Egg Sambal Tumis and Fried Sardines

For me, one the surprises about living in the Bay Area is the number of Singaporeans who are here. We are lucky to have made a few good friends from Singapore who, of course, share our love of good food. I cook often and enjoy inviting our friends for a meal. Usually, having guests over for a meal require some planning. But when you can make simple home-cooked food for a fellow Singaporean, little planning is necessary. For this meal, I already had eggs in the fridge. Dried chilies are a pantry staple. Then I picked-up some kangkong from the Chinese supermarket and fresh sardines from Whole Foods to complete our menu.

I made sambal belacan kangkong with the sambal belacan from my mum. The sardines were fried and the eggs were boiled for sambal tumis. This is a sambal where dried chili paste is sauteed until it turns into a deep red and then sweetened with sugar. And I love pairing this sambal with fried fish because they go so well together. My mum would serve these dishes with nasi lemak, which is white rice cooked in coconut cream with a pandan leaf or two thrown in. But for that night, we had brown rice with our simple kampung ('village') dishes.

Egg Sambal Tumis (Sambal Tumis Telur)

6 eggs
1 oz or 20 dried chilies
10 shallots
3 garlic
1-inch shrimp paste (belacan), toasted
2-inch tamarind paste
1½ cup hot water
2 tablespoons sugar

1. Make hard boiled eggs. Cool and peel the shells.

2. De-seed the dried chilies and soak in warm water for half an hour. Pound or grind to a paste. Peel the shallots and garlic, then pound or grind with shrimp paste. Put the tamarind paste into the hot water to make tamarind juice.

3. Heat oil in wok or saucepan to medium heat. Add in the shallot, garlic and shrimp paste blend. Saute for about 2 minutes. Add the chili paste and continue frying for 2 minutes. Then add the tamarind juice. Bring to a boil, then lower heat and continue cooking until the mixture turns into a deep red, about 15-20 minutes. Add sugar and stir until it dissolves. Taste the sambal. If there is too much heat, add more tamarind juice and/or sugar.

4. Switch off the heat and add the eggs.

Fried Sardines (Ikan Tamban Goreng)

6 fresh sardines
1 teaspoon turmeric powder
1 teaspoon salt
oil for frying

1. Gut and clean the fish (you can ask your fishmonger to do it). Dry the fish as much as possible. Then rub the sardines with turmeric powder and salt.

2. Heat about ½-inch oil in a wok or pan to high heat. Put in the sardines; in batches if necessary. Lower the heat slight. Fry until the fish turn golden brown, or about 3-4 minutes. Then turn over and fry for another 3 minutes.

3. Remove fish onto paper towel to drain the oil.

Ayam Masak Merak — A Classic Malay Chicken Recipe

When I left Singapore, I left behind a gaggle of girlfriends. Oh, how I miss them. Long conversations, gossip over food, steady shoulders for a good cry. You know those sort of friends.

Moving here, I had no expectations when it came to making new friends. I was lucky because I already had one good friend, B, who lives 10 minutes away. And I grew close to one of S's friends, L. That was enough for my social life. I was busy with moving homes, settling down and studying. After my exams, we went to a Singapore network event (because we thought they would have good Singapore food) and during the reception, while we were munching on some spring rolls, another couple joined us at our table. We introduced ourselves. She's from Singapore too and just moved with her French husband. We did small talk and being Singaporeans, of course, we chatted about food.

Fast forward 18 months later, and we — D and I — are still chatting about food. In fact, we've gone beyond that - we've both set up blogs where we talk a lot about food. So to celebrate her birthday, of course, food was involved. Last night, I made dinner for her and her adoring husband, M. I decided to make one of my mum's Malay chicken dish, ayam masak merah (recipe below). Literally it means "chicken cooked red", which sounds a little strange translated. But the sauce is a blend of red dried chilies and pureed tomatoes. The only thing different I did from my mum was to roast the chickens instead of frying them. It was a nice taste of home, in the company of semi-new friends — eating, talking, laughing. So it was a celebration not just of a birthday, but of friendship, as well.

After dinner, we had dessert. I always make desserts when we have friends over. But last night, I didn't because D brought some. Why would I let the birthday girl bring her own dessert? Because she's been busy making them everyday for the last month! Yup, everyday. So let's celebrate her birthday today by looking through every single of her yummy desserts on her blog — bonvivant. Watch the drool!

