Spicy Dip with Shrimp Paste (Sambal Balacan)

1/8 cup cooking oil
1 (120 grams) medium size tomato, halved and seeded
5 (20 grams) shallots
10 (75 grams) red chilies
8 (25 grams) green chilies
1/2 tablespoon (5 grams) shrimp paste (belacan / balacan)
2 tablespoons shaved palm sugar (gula melaka / gula merah)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 lime

Heat 1/8 cup cooking oil in a skillet over medium heat for 3 minutes. Fry tomato and shallots till soft and brown for 3 minutes. Remove and set aside.

Next fry chilies until they turn a shade lighter for one minute.

Drain the oil, leaving only 2 tablespoons of oil on the skillet and turn down the heat. Fry the shrimp paste quickly, break the paste using the spatula for 2 minutes. Remove from heat for later use.

Pound the chilies and shallots in a mortal using pestle hard and slowly for 8 minutes. Add tomato halves (skin removed), shrimp paste, palm sugar and salt. Pound till everything mixed well for 5 minutes.

Squeeze lime juice into the mortar and mix well with spoon. Serve with selections of fresh and boiled vegetables.

Coconut Rice (Nasi Lemak)

For coconut rice
4 stalks lemongrass
80 gr galangal
5 salam leaves
7 kaffir lime leaves
1 tablespoon salt
700 ml coconut milk
5 cups rice

Wash rice with cold water
In a pot, add rice, coconut milk, salt, galangal, salam leaves, kaffir lime leaves and salt
Boil for 20 minutes – until all liquid is absorbed by the rice
Move the rice to a steamer. Steam for 20 minutes
When the rice is dry and fluffy, it is done. If not, steam longer

For condiments
250 gr (1 1/2 cups) peanuts
100 gr (1 1/3 cups) anchovies
100 gr genom crackers
100 gr red and white crackers
200 gr (1 pc) cucumber
200 gr cabbage
250 gr string beans
3 eggs

Deep fry peanuts, anchovies, and both type of crackers
Cut cabbage and string beans into bite sizes and blanch with boiling water for 2 minutes
Make thin omelette and cut julienned
Serve with the coconut rice

For Chili Shrimp Dip
50 gr (1/4) tomato
20 gr (1/4 cup) bird’s eye chili
50 gr red chili
40 gr (10 pcs) shallot
1 clove garlic
Juice of 1/2 lime
5 gr shrimp paste (“belacan”)
1/2 teaspoon sugar

Boil tomato, chili, shallot and garlic for 5 minutes
Toast/pan fry shrimp paste/belacan for 3 minutes
Grind all ingredients using a spice grinder for 1 minute till medium fine
Serve as dip for the vegetables and coconut rice

Fried Soybean Cake (Tempe Goreng)

Get one block of soybean fermented cake, slice accordingly.
Sprinkle some salt on the soybean cake slices
Heat one cup of oil in a small frying pan.
When you can spot some smoke coming out of the surface of the heated oil,
the oil is ready to take in the soybean cake.

Deep fry in batches till brown and slightly dry.
One minute each side is plenty.

How to prepare Spicy Chili and Soy Dip

1/3 cup (30 gr) Thai green small chili
1 1/2 tablespoons white sugar
Using mortal & pestle, grind both ingredients for 3 – 5 minutes.

Mix one teaspoon of the chili paste with three tablespoon of light soy sauce in a bowl.

Set aside the rest of the paste for future use. If refrigerated, the chili base paste can last for a couple of weeks.

If one teaspoon is too strong / too spicy, reduce the amount of paste or dilute furthermore with soy sauce.

Corn Fritters (Perkedel Jagung)

400g can sweetcorn, drained
1 small red chili, deseeded and finely chopped (optional)
4 green shallots, sliced
1 tsp ground coriander
pinch of salt
1 egg
1/4 cup rice flour
1 tbsp plain flour
vegetable oil for cooking

Combine corn, chili, shallots, coriander, salt, egg and flours. Leave to stand for 30 minutes. Heat oil in a wok or frying pan. Drop spoonfuls of mixture into oil and cook until golden brown.

Serve with chilly sauce.