Ikan Balado/Fried Fish in Tangy Chili Sauce

Balado is one of the sambal from West Sumatra (a.k.a Minang) Most Indonesian know how to make balado. The basic ingredients are shallots, chilies, tomato, lime juice, salt and sugar. I learned this version of balado from our Indonesian helper in Malaysia many years ago. I like it on blanch vegetables or just simple fried fish like this. The fish tasted so perfect with the tangy sweet balado.

Yellow Rice/Nasi Tumpeng - Day 2

Tumpeng is a cone-shaped rice dish like mountain with plenty of side dishes from meat to vegetables. People in Java, Bali and Madura usually make Tumpeng to celebrate important event. However, all Indonesians are familiar with Tumpeng. The philosophy of Tumpeng is related to the geographical condition of Indonesia, especially Java as fertile island with numerous mountains and volcanoes. Tumpeng dated back to ancient Indonesian tradition that revered mountains as the abode of ancestors and gods. The cone-shaped rice meant to mimics the holy mountain. The feast served as some kind of thanks giving for the abundance of harvest or any other blessings. In gratitude ceremony (syukuran or slametan), after the people pray, the top of tumpeng is cut and delivered to the most important person. He or she may be the group leader, the oldest person, or the beloved one. Then, all people in the ceremony enjoy the tumpeng together. With tumpeng, people express the gratitude to God and appreciate togetherness and harmony. (from Wikipedia)

Minang Fried Beef

Our Indonesia helper taught me to cook this dish many years ago. It is a simple Minangkabau dish. Minangkabau people are from West Sumatra, Indonesia. Their dishes are popular in South East Asian and is famous for its rich taste of succulent coconut milk and spicy chili. This dish that she taught me is very simple and didn’t use any coconut milk in it. Even without the coconut milk the dish has a nice fragrant of coconut because of the coconut paste/kerisik in it and it is not spicy at all. It goes really well with rice or bread.

Ingredients:
From My Kitchen Snippets

1 pound beef – I used flank steak
2 tbsp chili paste or sambal Oelek
4 shallots
2” fresh ginger
6 cloves garlic
2 green chilies – cut small
1 medium size onion – slice round
3 tbsp tomato ketchup
2 tbsp coconut paste/ kerisik (recipe below)
2 tsp sugar
Salt to taste

Chicken in Sweet Soy Sauce/Ayam Masak Kicap Manis

This is a dish that I cooked often when I want something quick and easy. This is a childhood favorite of mine. My mother used to cook it for us very often. Sometimes she will add mushrooms or potatoes to it. It is an easy Malay dish that tasted absolutely delicious with steamed rice.

Ingredients:

1/2 chicken – removed skin, fats and cut into bite size pieces
2 medium size potatoes – peel and cut into quarters
1 small onion
1” fresh ginger
2 cloves garlic
2 spring onions – cut into 1” length

Spicy Eggplant (Terung Balado)

The first time I tasted sambal Balado was from an Indonesian restaurant called Restaurant Malindo at Sungai Wang Plaza. It was so good especially when they top it on crispy fried fish. Balado is basically an Indonesian sambal paste. I learned making balado many years ago from our family helper. Basic ingredients for balado are shallots, red chilies, tomato, lime juice, sugar and salt. This chili paste is really good and goes well with fried fish or any type of meat dish. For today I used it on roasted eggplants. Eggplant is one of my favorite vegetable. If you love eggplant and like spicy food this is the dish for you.

Ingredients:

2 Asian eggplant
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
4 shallots, finely chopped
2 fresh red tomato - chopped
2 tablespoon chili paste (sambal Oelek)
1 tsp palm sugar or brown sugar (more if you like it sweeter)
1 tsp salt
juice of a lime
1/2 cup water

½ cup fried anchovies - optional

1. Cut the eggplant into 1” length. Put the eggplant into a baking sheet and drizzle some olive oil and salt to it. Bake them in a pre-heated 375 degree F oven for 20-25 minutes, or until they are soft but not mushy.
2. Meanwhile, in a frying pan, heat up about 2 tbsp oil. Stir fry garlic and shallots until fragrant and lightly brown. Add in chili paste and chopped tomatoes. Stir fry for a minute and add in the water. Simmer until the sauce reduces to half.
3. Add in salt and sugar, lime juice and lastly add in the fried anchovies. Stir until well mix. Pour the sauce over the eggplant and serve immediately.

Note: Besides baking the eggplant you can always fried the eggplant in hot oil for a few minutes .