Chicken in Red Sauce ("Ayam Masak Merah")

3 oz dried red chilies or ½ cup of dried chili paste
1 whole chicken
1 teaspoon tumeric
2 tablespoons oil
1 medium sized onion
4 cloves of garlic
2 inch ginger
1 inch galangal
2 lemongrass
1 cup tomato puree or diced tomato
½ cup coconut cream
1 tablespoon sugar
salt

1. De-seed and cut the each dried chili into 2-3 pieces. Soak in warm water for 30 minutes.

2. Heat oven to 400°F. Cut the chicken into 8-10 pieces. Marinate with oil, salt and turmeric. Roast for 30 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 165°F.

3. Peel onion, garlic, ginger and galangal, cut into smaller pieces and place into food processor. Take one of the lemongrass stalks and cut the just the white part into smaller pieces, also to be placed in the food processor. Grind until you get a smooth paste (you may need to add a couple tablespoons of water to get it started). Remove spice paste from food processor. If using diced tomato, put in food processor and puree. Remove puree into a bowl. Then place the dried chilies in the food processor and grind.

4. Heat 2 tablespoon oil in a wok. Saute the spice paste for about 3 minutes. Take the bottom 8-inches of the remaining lemongrass and bruise with the back of your knife. Add the lemongrass, chili paste, tomato puree and coconut cream. Stir until all the ingredients are well-incorporated. Bring to a boil, then let it simmer for 20 minutes. In the last minute, add salt and sugar. Taste - add more salt if necessary and diced tomatoes if it is too spice.

5. Put in the roasted chicken pieces and mix until the chicken pieces are well coated with the sauce.

Serve with rice and a side dish of vegetables.

Sambal Oelek Roasted Chicken

This is a quick post. S and I are about to go out to spend an afternoon in the city. We are going to hear Karen Armstrong speak as part of the City Arts & Lecture series this evening and before that we'll catch the Avedon exhibition in SFMoma.

Last night we made sambal oelek roasted chicken. This is my too lazy too cook dish. Remember the sambal oelek? I simply mix it with oil and rub it all over the chicken pieces and under the skin and toss them in the oven. Use 3 tablespoons of sambal oelek and two tablespoons of chili oil or vegetable oil for about four large pieces of chicken legs and roast at 400°F for about 30 minutes. Smaller pieces may be done earlier so watch the oven. While waiting, I boiled some small potatoes for my cilantro yogurt dressing. Quick braise shredded cabbage and carrot, and we have a meal.

Asian-Inspired Salmon Patties

I am one of those hosts who worries that there isn't enough food whenever I have friends over for a meal. I might have 5 steaks for 4 guests or have cooked a meal in my biggest pot, but I always wonder if everyone will be well-fed. What do I do if I run out of food? Will my guests leave hungry? Can I blame my mother for giving me this complex? Because it really was the way she cooked — big, hearty and enough for the family and the neighbors.

So when we had our friends over for dinner last week, I was fretting again. With just a couple of hours before dinner, I decided to make salmon patties. I used a recipe from Simply Recipes - the encyclopedic blog of recipes. I had never tried canned salmon before that, so I looked it up and it seems that canned salmon has a good amount of omega-3 and is sustainable. I bought the Wild Alaskan canned salmon from Whole Foods to try the recipe and both S and I liked the results. Since then, I always keep a can in the pantry. For the dinner though, in keeping with the theme of the meal, I asian-ified the patties and made them bite-sized for appetizers since I already had the entrée. This is a great recipe for appetizers for a crowd - you can keep the patties warm at the lowest temperature in the oven until you are ready to serve. I also made 2 dipping sauces - one with ginger and soy sauce, and another with sambal oelek. I am happy to report that everyone's tummy was well-filled at dinner.

Asian Salmon Patties
adapted from Simply Recipes

14 oz canned salmon
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon ginger, minced
½ teaspoon ginger powder (optional)
2 teaspoons fish sauce
1 tablespoon flour
1 sliced bread, shredded
5 tablespoons long beans, sliced thin
1 egg, beaten
Oil for pan-frying

Sambal dipping sauce — mix:
1 tablespoon sambal oelek (homemade or store bought)
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon chili oil

Ginger soy sauce dipping sauce — mix:
1 teaspoon ginger, minced
1 tablespoon soy sauce
2 teaspoons rice vinegar
a few drops of sesame oil

1. Remove the salmon from the can - do not drain away the liquid. Flake the fish and remove any bits of fish skin if present. Gently stir in the ginger, garlic, fish sauce, flour, bread and long beans. Shape into small balls of about 1-inch wide. Then press into patties.

3. Heat oil to medium heat. Dip each patty into the beaten egg before frying until golden brown — about 1-2 minutes per side.

Makes 32-34 patties.

