweetcorn for 2-3 minutes. Add the peas and cook for 2 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through.
4. Transfer the soup to the bowls, spoon over the vegetables and chicken and enjoy.

Asian Meatballs

This is a delicious surprise party- or tv-snack.

What you need:

• 2 small onions
• 2 tbsp butter
• 5 garlic cloves, sliced finely
• 1 tbsp selery, sliced finely
• 1 small chillies, sliced finely and deseeded
• 1 egg
• 2 tbsp sweet soy sauce
• 1/5 kg minced beef and pork (50-50)
• 60 ml chicken stock
• 1 tbsp sesame oil

How to prepare it:

1. Preheat the oven on 190 degrees Celsius
2. Cook the onion in the butter untill glazed. Add the garlic and fry for 30 seconds. Then add the selery and chillies and fry for another 2 minutes.
3. Put the fried ingredients in a bowl and let it cool down.
4. Add the egg, sweet soy sauce and some salt to taste to the bowl.
5. Add the meat and mix well with your hands.
6. Roll it to medium balls and lay them in a pan. Add the chicken stock and cover the pan with aluminiumfoil.
7. Bake them in about 10 minutes. 
8. Take them out of the oven and col them down a bit.
9. Serve with anything you like!

Sweet Potatoes with Red Pesto and Pork Loin Chops

What you need:

- 100 gram red tomatoes (deceeded)

- 2 eetlepels roasted pine nuts
- 50 gram Parmesan cheese
- 25 gram fresh basil
- 2 garlic cloves
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp balsamico vinegar
- 4 loin chops
- 4 slices mozarellla cheese
- 2 large sweet potatoes (roughly chopped)
- a bunch of green beans

How to prepare it:

1. For the pesto take a blender and mix the tomatoes, roasted pine nuts, Parmesan cheese, basil, garlic and a bit of oil and vinegar. Blend until puree.
2. slowly add the rest of the olive oil.
3. For the loin chops: dry teh chops and rub them with salt and pepper.
4. Heat some oil in a frying pan. Fry the loins on strong heat for 3 minutes on each side.
5. brush the loin chops on one side with the pesto, add on each loin a piece of mozzarella and cook for another ten minutes.
6. Meanwhile cook the sweet potatoes and the green beans.
7. Put the pork loin, sweet potatoes and beans on a plate and put some pesto on the potatoes and the green beans.
8. Serve immediately.