Fried Trout with Sambal Oelek

This is fried fish and sambal. Such a humble dish. If you know me, you'll know that this is the dish that still ties me to my mum's apron's strings. Before I return to Singapore for a visit, she'll ask me what I want to eat while I'm there (don't all mothers do that?). And so I give her a list, but I always plead with her, "Mak, when I arrive, can you have ikan selar kuning sambal tumis prepared, please?" Ikan selar kuning is a type of scad - a small fish with a yellow vertical stripe on the side. Oh, how it makes me happy when I catch sight of that plate of rice, vegetable and the small crispy fish which had been deep fried and generously coated with sauteed red chili paste. So you see, I may not know what is the last meal I want to have, but I am certain of what my first meal home should be, every time.

Cooking Trout
I have yet been able to find scad here. So I try to be adventurous when I go grocery shopping. On a recent trip, I saw that Whole Foods had trouts. I couldn't remember if I had ever tried trout, but it looks like a size that would fit into my wok (good criteria, no?), so I happily picked two. I knew I was going to fry the fish. Instead of using my mum's sambal recipe, I decided to make another version with the sambal oelek I had just made. You can use the store bought version too. The flesh is quite delicate so it should be cooked quickly. Verdict? We like trout and will definitely have it again. The flesh was flaky and sweet, and went well with the sambal. Plus, because the trout was butterflied, there was no bone in the fish which S especially liked.






Fried Trout with Sambal Oelek

2 trouts (or any fish), cleaned
2 tablespoons rice flour
2 teaspoons turmeric
3 tablespoons sambal oelek (homemade or store-bought)
2 shallots, thinly sliced
3 garlic, minced
1-inch cube ginger, minced
1 tablespoon sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
½ cup tamarind juice (from 1 tablespoon tamarind paste)
oil for frying

1. Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a wok to medium heat. Put in the sliced shallots and saute until caramelized - about 4-5 minutes. Add in the garlic and ginger. Lower the heat slight so that the garlic doesn't burn. Saute for another minute.

2. Put in the sambal oelek and the sugar. Stir until the sugar melts and then add in the tamarind juice. Continue stirring for about 5 minutes. Remove the sambal and clean the wok.

3. For the fish - dry the fish as much as possible with paper towels. Rub them with the turmeric and then the rice flour. Heat oil to medium high - there should be about ½-inch oil in the wok - should be enough to cover the length of the fish. As soon as the oil is hot, put in the fish. The oil should be sizzling. You can fry one at a time if your wok is not big enough. Fry until brown and then turn over carefully - about 2-3 minutes on each side.

4. Remove the fish to a paper towel to drain a little of the oil. Then put them on a plate and spread the sambal on each fish.

Serve with rice and a vegetable side dish.

The Sambal Series - Homemade Sambal Oelek

My mother swears that the second word to have come out of my mouth was 'lombok' which means 'chilies' in Javanese. Even though my first language is Malay, my maternal grandparents are Javanese - my grandfather left the Indonesian island of Java and set sailed to Malacca for greener pastures. So all their 9 children including my mother were brought up bilingual - Javanese at home and Malay in school.

With 9 siblings and half of them bearing families, you can imagine the chaos during our annual trip to visit our grandparents. Everyone could speak Malay, but the adults, when together, just slip into Javanese. The fast chatter was beyond my comprehension. To humor the children, they would sometimes teach us a few words but no one became fluent. I suspected that they liked having a 'secret' language so that they could talk adult stuff or lament about their children to each other. Thus, since the word 'lombok', I've added just 8 more Javanese words to my vocabulary - eggs and the numbers 1 to 7.

Actually, make that 9 more words. The word "oelek" in sambal oelek is also Javanese and is modernly spelled as "ulek". It has nothing to do with the the ingredients that make up the sambal, but refers to the mortar and pestle used to grind the chilies. Every household has its own version sambal oelek. When I moved to California, I was pleasantly surprised to find a bottle of sambal oelek at the supermarket and upon googling, found that it was a popular product. I was happy because it meant I didn't have to import it from my mum. But I looked at the ingredients: chili, salt, distilled vinegar, potassium sorbate, sodium bisulfite, and xanthan gum. It contains both a preservative and an additive. I understand that might be necessary in some foods, but sambal is so easy to make, I decided to make my own to skip the preservative and additive.

Some versions of homemade sambal oelek include shrimp paste, shallots and lemongrass. I prefer it simpler with just salt and vinegar so that it can be used both as a condiment and an ingredient. Slicing and de-seeding chilies are not the most pleasant of jobs. As a kid, I used to waltz into the kitchen looking for a snack when a waft of the pungent fumes would sent me scurrying out of there immediately. It was the chilies, the red chilies my mother was relentlessly pounding in a mortar and pestle that released the stinging odor causing me to cough. Grinding them manually is better, but it's a breeze with the food processor or blender.

The type of chilies to use

Originally, the chilies used to make sambal oelek and sambal belacan are red serrano chilies. This is a problem because I can't always find them here in the Bay Area. Green serranos are plenty, but not red. So when I was at Milkpail and saw fresh serrano chilies, I grabbed a pound's worth. Since I already had sambal belacan, I decide to make sambal oelek. It made about 1 cup of sambal. I wish I had bought more. You can always freeze a portion of the sambal for use later. When you are cutting and de-seeding the chilies, try to have only one hand in contact with chilies while the other hand holds the knife. Then you will have at least one hand untainted by the sting of the chilies. After everything is done, I suggest rubbing your fingers in a citrus (good) or soaking your fingers in a bowl of milk (better) or both (best)!

If you can't find red serrano chilies, try holland chilies which are slightly longer and narrower than serranos, or fresno chilies which are shorter and fatter. Both are worthy substitutes; they just have a little less heat than serranos. I can't find holland chilies here, but below is a photo of a fresno chili compared to a serrano. The same goes if you are making sambal belacan - serrano should be your first choice.

Sambal oelek recipe

1 pound serrano chilies
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons vinegar

To slice the chilies: cut the top off and slice in half lengthwise. Remove the center veins and all the seeds. If you like it with more heat, leave some seeds in. Slice the chilies in about 1/2 inch pieces. Grind them in a food processor or grind them in a mortar and pestle until they become a thick paste - you may need to add up to 1-2 tablespoons of water to get it going. Pour the paste into a yet unheated wok or sauce pan set on medium to high heat. As the sambal heats up, add the salt and vinegar. Stir well. Leave on medium for about 10 minutes, stirring regularly.

Makes about 1 cup sambal oelek.

The Sambal Series - Sambal belacan kangkong

Kangkong is one of those vegetables which I've always known by its Malay name. I think in school we learned that its anglicized name is water convolvulus - not a name that rolls off the tongue easily (try saying it several times). Perhaps it doesn't like to be called that either because it's also known as water morning glory and water spinach. But no need to look for it in California by any of those monikers. If you go to the Chinese supermarket, it's labeled "on choy". It has more aliases than a secret agent. In fact, in might be one. According to this wiki, it is technically illegal to grow, possess or move kangkong (even interstate), but because it goes by so many names, it slips pass customs easily.

I am of course delighted that I can enjoy this leafy green here. And my favorite way to eat it is to cook it with sambal belacan (and ideally with savored sambal stingray). So I present sambal belacan kangkong as dish #2. Despite its frail appearance, the kangkong holds its own against the pungent sambal belacan.

This might seem strange but I added a picture below of how the kangkong is to be cut. The leaves shouldn't be stripped at the base of their stalks. Part of the stem should be included so that you get some crunch as well. I used the sambal belacan sent to me by mum, but I've provided a recipe for it below. Red serrano chiles are a little elusive where I am. If it's the same for you, use any red chilies like fresno or holland chilies. Neither are as hot as serrano and the sambal belacan will not taste exactly the same, but they make decent substitutes. It is also best to use kalamansi lime if you are able to get some; otherwise you can use reguar lime. Dried shrimps come in different sizes, but it does not matter which one you choose because they are to be chopped into small pieces.

Sambal belacan kangkong

1 lb kangkong
1 oz dried shrimps, chopped
2 shallots, minced
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 tablespoons of sambal belacan
3 tablespoons of water
2 tablespoons oil

Sambal belacan
5-6 fresh red serrano chilies, sliced and do not de-seed completely
2-inch piece of belacan, toasted until fragrant
4 teaspoons of lime juice
peel of ½ a lime, sliced thinly

1. Pound all the ingredients of the sambal belacan but not too finely.

2. Put 2 tablespoons of oil in a wok over medium high heat. Fry the shallots until they are caramelized - about 3-4 minutes. Add the dried shrimps and the garlic. Stir-fry for 1 minute then add the sambal belacan and continue frying for 1 minute. Put in the kangkong. Mix it well with the rempah or spice paste already in the wok. Add the water. Cook until the kangkong leaves are wilted.

Serve with rice.

When sambal belacan means she loves me

See that container with the masking tape wrapped around its cover? It's chockfull of sambal belacan my mum made from one kilo of fresh red serrano chilies and flown more than 8000 miles in the good hands of our friend R. I redistributed it into smaller containers - one goes into the fridge and the rest go into the freezer for future use. I think I know what's for dinner tonight.

The Sambal Series - Sambal goreng sayur

I can't say if marriage is what I expected it to be. I think for both of us, it took time getting used to living with someone. I'm sure part of it was because we got married at an older age - we were pretty much set in our ways by then. One minute I am this independent woman running my own business. The next minute I am sitting cross-legged in his living room in another continent, wondering where I can fit all my books. We have had plenty of adjustments to make along the way.

One of the things that fall on both ends of the get-along-meter is food. It is something that unites us and at the same time, causes some arguments. We grew up eating Malay food, so we love the savory taste of Malay rempah (spices) that flavors our food. We enjoy spending time in the kitchen trying to recreate the smell and taste that peppered our childhood and arguing whose mum made a better ____ (any Malay food). But he is also a red meat lover. Those last three words should be capitalized just to emphasis how much he loves red meat, but I am too polite to be shouting over the web. I really have no objection to my husband eating red meat but for health reasons I would like him to eat less of it. We "discuss" this a lot.

So I look for meat-less recipes which I think will satisfy his tastebuds. My mum's sambal goreng sayur recipe is one such recipe. The rough translation for the dish is "fried chili vegetables". She usually makes it with beef but I decided to make it with prawns. I was glad to hear that he liked it just as much. This recipe is a typical of Malay food. Onion, garlic, belacan, lemongrass, galangal and chilli blended into a spice paste and then fried until fragrant. My mum suggested one cup of dried chilli but it was too much heat, so I reduced it to half a cup.






Sambal Goreng Sayur

½ cup dried chili, de-seeded and blended into paste
1 onion, medium sized
5 garlic cloves
3 lemon grass stalks
1-inch square belacan (shrimp paste)
3-inch galangal
1 tablespoon tamarind paste to produce ½ cup of tamarind juice
2 tablespoons sugar
15 long beans, cut into 2-inch pieces at an angle
1 8-oz tempe
1 8-oz baked or fried tofu
(tofu & tempe cut into 1 by 2-inch blocks & lightly fried separately)
1 lb prawns, shelled and de-veined, lightly fried
oil for frying

Rempah (spice paste) - Peel and chop galangal, lemongrass, onion and garlic into 1-inch pieces. You don't have to exact because all will be blended. Use only the white and light green part of the lemongrass. Put the chilli paste, lemongrass, onion, garlic, belacan and galangal into a blender or food processor - grind until mixture becomes paste. Heat 1 table spoon of oil in a wok. Put in the rempah, sugar and tamarind juice - be careful of oil splatter - and fry until fragrant. Stir often so that the rempah doesn't burn. This may take 15-20 minutes.

Remove the rempah and clean the wok. Heat about 2 tablespoon of oil (medium heat). Fry the long beans for about 2 minutes. Then put in the tofu, tempe and prawns. Stir-fry for one minute. Add the rempah and mix well. Fry for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Serve with rice.

Serves 4

The Sambal Series - Sambal stingray

I had a timid youth when it came to late night partying. The idea of going to a club always turned out to be more fun than the actual experience. The part of the evening I enjoyed best was the supper we would go to afterwards. Blurry-eyed and half-deaf from having 100 decibels drummed into our ears, it may take prata and teh tarik or Teochew porridge to recalibrate our senses. But eventually, we just dropped the disco beat and went straight to the late-night supper.

Oh, the options we had in Singapore for nocturnal makan.... At the top of my list are the sambal stingray and sambal kangkong from the seafood stall at Adam Road hawker center. As we discussed important issues of day - politics, gossip or matters of the heart, our fingers nimbly work the chopsticks into the white flesh of the fish. I made sure every picking include enough sambal so that I could taste the mingling of salty-sweet spice and fish with each mouthful. I remember the food better than the conversations. Perhaps we might accompany our meal with calamari or clams, but the stingray and the kangkong were a must. We ate with relish until we had to scrape the fish meat from its bones.

Sadly, since I moved to the Bay Area, I have been hard-pressed to find stingray in any of the supermarkets. But last week, while I was shopping for pomfrets at Ranch 99, I spotted these bottom feeders at the fresh seafood section. Or rather, I spotted the "wings" of the stingray. I was so excited, I wondered who I could call to share the news. Yes, that is my life now. So I bought one, went home and plotted my sambal.

My husband helped me peel off its rubbery skin while I prepared the sambal. I used some sambal belacan I had, added a little sugar and some tamarind juice and I was done. I put the fish on the oven and finished by broiling it. A spray of lime juice and it is ready. Sitting succulently on a banana leaf, it transported me back to those late night suppers. The fish was fresh and the spice level just right. I can't wait for the next stingray spotting.